Browsing: AfDB

• Sudan has stepped forward, increasing its pledge to $3 million in the African Development Fund.
• Sudan’s pledge aligns it with other African nations, which have each committed to raise at least $1 million to the fund by 2025.
• With backing from The Gambia, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Ghana, Africa’s commitment to funding its key projects is strengthening.

African nations are coming together to secure a $25 billion replenishment for the African Development Fund (ADF), an ambitious target that signals a continent-wide push toward self-driven financing for projects.

In the latest update, Sudan has stepped forward, increasing its pledge to $3 million in this collective movement. With backing from countries including The Gambia, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Ghana, Africa’s commitment to funding its development projects is strengthening.

As governments, led by the African Development Bank (AfDB), advocate for this replenishment, they set a critical precedent for financial autonomy in achieving Africa’s …

• The AfDB has partnered with payments giant Mastercard and committed $300 million to MADE Alliance in a deal aimed at digitalizing farmers in Africa.
• Over three million farmers in East Africa are projected to benefit from the MADE Alliance project.
• Overall, MADE Alliance will provide digital access for 100 million people over the next decade.

A new initiative dubbed MADE Alliance, has set out to mobilizing resources in an effort to digitize farmers and their operations across Africa as the shift towards digital economy gathers pace.

In a deal being powered by the African Development Bank (AfDB) Group in partnership with digital payments giant, Mastercard, MADE Alliance, will see upto 300,000 farmers across East Africa benefit from the programme.

The project was launched on the sidelines of the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly in September this year by the president of the AfDB, Dr. Akinwumi A. …

• The African pharmaceuticals market is projected to reach $34 billion by 2027.
• Egypt has been tipped to contribute most to Africa’s pharmaceutical industry’s growth.
• What implication does this change present to global pharmaceutical giants?

Africa pharmaceutical investment is well underway, and for the first time, the continent seeks to produce and distribute medicinal drugs but, what would be the impact on the global industry? “The failures of the global health systems during the COVID-19 pandemic—when export restrictions, lockdowns, and hoarding sent supply chains into frantic disarray—made local manufacturing of pharmaceutical supplies a top priority for African leaders,” notes global health writer Sara Jerving in her report titled New foundation is ready to help African pharmaceutical manufacturers.

Africa pharmaceuticals market reached $25 billion 2022 and is expected to grow at a 6 percent five-year CAGR to reach $34 billion by 2027 reports IQVIA, a global research institute. According to the …

• African Economic Outlook 2024 calls for an overhaul of the global financial architecture to transform African economies.
• Seventeen African economies are projected to grow by more than 5 per cent in 2024, potentially increasing to 24 by 2025.
• Growth in Southern Africa is projected to pick up slightly from an estimated 1.6 per cent in 2023 to 2.2 per cent in 2024

East Africa is projected to lead GDP growth on the continent, amidst global challenges, according to the African Development Bank Group’s African Economic Outlook 2024 report. This region is expected to see the fastest growth, with real GDP growth rising from an estimated 1.5 per cent in 2023 to 4.9 per cent in 2024 and 5.7 per cent in 2025.

However, the economic uncertainties in South Sudan and Sudan due to conflict have led to a downward revision of 0.2 percentage points for 2024 due to larger-than-expected …

• AfDB asks policymakers to put in place an orderly and predictable way of dealing with Africa’s $824Bn debt pile.
• According to AfDB, Africa’s ballooning external debt reached $824 billion in 2021.
• AfDB president says there is urgent need for increased concessional financing, particularly for low-income countries. 

Africa’s immense economic potential is being undermined by non-transparent resource-backed loans that complicate debt resolution and compromise countries’ future growth, African Development Bank (AfDB) President Dr Akinwumi Adesina has said.

Adesina at the Semafor Africa Summit taking place on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank 2024 Spring Meetings, highlighted the challenges posed by Africa’s ballooning external debt, which reached $824 billion in 2021, with countries dedicating 65 per cent of their GDP to servicing these obligations.

He said the continent would pay $74 billion in debt service payments this year alone, a sharp increase from $17 billion in 2010. “I …

• New investment in Tanzania’s railways sector is expected to directly benefit nearly 900,000 people and indirectly impact an estimated 3.5 million.
• Tanzania operates two railway systems, totaling 3,682 km in length.

Tanzania railway sector is poised for immense growth as the World Bank poured significant funding by approving $200 million in financing from the International Development Association (IDA) which is a part of the bank.

According to available information from the World Bank statement made on Friday, the bank said the financing for the second phase of the Tanzania Intermodal and Rail Development Project (TIRP-2) will improve safety, climate resilience, and operational efficiency along this railway segment.

Read also: AfDB approves $696.4M financing for Tanzania-Burundi-DRC railway project

Tanzania railway plan anchored on Dar- Morogoro SGR

The funding comes a few weeks after Tanzania Railways Corporation (TRC) began its inaugural trial journey of the electric Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) train …

• AfDB grant aims to enhance Burundi’s productivity by four to five times and bolster agro-processing for increased domestic and export food availability.
• It also promises significant economic diversification, creating jobs, improving food security and nutrition, and strengthening regional trade.
• This investment can help safeguard the livelihoods of countless farmers against the increasing unpredictability of weather patterns due to climate change.

The African Development Bank (AfDB) has announced $80 million grant to bolster Burundi’s agricultural sector and transform the nation’s agricultural industry.

AfDB’s Director General for East Africa, Nnenna Nwabufo, revealed this financial pledge after meeting with Burundian Prime Minister Gervais Ndirakobuca in Bujumbura. This funding is poised to multiply the sector’s productivity by four to five times, with a keen focus on enhancing agro-processing capabilities to not only increase the availability of food within Burundi but also boost its export potential.

The collaboration between the AfDB and the Burundian government …

• Africa is loosing out on bad minerals for loan deals, AfDB warns.
• AfDB is developing initiatives to  help countries’ address the bad loans.
• China alleged to be the leader in bad minerals for loan deals with Africa.

Africa’s natural resources are being traded for loans from international lenders and that is why the continent is underdeveloped, the Head of the African Development Bank, Dr Akinwumi Adesina, has decried.

In an interview with The Associated Press in Lagos, Nigeria, Dr Adesina called for an end to “loans given in exchange for the continent’s rich supplies of oil or critical minerals used in smartphones and electric car batteries.”

The Head of Africa’s biggest lending bank, AfDB, said some countries have gained control over mineral mining in places such as Congo and have left some African countries in financial crisis owing to such ‘mineral for loans deals.’

“They are just bad, first …

• The AfDB and partners in Rabat, Morocco, are organizing the 2024 Africa Investment Forum to catalyze investments in Africa’s agriculture, infrastructure, and renewable energy.
• The forum is a pivotal platform for advancing Africa’s economic integration, promoting policy innovation, and encouraging private-sector engagement and international collaboration.
• By aligning with sustainable development, inclusivity, and green finance goals, the Africa Investment Forum aligns with global sustainability goals, positioning Africa in the transition to a green economy and attracting ethical investments.

Set against the vibrant backdrop of Rabat, Morocco, the 2024 Africa Investment Forum Market Days, scheduled for December 4–6, is yet another cornerstone event for continental and global investors seeking growth opportunities in the continent.

The African Development Bank and seven founding partners will back this forum to drive investment-ready deals to fruition, further highlighting its critical role in Africa’s economic landscape.

Africa Investment Forum a catalyst for investment mobilisation

Since its inception …

• AfDB signs a risk facility worth over $150 million to boost financial inclusion.
• Survey shows risk-supported Commercial Banks in Africa can play a key role in poverty eradication.
• Increased access to capital loans will help lower-income families increase their household earnings

To boost intra-Africa trade in line with the aspirations of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), the African Development Bank Group has approved a $150 million risk facility.

The funding will be through the Trade Finance Unfunded Risk Participation Agreement, a deal which has been entered between the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the Trade & Development Bank (TDB).

Under this agreement, “the AfDB will provide guarantee cover of 50 per cent and up to 75 per cent for transactions in low-income countries and transition states on a risk share basis with TDB to a number of qualifying local and regional banks,” the bank states.

In this first …