The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has approved the disbursement of $4.3 billion to help fight the coronavirus pandemic in South Africa. This amount, which represents 100% of South Africa’s quota in the Fund, was granted under the Rapid Financing Instrument to meet the country’s urgent balance of payments needs. “The pandemic is evolving in South Africa at a...

The Malagasy telecom regulator has suspended the 5G network launched by the telecom operator Telma. ARTEC announced the suspension after sealing all the operator’s 5G equipment, much to the latter’s discontent. ARTEC explained its decision saying that Telma overstepped its given boundaries to experiment with the technology. On July 1, 2020, the mobile operator announced the commercial launch...

A higher level of preparedness is urgently needed to prevent and mitigate the COVID-19 pandemic in Southern Africa, including additional resources for testing and to reduce the impact on households and the economy, the African Development Bank said in its new Southern Africa Regional Economic Outlook. In the worst-case scenario, growth in Southern Africa would fall to -6.6% in 2020 before...

The African Development Bank on Friday 24 July approved $27.4 million in grants to boost the African Union’s (AU) efforts to mobilize continental response to curb the COVID-19 pandemic. The approval comes on the heels of a meeting of the extended Bureau of the AU Conference of Heads of State and Government with Africa’s private sector on 22 April 2020, chaired by President Cyril...

At one time or another, nations and individuals confront crisis points – moments of existential challenge that also open up new possibilities. African countries, at just such a crisis point as a result of the novel coronavirus, face three possible outcomes post-pandemic: play catch-up, stand still or fall even further behind the industrialized world1. With this crisis comes an economic...

The African Development Bank on Friday approved grants worth about $41.16 million to Djibouti to bolster the national budget in support of government efforts to mitigate national and regional impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. The funding will take the form of an African Development Fund grant for $4.12 million and a $37.04 million grant from the Bank’s Regional Operations...

The Board of Directors of the African Development Fund (ADF) on Friday approved a $69 million grant to support Ghana’s efforts to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic and mitigate its socio-economic impact on the nation. The grant from the ADF, the concessional arm of the African Development Bank, will provide fiscal budget support to finance the government’s national COVID-19 Emergency...

The African Development Bank’s Board of Directors on Friday approved a UA 38.15 million ($53.25 million) multi-country grant to The Gambia, Liberia and Sierra Leone in the form of direct budget support to bolster efforts to fight the COVID-19 pandemic in the three West African countries. The grant from the African Development Fund (ADF), aims to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 in The Gambia,...

The African Development Bank on Thursday approved a concessional loan of $97.675 million to Rwanda to strengthen its national budget as it works to mitigate impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. The funding will take the form of an African Development Fund loan, which the Bank is providing the under its COVID-19 Response Facility. Rwanda mounted a swift and decisive response to counter the...

The African Development Bank today approved grants worth $25.1 million to Somalia to bolster the national budget for government efforts to mitigate national and regional impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. The funding, comprised a $10.04 million grant from Pillar 1 of the Bank’s Transition Support Facility and a $15.06 million grant from the Regional Operations Envelope, comes...