Browsing: AfDB

While in France, President Samia attended the One Ocean Summit in Brest. The three-day summit discusses ocean safety and actions against the threats to the ocean. Among other things, initiatives launched at the summit aim to protect the marine ecosystem and develop sustainable fisheries.

The initiatives seek to fight pollution particularly from plastics as well as to respond to the impacts of climate change and to advocate for improved governance of oceans.

This State Visit follows last year’s visit to Tanzania by French Minister for Foreign Trade and Economic Attractiveness, Franck Riester, who visited the East African economic hub in October  2021.…

Detailing on the source of the funding and its uses, the president said the US$100 million  (over TShs230 billion) is from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as a loan to Tanzania, and another US$100 million is for the Isles.

“The IMF fund will be directed to health, education, water and power sectors, as well as economically empowering wananchi (citizens/the public),” local media quoted President Mwinyi.

The president went ahead and gave a very detailed explanation of the planned use of the funding detailing each sector and the allocated amount and then he got to the part about funding to support businesses.…

To discourage the use of firewood and charcoal, the European Union (EU) has committed to fund renewable energy solutions specifically designed to set up and support a sustainable cooking solution program.

EU Head of Delegation to Tanzania, Ambassador Manfredo Fanti announced the EU led program late last year in the capital, Dodoma. At the launch, the diplomat said the initiative is part of the EU’s efforts to mitigate climate change through the use of renewable energy solutions for cooking.

However, what is interesting here is that increase in the use of firewood and charcoal is not in rural Tanzania but in the urban centres.…

African food imports have risen in the last few decades, reaching nearly US$35 billion a year, according to the World Bank. Most imported goods could be made in Africa, creating much-needed jobs in the process.

It is with this knowledge that a coalition of multilateral development banks and development partners has pledged more than US$17 billion in finance to combat rising hunger in Africa and improve food security. This funding was pledged on the final day of the Feeding Africa: Leadership to Scale Up Successful Innovations on April 29-30, 2021.

The two-day high-level debate was held in conjunction with the CGIAR System Organization and the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA), the AfDB and the UN’s International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). …

There is need to rebrand Africa, to give it a better, truer image or in the words of the President for the African Development Bank (AfDB)) Dr Akinwumi A. Adesina to change the narrative on Africa to attract increased investments into the continent.

Granted the head of AfDB specified the Africa rebranding be specific for the USA but the idea stands true in general, the World needs to see Africa differently. The assertion comes ahead of the upcoming “Africa Investment Forum 2021.’

To be held this December (1-3), the event is one of the biggest flagship initiatives of the African Development Bank that is designed to attract billions of dollars in investment for strategic development projects across the continent.

“The annual forum has come to be an invaluable platform during which the Bank successfully attracts critical investment for the continent’s infrastructure, agriculture and health care system needs among others, especially …

The government of Tanzania has received 1.3tri/- as Covid-19 relief package from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Now the government has announced plans to implement a score of projects that will be financed with this fund in a move it says, will help the private sector’s liquidity.

As part of its own fiscal policies to cushion the economy from the negative effects of the global pandemic, the government, through the Central Bank has also released another 1tri/- to commercial banks in a bid to increase their lending capacity.

With these funds, the Central Bank released funding and IMF funding that goes into implementing national projects, the private sector is empowered to borrow and win project tenders and as such increase money circulation in the economy.

The strategy is meant to back the economy which had slowed down due to reduced demand which in turn reduced produced production stagnating the whole …

According to the World Bank, the annual SME credit gap in Sub Saharan Africa is about US$330 million. MSMEs are often neglected by lenders due to a combination of factors.

These include the high cost of customer acquisition and due diligence, insufficient data availability for accurate credit assessments, lack of collaterals, uncertain customer lifetime values, and the high costs of distribution and servicing. There is a large opportunity for lenders who are able to overcome these challenges.…

African Development Banks (AfDB) one of Africa’s vibrant development funders have levitated the cold storage chain industry in East Africa, by supporting it with a $10 million equity investment.

According to the bank’s statement, AfDB’s board of directors approved the sum which is part of the ARCH Cold Chain Solutions East Africa Fund (CCSEAF), which is targeted at supporting the development, construction and operation of greenfield cold storage, temperature-controlled solutions and distribution facilities in East Africa.

At the moment, several startups and business solutions have been established across East Africa, tackling storage challenges, one of them is Cold Solutions East Africa, which is one of the region’s leading temperature-controlled storage and logistics.

Read: Will the digital economy in Africa just remain a myth?

AfDB is not the only financial institution to throw its resources into the cold storage arena, Rabobank is also dedicated to the same market in East Africa.…

• The multi-phase project will provide water to the Gauteng region of South Africa and generate hydroelectricity for Lesotho.
• The Lesotho Highland Development Authority will implement the part of the project that falls within Lesotho’s borders.

The board of directors of the African Development Bank Group has approved a loan of $86.72 million to co-finance the second phase of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project.

In a statement, AfDB said the multi-phase project will provide water to the Gauteng region of South Africa and generate hydroelectricity for Lesotho.

The project entails harnessing the waters of the Senqu/Orange River in the Lesotho highlands by constructing a series of dams for the mutual benefit of the two countries.

The Trans-Caledon Tunnel Authority, a state-owned entity in South Africa charged with financing and implementing bulk raw water infrastructure projects, will use the funds to construct the Polihali Dam and reservoir, a 38 kilometer-long water transfer …

On the brighter side, this trade potential could double if African countries address challenges in infrastructure and corruption which have continually hampered the ‘Africa rising’ narrative. 

By making Africa the world’s largest trade area, the AfCFTA is expected to further improve Africa’s bargaining power with the rest of the world. This is with regard to the quality of goods produced as well as market entry of imported goods. …