Browsing: African Development Bank (AfDB)

• Kenya’s President William Ruto says the free movement was necessary for sustainable growth in the Horn of Africa.
• Dr Ruto calls on member states in the region to eliminate national boundaries that are chocking growth.
•  EAC Secretary General Peter Mathuki notes EAC can address challenges in advancing movement of goods and labour.

Barriers to free movement of goods and people are chocking East Africa’s regional integration. To unlock the bloc’s trade potential, Kenya’s President William Ruto is calling in the East African Community (EAC) and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) to remove barriers to free movement. Dr Ruto urges that free movement of people, goods and services can significantly enhance East Africa’s regional integration.

The Kenyan President notes the free flow of goods and capital was necessary for sustainable growth across East Africa.

The President is now challenging regional member states to eliminate national boundaries that have since become …

• Africa’s green bonds market is growing rapidly as the continent increases issuances to power transition to  green energy.
• The Green and Resilience Debt Platform (GRDP) has been established to address climate financing gaps in Africa.
• Countries will now have access to $2B in green debt capital markets via the Platform, thereby bolstering resilience against climate change shocks. 

The green bonds market in Africa is showing strong signs of growth as countries move to tackle climate change. The sector is registering a renewed momentum attracting investments in response to the continent’s vulnerability to climate change crisis. For instance, the Nordic Development Fund (NDF) has granted EUR 500,000 to the Green and Resilience Debt Platform (GRDP).

The Fund was established by the UNDP in partnership with UNCDF, European Investment Bank (EIB), Green Climate Fund (GCF) and the European Union’s Global Green Bond Initiative (GGBI). The platform is working with various stakeholders to …

• 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 …

• African Development Bank tells Japanese investors putting their money in the continent is profitable.
•  Japan’s Foreign Direct Investments in Africa declined from $10 billion in 2016 to just $4.7 billion in 2020 during Covid-19, before picking up to $6 billion in 2021.
•  According to AfDB, Africa accounts for only 0.003 percent of Japan’s $2 trillion global Foreign Direct Investments.
• Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced during the TICAD 8 Summit in Tunis last year $30 billion for Africa, including support for startups.

Africa is keen to increase Japanese investment in the continent, the African Development Bank (AfDB) has indicated amid growing interest from other countries including China, Europe and the US.

The move comes after a slump in Japan’s Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs) in Africa, which declined from $10 billion in 2016 to just $4.7 billion in 2020 during Covid-19, before picking to $6 billion in 2021.

According to AfDB, …

There are increasingly more and more ‘outbreaks’ of non-communicable diseases in Africa and more so in sub-Saharan Africa.

These lifestyle ailments are ironically a symbol of increasing income among the population. As more and more African countries rise from low-income to middle-income status, statistics show a correlation with the rising number of people suffering from non-communicable diseases.

The reason is simple; when you rise in income, people do not increase their eating of the vitamin-rich greens they used to eat when they could not afford unhealthy but yet prestigious red meat; no, they change their diet to gabble up the ‘rich man’ foods, unwittingly damaging their health.

A local paper puts it into perspective; ‘People’s eating habits are shifting from food rich in starchy staples, vegetables and fruits to a more westernized diet high in sugar, saturated fats and oils’ the recipe for non-communicable diseases.

The troubling fact is that …

On the backdrop of increasing global demand for cashew nuts, the government of Tanzania is now subsidizing agro-inputs for farmers of the crop.

According to global market trends, demand for edible cashews is on a drastic rise riding on the back of increased consumer consciousness of the nut’s high nutrient value. Cashews are consumed whole as a snack but due to the increased market response to its high nutrient value, producers are now increasing their value chain through various products.

• Tanzania issues free agro-inputs to cashew nut farmers
• The world cashew market growing rapidly
• China government launches national campaign for daily consumption of nuts

Cashews can nowadays be found in almost all of your daily treats in energy bars, cookies, chocolates, and even ice creams. Grown across several continents, demand for cashew is highest in Asia where it is used as the main ingredient in various dishes as well as …

• Fuel price rise across EAC
• National Assembly hears public outcry on the rising cost of living
• Governments working on solutions to lower fuel prices

Prices of essentials are increasing rapidly across the East Africa Community (EAC) from basic home needs like food and water to fuel and transportation, inflation has hit the region hard.

According to the Tanzania National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the cost of food in Tanzania increased 6.60 percent in April of 2022 over the same month in the previous year.

NBS also contends that the country’s Annual Headline Inflation Rate for the month of April, 2022 increased to 3.8% from 3.6% recorded in March 2022.

According to NBS, Headline Inflation Rate measures inflation when all items in the fixed Consumer Price Index (CPI) basket are included.

“The increase of headline inflation explains that the speed of price change for commodities for the year ended April 2022 …

• AfCFTA testing new tool to measure ease of trade among African countries
• Early test results indicate major gender parity issues
• AfCFTA secretariat to seek national policy change to ease cross border trade

So you wish to invest in Africa, with 51 countries to choose from, what factors are going to guide your decision? Once you have overcome that huddle, comes another matter to address and that is ‘how easy is it to do businesses between said African countries?’

The second part of the question is what we will focus on here, how easy is it to do business between and among various African countries.’ There already exist several trading blocs and free trade zones etc and finally the largest of them all the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) has finally been passed and is in action.

So what does this mean for investors, for businesses seeking to trade between …