The Nation Newspaper

Tag: AfDB

  • AfDB seeks $400b to reduce Nigeria’s, others’ food import bill

    AfDB seeks $400b to reduce Nigeria’s, others’ food import bill

    Africa Development Bank(AfDB) is seeking $400 billion over the next 10 years for an intiative known as Africa Feeding Africa to reduce food importation in Nigeria  and the rest of Africa.

    Currently,Africa spends $35.4 billion annually on food imports. Out of this, Nigeria spends $12billion on food imports.

    Addressing over 200 research and development experts at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture(IITA), Ibadan, Oyo State, the Director, Agriculture and Agro Industry Department, AfDB, Dr Chiji Ojukwu,warned that the continent’s import bill could hit $40 billion yearly if nothing is done to arrest it. Consequently, he said the bank,working with International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA) designed the programme also known as Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation (TAAT)), targeted at eliminating extreme poverty, hunger, nutrition, achieve food sufficiency and turn the continent into a net food exporter.

    The plan is to spend $40billion yearly to build the critical value chains to achieve rapid agricultural transformation across Africa and raise productivity.

  • AfDB boosts African housing with $8.2m

    Shelter Afrique, a Pan-African finance institution supporting the development of the housing and real estate sector in Africa has received a $8.2 million injection of equity by the African Development Bank (AfDB).

    In a statement by the AfDB, the injection is meant to strengthen its balance sheet and help achieve its objective of providing quality affordable housing in Africa.

    “Africa’s economic landscape remains positive with promising scope for growth; Gross Domestic Product remains robust supported by multiple factors. The continent’s growing population, a growing middle class and the fastest urbanisation rate in the world are some of the factors driving increased demand for affordable houses and housing finance,” AfDB noted.

    The Managing Director, Shelter Afrique, Mr. James Mugerwa, said the equity increase is a testimony to the confidence reposed by AfDB in his firm. “The African Development Bank has sent strong signals about the seriousness of housing on the continent, and by extension, the seriousness of what we do here at Shelter Afrique. It is a welcome development but we see it as a challenge as well. This equity increase means the AfDB wants to see more, they want to see impact and scale and that is what we will be aiming for this year; impact,” Mugerwa said.

  • AfDB okays $8.2m equity participation to boost housing

    AfDB okays $8.2m equity participation to boost housing

    The  African Development Bank (AfDB) at the weekend, approved  $8.2million equity investment in Africa’s housing and habitat company, Shelter Afrique, to strengthen its balance sheet and help it achieve its objective of providing quality affordable housing in Africa.

    This marks an important step towards addressing the acute shortage of housing in most African countries, while creating jobs and enhancing income in Africa.

    Africa’s economic landscape remains positive with promising scope for growth; Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth remains robust supported by multiple factors. The continent’s growing population, a growing middle class and the fastest urbanisation rate in the world are some of the factors driving increased demand for affordable houses and housing finance.

    The construction sector in Africa is growing at 20 per cent per annum, but this cannot sufficiently address the rising demand for housing due to various technical and physical constraints including: lack of accessible and well-priced housing finance; complex land tenure systems; high costs of land registration and titling cumbersome registration processes; and  availability of reputable developer with sufficient capacity.

    Shelter Afrique is the only pan-African organisation devoted to financing the development of proper housing and human settlements in Africa. Created in 1982 and headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya, Shelter Afrique is a pan-African housing finance and development institution that helps to address the acute shortage of housing by providing financial and technical resources for sustainable housing and urban development. Shelter Afrique’s current shareholding comprises 44 African countries, the AfDB and Africa Re. AfDB played a key role in the establishment of Shelter Afrique as the vehicle for supporting sustainable housing and urban development in Africa.

    The AfDB’s equity participation is part of an ongoing capital increase by Shelter Afrique’s shareholders.  It will support Shelter Afrique to implement its revamped Strategic Plan which is focused on modeling Shelter Afrique as a pan-African DFI with the capacity to respond to the growing demand for affordable housing and related infrastructure services. It will further enhance its capital base and help solve Africa’s housing finance challenges. Through this contribution, AfDB would leverage on Shelter Afrique’s technical capabilities, field presence and local knowledge of the regional housing market and help alleviate some of the structural financing inefficiencies encumbering Africa’s real estate growth.

    The investment will enhance inclusive growth and private sector development through the much needed boost to the availability of affordable housing in Africa.

    This investment is well aligned to AfDB’s 10-Year Strategy(2013-2022), as well as one of the Bank’s High five-strategic priorities of improving the living conditions of Africans.

  • Nigeria requests for $1b AfDB loan to fund budget

    Nigeria requests for $1b AfDB loan to fund budget

    Nigeria has asked the African Development Bank for a $1 billion loan to help fund an increased budget deficit, the bank said on Tuesday.

    The bank said it was considering the loan to Nigeria where the drop in crude prices has hit growth and that an appraisal mission would visit soon to work with authorities, Reuters reported.

    The government is planning to borrow as much as $5 billion to help fund a deficit due to the slump in global oil prices, which have also sent the country’s currency into a tailspin.

    The Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun, said this week Nigeria had held exploratory talks with the World Bank and looked at options to borrow from the AFDB and China Exim Bank.

    Earlier this month, she said that about $4 billion might come from international institutions and the remainder from eurobonds.

    Nigeria expects a budget deficit of 3 trillion naira ($15 billion) in 2016, up from an initial 2.2 trillion naira ($11 billion) estimate.

  • AfDB visits Nigeria

    The African Development Bank (AfDB) at the weekend, conducted a high-level mission to Nigeria to engage in policy dialogue with the Federal Government of Nigeria in order to ascertain its key development priorities.

    Recent economic challenges and headwinds have created an opportunity to address current and emerging development priorities and improve the business climate towards a stronger economy.

    The team of Department Directors led by Charles Boamah, Acting First Vice-President and Vice-President, Finance, held discussions with Nigeria’s Vice-President, Yemi Osinbajo, who acknowledged that the AfDB mission was a timely intervention, coming at a time when planning and execution of key projects was on the forefront of the administration’s agenda.

    Speaking on policy reforms and the Administration’s vision for a better Nigeria, Vice-President Osinbajo said that “The true wealth of Nigeria lies not in oil, but the character of the Nigerian. We will focus on building infrastructure to boost the enterprising nature of the Nigerian.”

    Boamah agreed with the timeliness of the mission, adding that the Bank was also in the process of conducting a review of its 2013–2017 Country Strategy Paper. He assured the Vice-President that the AfDB team was in Nigeria to listen and support the Government in implementing the identified economic growth and social development priorities.

  • AfDB launches “High-Fives” App

    AfDB launches “High-Fives” App

    The African Development Bank (AfDB) has lunched a the five priority areas that the bank will focus on to advance Africa’s transformative agenda over the next 10 years.

    Its President, Akinwumi Adesina, said these areas are to Light up and power Africa, Feed Africa, Integrate Africa, Industrialize Africa, and Improve the quality of life for the people of Africa.

    These five areas, which are in line with the Bank’s Ten Year Strategy, have been termed the “High-Fives,” serving as a blueprint for African countries to embark on a course of sustainable transformation.

    Against the backdrop of this ten-year transformative agenda, the Bank’s Statistics Department has developed several innovative tools, as part of its Africa Information Highway (AIH) initiative, which will enable the Bank to monitor and disseminate information/data on the performance of African countries in the High Fives priority areas.

    One such tool is the High-Fives application, which can be accessed on the Bank’s AIH Open Data Platform. The application is specifically focused on tracking progress of individual African countries in these five priority areas, thereby creating opportunities for any necessary and timely corrective action. Through the High-Fives application, users can access a wide range of priority-area development data compiled from multiple international and national official sources. They will also be able to perform visual data comparison across time and countries.

    “What makes the application unique is its ability to provide the Bank with the facility to easily track comparative progress for different indicators coming under the High-Fives at national and sub-regional levels from their mobile devices,” said Charles Lufumpa, Director of the Bank’s Statistics Department.

  • AfDB, Fed Govt in $300m loan deal

    The African Development Bank (AfDB) and the Federal Government of Nigeria are planning for long-term solutions to youth employment in the agricultural sector. They will spend about US $300 million on the Enable Youth Empowerment Agribusiness Programme.

    The project is to be implemented in partnership (AfDB with Nigeria’s Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development) within 18 months. “AfDB’s Director of Agriculture and Agroindustry, Chiji Ojukwu disclosed this information, recently in a top level meeting with Nigeria’s agricultural authorities, in Abuja”, The Nation reported.

    The scope and impact of this initiative would create 250,000 jobs; the beneficiaries would be trained at various incubation centres on all aspects of value chains, with each beneficiary of the project supported with about US $75,000.

    Ojukwu said the three-year project would enable training and funding of young graduates, who are interested in farming across the country. “A total of US $300 million would be accessed to cover the three year project which would bring young graduates together and train them for 18 months as entrepreneur farmers.”

    In a statement by the ministry’s Director of Information, Tony Ohaeri, the Agriculture Minister, Chief Audu Ogbeh disclosed that the project would commence from the three Federal Universities of Agriculture in the country.

    “The initiative would create 250,000 jobs; the beneficiaries would be trained at various incubation centres on all aspects of value chains, with each beneficiary of the project supported with about US $75,000. The project would cover the 36 states including the FCT, while the Agricultural transformation Agenda (ATA) would be expanded through the processing zones.”

    The Minister, in his remark, emphasized the need for the three universities of agriculture in Umudike, Makurdi and Abeokuta respectively to revert back to the provisions of the Act that established them.

    Ogbeh advised the country to re-invent her own economic strategy to revive its economy. He stated that the strength of a nation lies in the population of the youth and expressed concern on the rate of youth unemployment in the country saying, “We need to take care of them before they take care of us.”

    He promised to collaborate with representatives of AfDB and International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), who came to present him the concept note on the youth agriculture scheme.

    However, the Minister tasked IITA to intensify efforts towards researching into the conversion of cassava leaves into animal feeds, while some components of the Labour Intensive Family Enterprise (LIFE) of the ministry could be built into the youth empowerment initiative.

    IITA Director-General, Nterayana Saginga, called for a change in the mindset of the young graduates, saying that the IITA’s experiment in the past on young unemployed graduates revealed that they could make good turn over on their investments. He pledged the readiness of IITA to provide necessary support to the ministry.

  • AfDB, Fed Govt to spend $300m on agric

    The African Development Bank (AfDB), said it would spend about $300 million on the ‘Enable Youth Empowerment Agribusiness Programme.

    The project is to be implemented in partnership with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development within 18 months.

    The bank’s Director, Agricultural and Agro- Allied Industries, Dr. Chudi Ojukwu, said the three-year project would enable training and funding of young graduates, who are interested in farming across the country.

    The programme is expected to encourage youths into agriculture, thereby increasing food sufficiency, reducing unemployment with each recipient to benefit to the tune $75, 000.

    In a statement yesterday, the Agriculture Minister, Chief Audu Ogbeh,  said the project would commence from the three Federal Universities of Agriculture in the country. According to the release by the Director of Information, Tony Ohaeri, Dgbe said “a total of $300 million would be accessed to cover the three year project which would bring young graduates together and train them for 18 months as entrepreneur farmers.

    “The initiative would create 250,000 jobs; the beneficiaries would be trained at various incubation centres on all aspects of value chains, with each beneficiary  supported with about $75,000. The project would cover the 36 states including the FCT, while the Agricultural Aransformation Agenda (ATA) would be expanded through the processing zones.”

    The Minister emphasised the need for the three Universities of Agriculture in Umudike, Makurdi and Abeokuta respectively to revert back to the provisions of the Act that established them.

    Ogbeh advised the country to re- invent her own economic strategy to revive its economy.

    He stated that the strength of a nation lies in the population of the youth and expressed concern on the rate of youth unemployment in the country saying, “We need to take care of them before they take care of us”.

    He promised to collaborate with representatives of AfDB and International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), who came to present him the concept note on the youth agriculture scheme.

    However, the Minister tasked IITA to intensify efforts towards researching into the conversion of cassava leaves into animal feeds, while some components of the Labour Intensive Family Enterprise (LIFE) of the ministry could be built into the youth empowerment initiative.

    IITA Director-General, Dr. Nterayana Saginga, called for a change in the mindset of the young graduates, saying that the IITA’s experiment in the past on young unemployed graduates revealed that they could make good turn over on their investments.

    He pledged the readiness of IITA to provide necessary support to the ministry.

     

  • AfDB, FG to spend $300m on youth agric scheme 

    AfDB, FG to spend $300m on youth agric scheme 

    The African Development Bank (AfDB) has disclosed plans to spend about $300 million on the Enable Youth Empowerment Agribusiness Programme.

    The project is to be implemented in partnership with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development within 18 months.

    AfDB Director of Agricultural and Agro- Allied Industries, Dr. Chudi Ojukwu, said the three-year project would enable training and funding of young graduates, who are interested in farming across the country.

    The programme is expected to encourage youths into agriculture, thereby increasing food sufficiency, reducing unemployment with each recipient to benefit $75, 000.

    In a statement by the ministry’s Director of Information, Tony Ohaeri, Wednesday in Abuja the Agriculture Minister, Chief Audu Ogbeh disclosed that the project would commence from the three Federal Universities of Agriculture in the country.

    Ojukwu stated that, “a total of US$300 million would be accessed to cover the three year project which would bring young graduates together and train them for 18 months as entrepreneur farmers.

    “The initiative would create 250,000 jobs; the beneficiaries would be trained at various incubation centres on all aspects of value chains, with each beneficiary of the project supported with about US$75,000. The project would cover the 36 states including the FCT, while the Agricultural transformation Agenda (ATA) would be expanded through the processing zones.”

    The Minister, in his remark, emphasized need for the three universities of agriculture in Umudike, Makurdi and Abeokuta respectively to revert back to the provisions of the Act that established them.

    Ogbeh advised the country to re- invent her own economic strategy to revive its economy.

    He stated that the strength of a nation lies in the population of the youth and expressed concern on the rate of youth unemployment in the country saying, “We need to take care of them before they take care of us.”

    He promised to collaborate with representatives of AfDB and International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), who came to present him the concept note on the youth agriculture scheme.

    However, the Minister tasked IITA to intensify efforts towards researching into the conversion of cassava leaves into animal feeds, while some components of the Labour Intensive Family Enterprise (LIFE) of the ministry could be built into the youth empowerment initiative.

    IITA Director-General, Dr. Nterayana Saginga, called for a change in the mindset of the young graduates, saying that the IITA’s experiment in the past on young unemployed graduates revealed that they could make good turn over on their investments.

    He pledged the readiness of IITA to provide necessary support to the ministry.

  • AfDB calls for stronger anti-corruption measures in Africa

    AfDB calls for stronger anti-corruption measures in Africa

    President, African Development Bank (AfDB) Akinwumi Adesina has called for stronger anti-corruption measures on the continent.

    He  spoke at the bank’s headquarters in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire in commemoration of International Anti-Corruption Day, which had as  theme Break the corruption chain.

    He said Africa loses $148 billion to corruption yearly, adding: ‘’Just think of how many continents you could light up with that amount.”

    Adesina noted that it would cost $55 billion a year to light up and power Africa, and that this money was available given the continent’s $82 trillion in undiscovered resources. But, because of corruption, the continent still lives in darkness.

    “The cost of corruption is massive; it turns the whole continent into darkness. Because of corruption, Africa is known more for its darkness than light. It is important to understand the negative impact of corruption on the continent,” Adesina said.

    The bank’s chief pointed out that tens of millions of Africans still study without proper light, 700 million Africans are without access to clean cooking energy, and 600,000 people – 50 per cent of them women – die every year due to a lack of access to clean cooking energy. “That is an indication of government failure,” he said.

    Adesina called for strengthening of institutions to address corruption and he warned that stern measures must be taken: “If there is no consequence for bad behaviour, bad behaviour will continue on and on.”

    Whistle-blowing policies were cited as an important measure in combating corruption, while at the same time guaranteeing protection for whistle blowers.

    According to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, protection of whistle-blowers from retaliation for reporting suspected corruption activities is integral to efforts to fight corruption, enhance accountability, safeguard integrity, and promote a clean business environment.

    Taking action against corruption is believed to be crucial in achieving the new Sustainable Development Goals, which aims to end poverty, the body said.