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Tag: AfDB

  • AfDB okays $151m for Ugandan toll road

    Uganda will expand a major road linking its capital Kampala with Rwanda after signing a deal for a $151 million (Sh 15.4 billion) loan from the African Development Bank (AfDB).

    The 40-year loan will partly finance a new 23 km, 4-lane toll road to help de-congest traffic on an existing road, the finance ministry and AfDB said, adding the government would fund the remainder of the $192 million (Sh19.6 billion) project. In recent years East African countries have been investing heavily in transportation infrastructure to help boost trade. A significant chunk of that investment has been directed toward upgrading sections of what is known as East Africa’s northern corridor, a transport artery that loops in Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, stretching eastward to the Kenyan sea port of Mombasa.

  • Report: how AfDB is helping transform agric

    Report: how AfDB is helping transform agric

    The African Development Bank (AfDB) has deployed $5.5 billion in investments in the agriculture sector over five years to 2015, the new Development Effectiveness Review on Agriculture, has shown.

    According to the review,  the bank trained three million people on better farming practices, put 20,000 food marketing and storage into use, constructed four thousand kilometres of feeder roads, offered 150,000 microcredit loans, irrigated and built other water systems on 181,000 hectares of farmland.

    “The Development Effectiveness Review is mission accomplished, as the AfDB sets out an even more ambitious agenda in its Feed Africa strategy to end hunger and extreme poverty by 2025”, said Simon Mizrahi, Director of Quality Assurance and Results Department that authored the Development Effectiveness Review on Agriculture.

    The Review details the progress and the pitfalls to date in transforming Africa’s agriculture sector, and lays out what steps must be taken to catapult Africa into becoming a global agricultural powerhouse in the next decade.

    In recent years, agriculture has zoomed to the top of Africa’s policy agenda, with African countries pledging to eradicate hunger and halve post-harvest losses in under a decade.

    It has become increasingly clear that “investing in agriculture is the best way to end hunger, malnutrition, and extreme poverty in Africa,” the development report states.

    Given that seven out of 10 Africans earn a living from the land, agriculture can create economic growth spread more evenly across society, and extending deeper into rural areas, and helping more women, who make up 70 percent of farmers.

  • AfDB okays Africa Renewable Energy Initiative

    AfDB okays Africa Renewable Energy Initiative

    The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank (AfDB) has endorsed the proposal by the bank’s management to serve as Trustee to administer and manage the resources of Africa Renewable Energy Initiative (AREI), and also to host the AREI Independent Delivery Unit as requested by African Heads of State and Government.

    A statement from the bank said AREI is an Africa-owned and Africa-led initiative of the African Union. It aims at harnessing Africa’s abundant renewable energy resources to help achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, enhanced well-being, and sound economic development by ensuring universal access to sufficient amounts of clean, appropriate and affordable energy; as well as help African countries leapfrog towards renewable energy systems that support their low-carbon development strategies while enhancing economic and energy security. In so doing the Initiative will ensure access to energy while addressing climate change. It is indeed Africa’s bold effort at transitioning to green growth.

    AREI was launched at COP21 in Paris in December 2015 and is receiving strong international support from development partners who have committed to mobilising at least $10 billion cumulatively between 2015 and now to harness Africa’s renewable energy potential and expand energy access across the continent.

    AREI will have a governance arrangement consisting of a Board of Directors, a Technical Committee, an Independent Delivery Unit and a Trustee who shall serve as the Host of the Independent Delivery Unit. The Bank is grateful to France and Germany who have already committed Euro 6 million and Euro 2 million respectively to supporting the Independent Delivery Unit.

    The Bank will consequently host AREI as an Open Access Global Fund within the Bank’s Power, Energy, Climate Change and Green Growth Complex. As an Open Access Global Fund, accredited Implementing Agencies operating in Africa will be able to access the Fund. It will be functionally independent from the Trustee’s decision-making structures.

    The Bank’s New Deal on Energy for Africa is a partnership-driven effort. AREI will be a strong partner in ensuring that Africa achieves universal access to energy and that the share of renewables in Africa’s energy mix is significantly ramped up.

  • Donors pledge $7.06b to AfDB

    Donors pledge $7.06b to AfDB

    A global coalition of donors have pledged to support the structural transformation the African Development Bank (AfDB’s) High Five priorities. They have agreed to mobilise $7.06 billion over the next three years to support the bank.

    The funds will support development projects and programmes in the 38 lower income African countries supported by the African Development Fund (ADF).

    AfDB Group President, Dr Akinwumi Adeshina said: “We are appreciative of the support of the donors of the ADF, especially in the difficult global economic environment. I also appreciate the strong support of our donors for the vision, direction and ongoing reforms of the Bank Group to deliver greater developmental impacts for Africa. The ADF will continue to play a significant role to build resilience for the economies of low income countries in Africa, especially those experiencing conditions of fragility or vulnerability.”

    The Fund will shift more resources to support the private sector in the region, even as it helps countries dealing with fragility to address their most pressing developmental challenges. The increased resources devoted to these countries reflect their strong need for concessional funding.

  • Agric to get AfDB’s $800m

    Agric to get AfDB’s $800m

    The President, African Development Bank (AfDB), Dr. Akinwumi Adesina said plans are underway to launch $800 million scheme to support the agriculture sector.

    Adesina said the initiative called the Technology For African Agriculture Transformation (TAAT) was part of efforts designed to encourage technological innovation in the sector.

    The AfDB president spoke during the opening of the African Economic Conference (ACE) organised by the bank in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), yesterday in Abuja.

    He said when the scheme is implemented, it would reach 40 million farmers in one year.

    He added that another $24 billion  would be used to support Nigeria’s agric sector to fight hunger and post harvest loses.

    He said: “To take new agricultural technologies to scale, we are launching $800m initiative known as TAAT. It has a goal of reaching over 40 million farmers in 10 years. We must equally reduce the food system losses along the value-chain from the farm, transport, storage, processing and marketing.”

    Meanwhile,  the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh has denied claims that the nation would face famine by 2017.

    The minister said the Federal Government already mapped out plans to support dry-season farming that would discourage the presumed food shortage.

    He noted that about 10 dams would be constructed in states to support farm irrigation system.

    He said the country has 33 silo sites with capacity to store about 2 million tons of grains so Nigerians should not panic.

  • AfDB tackles illicit financial flow

    The African Development Bank (AfDB) is blocking the channels of Illicit Financial Flows (IFFs) on the continent, its Vice-President Alberic Kacou has said.

    Speaking at an event, he said: “For the African Development Bank, illicit financial flows are a matter of major concern, because they divert resources away from priority sectors, such as energy and power, agriculture, infrastructure, health, and education.’’

    The AfDB also reviewed the bank’s Group Strategic Framework and Action Plan on the Prevention of Illicit Financial Flows in Africa (2016 to 2020) to ensure it addresses the priorities of the continent in the fight against IFFs.

    The bank also engaged participants on some of its findings on illicit finances contained in a forthcoming report of the Bank’s African Natural Resource Center, on Illicit Trade in the natural resources sector.

    “The illicit trade in Africa’s natural resources costs the continent billions of dollars and deprives African economies of millions of jobs every year. It is particularly damaging as it steals from the people of Africa the benefits that are supposed to arise out of natural resources management, and in essence robs entire countries of their wealth,” said ARNC Director Sheila Khama.

    Participants also discussed a study on IFFs in West Africa, the bank conducted with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the Inter-Governmental Action Group against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA), the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) and the World Bank.

  • AfDB eyes 25m jobs from transformation

    African Development Bank (AfDB) is seeking  economic transformation of the continent  with its “Jobs for Youth Initiative” expected to create 25 million jobs by 2025. Among other things, the initiative puts special emphasis on the agric sector. Through its Jobs for Africa’s Youth Initiative, the lender will support digital literacy, logical thinking and computational skills in secondary and primary schools and support coding academies that will drive advanced computational skills for employment.  Through the co-development model, AfDB will work in partnership the European Investment Bank and private equity funds to help boost businesses of young people by leveraging $5 billion to support the businesses of young entrepreneurs.

    Its Chief Economist and Vice-President, Celestin Monga,  at the fifth KOAFEC Ministerial Conference in Seoul, South Korea, said   the bank recognised the potential of Africa to become a global powerhouse in food and agribusiness, lifting millions out of poverty. For this potential to be realised, the continent has to undergo an agricultural revolution.

  • Ecobank gets AfDB trade finance support

    The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank (AfDB) has approved a $310 million trade finance loan for Ecobank Transnational Incorporated, parent company of the Ecobank Group.

    In a statement, AfDB said that the facility will provide critical trade finance funding to support economies in which Ecobank is present, primarily through support to SMEs and local companies involved in import-export activity.

    The intervention comes at a time of falling commodity prices, which have caused shortages in foreign exchange supply and led to unmet demand for trade finance instruments to support ongoing structural changes in the respective economies in Sub Saharan Africa.

    “The project will help address critical market demand for trade finance and dollar liquidity by supporting vital economic sectors such as agri-business, chemicals, construction, engineering, food processing, manufacturing and non-traditional exports,” the AfDB said.

    “It will enhance support to local enterprises in Sub Saharan Africa, whose trading activities are being constrained by shortages in dollar funding. When fully utilised, including roll-overs, the interventions are expected to facilitate circa $2 billion of trade over a three and a half-year period,” the bank added.

    Ecobank Transnational Incorporated is registered and headquartered in Lomé, Togo, as a pan-African bank holding company. It has presence in 36 African countries, and has representative offices in Beijing, Dubai, Paris and London. ETI’s shares are listed on the Ghana Stock Exchange, the Nigeria Stock Exchange and the Bourse Régionale des Valeurs Mobilières (BRVM) serving countries of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA).

  • AfDB approves $1bn loan for Nigeria

    AfDB approves $1bn loan for Nigeria

    The African Development Bank (AfDB) has approved $1 billion loan towards meeting the deficits in Nigeria’s 2016 Budget, believed to partly responsible for the country’s economic crisis.

    The loan is provided at 1.2 percent interest rate.

    AfDB President, Dr. Akinwunmi Adesina, disclosed these to State House correspondents on Monday after meeting with Vice President and other members of the Economic Management Team (EMT) at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

    Stressing that Nigeria is the largest shareholder of the bank, Akinwunmi said the bank is in Nigeria to offer its strong support to the country as it faces tough time.

    He said: ” African Development Bank (AfDB), we have a very strong delegation team to meet Vice President and the economic management team. The bank’s largest shareholder is Nigeria. It is very important for me to be here and to talk to the Nigerian government about the challenges and opportunities that are in Nigeria.

    “I think the times are difficult and there is no doubt about that. But I want to commend the government for being bold in taking the right decisions. I think that the fact that the price of crude oil has gone down, is a big challenge because you have 98 per cent external forex revenue coming from the sector.

    “So it has created calibrations, I’m not going to go into the details of all the problems but what is important is what we are going to do about it.

    “I’m not here to lecture the Nigerian government. I’m here to support very strongly. We have said that we are going to support the Nigerian government with the budget support to be able to deal with some of fiscal imbalance that they have. We are looking to consider for an award of $1 billion to help to deal with that particular deficit.”

  • AfDB president visits Nigeria next week

    AfDB president visits Nigeria next week

    African Development Bank (AfDB) President,  Akinwumi Adesina, will visit Nigeria from September 26 to 28, 2016, on his first official visit to the country since his appointment last year.

    A statement from the AfDB in Abuja said Adesina will meet policy-makers, the private sector and development partners to discuss the challenges facing Nigeria and highlight the AfDB’s  commitment to further strengthen its partnership with Nigeria.

    The statement quoted Adesina as saying: “I am very much looking forward to my first official visit to Nigeria as President of the AfDB. Nigeria is a vital shareholder and partner for the bank. The Nigerian economy is in a critical phase, and in these difficult times, we have to make sure we all work together to tackle the challenges facing

    Africa’s largest economy.” Adesina’s  visit aims to  advance cooperation across a wide range of areas, including how best Nigeria can respond to its current challenges.

    In Abuja, he will hold a series of meetings with the leadership of Nigeria, including President MuhammaduBuhari, Minister of Finance Kemi Adeosun, and Central Bank Governor Godwin Emefiele.

    The AfDB President will take part in a roundtable discussion with philanthropic leaders and hold discussions with the private sector, as well as development partners. Adesina will also receive an award by the Nigerian Economic Society.

    The AfDB has a robust partnership with Nigeria, which is one of the bank’s founders. Nigeria, the biggest shareholder, is also one of the largest beneficiaries of AfDB’s assistance. In 2016, the bank has so far lent US $524,969 million to Nigeria. As of September 2016, the bank has invested about US $7 billion in the Nigerian economy since it began its operations in the country in 1967.

    The AfDB in the statement said “it is working closely with the Nigerian government to support its various sectors, including agriculture, infrastructure, energy, transport, water and sanitation.”