African Development Bank Group Acting Chief Economist and Vice President Kevin Urama has called for more robust capacity development and research on the impact of climate change in Africa. Urama made the call when he presented the African Development Bank’s African Economic Outlook (AEO) 2022 report to senior faculty members of Harvard University’s Center for African Studies on Friday, 14...

Reducing business carbon footprint has become a priority with the acceleration of climate change. Many African telecom operators have already taken initiatives in that regard.   Telecom tower operator IHS Towers unveiled a roadmap for reducing carbon emissions in its African markets, among others, on Monday, October 24. The company says it is aiming for a 50 percent reduction in its...

Nigeria on Monday began its long journey to end hunger and achieve food security by launching the Special Agro-industrial Processing Zones (SAPZ), a programme initiated by the African Development Bank. According to the President of the African Development Bank, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina “the Special Agro-industrial Processing Zones are new economic zones, located in rural areas, to be fully...

Declining crude oil production and continued energy subsidies "have almost entirely eroded the boost to government revenue and exports that would otherwise have been anticipated from higher oil prices," the rating agency justifies. Moody's announced, Friday, it downgraded Nigeria's "local currency and foreign currency long-term issuer ratings as well as its foreign currency senior unsecured debt...

In December 2021, the Nigerian telecom regulator held the first 5G spectrum auction in the country. Three operators participated, with MTN and Mafab Communications emerging as the winners. Last Friday, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) announced it would auction two lots of 100 megahertz in the 3.5 GHz band. According to the information memorandum, the reserve price is US$273.6...

Ahead of the 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP27, in Egypt in November, the African Development Bank and the Global Center on Adaptation participated in a series of events at the Africa Climate Week to build consensus among African countries and stakeholders.  COP27 is described as Africa's COP and will significantly shape the future. To deliver on adaptation, a...

The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank Group has approved a €5.76 million grant to the Comoros to increase food production and enhance the resilience of its food system.  The move comes as the country has experienced rising food prices due to the war in Ukraine. The grant funds will come from the African Development Bank’s Transition Support Facility, a mechanism to...

Development lenders in Africa can seize the current global crises as an impetus to help the continent significantly increase food production. This was a common conclusion of panelists at this year’s Finance in Common summit in Abidjan on Wednesday. Participants agreed that development partners should work with governments and other policymakers to bolster the resilience of private businesses,...

Airtel wants to improve its position in its African markets. The operator recently invested millions of dollars to acquire additional telecom spectrum in Kenya and Zambia.  Telecom operator Airtel Gabon is currently negotiating with the Gabonese government to secure 165 plots of land to expand its network coverage in the country, local media report. The initiative follows disgruntled...

The United Kingdom will provide £68.6 million (US$76 million) guarantee for the construction of the Sokode-Tchamba-Kambole road, a cross-border road in North Togo. The guarantee will be granted via UK Export Finance (UKEF), a British export credit agency, to support a loan from the Japanese bank MUFG, the British government announced last Wednesday. The announcement was made on the sidelines of...