The African Development Bank (AfDB) has approved a $1.5 billion loan to Egypt to be paid out over three years, International Cooperation Minister Sahar Nasr said on Tuesday.
The first $500 million of the loan will be disbursed immediately, said Nasr.
He said the loan would go toward the government’s economic development programme and national projects.
Chairman, National Oracle Magazine, Blessing Agbomhere has disclosed plan to award National Leader of the All Progressives Congress, Chief Bola Tinubu and Akinwumi Adesina current President of the African Development Bank (AfDB).
Agbomhere said during a briefing, Thursday in Abuja that the award was to recognize outstanding patriots who contributed immensely to development of the country.
According to the organizer, Tinubu made an indelible impact in the political history of Nigeria by transforming an opposition party to a ruling government.
He said, “Man of the year award is Bola Ahmed Tinubu. The award is to celebrate him because of the role he has played in bringing change to this country. He also seem to be the agent of change until today because he stood in the opposition and as opposition, he was able to
transform the opposition into a ruling party. For that, he deserves our honour.”
However, he urged the APC national leader to drive the change agenda to meet expectations of the people.
He stated that 28 other patriots would be awarded including the former Central Bank Governor, Sanusi Lamido and current Custom General of the Nigeria Customs Service, Hamid Ali for his anti-corruption campaign in the NCS.
The event would be organised in partnership with gatekeepers foundation, Nigerian Youth Movement for Change and Nigerian Muslim Christian Association.
“Nigerians should emulate Sanusi for exposing corruption in the oil and gas sector despite being appointed by his government. He stood by his allegation against the former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Alison Diezani and that is what is expected of Nigerians. We should
not harbor corruption,” he said.
The African Development Bank (AfDB) has taken a giant step toward improved food nutrition and security with plans to develop a $300million facility that will leverage about $3billion from banks and microfinance institutions across the continent to empower women and women-owned enterprises toward to improving access to nutritious diets.
Its President, Akinwumi Adesina, told the B&FT in an interview on the sidelines of the third meeting of the Global Panel on Agriculture and Food Systems for Nutrition in Accra that the move is part of efforts to address the surging rate of stunted growth on the continent.
He said: “The African Development Bank is planning a $300million facility that will leverage $3billion of financing from banks and microfinance institutions across the continent to support, specifically, women and women-owned enterprises that will allow them to have higher incomes — which will be used in improving nutrition in their households.
“We must begin to understand that when we say infrastructure it is not just about hard infrastructure like roads and ports, but brain matter infrastructure; the kind of infrastructure that is in the brain.
“Currently, 20 out of 24 countries globally with stunting rates over 40 per cent are in Africa and the majority of them are children; but the message is simple — if African governments can boost economic growth, they must invest in nutrition.”
An estimated two percent growth in global agricultural output against the rapidly growing population size, on the back of heightened climate change conditions which are harshly impacting poor farmers, threatens the prospect of improved nutrition for proper health and development.
According to the AfDB boss, tackling this situation will require efforts in four different areas which should include investing in feeding children properly and ensuring that women have access to nutritious food to feed their households as that is what will be driving economies going forward.
“In Africa, we have a situation today wherein well over 500 million people are living on less than a dollar per day…leading to unacceptable malnutrition levels.
“Therefore, African countries should not invest only in hardcore infrastructure but also invest in feeding children properly; because when you have nutritious meals for children, then you are able to develop their brainpower to be able to stay in school, to excel in school and thus raise the economy,” he said.
Mr. Adesina indicated that the Global Panel, of which he is a member, will help to look at ways that can improve the situation including ensuring that governments of the continent “do big things for women”— whether as farmers or as mothers — because they will require access to nutritious food to feed their families.
The Global Panel on Agriculture for Food Systems for Nutrition is an independent group of influential experts with a commitment to tackling global challenges in food nutrition and security.
The African Development Bank Group (AfDB) has granted a N2.364 billion ($12 million) credit facility to Nigeria’s LAPO Microfinance Bank Ltd.
The bank, in a statement yesterday, said the loan agreement was to support inclusive growth in the country.
It noted that the facility would equally enhance local Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).
LAPO MfB is the largest microfinance bank in Nigeria with 1.1 million clients and 327 branches, currently operating in 26 out of 36 states in the country.
Given its history of group-lending model centred on a community-based approach, LAPO predominantly focuses on low-income households and women by providing an average loan size of N38,000 ($190).
“The corporate AfDB loan will support a proposed expansion project of LAPO MfB to achieve its goal to serve five million clients by 2017.
“It is focusing on low-income individuals (predominantly women) and micro/small enterprises by providing affordable access to finance, savings, credit and insurance in urban and rural areas.
“The MfB will also expand its geographic coverage and number of branches,’’ the statement explained.
According to the bank, with the loan, multi-faceted development outcomes are expected for LAPO MfB.
“It will increase the proportion of poor households and small businesses with access to financial services in Nigeria and its financial sector infrastructure, as it plans to expand their branch network.
“The funding will also stimulate product development aimed at meeting diverse needs of low-income households and local enterprises, including a soft loan scheme to provide clients a more convenient and safe solar powered lanterns.
“It will enhance financial inclusion of women and female entrepreneurs and support increased revenue for poor households,’’ the bank added.
In spite of its lower-income client base, LAPO’s total loan portfolio exceeded N40 billion ($200 million) in December last year due to its efficient decentralised banking model.
LAPO has achieved its goal to reach over one million clients by end of 2013, and is targeting to reach five million clients by the end of its five-year business plan (2013-2017).
It has 3,184 workers across 327 branches to prospect for new business and effectively serve its existing customers on the ground.
The Bank of Industry (Bol) is partnering the African Development Bank (AfDB) to assist businesses engaged in export trade.
Bol Executive Director, Small and Medium Enterprise (SME), Mr. Waheed Olagunju, made this known at the ongoing Lagos International Trade Fair organised by the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI).
The fair theme is Enhancing Value Addition in the Non-oil economy.
Olagunju said the theme is very apt as the nation needs to diversify the oil-dependent economy, especially now that income from the sector has dimmed. He said the bank is scouting for consultants to help SMEs write bankable proposals to enable them obtain loans at a single digit interest.
He also spoke of the need to engage more SMEs and upgrade their accounting skills, which, according to him, has given rise to an account application that will enable even an accounting illiterate to do his business.
Olagunju said to spread its services, BoI has given out special funds to specific sectors, such as textile and Nollywood, with billions dedicated to operators. BoI, he said, also has a pact with the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) to support over 1,000 Corps members with soft loans at a single digit interest.
“Bol is not like any other bank, but aimed at empowering and impacting developmental activities to grow the economy. Our consultants are helping the SMEs with preparing their proposals to check the over 90 per cent failure rate of loan applications by them,” Olagunju stated.
Earlier, Chairman, LCCI, Trade Promotion Board, Dr. Michael Olawale-Cole, said the chamber aims to draw attention to the need to reposition and diversify the economy, and address the issue of value addition in non-oil export to ensure that the nation earns more from commodities.
He said the fair is holding at three locations – Tafawa Balewa Square; Muson Centre, which hosts the corporate and business-to-business exhibition, and Freedom Park on Broad Street, in response to the yearnings of the business world.
Olawale-Cole said: “This investment conference is aimed at drawing attention to investment opportunities in the non-oil sector with a view to expanding the non-oil export net in line with the vision on diversification of the economy. The much needed development and diversification we crave for cannot be achieved without investments.”
He observed that foreign-direct investments in the country have dwindled from $1.38 billion in July 2014 to $723.49 million as at July, 2015, pointing out that in real terms, the non-oil sector contributed 90.20 per cent to the gross domestic product (GDP).
This is marginally higher from the figure recorded in the first quarter of 2015 and 89.55 per cent in second quarter of 2014. “This justifies our focus on investment and the non-oil sector development this year,” he added.
Olawale-Cole praised the organisation of the 2015 fair, which attracted investors from China, Japan, Egypt, European Union, Indonesia, Pakistan, India and Ghana. He maintained that it demonstrates the acceptance and attractiveness of the country to foreign direct investment.
LCCI President Mr. Remi Bello regretted the recent report by the World Bank on “Ease of Doing Business” that showed a dismal performance by Nigeria.
He said the indicators on paying taxes and construction permit are relevant to having an attractive investment climate. He called on the government to put in place a conducive policy and business environment for investments in productive sectors of the economy to thrive.
The African Development Bank (AfDB) has said addressing poverty and inequality will dominate discussions at the forthcoming Africa Economic Conference (AEC) to be hosted by the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) next month.
A statement by AfDB said the theme for the conference is: Addressing Poverty and Inequality in the Post 2015 Development Agenda.
The conference will hold between November 2 to 4, in Kinshasa, the DRC capital,
Citing documents from the African Union’s (AU) Agenda 2063 and Africa’s Common Position on Post-2015 Development Agenda, the statement envisioned an Africa developed by its citizens. “The vision is for an integrated, prosperous and peaceful Africa, driven by its own citizens and representing a dynamic force in the global arena.
“Key among Africa’s aspirations is to achieve prosperity that is based on inclusive growth, and development that is people-driven and that also unleashes the potential of women and youth,” the statement read in part.
The statement said the central aim of Agenda 2063 was to eradicate poverty in all its ramifications. It added that it would also build shared prosperity through social and economic transformation.
The statement explained that the AEC would bring together policy makers, researchers and development practitioners from Africa and from around the world.
It said the experts would make contributions to the implementation of Africa’s vision and the identification of concrete actions necessary for poverty and inequality reduction.
The statement added that the conference would provide an opportunity to assess the impact of current growth strategies on poverty, inequality and human development in Africa.
The conference would also discuss successes, lessons learned and identify remaining gaps, challenges and emerging issues on the topic.
“The AEC 2015 will contribute to the policy dialogue and advocacy on inclusive growth by presenting the latest empirical evidence on poverty and inequalities in Africa. It will provide critical thinking on how policy makers, development partners, private sector, civil society organisations and academia should support the planning and implementation of post 2015 Agenda,’’ it said.
The African Development Bank (AfDB) says the forthcoming Africa Economic Conference (AEC), to be hosted by the Democratic Republic of Congo in November, will address poverty and inequality.
A statement on AfDB website on Wednesday in Lagos said the theme for the 2015 AEC is “Addressing Poverty and Inequality in the Post 2015 Development Agenda’’
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the conference will hold from Nov. 2 to Nov. 4 in Kinshasha, DRC.
Citing documents from the African Union’s (AU) Agenda 2063 and Africa’s Common Position on Post 2015 Development Agenda, the statement envisioned an Africa developed by its citizens.
“The vision is for an integrated, prosperous and peaceful Africa, driven by its own citizens and representing a dynamic force in the global arena.
“Key among Africa’s aspirations is to achieve prosperity that is based on inclusive growth, and development that is people-driven and that also unleashes the potential of women and youth,’’ it said.
While noting the timeliness of the conference, the statement said that the central aim of Agenda 2063 was to eradicate poverty in all its ramifications in one generation.
It added that it would also build shared prosperity through social and economic transformation.
The statement explained that the AEC would bring together policy makers, researchers and development practitioners from Africa and from around the world.
It said that the experts would make contributions to the implementation of Africa’s vision and the identification of concrete actions necessary for poverty and inequality reduction.
It added that the conference would provide an opportunity to assess the impact of current growth strategies on poverty, inequality and human development in Africa.
The statement said that the conference would also discuss successes, lessons learned and identify remaining gaps, challenges and emerging issues on the topic.
“As such, the AEC 2015 will contribute to the policy dialogue and advocacy on inclusive growth by presenting the latest empirical evidence on poverty and inequalities in Africa.
“It will provide critical thinking on how policy makers, development partners, private sector, civil society organisations and academia should support the planning and implementation of post 2015 Agenda,’’ it said
Despite producing 50 per cent of the world’s cassava, Nigeria exports less than one per cent of its produce, the African Development Bank (AfDB) has said.
The bank said Nigeria produced 53 million tons of cassava in 2013 valued at $16billion but exported cassava produce valued at $1 million.
Its Country Director in Nigeria, Dr. Ousmane Dore, who spoke in Abuja yesterday lamented that women got lesser returns despite contributing the more.
He spoke during the launch of a report titled: Economic Empowerment of African Women through Equitable Participation in Agricultural Value Chains carried out by the office of the Special Envoy on Gender (SEOG) and the Department for Agriculture and Agro-industry (OSAN) commissioned by the bank.
He said: “Nigeria produces 50 per cent of the world’s cassava but export less than one per cent of the product.
“The study mentions Nigeria as Africa’s top producer of cassava with 53 million tons in 2013 – about 20 per cent of global cassava (approximately $16 billion in value), but only exported $1 million worth of cassava.
“The global production of cassava was worth $51 billion in 2013 – the highest production value ($35 billion) of the sub –sectors but the lowest export value (approximately $1-2 million).”
Dr. Dore said Nigeria, being the largest producer of cassava globally would not mean anything if the country could not lift women out of poverty.
He added that women get lesser returns despite contributing 70 per cent to the work force of the sector.
He said: “Nigeria is the largest producer of cassava in the world but that does not mean anything if we don’t lift women out of poverty. I want us to be the largest processor of cassava in the world as well and this can be done by adding value to our products and moving women upwards the value chain.
“In Nigeria, women contribute close to 70 per cent of agricultural work force, but yet, get far less of the accruing returns. Also, in spite of their huge labour investment, productivity is low, and they often have limited roles in decision making on farms, and ownership of land and other productive assets due to existing social norms. This has significant negative impact on the family income and the nation’s GDP at large.
“The report highlights five major constraints that can limit women’s productivity and full inclusion into the agricultural economy to include lack of access to assets, lack of access to financing, limited training, gender –neutral government policy, and time constraints due to heavy domestic responsibilities.”
He said the role of women is largely limited to the unskilled parts of production; few own the land on which they work, they are rarely remunerated for their labour and often do not control the income generated from the sale of agricultural produce.
“Our objective for commissioning the study was for the AfDB to play a decisive role in contributing to the economic empowerment of African women in agriculture. “This event is a call for all our esteemed stakeholders to join forces in a discussion on how to take this work forward,” he said.
AfDB’s SEOG, Geraldine Fraser –Moleketi, said there are six million smallholder cassava farmers in Nigeria alone, adding that women accounted for a quarter of these smallholder farmers but earned only 17 per cent of the income because their productivity was lower than that of men.
She added that African women could feed the continent and the world, calling on governments to close the wide gap in wages and agricultural yields between men and women if Africa was to achieve full economic transformation.
“Women’s presence in the agricultural labour force is significant at 50 per cent, and there really is no better overlapping opportunity to support women’s economic empowerment and strengthen a critical sector on the continent.
“The recommendations of the report are clear. We need to grow agribusiness entrepreneurs (commercial farmers, processing, export); improve productivity and incomes; creating niche products within the four sectors we have prioritised – cocoa, cotton, cassava, and coffee.
“I believe that being ambitious about how we implement the interventions identified in this report could change the face of agriculture in Africa and empower millions of women,” she said.
African Development Bank (AfDB) Group President Akinwumi Adesina, and Director-General/Chairman, Arab Monetary Fund (AMF), Abdulrahman Al Hamidy, have held talks on the economic challenges of their member-countries. They met on the sidelines of World Bank-International Monetary Fund (IMF) yearly meetings in Lima, Peru.
The leaders reaffirmed the importance of their partnership and how best to leverage their core competencies and comparative advantages in support of domestic, regional and international economic developments,amid increases in financing member-countries needs.
AfDB said both institutions cooperation has been strengthened under the Deauville Partnership with joint activities focusing on the development of domestic capital markets. Both lenders are looking at opportunities to building a broad collaboration for a promising enhanced partnership.
AfDB and AMF agreed on a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to crystallise their future collaboration in financial sector development.
Adesina said: “The AfDB is committed to working with the AMF and our other international and regional partners to support building vibrant, innovative, robust and competitive financial systems in Africa at both domestic and regional levels.
“This partnership will facilitate relations between the AfDB and the AMF, improve the efficiency of our efforts and provide a concrete basis for further cooperation on financial sector arena that will contribute positively to economic growth and social progress.
Al Hamidy said: “Providing assistance to the development of the financial sector and supporting capacity development in the region has always been among our top priorities, and we look forward to pursuing and intensifying this effort to better tackle the needs of our African member-countries. Our ongoing cooperation with AfDB has always been successful and we are glad that today it’s being reinforced and strengthened to better serve the needs of our common member countries.”
Africa needs about N100 billion yearly to address its infrastructural challenges, the President, African Development Bank (AfDB), Dr. Akinwunmi Adesina, has said.
Adesina, who spoke in Lima, Peru, at a $90 million financing arrangement for an airport project in Egypt, drawn from the Africa Growing Together Fund (AGTF), said the amount of resources in Africa to deal with that is about N50 billion a year. “So there is gap,” he said, adding that a new Africa Delivery Vehicle called Africa 50 has being inaugurated to help raise funds to close the gap.
The AfDB chief noted that power was critical to achieving economic growth in the continent, stressing that the absence of power infrastructure would leave the sub-region underdeveloped.
“There is no way Africa can move to the top of the global economy value chain without power. That is why we have developed a new energy initiative for Africa 2025. Africa is tired of being in the dark and I am optimistic that most of our development challenges would be addressed, if there is sufficient power to run the economies,” Adesina said.
He added that countries at the peak of the global economic pyramid “are those that are competitive and are at the top of the value chain.”
The AfDB president said “Africa does not belong to the bottom of this value chain”.
Adesina stated that it was high time Africa moved to the top of the value chain through the creation of a more robust and resilient economy.
“So our role at AfDB and as a bank, is to help Africa add value to every single commodity it is producing, be it cotton, agricultural raw materials, solid minerals, or oil and gas. We will help Africa to export textiles instead of raw cotton, processed coffee, rather raw coffee and cocoa powder in place of raw cocoa,” he said.
The $90 million loan is the first project by AfDB to be financed using the AGTF resources and marks the first publicly-financed transport sector loan in Egypt.
The project consists of development of new terminal building (financed by Islamic Development Bank), new runway and new control tower.
Through this project, the Egyptian aviation authorities will be able to raise the passenger handling capacity of the airport by an additional 10 million passengers per year to reach 18 million per annum.
Adesina said this will further boost Egyptian economy’s competitiveness and increase foreign currency earnings and create hundreds of thousands of direct and indirect jobs for its citizens.
The Egyptian Minister of International Cooperation, Dr. Sahar Nasr, said the loan would play a crucial role in improving the country’s economic competitiveness, particularly in a period of transition.
She said the agreement stands as one of the best partnership that the Egyptian government would be having with the Peoples’ Republic of China, pledging her government would do everything at its disposal to ensure its proper implementation.
China said it was impressed with the project and hoped that the $2 billion fund, the first approved for the Africa Growing Together Fund, will be utilised for the purpose for which it was assigned through massive job creation for the people of Egypt.