Browsing: Dr. Akinwumi Adesina

African Development Bank Group rallies behind Zambia
  • The African Development Bank offers an initial $150M to Zambia for budgetary support.
  • Fresh from striking a debt restructuring agreement with creditors, Zambia will also get an additional $168M per year from AfDB’s non-concessional window.
  • AfDB President Dr. Akinwumi Adesina says the lender will aid Zambia in her economic recovery efforts.

Fresh from a successful $6.3 billion debt restructuring deal with bilateral creditors, the African Development Bank (AfDB) is rolling out $150 million support line for Zambia to accelerate the country’s recovery efforts.

In June this year, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) lauded the debt treatment agreement struck by Zambia and its official creditors under the G20 Common Framework.

During a meeting with AfDB, Zambia President Hakainde Hichilema acknowledged the significant progress made on official creditor debt. Hichilema, however, highlighted the need to address debt owed to local and external commercial creditors, including Eurobond holders. He expressed the desire to …

I-DICE-partners
  • AfDB estimates that the size of global digital wealth will skyrocket from $217 billion in 2022 to over $1 trillion by 2031. 
  • The Investments in Digital and Creative Enterprises programme launched in Abuja ushering in a new era for the continent.
  • Nigeria accounts for almost 30% of Africa’s funded ventures, with at least 180 startups.

The African Development Bank (AfDB) has launched The Investment in Digital and Creative Enterprises (I-DICE) program in Abuja. This marks one of the latest initiatives to boost Africa’s digital transformation which the AfDB estimates will generate $712 billion by 2050 in Africa and $1 trillion in global value by 2030.

This program comes at a defining moment as Africa expands its exports of digital and creative services beyond the continent spurring the rise of new unicorn startups.

The I-DICE is an initiative that partners with the Federal Government of Nigeria. It aims to promote entrepreneurship

AfDB President Dr. Akinwumi Adesina when he met with Hayashi Nobumitsu, Governor of the Japan Bank for International Cooperation. They discussed common interests including support for agriculture and fertilizers, quality health infrastructure and solar energy development. www.theexchange.africa

Senegal’s President Macky Sall claimed Japanese firms have the technical and financial capacity to establish up partnerships in Africa while Moussa Faki Mahamat, who is the African Union Commission chair praised Japan’s education and training achievements. He lauded a Japanese effort that taught nutrition to 1,000 young Africans.

African countries would need major financial resources to deal with Covid-19, climate change, and Russia’s war in Ukraine said the African Development Bank chief.

“Now is the time to assist the African Adaptation Acceleration Program to mobilize $25 billion for climate adaptation in Africa,” Adesina added.

AfDB’s African Emergency Food Production Facility, started in May 2022, is providing US$1.13 billion to 24 nations for emergency food production. The Bank approved the facility early in 2022 to prevent the Ukraine war’s food and fertilizer disaster.…

Kenya's distressed debt levels

Most African countries lag behind the rest of the world in the coverage of key infrastructure classes including energy, road and rail transportation, together with water infrastructure. Development of Africa’s infrastructure has been met by colossal roadblocks, which have largely stemmed from the endemic systemic corruption that continues to ail the continent, making it one of the biggest hurdles to development. Consequently, this has made attracting foreign investment a nightmare.

This further affirms the description by McKinsey and Company that the continent faces an infrastructure paradox whereby Africa’s track record in moving projects to financial close is poor. Despite the high demand for projects, sufficient supply of capital and investors, coupled with voluminous potential projects there is insufficient investment in infrastructure projects within the region. 

Presently, more than two-thirds of the global population without access to electricity is in Sub-Saharan Africa, which is an equivalence of 600 million people. For…