Browsing: COVID-19

• Following a slow recovery from the debilitating impact of COVID-19, Africa’s economic growth declined to an estimated 3.8 per cent in 2022 and later deteriorated to 3.3 per cent in 2023.
• Africa is not immune to economic shocks and has recently faced a multi-crisis situation.
• African countries have posted more than 5 per cent output expansions in 2024.

Africas economic outlook

Before COVID-19, Africa experienced 20 years of solid growth and made tangible economic and social progress. However, the COVID crisis brought this progress to an abrupt halt, and many countries, which are under increasingly tight budget constraints, struggled to invest in essential sectors amidst recovering from the aftermath of the health crisis.

Following a slow recovery from the debilitating impact of COVID-19, Africa’s economic growth declined to an estimated 3.8 per cent in 2022 and later deteriorated to 3.3 per cent in 2023.

However, according to a recent UN …

• Tourism in Kenya is the third-biggest foreign exchange earner after remittances and agricultural exports.
• The tourism sector’s performance has been impressive, with earnings reaching $ 2.7 billion in 2023, a 32 per cent growth from $1.8 billion recorded in 2022.
• In 2024, the sector is projected to recover to pre-pandemic levels per the strategy for tourism in Kenya 2021-2025.

Tourism in Kenya

Tourism is Kenya’s third-highest foreign exchange earner after remittances and agricultural exports.

According to the Tourism Research Institute, the industry accounts for about 10 per cent of Kenya’s gross domestic product and about 5 per cent of its formal employment.

Kenya has been a significant tourist destination in East Africa, attracting visitors worldwide to its wildlife parks, sandy beaches at the coast, diverse flora and fauna, cultural heritage, and scenic landscapes, to name a few.

However, the outbreak of COVID-19 sent shockwaves to the tourism sector, bringing it …

• Income streams for Kenyans have remained constant, against expenditures becoming more inconsistent.
• Nine out of 10 Kenyan consumers earn less than or the same as before Covid-19.
• The report further highlights that satisfaction levels with current household income are poor with just one in 10 being satisfied with the exception of higher income earners.

Financial distress with declining income streams for Kenyans

More people are increasingly foregoing important financial services such as insurance, savings, and short-term investments on the back of stagnated income streams.

According to Old Mutual’s inaugural financial services monitor report, a focus on Kenya shows nine out of 10 Kenyan consumers are earning less than or the same as before COVID-19, as the situation prompted financial stress due to less money in their pockets.

This is as expenditure becomes more inconsistent against a consistent income stream, the firm says in part.

Old Mutual Group is a premium …

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has committed an additional $938 million to Kenya as part of a strategy to stabilise the country’s economy.…

According to Investopedia, a gig economy is a labour market mainly reliant on temporary and part-time work filled by independent contractors and freelancers rather than full-time permanent employees. A gig economy produces cheaper, more efficient services for those willing to use them.

A gig is a broad category that includes a wide range of positions. Work can range from cab driving or restaurant delivery to writing code or freelance essays. Instead of tenure-track or tenured professors, adjunct and part-time professors are contracted employees. By recruiting more adjunct and part-time teachers, colleges and universities can save costs while also better-matching instructors to academic needs.…

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 threw oil and gas markets into disarray. Consequently, the world experienced the first real global energy crisis during the uneven economic recovery from the COVID-19 epidemic. Russia’s inclusion in the OPEC+ group has hampered international attempts to manage the situation. This has made it harder to handle the significant inflationary effects of rising global fuel prices, particularly in developing nations.

Global fuel prices have risen exponentially in the last few months. The rise is hugely significant, as it has seriously aggravated the global cost-of-living crisis. African economies have particularly been on the receiving end. The continent has suffered from disrupted supply chains and a slowdown in the global economic outlook. Thus, rising energy costs complicate matters even further.…

African Trade and Investment Development Insurance (ATIDI), formerly known as the African Trade and Insurance Agency (ATI), has demonstrated resilience in the face of global challenges, maintaining profitability and achieving positive earnings.

Although the difficult economic environment led to a 6 per cent decline in underwriting profitability, from $34.9 million in the previous year to $32.8 million in 2022, the company experienced strong growth in net written premium, investment income, total assets, and equity capital, which reached $553 million by the end of 2022.…

France will host, in Paris, on June 22 and 23, 2023, the Summit for a new global financing pact. The Summit seeks to rethink the contract between the countries in the Global North and the Global South. The organisers aim to formulate a new pact to address the global economic crisis and climate change.…

In his inaugural address on May 29, President Bola Tinubu stated his plans to revive Nigeria’s ailing economy. After being sworn in as Nigeria’s 16th President, Tinubu expressed his immediate objective to achieve higher GDP of not less than 6 per cent annually and a significant reduction in the unemployment rate.…

Africa’s human development cannot proceed until the first and most basic need—food—is met. A report by AusAID titled Improving food security in Africa reveals that over two-thirds of the population relies on agriculture for income and basic food needs. With food, fuel, and fertiliser crises that have followed the extended Russia-Ukraine crisis, the World Bank has described the current conditions in sub-Saharan Africa as “the perfect storm,” which includes the COVID-19 pandemic, skyrocketing inflation, a growing debt burden, and harsh weather.

The World Food Programme’s 2022 Global Report on Food Crises estimates that 140 million people across Africa are experiencing food insecurity on a regular basis.

With many countries facing food security issues, many nations have partnered with the World Bank to implement a series of short-, medium-, and long-term actions to combat the effects of food insecurity, such as overreliance on imports and persistent drought. These measures are also …