Browsing: Sub-Saharan Africa

• Experts warn South Africa’s growth is too low to create enough jobs to absorb new workers entering the labor market.
• The country’s fiscal position is projected to deteriorate due to weakening mineral revenue. Utility Eskom’s debt bailout, wage bill, and rising debt pile more pressure.
• As a result, public debt is not expected to stabilise. And headline inflation will return to the midpoint of the target range by end 2024.

South Africa’s real GDP growth is projected at 0.1 percent in 2023, reflecting a significant increase in the intensity of power outages, and weaker commodity prices and external environment.

According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), annual growth is expected at about 1.5 per cent over the medium term. The country is under vice-like grip of long-standing structural impediments.

South Africa’s power outage woes

For instance, South Africa is struggling with product and labor market rigidities. It …

• Ghana, a top gold and cocoa exporter rich in oil and gas deposits, is struggling with a $55 billion debt burden.
• About 70 percent to 100 percent of the government revenue currently goes toward servicing the country’s debt.
• It is estimated that Ghana’s debt-to-GDP will reach 98.7 percent by the end of 2023.

Crisis-saddled Ghana is seeing about $15 billion in external debt relief by 2026, the International Monetary Fund has said even as the country pursues debt restructuring plan with investors. In December 2022, Ghana suspended payments on most of its foreign debts effectively defaulting as policymakers started restructuring plans as part of a bailout deal with the IMF.

Initial plan was an agreement to suspend service payments of its Eurobonds, commercial loans and most bilateral loans. Further, as an interim emergency measure, the government moved to engage its external creditors in what it thought was best in making …

• Competition for workers is rising significantly as populations age in rich and middle-income countries.
• In Sub-Saharan Africa, the Caribbean, and the Pacific, people with tertiary education are 30 times more likely to emigrate than those who are less educated.
• This migration can aggravate a shortage of skilled workers to provide essential services such as health care. And since governments cannot prevent people from leaving, they need to expand the training capacity for such skills, experts say.

Populations across the globe are aging at an unprecedented pace, turning many countries increasingly reliant on migration to realize their long-term growth potential, according to a new report from the World Bank.

The World Development Report 2023: Migrants, Refugees, and Societies, identifies this trend as a unique opportunity to make migration work better for economies and people.

Wealthy countries, as well as a growing number of middle-income countries—traditionally among the main sources of …

• Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) data shows remittance inflows in March hit $357.0 million compared to $309.2 million in February, an increase of 15.5 percent.
• Kenyans living and working abroad sent home $349.4 million in January, with the February figure being the lowest receipt since July last year. 
• The cumulative inflows for the 12 months to March 2023 totaled $4 billion compared to $3.9 billion in a similar period in 2022.

Kenyans in the diaspora sent home more money in the month of March compared to February and January, defying inflationary pressures being felt by households across the globe.

Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) data shows remittance inflows in March totaled $357.0 million compared to $309.2 million in February, an increase of 15.5 percent.

The inflows were $349.4 million in January, with the February figure being the lowest receipt since July last year.

The cumulative inflows for the 12 months …

• The World Bank data shows remittances by Africans in the diaspora hit over $95.6 billion in 2021 with Nigeria, Ghana, and Kenya among the highest recipients of the inflows.
• Africa has a housing deficit of about 56 million units driven largely by urbanization and population growth, which has left governments struggling to meet the demand for affordable units.
• Many of the 40,000 people moving to African cities every day cannot afford basic formal housing or access loans to acquire homes.

Pan African housing development financier, Shelter Afrique, is targeting Africans living and working abroad to enhance the delivery of affordable housing agenda across the continent.

Shelter Afrique managing director Thierno-Habib Hann said over 170 million people of African descent that live and work in various countries across the world present a formidable resource pool for the continent’s infrastructure development, including housing.

“African diaspora populations are growing, as are their savings …

• The World Bank projects Sub-Saharan Africa’s economic growth will dip to 3.1 per cent in 2023.
• Weakening growth is attributable to multiple crises including debt burden, high inflation, and slowing global economic activity this year.
• Policymakers across Sub Sahara Africa, however, remain hopeful of navigating the impact of global economic disruptions key among them the Russia-Ukraine war that has constrained food imports

A huge debt portfolio, high inflation and slowing economic activity across the globe are set to see Sub-Saharan Africa’s economic growth dip further to 3.1 per cent this year from 3.6 per cent posted in 2022.

The projection by the World Bank comes even as policymakers across Sub Sahara Africa remain hopeful of navigating the impact of global economic disruptions key among them the Russia-Ukraine war that is constraining food imports coupled with high fuel prices which is worsening inflation.

The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund …

• Index shows that 90% of Kenya’s consumers who receive money transfers want integrated mobile ‘super apps’ so they can manage remittances with other financial needs.
• Kenya’s receivers want choice in digital and in-person remittance platforms as they look to the future.
• Kenya is a leader when it comes to financial innovation especially in the world of mobile money.

Kenya’s consumers are calling for greater innovation in international money transfer services so they can easily manage their personal finance needs.

According to Western Union’s inaugural Global Money Transfer Index, about 90 per cent of Kenya’s receivers want providers to offer remittance services in an integrated mobile ‘super app’, so they can efficiently manage collecting remittances with other commitments, such as paying for utilities.

The Global Money Transfer Index asks consumers how, when and why they use international money transfer capabilities today, as well as their expectations for tomorrow.

The results …

• 5G-related activities are picking up across the Sub-Saharan Africa region, including 5G spectrum auctions, 5G pilots and commercial trials
• The Mobile Economy Sub-Saharan Africa 2022 report reveals that the huge demand for connectivity in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic has led to a growing interest in the role of 5G in the connectivity landscape
• 2022 marks a turning point as 3G adoption begins to decline for the first time

A new report has revealed that 5G-related activities are picking up across the Sub-Saharan Africa region, including 5G spectrum auctions, 5G pilots and commercial trials, and efforts to develop locally relevant 5G use cases.

According to The Mobile Economy Sub-Saharan Africa, 2022 report, the huge demand for connectivity in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic has led to a growing interest in the role of 5G in the connectivity landscape.

For example, South Africa’s ICASA completed the spectrum auction for …