The European Business Council for Africa

African Development Bank, partners unveil initiative to secure climate-resilient water and sanitation services in five drought-prone countries

The African Development Bank, in partnership with the Nordic Development Fund and the Government of Denmark will roll-out a program to strengthen access to climate-resilient water and sanitation resources in Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Mali, Niger and Somalia. The initiative is expected to strengthen recovery in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The new initiative will enhance the sustainability of water systems through the construction or upgrade of existing infrastructure. The program will also support feasibility studies to prepare bankable projects that contribute to increased financing for water, sanitation and hygiene services, improving human health, child education and economic productivity.

Read more …

Declaration by the High Representative on behalf of the European Union on the alignment of certain countries concerning restrictive measures directed against certain persons, entities and bodies threatening the peace, security or stability of the Republic

On 5 August 2021, the Council adopted Decision 2021/13061.

The Council Decision amends the list of persons subject to restrictive measures as set out in Annexes II and III to Decision 2012/285/CFSP by removing two persons.

The Candidate Countries Turkey, the Republic of North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Albania2, the country of the Stabilisation and Association Process and potential candidate Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the EFTA countries Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, members of the European Economic Area, as well as Ukraine align themselves with this Council Decision.

Read more …

Avis aux médias: Première visite officielle du Haut représentant/Vice-président Josep Borrell en Tunisie

Le Haut représentant pour les affaires étrangères et la politique de sécurité/Vice-président de la Commission européenne, Josep Borrell, sera en visite officielle en Tunisie aujourd'hui, 9 septembre, et demain, 10 septembre. Il s'agira de sa première visite officielle dans le pays en tant que Haut représentant.

Aujourd’hui, le Haut représentant se réunira avec les instances indépendantes –établies par la Constitution de 2014- ainsi qu’avec des représentants de la société civile tunisienne et des acteurs politiques.

Read more …

São Tomé e Príncipe: Déclaration du Porte-Parole sur les élections présidentielles

L’Union européenne se réjouit du bon déroulement du deuxième tour des élections présidentielles organisées à São Tomé e Principe et tient à féliciter le Président élu, M. Carlos Vila Nova. Nous poursuivrons avec lui et son gouvernement l’excellente coopération bilatérale entamée avec ses prédécesseurs pour le bénéfice des relations entre l’UE et São Tomé e Principe et nos peuples.

Read more …

African Development Bank to launch new initiative to integrate natural capital into finance in Africa

On 9 September, the African Development Bank Group, Green Growth Knowledge Platform, and other partners will launch a new initiative on integrating natural capital into development finance in Africa.  

This initiative, called the Natural Capital for African Development Finance Programme NC4-ADF, is supported by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) through its dedicated agency Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the MAVA Foundation, the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) and the Economics for Nature (E4N) partnership, with the goal of giving a central economic role to natural capital.

Read more …

Nigeria: Federal and state governments endorse Special Agro-industrial Processing Zones Programme: African Development Bank and partners to mobilize $520 million for Phase 1

Nigeria’s Federal and State governments have expressed overwhelming support for an initiative to create Special Agro-industrial Processing Zones (SAPZ) - public-private partnerships aimed at developing priority value chains through developing infrastructure in rural areas, focused on finishing and transforming raw materials and commodities.

At a high-level briefing session held on Monday, Minister of Finance, Budget, and National Planning Dr. Zainab Shamsuna Ahmed, who hosted the meeting, reaffirmed the Federal Government’s commitment to put in place enabling policies and incentives to attract private sector investment in the Zones, to ensure successful implementation.

Read more …

South Sudan: Country’s first oxygen plant comes on stream at Juba hospital to help fight Covid-19

South Sudan has begun producing oxygen following the successful installation of the country’s first oxygen plant at Juba Teaching Hospital, set up with funding from the African Development Fund.

The oxygen plant was procured as part of measures to support the country’s ongoing Covid-19 response with a grant from the African Development Bank Group’s concessional lending arm. The project was implemented by the World Health Organization (WHO) on behalf of the government.

Read more …

African Development Bank’s Youth Entrepreneurship and Innovation Multi-Donor Trust Fund provides more than $7.3 million for youth jobs and skills

In June and July of this year, an African Development Bank technical review committee approved eight project proposals to receive funding in an important milestone for its Jobs for Youth in Africa Strategy. Approved proposals will receive grant funding of more than $7.3 million to operationalize their activities, creating several new enterprises and an estimated 20,000 jobs for youth across the continent.

Several of the approved proposals were submitted in response to a call from the Human Capital, Youth and Skills Development Department (AHHD) through the Youth Entrepreneurship and Innovation Multi-Donor Trust Fund late last year. Bank offices, complexes and departments from across regional member countries submitted nearly 24 proposals for committee review. 

Themes submitted included capacity building for entrepreneurs, climate change, gender, affordable housing, food security, migration and textiles, with the common thread of creating decent jobs for young women and men.

Read more …

"A New Deal for Africa" - Op-ed article by President Charles Michel, and more than 30 European and African leaders

In one year, the pandemic has halted a quarter-century of steady economic growth in Africa, disrupted value chains, and caused an unprecedented increase in inequality and poverty. As a result, the entire world is at risk, because the global economy could lose one of its future drivers of growth.

The COVID-19 pandemic has taught us that we can no longer treat seemingly faraway crises as distant problems. What happens anywhere can affect people everywhere. That is why addressing the impact and legacy of the pandemic in Africa is so important.

Although Africa has suffered fewer COVID-19 cases and deaths than other areas of the world, the pandemic’s impact on the continent could be more sustained, deep-rooted, and destabilizing for the entire planet. In one year, the pandemic has halted a quarter-century of steady economic growth, disrupted value chains, and caused an unprecedented increase in inequality and poverty.

Read more …

Development Bank of Austria (OeEB) and EIB launch EUR 100 million African private sector COVID-19 resilience investment initiative

Entrepreneurs and businesses most impacted by economic, health and social challenges triggered by COVID-19 will be able to benefit from a new EUR 100 million private sector financing initiative backed by (OeEB), the Development Bank of Austria, and the European Investment Bank.

The programme will enhance access to long-term financing across sub-Saharan Africa, help to create thousands of jobs and accelerate sustainable development and poverty reduction. The first joint business financing supported by the two institutions will provide both direct loans to companies in Africa and financing managed by local banks.

“This first cooperation between the Development Bank of Austria and the European Investment Bank will provide timely support for private sector investment across Africa and strengthen sustainable development during challenging times. The project is an example of how European and national institutions can work together efficiently to achieve development goals in Africa, to address the consequences of the pandemic and to create thousands of jobs. Economic development in the African continent also helps Austrian exports in the long term.” said Gernot Blümel, Federal Minister of Finance of the Republic of Austria and Governor of the European Investment Bank.

Read more …