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Democratic Republic of Congo
- DRC’s economy is rising with real GDP growth at 8.9 percent in 2022 and projected to 6.8 percent in 2023.
- Macroeconomic imbalances have, however, emerged piling inflationary pressures.
- The roiling conflict in the East and upcoming elections complicate macroeconomic management.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has outlined a number of tough measures for war-tone DRC as it seeks $200 million financing. The funds are part of the country’s Special Drawing Rights (SDR), the supplementary forex reserves maintained by the IMF. They are units of account for the IMF, and not a currency per se. What’s more, they represent a claim to currency held by IMF member countries and DR Congo can access about $200 million.
An IMF team led by Mercedes Vera Martin met with the authorities in Kinshasa between April 19–May 3. This was on the fourth review of the three-year arrangement under DRC’s Extended Credit Facility (ECF).
Macroeconomic
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- Analysts have termed Central Africa as a sleeping Giant, yet to awaken as the region recorded the least funding for startups in 2022.
- In 2022, Central Africa was by far the region where start-ups raised the least funding through deals worth $100,000 and over with a total of $51 million according to the latest report by The Big Deal.
- While the region represented only 1.1 percent of the funding raised on the continent, Year on Year growth was commendable, as start-ups raised more than double the amount that had been raised in 2021 ($24 million).
Analysts have termed Central Africa a sleeping giant, yet to awaken as the region recorded the least funding for startups in 2022.
Max Cuvellier from The Big Deal says there is a huge potential in the region despite the depressed numbers.
“This is not to say that there isn’t talent or potential in the DRC, …
As Africa’s role in the global economy continues to garner prominence, it’s imperative for the continent to seal the gaping hole in its power supply.
Lack of universal power access remains a major roadblock that has retrogressed industrialization and socio-economic development. Statistics from the World Bank indicate that Africa remains the least electrified region in the world, with 568 million people lacking access to electricity.
The Bretton Woods institution, further notes that the Sub-Saharan Africa’s share of the global population without electricity, jumped to 77 per cent in 2020 from 71 per cent in 2018, whilst most regions saw declines in their share of access deficits. It has become a Hobson’s choice for African governments to prioritize the power sector, which is the epicenter of industrialization, working towards Goal 7 of the UN SDGs; which advocates for universal access to affordable, reliable and modern electricity services.
Currently, Africa’s power is …
Bottlenecks to the completing of the planned Trans African Highway include difficult terrain and climate conditions, inadequate funding for Road maintenance and upgrades as well as insecurity due to civil conflicts that have damaged roads that now require reconstruction.
There is a new-found political will and High-level commitments by the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Uganda to develop and upgrade the Northern Corridor Road Sections of their country of the Trans-African Highway (TAH) Network No 8 from Lagos, Nigeria to Mombasa that is expected to open the whole of Africa to interstate trade.
Uganda and DR Congo are already working to fix the gaps of the northern corridor in Mbarara-Bushenyi-Kikorongo-Mpondwe-Kasindi-Beni-Komanda-Kisangani which measures 940Km.
Bottlenecks to the completing of the planned TAH include difficult terrain and climate conditions, inadequate funding for Road maintenance and upgrades as well as insecurity due to civil conflicts that have damaged roads that now require …
