February 17, 2022
World Bank Hands Chinese Contractors Sh71 Billion in Road Projects
Chinese contractors received the bulk of the World Bank-funded projects for Kenya's public infrastructure. A sample of recent Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) road projects worth Sh71.9 billion funded by the multilateral lender and the government are all being constructed by Chinese contractors.
Regional Infrastructure Projects Key to Realizing AfCFTA Benefits
The African Continental Free Trade Area is expected to increase intra-African trade in transport services by nearly 50 percent, according to the latest estimates by the Economic Commission for Africa. The estimates were released by the ECA at the fifth African Business Forum, and indicate that over 25 percent of intra-African trade gains in services will go to transport alone; and nearly 40 percent of the increase in Africa’s services production will be in transport.
Telecoms Provider Launches Bond
Mauritius-headquartered telecommunications company AXIAN Telecom launched a USD 420 million bond to expand its services. AXIAN will use the financing to expand its telecoms services and infrastructure offerings, which to date it provides to Madagascar, Togo, Tanzania, Senegal, Comoros, Mayotte, Reunion and Uganda. The company said it would prioritize greater inclusion, providing access to under-served groups in rural and low-income communities.
Africa and Europe: A Time for Action
As African and European leaders gather for a crucial EU-AU summit in Brussels, Africans are gripped by both a sense of hopeful anticipation - and a sense of fatigued apprehension. Hope because the summit is about Financing for Recovery, and adequate sustainable finance for recovery is exactly what is needed. Apprehension, because too many summits have resulted in too little impact in the last few years.
Funding Round Targets Nigerian Healthcare Market
U.S.-Nigerian digital health company Reliance Health is planning further expansion following the completion of a USD 40 million funding round which involved private equity and venture capital. The funding is intended for the company’s growth within Nigeria into other markets and the scaling of its products. The round was led by General Atlantic, the private equity firm’s first African technology investment.
Why African Countries must Protect their Fish Stocks from the EU
Fisheries serve as a source of employment for millions of people in the small-scale sector on the coastline of Africa. Their fishing activities, in turn, provide food security to over 200 million Africans. To regulate the fishing industry, African countries have signed numerous agreements with trading blocs including the European Union. The EU has two forms of Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreements with African states: the tuna agreement and the mixed agreement.
The South African Perspective: Can the EU & Africa Reboot their Relationship?
As the 6th EU-Africa Summit approaches, few are questioning the need for a fundamental reset of relations. But what precisely does that entail? The path ahead is by no means clear, when long-standing challenges in Africa such as food security and migration are compounded by today’s immediate global concerns of health and climate change.