Burundi: the African Development Bank and the government sign two grant agreements totaling 23.4 million euros for the development of the Port of Bujumbura

AfDB NEWS & EVENTS

21-Feb-2020

From left to right: Ntunzwenimana Jean Bosco, Minister of Transport, Public Works, Equipment and Regional Development of Burundi; Domitien Ndihokubwayo, Minister of Finance, Budget and Economic Development Cooperation in Burundi; Daniel Ndoye, country manager of the African Development Bank in Burundi, and Claude Bochu, head of the European Union delegation in Burundi

The African Development Bank and the Burundian government signed, Tuesday, February 18 in Bujumbura, economic capital of Burundi, two grant agreements totaling 23.4 million euros from the resources of the African Development Fund (ADF ) and the Transition Support Facility (FAT) for the country's transport sector.

The donation from the ADF, amounting to 17.3 million euros, and that from the FAT of 6.1 million euros, will contribute to the financing of phase 1 of the Transport Corridor Development Project on the Lake Tanganyika: it concerns the renovation of the port of Bujumbura. The agreements were initialed by the Burundian Minister of Finance, Budget and Economic Development Cooperation, Domitien Ndihokubwayo, and by the country manager of the African Development Bank in Burundi, Daniel Ndoye. The Minister of Transport, Public Works, Equipment and Regional Development Ntunzwenimana Jean Bosco was present at this ceremony, and the head of the European Union (EU) delegation in Burundi, Claude Bochu, co -financer of the project.

This project, co-financed by the Burundian government and the African Development Bank, also benefits from a donation of 19.7 million Euros from the European Union, which must be signed soon.

This project is particularly important for Burundi for several reasons: it aims to open up the country, to increase the capacity and efficiency of the port of Bujumbura in order to improve regional connectivity; it intends to develop regional trade along the integrated Lake Tanganyika corridor and its interconnection with existing regional trade corridors; it will thus help stimulate economic growth and improve the well-being of populations in Burundi, according to Domitien Ndihokubwayo, who wished to salute the support of the African Development Bank.

The Minister of Finance, Budget and Economic Development Cooperation of Burundi also stressed the important role that the Bank already plays in the transport sector in Burundi, indicating that the project offers real potential for the development of interregional exchanges.

Daniel Ndoye was delighted with the “good collaboration which prevailed, to conclude these agreements, between Burundi, the Bank and the European Union. The Bank is available to continue to support, in financial and technical terms, the development of the transport sector in Burundi ”, in accordance with the Bank's strategic priorities, the“ High 5 ”, and its Country Strategy Document (CSP 2019-2023). 

Stefan Nalletamby, Acting Vice-President of the Bank, in charge of the private sector, infrastructure and industrialization, welcomed the signing of these grant agreements and said that the project would help strengthen integration to which the Bank actively contributes.

Kenya: Celebrated entrepreneur calls for better policies and resources to support youth and women entrepreneurship

AfDB NEWS & EVENTS

21-Feb-2020

Multi-award-winning entrepreneur Ahmad Ashkar has called on policymakers to develop better policy options, backed by dedicated resources to support the youth and women to become successful entrepreneurs.

Addressing a forum organized by the Eastern Regional office of the African Development Bank in Nairobi last week, Ashkar, CEO and founder of the Hult Prize Foundation, said  99% of youth do not think they can be entrepreneurs.  “We should equip them with financing, tools, and training in soft skills, which is lacking in the current education system,” he said.

The audience included staff of the African Development Bank, World Bank officials, the International Law Institute alumni and the Ukrainian Ambassador to Kenya, Andriy Pravednyk.

Also present was a group of young Kenyan entrepreneurs who founded technology firm BuuPass, which won the $1 million Hult Prize in 2016 for innovating a modern and simplified online booking and ticketing system used by trains, airlines and buses in Kenya.

Ashkar is ranked among the top 100 Most Powerful Arabs by Gulf Business 2019 Edition. He was also named in a TIME Magazine cover story featuring the top five ideas changing the world.

“In strong democracies such as USA, a young person can come up with a business idea and register his business in a very short time, which is not the case in most Africa countries. We have to create innovative policies that favour entrepreneurship”, he said, bemoaning “the policy, regulatory and legal hurdles that hinder entrepreneurship development in Africa.”

Marcellin Ndong Ntah, Lead Economist of the African Development Bank, said the Bank is passionate about improving livelihoods in Africa, especially the youth and women. “We are also keen to partner with governments, private sector and other stakeholders in finding innovative ways of changing lives, and this meeting is testimony to this cause”, Ntah said

Edson Mpyisi, Chief Financial Economist and Coordinator of the Bank’s ‘Enable Youth’ Program, said the initiative is intended to empower the youth at each stage of the agribusiness value chain by harnessing new skills, technologies and financing to enable them establish viable businesses. 

The Enable Youth Program entails an annual entrepreneurial and innovation training and competition, aimed at encouraging the youth to venture into agribusiness.  The winners are mentored by an accelerator program that provides further training and coaching for 12 months.

“We focus on the youth because Africa is currently the youngest continent, with a median age of only 19 years. The Bank has invested in ‘Enable Youth’ projects in 14 countries in Africa, to a tune of $406 million,” he added.   

The presentations were followed by lively discussions among the audience on  a wide range of issues such as de-risking investments for the youth and women, and alternative innovative entrepreneurship business models.

African Development Bank joins other Development Finance Institutions to deepen private investment in fragile states

AfDB NEWS & EVENTS

20-Feb-2020

Representatives of 27 Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) met at the University of Oxford on 11-13 February for a follow-up forum to strengthen private investment inflows into fragile or conflict-affected economies.

The Commission for State Fragility, Growth and Development, a partnership of the World Bank Group’s International Finance Corporation, CDC, the United Kingdom’s DFI and International Growth Centre of the London School of Economics organized the meeting.  Participating institutions agreed to cooperate in rolling out pilot interventions in a number of fragile states.

Africa’s premier DFI African Development Bank co-organized the forum, and agreed to lead a pilot intervention in Madagascar going forward. The Bank will also participate in joint implementation of pilot programs in Ethiopia, Democratic Republic of Congo and Sierra Leone.  Former Bank president Donald Kaberuka co-chairs the Commission with David Cameron, a former prime minister of the U.K.

One impetus for the meeting is the need to accelerate the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which projections indicating that roughly half of the world’s extreme poor will live in fragile states by 2030 (Source: World Bank). The trend underscores the critical importance of fully engaging the private sector in developing solutions that will help improve human lives. DFIs are well-placed to contribute to job creation and economic transformation in fragile environments as well as for youth and women.

Participants at the 2020 meeting discussed developments in pilot programs, launched last year at the inaugural forum, in a number of countries. Other topics included managing the higher risk associated with operating in fragile environments, including the use of de-risking tools; and mechanisms to maximize the impact of donor-supported investment facilitation.

Participating institutions agreed the following:

1. Responsible investments in fragile environments are global public goods. Therefore, DFIs are prepared to incur higher operating costs, risks, and capacity demands.
2. There is considerable variation among fragile environments and, as a result, different investment approaches are required to address local operating realities.
3. We achieve more together. We will strengthen the country pilot programs, by:
   
   1. Identifying barriers to private investment at country level and working together with governments and other stakeholders to remove them;
   2.  Fully and fairly collaborating on activities upstream of investments to build the pipeline of project opportunities;
   3. c. Regularly sharing lessons learned.
4. Enhancing collective dialogue with development agencies and shareholders to improve complementarity, manage financial and non-financial risks, and work together on reforms to strengthen the business environment. The DFIs will invite development agencies to participate in the next forum. CDC Group, IFC and the African Development Bank, in partnership with Oxford University and the International Growth Centre, will convene the next forum in 2021 to share learning and assess progress.

Former President of Liberia Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and Mo Ibrahim, Founder and Chair of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation, helped set the stage for the discussions. The governments of the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, as well as investors and businesses operating in fragile economies, also took part.

Senegal: African Development Bank administrators measure the impact of P2RS on program beneficiaries

AfDB NEWS & EVENTS

20-Feb-2020

The administrators of the African Development Bank went to Fatick yesterday, more than a hundred kilometers from Dakar, as part of their consultation mission in Senegal.

Welcomed on the spot by the region's governor, Seynabou Gueye, they met the beneficiaries of the Multinational Program to Strengthen Resilience to Food and Nutrition Insecurity in the Sahel (P2RS), whose impact they could measure on a daily basis local people.

 "We welcome your presence because your visit is a source of motivation for the beneficiaries of the Program," said the Governor. This means that those who provide support come to the field to inquire about the use of the funds allocated and the results. I, myself, visited certain sites and I was able to measure the dynamism of the women and the achievements are visible. "

Said Maherzi, spokesperson for the administrators, it is important to appreciate, “what the beneficiaries think of the Bank's achievements and how it can be effective across the country. "

The P2RS Program, implemented in Senegal with the support of the African Development Bank, has four main components: development of rural infrastructure, value chains and regional markets as well as project management. Approved in 2015 and financed by the Bank for an amount of 35.8 million US dollars, it will take a few months.

On the spot, the Bank administrators had warm exchanges with the presidents of the regional councils of Kati (Mali) and Zinder (Niger), and the opportunity was given to promote cooperation at the regional level. The mayor of Fatick also welcomed the administrators at a ceremony, during which P2RS beneficiaries welcomed the support of the Bank, which has contributed to lasting changes in the living conditions of the populations. .

Highlight of the visit, the delegation from the African Development Bank visited an aquaculture farm and a fish food production unit managed by the union of women's groups in Ndiaye Ndiaye, historic district of Fatick. The administrators attended a demonstration of fresh fish fishing in the six aquaculture basins, which each have a production capacity of one tonne per six-month cycle. The P2RS project financed 22 aquaculture farms with a capacity of 400 tonnes. On-site fish feed manufacturing minimizes production costs.

A mini exhibition fair for agricultural products has been set up with stands where various non-wood forest products have been exhibited, local juices processed by women's groups using multifunctional platforms. Local products, processed cereals, fruits and vegetables, honey from local honey producers, with quality packaging, were displayed in around twenty stands. Breeding pens have also enabled young P2RS beneficiaries to display purebred sheep.

The Bank's delegation continues its consultative mission in Senegal until Friday, February 21. As a reminder, it is made up of the following directors: Okogu Bright, Saïd Maherzi, Maïmouna Ndoye Seck, Mohamed El Gholabzouri, Catherine Cudré-Mauroux, Zayed Ahmed, Cornelius Karlens Dekop and Yano Takuji.

“Our goal is to surpass developed countries,” African Development Bank VP tells fourth industrial revolution forum

AfDB NEWS & EVENTS

20-Feb-2020

Africa is not only ready for the fourth industrial revolution. It is set to outdo the achievements of the developed world. That was one of the messages that emerged at a seminar hosted by the African Development Bank at its headquarters in Abidjan.

The event attracted Ivorian and regional ministers as well as officials, senior Bank staff and private sector executives, including those of tech giants MTN and Orange.

“Any big city in Africa is pretty much indistinguishable from the rest of the world, with its mix of fiber, 3G, 4G and even 5G,” said Stefan Nalletamby, Acting Vice President for the Private Sector, Infrastructure and Industrialization Complex at the African Development Bank.

“Our goal is not to match our peers in the developed countries, but to surpass them...The African Development Bank is ready to walk the talk and lead the efforts for the digital transformation of the continent,” Nalletamby said in his keynote address.

The speech was followed by a presentation of a groundbreaking report titled “The potential of the fourth industrial revolution in Africa.” The report, funded by the African Development Bank and carried out by the Technopolis Group, was launched in November at the Africa Investment Forum.

The study shows an African tech sector taking flight.

In 2019, approximately 6,500 technology start-ups were identified on the continent, among which about 10% develop applications that characterize the fourth industrial revolution.

The foundation has been laid for the fourth industrial revolution, said Francie Sadeski, partner and lead in emerging markets at Technopolis.

“The figures exceed forecasts and indicate that the basis for Africa’s growth into the fourth industrial revolution is already there,” she said during a presentation on the report.

The report notes that venture capital of more than $100 million was invested in African Internet of Things start-ups by 2019, making it by far the most attractive 4IR technology for investors on the continent. The market is projected to reach a value of $12.6 billion by 2021 in Africa and the Middle East.

“It is an opportunity for the continent to embrace change and capture new opportunities at the same time that the same revolution is happening everywhere else in the world,” said Abdu Mukhtar, Director of the Industrial and Trade Department at the African Development Bank.

About $47 million was invested in Additive Manufacturing in Africa by 2019, according to the report. The market is estimated to reach $1.3 billion by 2022. Other encouraging statistics include: artificial intelligence start-ups and blockchain start-ups attracting respectively $17.5 million by 2019 and  $14.9 million in 2019.

The report further indicates that human capital is key to Africa realizing the offerings of the fourth industrial revolution, which urgently requires more graduates in science, technology, mathematics and engineering. The topic was carried through to a panel discussion on the readiness of African countries to produce the required skills.

Djibril Ouattara, CEO of MTN Côte d’Ivoire, said human capital was only part of the equation.

He said learning institutions must “instill entrepreneurship in youths and teach them how to create business plans…We need schools that give exposure to our youths…We need to build ecosystems around various schools. It’s one thing to build technology, but it’s another to have viable business models.”

Nicholas Williams, Division Manager of ICT Operations at the African Development Bank, said ecosystems need not be formal. He used the example of Nairobi, where start-ups had attracted investment without official intervention.

“The fourth industrial revolution is super exciting…I want to repeat…Africa’s in a good position,” Williams said. “Africa will compete…We’ve actually got a good ecosystem here…We’re going in the right direction.”

"Three questions to ..." John Andrianarisata, Country Representative of the African Development Bank in Benin

AfDB NEWS & EVENTS

19-Feb-2020

The African Development Bank has been a partner of Benin since 1972, one of the six African countries that experienced the strongest growth in 2019.
John Andrianarisata, Bank representative in the country, explains the role of the institution in this performance and details its priorities to support Benin in the structural transformation of its economy.

Last year, Benin was, for the first time, among the six African countries and the ten most dynamic economies in the world in terms of growth. How do you explain this performance?

Benin recorded strong economic growth over the 2017-2019 period, with a jump of 6% of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP, and even 6.7% in 2018 and 2019.

This growth is due to the performance of its agricultural sector, particularly cotton, whose production increased from more than 269,000 tonnes in 2016 to almost 727,000 in 2019.

It also owes it to the vitality of the building and public works sector, to the increase in energy capacities (entry into operation of the 120 MW power plant at Maria-Gléta), to the revival of agro-industry activity , the dynamism of the port of Cotonou and the increase in public investment (from 21% of GDP in 2016 to 29.6% in 2019).

Good macroeconomic management, carried out by the authorities in recent years, has had a positive effect. Indeed, Benin successfully issued, for the first time in March 2019, a Eurobond of 500 million euros - the equivalent of 5.2%. The country is credited with a B + rating by the Standard & Poor's agency and its risk of over-indebtedness is considered moderate by the IMF.

What actions of the Bank contributed to this performance?

The Bank's partnership with Benin is almost 50 years old. It started in 1972. Since then, the volume of its investments has exceeded 1.55 billion US dollars. The Bank's net commitments have multiplied by 3.6, going from 180 to 645 million dollars in three years - from 2016 and 2019. Today, its portfolio in Benin has 20 active projects for a total amount of 645 million of dollars. These investments affect the transport (53%), agriculture (19%), energy (13%), water and sanitation (12%) and governance (3%) sectors. ).

What are the Bank's priorities in Benin for the coming years? How can the Bank help the Beninese economy to accelerate its structural transformation?

The Bank is engaged with Benin through the Country Strategy Document (CSP) for the 2017-2021 period. By supporting the implementation of the Government Action Program (PAG 2016-2021), the objective of the CSP aims to enable the structural transformation of the Beninese economy in favor of inclusive growth, generating decent jobs, while ensuring the transition to a green economy.

To achieve this objective, the Bank is focusing its interventions in the agriculture and agro-industry, energy, transport, water and sanitation sectors.

The outlook is favorable: GDP growth forecasts are 6.7% this year, and 6.6% in 2021.

EAC hosts the 30th NEPAD-IPPF Oversight Committee in Arusha

AfDB NEWS & EVENTS

19-Feb-2020

The New Partnership for Africa’s Development Infrastructure Project Preparation Facility (NEPAD-IPPF) held its 30th Oversight Committee meeting for the Special Fund at the headquarters of the East African Community, in Arusha, Tanzania.

The meeting which took place on the 13th and 14th of February 2020, convened over 30 participants, including donors providing financial support to the NEPAD-IPPF Special Fund, representatives of the African Development Bank, African Union Commission, African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD), Regional Economic Communities, Regional Power Pools, Corridors Authorities and Transboundary River basin organizations.

Members agreed to implement recommendations of NEPAD-IPPF’s independent evaluation held in 2019, and also approved operational reforms and the 2020 work program.

EAC Deputy Secretary General in charge of Planning and Infrastructure, Steven Mlote, thanked the Bank for its generous support over the past 20 years which he said had resulted in numerous achievements in various sectors including transport, energy, one stop border posts, ICT and Trans-Boundary Water Projects.

He said the recently completed Arusha-Tengeru dual carriageway and the Arusha by-pass had substantially improved traffic flow in the Arusha region while the counterpart section in Kenya – the Taveta-Mwatate road, has opened up a new and shorter trade and transport route for Rwanda and Burundi from the port of Mombasa.

“Along the Coast of East Africa, the transport corridor from Malindi in Kenya to Bagamoyo in Tanzania is due for upgrading with funds from the Bank. It is gratifying to note that its preparation was funded by the NEPAD-IPPF. This road will close the missing surface transport link between the EAC and SADC regions which traverses Kenya, Tanzania and Mozambique,” he added.

The successes of initial Bank-funded multinational projects between Kenya and Tanzania provided the impetus to widen the geographical spread to other EAC partner states with current projects underway to link Tanzania to the three landlocked states of Rwanda, Burundi and Uganda.

“To date, NEPAD-IPPF has extended support to the EAC to the tune of almost $15 million for road and rail soft infrastructure projects over a period of 13 years,” said Mlote.

Also represented at the meeting were development partners KfW, and the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Business which both acknowledged the pivotal role NEPAD-IPPF continues to play in the infrastructure space on the continent. They equally recognized the need for more resources to enable the fund to achieve more. 

Laura González Villarejo representing the Ministry of Economy, Spain said in her statement that Africa is a priority region for Spain. She added that the Spanish Council of Ministers’ long term strategic plan for Africa demonstrated the interest of Spain in Africa.

Michael Andres from KfW, the Oversight Committee Chairman, reiterated the full support of Germany for the Fund. He thanked the NEPAD-IPPF team led by Mike Salawou, Bank Division Manager Infrastructure & Partnerships, for the good performance of the fund during 2019, for a well-organized meeting and the East African Community Secretariat for hosting the event. He emphasized the need for joint effort from all concerned parties including the RECs to seek funding for the facility.

AUC representative Mr. Yagouba Traore called upon AUC Member states to support the Fund.

Director of Infrastructure at the African Development Bank, Mr. Amadou Oumarou reaffirmed the institution’s commitment to mobilize more resources for NEPAD-IPPF and highlighted a Euro 3 million contribution received by the facility from the Spanish government in 2019.  Infrastructure development would be more critical as the continent sought to make the African Continental Free Trade Area functional, he said.

“The facility has maintained a sustained drive towards building partnerships and can report on positive co-financing results. Notwithstanding, our efforts to secure more resources will continue through 2020, both from African governments and stakeholders as well as in collaboration with private sector companies and philanthropists,” Oumarou said.

Going forward, implementing cost recovery instruments to support Public Private Partnership projects to attract more private sector financing downstream would be an important focus for the NEPAD-IPPF, he added.

The meeting ended with a visit to the Namanga “One Stop Border Post” between Tanzania-Kenya. This project funded by NEPAD-IPPF, has helped increase trade and tourism and has also stimulated the regional economy within the East African Community.