Browsing: World Bank

Climate finance by Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) for low-income and middle-income economies hit a new record of $60.7 billion in 2022. The amount was 46 per cent higher than the 2019 levels, a new joint report by the lenders shows.

In terms of usage, $38.0 billion, or 63 per cent, went into projects helping mitigate the rising threat of climate change. Another $22.7 billion, or 37 per cent, went into supporting climate change adaptation initiatives. Overall, the portfolio of private finance mobilised in the period stood at $16.9 billion, the report said.…

• 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 …

The latest Africa’s Pulse report by the World Bank presents a somber economic outlook for Sub-Saharan Africa. Escalating instability, lackluster growth within the region’s major economies, and persistent global economic uncertainties collectively overshadow the region’s economic resurgence prospects.

In its comprehensive analysis, the World Bank anticipates a slowdown in economic growth across Sub-Saharan Africa, with a projected rate of 2.5 per cent for 2023, compared to the 3.6 per cent recorded in 2022. This assessment underscores the multifaceted challenges currently facing the region’s economic landscape.…

• ECOWAS member states fed 22.4 million school-going children in 2022, up from 20 million learners in 2020.
• This represents 42% of the 53 million school children in Sub-Saharan Africa who were fed through school feeding programs last year.
• School feeding intervention, as it happens in Rwanda, can immensely boost agriculture, education, health and nutrition, and social protection sectors. 

The past two years have seen West African countries grapple with a number of crises driven by conflict, climate shocks, and a slow recovery from COVID-19 economic fallout worsened by the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war. 

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) member States are, however, defying these tough economic times, emerging as having fed the largest number of school-aged children in Africa.

According to The 2022 State of School Feeding Worldwide report, Ecowas member states fed 22.4 million school-going children in 2022. This was an increase from 20 million children fed …

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.…

The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is now widely touted as the African Union’s (AU) most audacious project. The framework ties together the most significant number of member countries of any trade agreement since the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in 1995.

The AfCFTA had become topical even before its formal launch. Members of the business community eagerly awaited the full implementation of the AfCFTA. But two years since its formal launch, how far has the AfCFTA ushered in the ‘new era’ of African integration it promised?…

• The World Bank Group has suspended new loans to Uganda in response to the country’s Anti-Homosexuality Act.
• Uganda’s anti-LGBTQ law, with its provisions carrying the death penalty for “aggravated homosexuality,” is sparking global concern.
• The World Bank provided $5.4 billion in International Development Association financing to Uganda by the end of 2022.

In a significant move, the World Bank announced on Tuesday its decision to suspend new lending to the Ugandan government. This decision comes in response to the Ugandan government’s enactment of an anti-LGBTQ law. The law is still garnering widespread condemnation from numerous countries and international organizations, including the United Nations. The bank’s stance is rooted in the belief that this law directly contradicts its core values and principles.

The World Bank’s social standards

Promptly after the anti-LGBTQ law was implemented in May, a World Bank team embarked on a fact-finding mission to Uganda. The team’s assessment concluded …

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.…

• Tanzania hosts World Bank Group Human Capital Project (HCP)
• President Samia announces national efforts to increase youth employment
• Africa suffers the lowest learning poverty in the world

It is now three years since the World Bank Group launched the Human Capital Project (HCP) in 2018, and Tanzania is making the best of the initiative.

Let’s first look at the World Bank Group’s intentions under the Human Capital Project (HCP) and then see how Tanzania intends to lead the rest of Africa in the implementation of the project. The HCP is a global effort to “accelerate more and better investments in people for greater equity and economic growth.”

The HCP is an initiative by the World Bank to help countries increase employment and employability of their workforce.

Since its launch in 2018, the initiative now has some 87 members. On July 25, Tanzania hosted the launch of the Africa Heads of …

• The World Bank plans to ease lending terms to increase liquidity.
• Increased disposal income will help reduce global poverty.
• Countries required to highlight financial inclusivity plans.

The World Bank is “taking bold new steps to increase its lending capacity”, a move that will likely trigger various implications for individuals, businesses, and economies across Africa.

In July, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen urged further reform of the World Bank and other multilateral development banks. Yellen said capital increases will be an option once these institutions make changes to increase their capacity to assist nations in addressing climate change and other issues.

At the same time, the World Bank President Ajay Banga stated, “We are moving quickly. While we are constructing a better bank, a larger bank will eventually be required.”

Increased lending by the world’s biggest lender will mean increased liquidity all around the world. What this means is that you …