Akinwumi A. Adesina has been re-elected to another five-year term as president of the African Development Bank, during a board vote that came on the last day of the AfDB annual meeting. Adesina received the unanimous vote of all regional and non-regional AfDB members, despite questions about his leadership raised…
The African Development Bank Group on Wednesday announced the creation of a US$10 billion COVID-19 response package to assist regional member countries in fighting the coronavirus pandemic. The bank, based in Abidjan, says this is the latest measure to support the pandemic response and will be the institution’s primary channel…
The African Development Bank delivered a forceful response on Thursday, after World Bank President David Malpass suggested the AfDB was among multinational development banks that are too quick to lend and therefore adding to the debt burden in African nations. Malpass specifically mentioned AfDB loans to Nigeria and South Africa…
For many African nations, the economic challenges remain enormous. Zimbabwe, for example, saw its extreme poverty rate increase by 5 percent in 2019, leaving a third of the nation – some 5.7 million people, according to World Bank – to deal with sharp inflation and shortages, all from the most…
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times
The African Development Bank is among the entities and climate advocacy groups on the continent to express disappointment at the essential failure of the COP25 talks in Madrid, which – despite lasting an extra two days – ended with no meaningful commitments from wealthy nations to act on carbon emissions…
Monique Ntumngia of Cameroon had a strong piece of advice for young women entrepreneurs striving for success: “Bring your chairs to the table, as nobody will do it for you.” Ntumngia, speaking this week at the 2019 African Economic Conference in Egypt’s Sharm El-Sheikh, added that “youths in Africa are…
Akinwumi Adesina, president for African Development Bank Group, delivered a keynote address Wednesday as the Seventh Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD7) kicked off with its emphasis on climate change and hunger. “In spite of all the gains made in agriculture, we are not winning the global war against…
Angola is the latest of Africa’s Portuguese-speaking nations to sign on to the Lusophone Compact, which seeks to boost private-sector development in partnership with Portugal and the African Development Bank (AfDB). The compact is an initiative that links the six Portuguese-speaking nations – Angola, Cabo Verde, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique,…
Equatorial Guinea is set to host the African Development Bank’s annual meeting, which begins Tuesday in Malabo and runs through the week. “Equatorial Guinea is one of the most developed countries in Africa, but not many people know that,” said Vincent Nmehielle, the secretary general for AfDB, at a press…
Nearly USD$62 million for women in business is headed to the African continent, after the Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative (We-Fi) announced on Monday its funding allocation for the African Development Bank and its own women-focused programs. The funding through AfDB’s Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa (AFAWA) will be…
Tunisia has completed the training of its first group of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) pilots, whose skills will be used to boost agricultural productivity in the North African nation. The eight pilots participated in a two-week session to learn how to fly and maintain the drones, as well as understand…
The Africa Investment Forum ended Friday with some 45 deals worth over US$32 billion set in motion with secured investment interest, and a promising emphasis in the continent’s Lusaphone nations. More than 1,000 delegates attended the three-day event in Johannesburg, according to the African Development Bank (AfDB). South Africa, Germany…
President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa was among leaders, including host German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who delivered keynote addresses to the G20 Investment Summit in Berlin on Tuesday. Ramaphosa praised the success to date of the G20’s Compact with Africa program, which was launched last year in Hamburg. Since then,…
The Green Climate Fund (GCF) has approved USD$110 million in funding for three proposals from the African Development Bank (AfDB), including a mini-grid project for Democratic Republic of Congo. The AfDB will match $21 million in GCF loan and grant funding to build three pilot solar PV plants and the battery…
The president of the African Development Bank was in Johannesburg Tuesday to launch the Africa Investment Forum, calling for an aggressive approach to investment through a new African investment marketplace. “If Africa is to achieve a genuine, equitable, and sustainable economic transformation, it cannot be business as usual,” said Akinwumi…