AfDB and Agence Française de Développement sign EUR2-billion co-financing partnership agreement for Africa
The African Development Bank Group (AfDB) and the Agence Française de Développement on Wednesday, 10 November signed a co-financing and partnership agreement to strengthen their relationship and leverage additional resources for impactful projects in Africa. AfDB president Dr Akinwumi A. Adesina and Agence Française de Développement CEO Rémy Rioux signed the agreement in Paris on behalf of their two institutions. The agreement, which runs for five years, from 2021 to 2026, targets an indicative amount (EUR2-billion) in co-financing over its first three years. It will complement the current partnership between both institutions through mutual understanding, by facilitating staff exchanges, sharing knowledge, and jointly organising events. The existing partnership already covers such key sectors as infrastructure, water and sanitation, agriculture, and the private sector. The new agreement supersedes an earlier framework agreement signed in November 2015.
Source: AfDB
Africa
World Bank projects African economy to go up a full percentage point in 2021
Global financial institutions are revising upwards their outlook on Africa’s economic growth, signalling that the continent is recovering from the impact of COVID-19 and becoming more resilient, despite slower vaccine rollout. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank’s latest economic outlook shows Africa is set to emerge from the 2020 recession sparked by the COVID-19 pandemic. The World Bank, in its latest edition of Africa’s Pulse , projects the economy will expand by 3.3% in 2021 – a full percentage point rise compared to its April forecast. “This rebound is currently fuelled by elevated commodity prices, a relaxation of stringent pandemic measures, and recovery in global trade,” said the World Bank. The IMF shares similar sentiments in its regional economic outlook for sub-Saharan Africa, which it says is set to grow by 3.7% in 2021 and at an even higher pace (3.8%) in 2022. “The recovery is supported by favourable external conditions on trade and commodity prices. It has also benefited from improved harvests and increased agricultural production in a number of countries,” says Abebe Aemro Selassie, director, African Department, IMF.
Source: The Africa Report
Central Africa
CEMAC: Telecom regulators ink memoranda to suppress roaming surcharges
On 9 November 2021, in Douala, Minister of Posts and Telecommunications (Minpostel) Minette Li Libom Likeng presided over the signing of bilateral agreements between Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC) countries for […]