Browsing: AfDB

  • Africa’s average GDP will stabilize at around 4 percent in the course of the next two years, notes AfDB.
  • The continent needs alternative sources of imports and new export markets to counter disruptions caused by the war in Ukraine.
  • Economists are urging African economies to look at expediting intra-African trade to stave off global shocks.

A significant number of African nations continue to show economic resilience in the face of tougher global challenges. The latest update by the African Development Bank (AfDB) on economic review says the continent has a stable outlook in the 2023-2024 financial year.

Africa’s Macroeconomic Performance and Outlook report provides an up-to-date assessment of the continent’s macroeconomic performance and a forecast of expected performance on the backdrop of global economic challenges.

Africa average GDP to stabilise at 4 percent

The lender estimates that Africa’s average GDP will stabilise at around 4 percent in the course of …

Blockchain and e-commerce
  • The project is billed to help African countries play catchup as the continent is still relatively behind when it comes to global consumer banking habits.
  • The African Development Fund in partnership with Smart Africa Alliance will evaluate policy gaps in the digital trade and e-commerce ecosystems in selected countries that are lagging behind their counterparts in terms of digital trade and e-commerce adaptation.
  • Data by the International Trade Administration (ITA) indicates that the continent is forecast to surpass half a billion e-commerce users by 2025.

The African Development Fund has partnered with Smart Africa Alliance to launch a $1.5 million project aimed at streamlining digital trade and e-commerce policies across 10 African countries.

In a project dubbed Institutional Support for Digital Payments and e-Commerce Policies for Cross-Border Trade (IDECT), the two institutions will evaluate policy gaps in the digital trade and e-commerce ecosystems in the selected countries that are lagging

Climate Change Floods
  • Lender AfDB is looking to harness global equity funds to finance climate change mitigation in Africa.
  • AfDB statistics show that only 14 percent of $29.5 billion that was invested in climate finance for Africa in 2020 was from the private sector.
  • AfDB is set to hold climate change financing meeting in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, this May.

An increasing number of people across Africa are grappling with unpredictable but definite cycles of failed rains, flash floods or severe drought as climate change-induced weather patterns become the norm in the continent that is one of the least polluters globally.

“Africa, the continent that pollutes the planet the least, is today one of the world’s most vulnerable to climate risks,” admits the African Development Bank.

In many countries in Africa today, it is nearly impossible for farmers to practice rain-fed agriculture, which is the primary option for 99 percent of agricultural production…

  • Africa Development Bank (AfDB) has launched the Africa Fertilizer Financing Mechanisms (AFFM) to boost purchase of the critical farm input across the continent.
  • The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) warns that Africa is spending less on agriculture development than the rest of the world.
  • AFFM has already secured $10.15 million in new funding from the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD).

Shortage of fertilizer in Africa continues as the war between its main suppliers Russia and Ukraine enters the second year. To increase food productivity and security, African countries need increased access to fertilizer, nut until this dilemma is resolved, food security is off the table.

Access to fertilizer in Africa is very limited, where available, this basic agro-input for increased production is simply too expensive for effective use.

Such shortcomings were meant to be addressed by progressive initiatives such as the Maputo Agreement that was signed in Mozambique in…

In collaboration with Private Equity Support, Eldohub, and the Private Finance Advisory Network, the AfDB awards US$140,000 in grants and business skills training to the winners. Photo/AfDB
  • The future of agriculture is digital not the hand-hoe
  • The more efficient a farm is, the more productive it becomes without necessarily increasing land size.
  • AfDB awards US$140,000 in grants to AgriPitch competition winners

Agriculture development for food security and poverty reduction cannot be realized without the adaptation of digital solutions.

Digital solutions offer more effective traceability, compliance and farm management systems which make the commercial, large or small, much more effective. In these modern times of food scarcity in the face of ever-increasing demand, efficiency is the name of the game.

The more efficient a farm is, the more productive it becomes without necessarily increasing land size or the amount of crops or animals.

“When it comes to subsistence agriculture, digital transformation is no longer a choice – it’s a need. You can either go digital or disappear,” warns Simon Winter, Executive Director at Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture …

Oxfam warns of famine in Somalia: In May last year, the African Development Bank (AfDB) Board of Directors approved $1.5 billion in funding for what the bank called the African Emergency Food Production Facility; one year down the road, has the funding achieved its purpose? Photo/UNStuartPrice
  • AfDB announces US$ 1.5 billion funding for emergency food responce
  • AfDB pledges seeds & fertilizers for 20 million smallholder farmers
  • Oxfam warns of famine in Somalia

In May 2022, the African Development Bank (AfDB) Board of Directors approved $1.5 billion in funding for what the bank called the African Emergency Food Production Facility; one year down the road, has the funding achieved its purpose?

AfDB President Akinwumi Adesina described the facility as a necessary support for Africa’s emergency food response in the face of shortages caused by the Russia-Ukraine war.

The bank’s President said the funding will help to significantly increase food production in Africa and avert what he at the time described as ‘the looming food crisis caused by the Russia-Ukraine war.’

Making the announcement at the Summit of G7 leaders last year in Washington, Mr. Adesina announced that the African Development Bank (AfDB) would out of its own …

Tanzania’s Minister for Finance and Planning, Dr Mwigulu Nchemba signs loan deal with the African Development Bank (AfDB) to implement Kakono HPP in the Lake Zone. Photo/Michuzi
  • Tanzania signs 161.47 million US dollars to implement Kakono HPP in Lake Zone
  • European Union (EU) to chip in additional 35 million Euro for Kakono HPP 
  • Kakono HPP will take five years to complete, feature a primary school, health centre

The government of Tanzania has secured funding for the Kakono Hydropower Project (Kakono HPP). The project is in line with the country’s Third Five-Year Development Plan (FYDP III) and aligns with President Samia Suluhu’s plan to foster a competitive industrial economy.

The Lake Zone, in the north-western part of Tanzania, is one of the country’s highest fossil fuel consuming region due to the low coverage by the national electricity grid. The region uses diesel generators making the region expensive for investors and residents.   

Funding a US$325 million power project in E. Africa

Also Read: French Development Agency provides $30 million for African SMEs

With assistance from the African Development Bank …

The World Bank is getting a new president, potentially it will be the United States nominated Ajay Banga who for his first global tour, chose to visit Africa first, what does that maiden tour mean for the continent? Photo/Bloomberg
  • US World Bank President nominee Ajay Banga chooses Africa for his first tour
  • AfDB president Dr. Akinwumi Adesina calls for a new measure of economic growth
  • AfDB launches Adesina Africa Industrialization Index (AII)

The World Bank is getting a new president and it will be likely US-nominee Ajay Banga who for his first global tour, chose to visit Africa. What does this maiden tour mean for the continent?

Back in February, US President Joe Biden announced Ajay Banga as the United States’ nominee for President of the World Bank Group. Should he be approved, Ajay Banga will be replacing the incumbent president, David Malpass, whose term ends in June.

Among his first moves on his way to the top office in the world’s largest financial institution, Banga, is making a strategic visit to Africa.

For the first stop of his World tour, Mr. Banga flew to Abidjan Côte d’Ivoire on …

"What we'll see, building on the resiliency we see in this report, is a real acceleration of Africa's sustainable development so that Africa will be the fast-growing part of the world economy. Africa is the place to invest," says Director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University, economist Jeffrey Sachs. Photo/AFDB

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 …

Over 22 million people face a dire lack of food in the Horn of Africa. Climate change, Russia-Ukraine war worsening food shortage in EAC as Tanzania invests millions of dollars to develop over 12 irrigation schemes in one year. Photo/ABCNews

The Horn of Africa region – Eritirea, Ethiopia, Sudan, Djibouti and Somali – has faced persistent food shortages due to a mix of climatic conditions and conflict in some parts of the region. Over 22 million people face a dire lack of food, a decade after setting the global sustainable development goals (SDGs).

Four consecutive seasons of failed rains in the region and in Northern Kenya has threatened to further exacerbate the food situation in the Horn.

The single known reason why rains are failing in what is supposed to be the world’s most rain rich region is climate change, and that is not a natural disaster, it is man made.

Also Read: The economics of harvesting rain

Weather patterns have changed. Seasons have become unpredictable. The phenomenon explains itself, weather, by definition is the condition of the atmosphere at any given time, but climate is the noted weather patterns …