Browsing: IMF

The World Bank IMF
  • World Bank foresees $12 billion in support for Kenya between 2023 and 2026.
  • This financing is subject to approval as East Africa’s economic powerhouse continues to depend on borrowing to bridge budget gaps in the wake of high recurrent expenditures and revenue shortfalls.
  • The World Bank said it is fully committed to support Kenya in its journey to become an upper-middle-income country by 2030.

Kenya stands to benefit from up to $12 billion in financing from the World Bank over the next three years, as indicated by the global lender, ensuring continued support for the debt-saddled country.

This is subject to approval, the World Bank noted on Monday, as East Africa’s economic powerhouse continues to depend on borrowing to bridge budget gaps in the wake of high recurrent expenditures and revenue shortfalls. The World Bank stated that it is fully committed to supporting Kenya in its journey to become an…

IMF Kenya loans

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has agreed to lend $938 million to Kenya, pending management approval and consideration by the Executive Board. The board is expected to make its decision in January 2024.

Haimanot Teffara, the IMF Mission Chief to Kenya, stated that the move aims to shield the country from liquidity problems and economic difficulties resulting from the adverse impacts of COVID-19, the Ukraine War, and drought.…

South Africa | Africa's biggest economy | Egypt's economy | South Africa's economy | Nigeria's economy

South Africa is set to topple Nigeria and Egypt as Africa's biggest economy in 2024. This is according to forecasts from the International Monetary Fund. According to IMF's World Economic Outlook, South Africa's gross domestic product will reach $401 billion per current price in 2024. On the other hand, Nigeria's GDP will reach $395 billion, with Egypt's GDP reaching $358 billion.

South Africa, the continent's most industrialised nation, is expected to maintain the top spot as Africa's biggest economy for only one year. In 2025, the country will again lag behind Nigeria and fall to third place behind Egypt a year later. This is according to the IMF's World Economic Outlook, a report released last week.…

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President Ruto scouts for public-private partnership deals on China tour
  • President William Ruto who is attending the third Belt and Road Forum in Beijing is urging Chinese investors to target energy, water and housing sectors in Kenya.
  • He said Kenya will support investors who will add value to the country’s abundant raw materials.
  • The President witnessed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum and Energy China.

Kenya is seeking more investments from China amid a slow return to borrowing for development, which could see the East Asian country continue with its dominance in Kenya’s infrastructure space.

President William Ruto, who is attending the third Belt and Road Forum in Beijing, has urged Chinese investors to exploit opportunities in the fields of energy, water and housing in Kenya. He said Kenya will support investors who will add value to the country’s abundant raw materials.

“Kenya presents real opportunities for investment especially in transformative areas …

Kenya

Nairobi will continue purchasing fuel on credit from three state-owned Gulf oil marketers until December 2024 in a plan the government is banking on to ease piling pressure on Kenya’s forex reserves.
The move comes in the wake of high expenditure on oil imports even as Kenya remains a net importer grappling with a widening trade deficit that hit $10.8 billion last year. Last year, Kenya’s expenditure on imports rose by 17.5 per cent to $16.9 billion (KSh2.5 trillion), despite growing export volumes.…

Climate Funding

A considerable gap exists between symbol and substance regarding an African climate change approach. Foreign leaders often nod to how Africa accounts for only four per cent of global emissions but bears the brunt of the devastating climate change effects. Rising temperatures, extreme weather conditions, and ecosystem disruptions threaten millions of Africans’ livelihoods.

For many communities across the continent, the climate threat is already existential. With 18 per cent of the global population, Africa has 16 of the 20 countries most vulnerable to climate change, according to Notre Dame Global Adaptation Initiative.…

In its latest bid to stabilize the long-volatile Zimbabwean dollar, the Reserve Bank has alighted on a novel solution to Zimbabwe’s currency woes by rolling out gold-backed digital tokens (GBDT) on May 12, 2023. www.theexchange.africa
  • RBZ Governor John Mangudya revealed that as of July 21st, the bank had conducted 11 issuances of GBDT.
  • The Governor noted that the bank received 590 applications to purchase tokens equivalent to 325.02Kg of gold.
  • In 2022, as the international economic environment worsened, Zimbabwe turned to gold coins were introduced to tame runaway inflation.

Zimbabwe’s struggles with hyperinflation has since been making headlines for decades. In 2009, inflation was so devastating that the country issued a new Zimbabwean dollar (ZWL), shedding twelve zeros from the earlier currency (ZWD).

By November 2022, the annual consumer price inflation for a compressed basket of goods was at 107 per cent in the country and in June, inflation rose to 175.8 per cent following devaluations of the local currency.

According to the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) mid-term monetary policy statement, inflation increased to 86.5 per cent and 175.8 per cent in May and…

Empowering SMEs: AfCFTA Unleashes Boundless Opportunities

The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) has presented a distinctive opportunity to bolster economic growth, alleviate poverty, and decrease Africa's reliance on volatile commodity cycles. According to a World Bank report from 2020, the AfCFTA can increase the continent's income by 7 per cent by 2035 and elevate around 40 million individuals out of extreme poverty. This positive impact is primarily attributed to the stimulation of intraregional trade, termed the "AfCFTA trade scenario" for this analysis.…

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resilience and sustainability
  • IMF is attributing Sub-Saharan Africa’s growth slowdown to the ongoing rise of central bank policy rates aimed at tackling inflation.
  • However, the IMF expects a rebound to 4.1 per cent in 2024 on easing monetary tightening.
  • The IMF projects Kenya’s economic prospects to improve to 5.4 per cent growth in 2024.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has downgraded its projection for Sub-Saharan Africa GDP growth in 2023 to 3.5 per cent, from 3.9 per cent set in April.

However, the IMF expects the region’s economy to rebound to 4.1 per cent growth in 2024. This revision represents a 100 basis points downgrade for both years.

A steady rise of central bank policy rates aimed at tackling inflation are to blame for the slowdown, IMF said. IMF is hopeful that a rebound in 2024 will be driven by the expected global economic recovery, subsiding inflation, and easing of monetary policy tightening.…