Browsing: AfDB Economic Outlook in Egypt

Against all odds, Africa is enjoying faster economic growth than the rest of the world, and it will continue to do so for the next foreseeable future. This is according to the latest review by the Africa Development Bank (AfDB) which projects that the continent’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) will grow 4% annually, on average, much better than the global average.

Released in Abidjan, Africa’s Macroeconomic Performance and Outlook Report indicates that in the medium-term, most regions in Africa will have moderate to strong economic performance.

“Despite facing significant headwinds due to global socio-economic shocks, all the five regions on the continent remain resilient with a steady outlook,” the report reassures stakeholders.

Also Read: Financing SMEs: Basis for impressive economic outlook

However, the report does highlight some red flags to watch out for that will require robust monetary and fiscal measures and structural policies.

The report is released at the …

GuarantCo is one of the six partners that make up the Africa Co-Guarantee Platform. Others are the African Development Bank, African Trade Insurance Agency (ATI), African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD), GuarantCo (part of PIDG, the Private Infrastructure Development Group), the Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of Investment and Export Credit Insurance (ICIEC), and Afreximbank.

Speaking recently at the Platform’s Steering Committee Meeting, Afreximbank’s Director of Guarantees and Specialized Finance Kofi Asumadu-Addo, said, “…this is a critical moment, and the CGP is needed more than ever.”

He went on to point out that the Covid-19 pandemic, and the Ukraine crisis have resulted in macroeconomic challenges that require urgent action and it is only by working with large organs like the AfDB that action can be taken.…

Over the course of the next six years, LEAF is expected to deploy financing options, credit enhancement instruments and technical assistance in partnership with the private sector; including local banks.

As we approach the 2030 deadline of the SDGs, we must unfortunately acknowledge the disturbing truth, we are far from meeting the goal’s sustainable growth targets. The latest Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 7 tracking report warns that close to 600 million Africans still lack access to electricity and this reality is only worsened by the Covid-19 crisis.

In his comments about the LEAF program, the Bank’s Vice President in charge of Power, Energy, Climate Change and Green Growth, Dr. Kevin Kariuki, notes: “The African Development Bank is delighted to partner with the Green Climate Fund on the Leveraging Energy Access Finance Framework, which will not only accelerate access to electricity based on decentralized renewable energy solutions, hence reducing the respective …

In June, the Voice of America reported that a bomb had gone off at a market in Tigray at about 1 pm, right when the market would be at its busiest time. At least 43 people were killed and dozens of others wounded.

This was June 22, a day after Ethiopia held its sixth national elections and a fortnight from the commencement of the second filling of the GERD.

Will fighting in Tigray deter Ethiopia’s GERD plans?…

Barely three months since Tanzania’s incumbent president Samia Suluhu Hassan made a public announcement of her intention to regain investor confidence, the efforts are already bearing fruits.

The president recently said ‘…investors view the country as having an unpredictable investment climate, hostile tax collection, and bureaucracy all of which are scaring investors away.’ As such, she pledged to change the status quo.

“The sixth phase government will take an uncompromising approach on this, and we will start with the blueprint for the improvement of Tanzania’s business climate…” the president announced.

Against the backdrop of the work that has already been done by her government to regain investor confidence a major global financial firm, EFG Hermes, an Egyptian financial services company, has doubled its investment in the country.

Earlier in August, the firm doubled its purchase of CRDB Bank shares, Tanzania’s leading bank in terms of market share. According to a …

Egypt, one of Africa’s vibrant tourism destination, has recorded a 5.6 per cent Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the past six months, to December 2019, Reuters said a government statement revealed the information.

Tourism has been attributed to Egypt’s economic growth in the last three years, strong remittances from Egyptian workers abroad and recently discovered natural gas fields coming on stream.

Hence, the nation’s growth has mainly been driven by the state sector. The World Bank (WB) spotlighted the nation’s economy and noted that, on the sectoral side, gas extractives, wholesale and retail trade, real estate and construction have been the main drivers of growth.

Unemployment decreased to 7.5 per cent in the fourth quarter of FY19 (from 9.9 per cent a year earlier), although accompanied by shrinking labour force participation.

According to Reuters January poll, the economy is expected to grow 5.8 per cent in the fiscal year ending …