AIC News

Asking Africa to reduce numbers of livestock to meet global climate goals, as one European negotiator suggested earlier this year, is not a solution to the climate change crisis, writes George Wamukoya.

To support universal and affordable broadband access in Africa, IFC has partnered with Liquid Intelligent Technologies (Liquid.Tech) to expand data center capacity and the rollout of fiber-optic cable on the continent.

The European Investment Bank and Allianz Global Investors said on Monday they plan to raise 500 million euros ($577.55 million) for a fund aimed at bolstering climate mitigation and adaptation in developing countries.

Amid attempts to increase textile production in West Africa and capitalise on the added value that comes from cotton processing, efforts are being made to reform supply chains both regionally and globally.

The Kigali International Financial Centre has announced the entrance of a $250 million investment fund dubbed Virunga Africa Fund I which will invest in sectors capable of driving economic growth and social transformation across Africa.

In West Africa, sales of off-grid solar products in the second half of 2020 totaled 434,000 – a 19% increase over the same period in 2019 and a 23% rise compared to the first half of 2020.

Several donor groups have joined the environment ministers of Rwanda, Malawi, and Nigeria in a push to raise $2 billion for the restoration of African forests by the next COP.

The UK’s development finance institution is to invest over £3bn in emerging markets to help them meet their Paris Agreement goals and to adapt and build resilience to the effects of climate change.

Chipper Cash, an African cross-border payments company, has raised $150 million in a Series C extension round led by Sam Bankman-Fried’s cryptocurrency exchange platform FTX.

President Cyril Ramaphosa says that South Africa is committed to a move to green energy but will be heavily dependent on funding from other countries to achieve its goals.