African Development Bank to launch African Economic Outlook 2021

 AfDB NEWS & EVENTS

What:	Virtual launch of the African Economic Outlook 2021
Who:	The African Development Bank, with President Akinwumi A. Adesina and Prof. Joseph Stiglitz
When:	Friday, 12 March 2021, 14.00 - 16.30 GMT
Where:	Virtual

 

The African Development Bank will launch its 2021 African Economic Outlook on Friday, 12 March 2021. The theme of this year’s report is From Debt Resolution to Growth: The Road Ahead for Africa, which examines Africa’s growth performance and outlook and presents the socio-economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Africa is projected to recover in 2021 from its worst economic recession in half a century, but the continent still faces significant challenges related to COVID-19 vaccinations and debt burdens. One of the most significant consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic has been a rise in the borrowing needs of African governments to cover expenditures induced by the health crisis.  

The launch will be attended by African Development Bank President Akinwumi A. Adesina, Nobel laureate Prof. Joseph Stiglitz, government ministers and Governors of the Bank, representatives of the diplomatic corps, researchers and industry experts.

Following a presentation on the African Economic Outlook, a panel of senior policymakers, sovereign debt experts and private sector practitioners will discuss the report and present their views. Panelists will focus on helping African countries build back better from the crisis and manage debt vulnerabilities.

The African Economic Outlook is the Bank’s flagship tool for economic intelligence, policy dialogue, and operational effectiveness. The report is read widely by policymakers, academics, investors, development practitioners and the media.

Fashionomics Africa Webinar Series Episode 6 - African Continental Free Trade Area: Opportunities for Fashion Entrepreneurs

 AfDB NEWW & EVENTS

What:	Fashionomics Africa Webinar Series, Episode 6
Who:	Gender, Women & Civil Society Department of the African Development Bank in partnership with the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank)
When:	Friday, 26 February 2021, 12.00 to 14.00 GMT
Where:	Online via Zoom – Click here(link is external) to register

 

The Gender, Women and Civil Society Department of the African Development Bank Group, in collaboration with Afreximbank, will on Friday, 26 February 2021, host the sixth episode of the Fashionomics Africa(link is external) Webinar Series.

The webinar, themed African Continental Free Trade Area: Opportunities for Fashion Entrepreneurs, will discuss this pioneering agreement, which holds enormous opportunities for the continent's prosperity.

The African Continental Free Trade Area came into force on 1 January 2021, with 54 signatory countries, many of which are garment-producing countries such as Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Lesotho, Madagascar, Mauritius, Morocco, South Africa and Tunisia.

The audience will gain insights from the experts on the opportunities that this agreement presents for the creative industries, particularly the fashion sector in Africa.

The panelists are:

• Francis Mangeni, Head of Trade Promotion and Programs, African Continental Free Trade Area
• Barnabas Jatau, Head of Cotton, Textile and Garment Sector (apparel and fashion), Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment of Nigeria
• Laduma Ngxokolo, Founder and Creative Director, Maxhosa Africa
• Mahlet Afework, Founder and Creative Director, MAFI MAFI

Investing in local production capacity to keep Africa’s fashion industry alive

 AfDB NEWS & EVENTS

19-Feb-2021

Emanuela Gregorio, coordinator of the African Development Bank’s Fashionomics Africa initiative, recently sat down with Alan Kasujja, the presenter of BBC’s Africa Daily podcast, to discuss how the Bank is boosting the continent’s fashion industry.

The two also discussed the impact of second-hand clothing on local industries. Gregorio said investing in production capacity is crucial for the industry’s survival.

Launched in 2015, Fashionomics Africa promotes investment in the textile and fashion sector by leveraging data, information and communication technologies as drivers of development. It aims to increase entrepreneurs’ access to finance while nurturing the business skills and digital tools for start-ups as well as micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs).

We invite you to attend the upcoming Fashionomics Africa webinar, which will explore the opportunities the African Continental Free Trade Area offers African fashion entrepreneurs.

African Development Fund: Japan, African Development Bank Group, sign JPY 73.6 billion loan agreement

 AfDB NEWS & EVENTS

The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the African Development Fund (ADF) – the concessional arm of the African Development Bank Group – on Tuesday signed a loan agreement of 73.6 billion Japanese yen ($668.1 million) to support the 15th replenishment of the African Development Fund (ADF-15).

During a virtual ceremony, African Development Bank Group President Dr. Akinwumi A. Adesina and Japanese Ambassador to Côte d’Ivoire Kuramitsu Hideaki signed an Exchange of Notes, while the loan agreement was signed by the JICA Chief Representative in Côte d’Ivoire, Fujino Kojiro, and Acting African Development Bank Group Senior Vice President Swazi Tshabalala, in her capacity as Chief Financial Officer.

The concessional donor loan will support the 15th replenishment of the African Development Fund, approved in December 2019 by ADF donor countries. JICA is extending the loan – the largest to ADF-15 – on behalf of the Government of Japan.

Ambassador Kuramitsu Hideaki, whose country has been the fifth-largest contributor to the ADF in cumulative terms, said the loan formed part of Japan’s commitment to promote industrial human resource development, innovation and investment, and to invest in quality infrastructure to enhance connectivity, expressed at the TICAD 7 conference in August 2019. At the same conference, Japan also announced that it would contribute to phase 4 of the Enhanced Private Sector Assistance Initiative (EPSA), a joint flagship project with the Bank.

“I sincerely hope that this loan in yen will allow the (African Development Fund) to execute concessional financing and grants for African countries facing emerging challenges caused by COVID-19 and contribute to the economic and social development of these countries,” he said.

JICA President Kitaoka Shinichi said: “The COVID-19 crisis has accelerated global structural changes. Africa is still in the midst of this crisis, facing serious challenges from coronavirus variants and the cold storage requirements for vaccines. Only a united Africa can defeat this threat to humanity. We should not allow this virus to jeopardize the steady progress of freedoms, independence and democracy that African countries have made so far. I firmly believe that today’s contribution to ADF-15 will further boost our cooperation with African countries and strengthen our partnership with the African Development Bank Group.”

Mimura Atsushi, Deputy Director-General/ADF Deputy, International Bureau, Ministry of Finance Japan, said: “The African Development Fund is a key source of financing for Africa’s low-income countries heavily affected by COVID-19. The Yen Loan we are providing today has a higher grant-element compared to the Yen Loan provided for the last ADF replenishment, with a lower interest rate and longer maturity. Going forward, I would like to see our partnership further developed with the African Development Bank Group.”

Dr. Adesina highlighted the African Development Bank’s long-standing partnership with the Government of Japan, including the Enhanced Private Sector Assistance Initiative, which was launched in 2005. As of February 2021, Japan’s total contribution to the initiative amounts to $4.6 billion.

Adesina pointed out that Japan’s concessional donor loan was almost 10% of the total ADF-15 resources of $7.5 billion. “This is a continuation of the strong leadership role of Japan in providing concessional loans to the African Development Fund. Japan was the largest provider of concessional donor loans to the African Development Fund’s 15th replenishment, just like Japan was also under the African Development Fund’s 14th replenishment,” he said.

“Japan continues to add great value to the overall replenishment cycles of the African Development Fund,” Adesina said, adding that the latest loan “will greatly boost the liquidity of the African Development Fund and allow us to ramp up much-needed support to the ADF countries…especially now at this critical time when they are struggling to cope with and recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.”

By the end of the ADF-15 period (2020-2022), it is expected that the ADF’s projects will have changed the lives of millions of Africans. Up to 28,000 km of new or improved power distribution lines will have been installed, around 9 million people will have improved access to water and sanitation and up to $1.6 billion of turnover will have been generated from investments in micro, small and medium-size enterprises.

The fifteenth replenishment of the ADF will deliver investments to support Africa’s poorest countries in building economic resilience and reducing systemic vulnerability. It will pay special attention to gender equality, climate change, the private sector, and promoting good governance principles, while emphasizing two Strategic Pillars: sustainable and quality infrastructure that bolsters regional integration; and governance and institutional capacity development to boost decent job creation and inclusive growth.

The African Development Fund is made up of 32 contributing states. It benefits 37 countries, including fragile states that need special support to ensure basic service delivery, and countries that in recent years experienced higher growth rates. The Fund’s resources are replenished every three years.

Sahel: the African Development Bank supports the region facing multidimensional challenges

 AfDB NEWS & EVENTS

The African Development Bank has become, thanks to its many actions with transformative effects, a trusted partner of the Sahel countries facing enormous challenges. Support for the Sahel region responds to the priorities set by the Bank for this region, which relies on its significant opportunities to help realize its development potential.

Over the years, the Bank has broadened its scope and adapted its intervention to the needs of the region. The priority areas of the Bank's engagement in the Sahel are as follows: resilience and the fight against fragilities, infrastructure development, food security, youth employment, women's empowerment, adaptation to climate change, aid to refugees, governance, integration region and fight against the coronavirus.  

The Bank Group has thus provided sustained and diversified support in recent years to development programs in Sahelian countries. As of September 30, 2020, its portfolio in the G5 Sahel countries comprised 105 projects for total commitments of $ 3.2 billion.

In response to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Bank has helped these countries mitigate the health, social and economic consequences, and supported their economic recovery plans. Thus, the Bank granted targeted emergency budget support of US $ 285 million as well as a grant of US $ 20 million to Burkina Faso, Mali, Mauritania, Niger and Chad.

The African Development Bank is a founding member of the Sahel Alliance(link is external), with the World Bank, the European Union, the United Nations Development Program, France and Germany. The Sahel Alliance, which receives decisive support from the Bank, pursues the objective of providing an appropriate and effective response in six priority sectors, in particular: "education and youth employment", "agriculture, rural development, food security" , “Energy and climate”, “internal security”.

The Bank's contributions relate in particular to the financing of the Priority Investment Program (PIP) drawn up by the Executive Secretariat of the G5 Sahel.

In September 2019, the President of the Bank, Akinwumi Adesina, launched, during the summit of the heads of state of the G5 Sahel in Ouagadougou, the initiative “Desert to power” (from the desert to energy), which aims to produce 1.1 gigawatts of solar power by 2030 to provide electricity to 250 million people in nine Sahelian countries.

As part of supporting fragile states, the African Development Bank is supporting the implementation of important transformative programs. In Niger, the Bank is contributing US $ 130 million to the flagship Kandadji dam construction program, for which it is the lead partner for technical and financial partners. With a global cost of approximately US $ 1.2 billion, Kandadji is an integrated and strategic program of national and cross-border scope. The program will transform the lives of more than three million direct beneficiaries and contribute to a marked improvement in the living conditions for ten million people.

In Mali, the Bank is financing the Support Project for the Socio-Economic Reinsertion of the Populations of Northern Mali (PARSEP-NM) , plans to reach 635,000 people, for a total investment of 8.5 billion CFA francs.

The economy of the Sahel is regularly confronted with the effects of climate change with droughts and floods which undermine the means of subsistence of the populations and further accentuate the already precarious living conditions. This situation fuels community conflicts, migration, and is the bedrock of terrorism, maritime piracy and trafficking of all kinds. Young people, faced with inactivity, are particularly exposed to these scourges. To help the countries of the region face these challenges, the Bank has allocated more than $ 2.1 billion over the past ten years to support the activities of the Inter-State Committee for Drought Control in the Sahel (CILSS), including the G5 Sahel countries.

Through the strategy to combat fragility and strengthen resilience in Africa and the Transition Support Facility (TAF) as a financing instrument, the Bank will continue to make the Sahel a priority, by increasing its assistance to countries fragile areas. It is about strengthening their resilience, laying the foundations for lasting peace, and achieving the dual strategic objective of inclusive and green growth and the reduction of extreme poverty. The Bank works for a prosperous, stable and resilient Sahel.

Appointment Announcement: Mr. Ifedayo Orimoloye as The Group Chief Risk Officer

 AfDB NEWS & EVENTS

The African Development Bank Group is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Ifedayo Orimoloye as the Group Chief Risk Officer, effective 1 April 2021.

Ifedayo, a US national, brings over 20 years of risk management and corporate finance experience from international and diverse financial institutions in Africa, Europe and North America.

As Bank Group Chief Risk Officer, Ifedayo will lead the preparation and implementation of strategic plans within the Bank’s overall risk management framework, including the Bank’s risk appetite statement, credit risk, operational risk and market risk guidelines, policies and procedures.

Ifedayo, who holds an MBA (Finance) from California State University, started his banking career with Wachovia Bank in 1995 in corporate finance and later moved to senior risk management roles at Citibank, HSBC and Wells Fargo Bank.

Between 2010 and 2017, Ifedayo was the Group Chief Risk Officer at Ecobank Transnational Incorporated, the continent’s largest pan-African banking group, where he provided oversight of risk-taking activities in the 40 African countries and other regions where Ecobank has a presence. Furthermore, he provided the Board of Directors with independent assessments of all sovereign, sub-sovereign and non-sovereign default risks, including the establishment of sectoral, country and cross-border limits on risk assets of $24 billion.

He joined Sterling Bank in 2018 as Chief Risk Officer, a role he positively transformed by implementing a strong framework that ensured rigor in the application of group-wide risk management policies and practices. He also embedded independent oversight and guidance for managing risk and ensuring compliance, including the development and implementation of risk and capital management measures across the organisation.

Ifedayo said he was excited to join the talented senior management team that President Akinwumi A. Adesina has been attracting to the Bank. “I am passionate about the Bank’s development agenda that has attracted global attention as bold and innovative for accelerating Africa’s development. The African Development Bank Group already has a globally acclaimed and high-performing risk management team. I am honored to join to lead the outstanding team to further achieve accelerated development in Africa.”

Commenting on the appointment, President Adesina said: “I am delighted to appoint Ifedayo to lead the Bank’s risk management function. His hands-on risk management experience will be key in safeguarding the Bank’s financial integrity and in providing leadership on all core risk management activities of the Bank. Ifedayo is a respected professional, with a solid track record in risk management and his experience in Africa, Europe and North America, will help to further strengthen the Group’s risk management function.”

KIX Observatory: ADEA and AU-CIEFFA launch a brief on teacher and learner well-being amid the COVID-19 pandemic

 

AfDB NEWS & EVENTS

12-Feb-2021

The Global Partnership for Education (GPE)(link is external) Knowledge and Innovation Exchange (KIX) Observatory on COVID-19 Responses in Educational Systems in Africa, a consortium that includes the Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA(link is external)), has released its first brief, which promotes evidence sharing about policy and education interventions as well as targeted recommendations in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The brief, titled Teaching and Learner Well-Being during the COVID-19 Pandemic, focused on these two specific aspects of the COVID-19 crisis. Since mid-March 2020, according to UNESCO, the COVID-19 pandemic has affected an estimated 1.6 billion learners worldwide due to global school closures.

The KIX Observatory, launched in November 2020, collects, synthesizes, and mobilizes evidence about COVID-19 responses in primary and secondary education in Africa, pertaining to the operation of education systems and the well-being of learners.

The observatory is a consortium of ADEA and the African Union’s International Centre for Girls’ and Women’s Education in Africa (AU/CIEFFA(link is external)), with technical support from the African Population and Health Research Centre (APHRC(link is external)), and the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS(link is external)).