In a first for Japan, the country’s International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has signed a new loan agreement with the African Development Fund to provide USD$700.9 million to address poverty and support economic growth. “We hope the loans and grants will be used effectively to improve economic and social conditions of…
A budget crisis in Namibia has forced the suspension of all international travel for ministers and elected officials through the end of February. It’s the latest announcement from President Hage Geingob as the southwestern African nation tightens up on government spending. “This directive is specifically in the interest of curtailing…
Infrastructure investment remains at the core of African economic development, says Akinwumi Adesina, president of African Development Bank (AfDB), as the bank rolls out its 2018 African Economic Outlook. “Infrastructure, when well managed, provides the financial resources to do everything else,” said Adesina, speaking from the bank’s headquarters in Abidjan, Côte…
The African Development Bank (AfDB) said Tuesday that it has not decided to call off loans to Nigeria, countering widespread media reports that the support for the West African nation’s ailing economy was withdrawn. “The African Development Bank is highly encouraged by the economic recovery of Nigeria from recession and…
Nigeria’s Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, this year’s recipient of the World Food Prize, says that Africa has the potential to help feed the world but needs assistance to cultivate a modern agribusiness sector and infrastructure to support it. “Africa cannot grow in the dark,” said Adesina in remarks made this week while…
The African Development Bank (AfDB) has signed an agreement with Islamic Development Bank to partner on USD$2 billion in project financing for renewable energy, health, food security and other key initiatives in Africa. Each partner will contribute $1 billion over the next three years to support economic transformation on the…
This year’s World Food Prize will go to Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), whose name was announced earlier this week in the United States. The prestigious USD$250,000 prize awarded to Adesina honors his leadership in improving the practice and production of food in Africa, and in “galvanizing the…
Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India will participate Tuesday alongside Akinwumi Adesina, president of the African Development Bank (AfDB), at the bank’s annual meeting in Ahmedabad in India’s western Gujarat state. The meeting, which runs through Friday, will focus on India’s partnership with African nations in key development areas, with…
The Africa Competitiveness Report was released Thursday at the World Economic Forum on Africa meeting in Durban, with some muted positive trends despite the overall economic stagnation. Lagging infrastructure improvement, weak financial sector development and low levels of regional trade continue to be key constraints to growth. Yet the report,…
Environmental champion Youba Sokona’s resignation is effective April 30, so as of Sunday the Malian scholar will no longer serve in his leadership role at the Africa Renewable Energy Initiative (AREI). At first glance, it may seem hardly newsworthy and entirely forgivable to not know who Sokona and the AREI…
Akinwumi Adesina, president of the African Development Bank, says Africa faces a triangle of disaster because of youth unemployment, poverty, and environmental and climate impacts. “Everywhere you find this triangle of disaster you always find terrorists,” Adesina said in a Financial Times interview published Monday. The article focused on how…
Agribusiness and agriculture are primed to be the catalysts of Africa’s economic transformation and development in the coming years. According to the World Bank, they are both expected to form a USD $1 trillion industry by 2030 in Sub-Saharan Africa whilst representing 45 percent of the continent’s GDP. Considering the connection between…
Benjamin Musampa is a research associate at l'Observatoire des Amériques