Over the past few years, the private sector has been a key focus of AfDB’s activities. The aim is to support inclusive and sustainable growth in Africa. In that bid, it is supported by strategic partners, including Japan.  The African Development Bank (AfDB) announced Tuesday (April 25), a $350 million loan agreement with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to support...

Access to quality and affordable Internet is a key component of the national digital transformation program adopted by Chad in July 2020. Yet, according to the latest figures from its telecom regulator, only 16 percent of the Chadian population has access to mobile Internet.  Mobile operators Moov Africa and Airtel Chad will have to take the necessary steps to avoid any disruption of the...

The agency points out that a possible transformation of the conflict into a protracted civil war could affect the asset quality, non-performing loan portfolios, and liquidity of multilateral development banks. The conflict in Sudan is likely to affect the ratings of multilateral development banks exposed to the East African country, including the Trade and Development Bank of Eastern and...

So far, Cameroon is the only Central African country that has implemented the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the European Union (EU), and it is dealing with the gradual liberalization of the Union’s products on its market. In its latest report on the Cameroonian economy, the country’s Ministry of Economy, planning, and land management (MInepat) wrote: "From August 2016, when the...

In 2022, in a context marked by economic challenges, African countries reduced their military spending. The decline was more pronounced in Sub-Saharan Africa than in North Africa where Algeria and Morocco seem to be in an arms race of some sort.   In Africa, cumulated military spending fell by 5.3% to $39.4 billion in 2022, according to a report published on Monday 24 April by the...

One of Nigeria’s digital ambitions is to connect 70% of its population to the Internet by 2025. In February 2023, its telecom regulator indicated that the country had 156.9 million internet subscribers while broadband penetration was 48.49%.  The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has granted 19 new Internet Service Provider (ISP) licenses this year. This brings the internet service...

The number of active mobile money accounts has doubled in the world over the past five years, largely due to Africa. The continent is the leading driver of the growth of mobile money transactions but its performance hides disparities.  Africa accounted for 66.3% of mobile money transactions in 2022, according to a report published on April 18 by the GSM Association...

The African Development Bank has launched the African Green Bank Initiative to tackle Africa’s key barriers to climate financing and promote resilient, green and sustainable growth. The Green Bank Initiative will be supported by the African Green Finance Facility Fund (AG3F), which aims at developing an ecosystem of local and regional Green Finance Facilities to mobilize private investment in...

The African Development Bank Group has launched a six-month campaign to sensitize its internal and external stakeholders on its new Whistleblowing Policy, approved by the Boards of Directors in January this year. The Whistleblowing Policy 2023 builds on a 2007 policy, which at the time was widely considered as progressive and reflective of the value the Bank Group places on the contribution of...

The African Development Bank and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) today signed a JPY 44,100,000,000 ($350 million) loan to finance the Bank’s support for private sector operations in Africa. The loan comes under the Enhanced Private Sector Assistance (EPSA) initiative, which is a component of Japan’s Official Development Assistance to Africa. The fifth version of EPSA, for...