AIC News

The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank has approved a new Water Strategy for 2021-2025: “Towards a Water-Secure Africa.” 

China has committed billions of dollars to fund Africa’s development priorities, especially in infrastructure and manufacturing.

The pragmatic reversal points to economic realities in a country whose image as a fast-rising continental challenger sometimes masks years of jobless growth exacerbated by covid-19, and a national debt to GDP ratio nearing 80%.

The World Bank Board today approved $40 million from the International Development Association (IDA)* to promote the development of inclusive, resilient, and competitive agricultural value chains, with specific focus on smallholder farmers and agribusinesses in The Gambia. 

ARC Financial Services, a subsidiary of billionaire Patrice Motsepe’s African Rainbow Capital, has entered into agreements to acquire Crossfin Technology Holdings, as part of a consortium led by the Ethos Mid-Market Fund I, in a transaction valued at R1.5 billion. 

dnata, a leading global air and travel services provider, has signed a concession agreement with The Government of Zanzibar, along with Emirates Leisure Retail and SEGAP, a joint venture between airport infrastructure and operations specialists Egis, and private equity fund manager AIIM. 

Ecobank Group, the leading pan-African banking group, has signed an agreement for a 100 million Euros long-term credit facility over 9 years with the European Investment Bank (EIB).

The Africa Investment Forum’s Market Days 2021, an initiative of the African Development Bank (AfDB), is poised to attract billions of dollars in investment for strategic development projects across the continent. 

The eighth edition of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) is due to be held in Dakar, Senegal, from 29-30 November 2021.

France’s TotalEnergies Italy’s Eni say they are ready to invest billions of dollars in Libya as the Opec nation emerges from a decade of conflict and civil war.