In the running for one of the biggest jobs on the continent, Senegal’s Amadou Hott is no stranger to public life. As a former Minister of Economy, Planning, and Cooperation in his home country, former Vice President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), and Corporate CEO, he hopes to use all of those experiences to maximize development and impact on the continent. Excerpts from an interview with FORBES AFRICA in March:



Q. Having been a part of the AfDB, there is continuity attached to the President’s role you’re seeking. How has this journey been?



A. These are exciting times for Africa, and I feel it’s really the right time for me to step in, and following my 25 years of leadership experience across continents, in both public and private sectors, with the multilateral development banks, and having actually started and managed Senegal’s sovereign wealth fund–which is now one of the most credible sovereign funds on the continent–and having been in investment banking, mobilizing resources and capital for both the public and the private sectors, I feel I’m well-equipped now to really serve by leading this bank and supporting Africa, especially in this environment, where the needs are bigger than ever before. The young people are impatient to see their lives transformed. But, also at a time when geopolitics [has seen] the aid budget globally going down, we need a bank that is very innovative, that can really do more with less, but leverage and have a bigger impact than before…I am confident that once elected, I will be able to take the AfDB to the next level. The bank has done greatly for the last 60 years; each president has done something unique. Specifically, during the last 10 years [under President Akinwumi Adesina], we’ve seen big innovations, projects and initiatives. And I think we can build on that, to really accelerate whatever we are doing for Africa’s development.


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="683" src="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/IMG_5547-1024x683.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-65031" style="width:566px;height:auto" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/IMG_5547-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/IMG_5547-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/IMG_5547-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/IMG_5547-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/IMG_5547-2048x1365.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Photographs by Manelisi Dabata</figcaption></figure></div>


To take a step back and reflect on your own personal trajectory, growing up in Dakar, from a young age, what were your influences?



A. I was born in a fairly large family, with several brothers and sisters, in the suburbs of Dakar, in difficult and relatively tough neighborhoods. My father was a truck driver, but he was keen to see us study. He would push us when we came back home from school and say, ‘you have to read everything you studied today’. We studied hard.



I received a scholarship from the government of Senegal, and went on to study in Strasbourg, and then in Paris. As a child, I loved mathematics. We had a blackboard in our room, where my siblings and I, and even friends from the neighborhood, would learn math.



I wanted to study overseas and become a professor. I wanted to do a PhD but I became a banker by accident. During the summer of 1995, I was playing football in Paris when I met a banker, played football with him and at the end of the game in the evening, I told him my background and he said ‘you should get into banking, you can teach later if you want but these roles in banking are exciting where you can use math and finance’, and I did.



Q. What charted your rise to becoming a public servant? Is this something you always wanted to do?



A. I had left to the investment banking world, and was called into government to start from scratch a sovereign wealth fund to invest in our economy–not a sovereign wealth fund that would invest overseas, but one that would leverage small money and build the projects, develop them, and make them bankable, then attract both domestic and international capital. I started with hiring a very good team and doing the first solar deals, the independent power producers, where we produce solar power and sell it to the utility, which many countries are doing now in Africa, but we started early on solar. That was in 2015 and we developed the project, supporting a local developer, then attracting an international developer&#8230;



Q. If you become the president of the AfDB, how will you navigate complex regional dynamics, and still stay a neutral and impartial continental institution?



A. My background and experience have enabled me to be able to navigate complex situations, and adapt myself to cultures globally. I haven’t had any issues making sure that I’m adapting myself also to the continent’s cultural, political, and economic diversity. This requires us to understand countries, but also regional dynamics. I think that is very critical, and I’m prepared and equipped to do that better than anyone else. Because, from 2004, even if I was outside Africa, all my interventions up to now have been focused on the continent. So, while I was a banker in London, at ABN AMRO, for example, I was focused on the continent. While in Dubai, I was a banker focused on the continent. In Nigeria too. And, then, at the AfDB as a vice president, working with both the private and public sector, increasing the investment with the private sector by 150% on the energy side within just two and a half years… all of that means you need to understand local cultures; you can manage staff in the most impactful way.


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="683" height="1024" src="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/IMG_5439-683x1024.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-65032" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/IMG_5439-683x1024.jpg 683w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/IMG_5439-200x300.jpg 200w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/IMG_5439-768x1152.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/IMG_5439-1024x1536.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/IMG_5439-1365x2048.jpg 1365w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/IMG_5439-scaled.jpg 1707w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 683px) 100vw, 683px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Photographs by Manelisi Dabata</figcaption></figure></div>


Q. How do you view the African diaspora? People say Africa is going to the rest of the world, but it’s actually the world catching up with what Africa has in terms of talent and natural resources…



A. First of all, from the outside, in particular, within our diaspora, people always want to come back to Africa if they find the right opportunity, whether as entrepreneurs or working for an international organization or multinational, people know that the future is Africa. Within 10 years, we’ll have 500 million people aged between 15 and 35, and we know the natural resources the continent has. Some of them are very strategic for energy transition, including the critical mineral resources Africa has. In this new era, everyone would want to have a piece of that, but Africa needs to make sure also that its interests are defended, that it is transforming its natural resources as much as possible. And that it’s not just exporting raw materials. People talk about it, but I think it’s the time to do it. If you do not have the right energy systems, the right business environment, there is no way we can add value to our natural resources on the ground. Because you need energy, you need to ask for capital, you need to do your reforms and have the best business environment possible, such as what countries in Southeast Asia did in the 1960s and 1970s. You do the best reforms, you create the conditions and the people in our own continent will feel more comfortable to invest at home, and then you also attract international investors and FDIs.



 Q. &nbsp; As President, how would you elevate the discussion on infrastructure development?



A. It’s critical to have the right energy systems, to have affordable, reliable, as-clean-as-possible energy, in particular, electricity, and also focus on the system that will help us industrialize. This is critical, needing a lot of resources and reforms. The AfDB has launched a new initiative with the World Bank, called Mission 300, with the aim to provide access to electricity to 300 million people [in sub-Saharan Africa by 2030]. As president, I will focus on that and make it happen over the next five years. But then, you need the transport infrastructure, the digital infrastructure. There is no way the African Continental Free Trade Area agreement will become a reality without the connectivity, the road corridors, the rails, and the bank needs now to mobilize both public and private resources, with a big shift towards private sector mobilization. That’s very critical for the future, because we also want to create jobs, and jobs are created by private sector investment; not only the public sector.



Q. &nbsp; How&nbsp;are&nbsp;you going to enable the entrepreneurial ecosystem for these young people?



A. I want to stress the importance of education and enhancing the skills of our young people to make sure they are ready for the economic opportunities our continent will provide… Number one, I would rather train almost everybody and have most of them stay on the continent to help build the continent&#8230; Number two, we cannot provide economic opportunities to everybody via the job market. Some of them will be entrepreneurs and self-employed innovators who will be creating jobs for others. And you need to support them with technical assistance, but also grant money or venture capital equity. The bank has what we call the youth entrepreneurship investment program and has already developed it in a few countries. We have got to make sure that becomes a reality, and adapt it to our countries’ institutional frameworks. The goal is to provide technical assistance and equity investment guarantees pretty early, so that the banking sector can be ready to finance those innovators. And then also work with the government so that the rules, regulations and framework for supporting startups are in place. In some countries, they are, but in some countries, we don’t have them yet. And I think the bank can engage in active dialogue with those countries so that while you’re putting in place the youth entrepreneurship investment banks, we are also fostering the right reforms and regulations. For me, that is extremely important.



Q. &nbsp; What are your plans for prioritizing climate change? What is on your agenda?



A. The bank has done very well in climate finance, and during my vice presidency. In 2017, 100% of the bank’s investment in electricity production was in renewable energy. For me, maximizing renewable energy is very important because the continent has the resources and you cannot easily export renewable energy, but you can produce gas or other technologies and export, instead of consuming it yourselves. But your systems cannot have only renewable energy. You have got to have a base load that allows you to maximize renewable energy. You can do storage as well, but all of that has limitations, so the system has to have the right energy mix to achieve two goals mainly, to make sure that we have access to affordable, reliable and the cleanest-possible energy; and then industrialize, and you cannot industrialize only with renewable energy. It’s still expensive to try to industrialize with say, green hydrogen. The day it becomes cheaper, Africa will be unstoppable in terms of having green industrialization. But it’s a process, and we cannot wait for that to happen. That’s why it’s very important to use gas, which is stable energy, which is also the least polluting of all the non-renewable energy technologies, and for me, industrialization, transforming our natural resources into something that helps us create jobs and increase the wealth for ourselves, is very important.



Q. &nbsp; A corporate CEO, a public servant, a DFI leader… which role have you enjoyed the most?



A. To tell you the truth, I have enjoyed all of them–as a banking CEO, a sovereign wealth fund CEO, as the vice president of the AfDB, and it has also been equally exciting as a minister. As the president of the bank, I would use those key experiences to make sure we are maximizing development and impact on the continent and that the bank is seen as the most friendly and most-efficient bank with the private sector and with the government. This is my goal, transforming the private sector business–if I can use those words–of the bank.



Q. You have worked with Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote. What have your learnings been with the continent’s high-net-worth individuals?



A. I worked with Aliko and also with Tony Elumelu, another billionaire. Especially in Nigeria, what they all have in common is hard work and the boldness. If you work with them, you have got to work extremely hard. And of course, I also worked with Akinwumi Adesina, the president of the AfDB, very closely; these are extremely hard-working and driven people. If you work with them, you have got to do the same, otherwise, you’ll be left behind.



Q. &nbsp; One last question: if you win and go on to become President, are you going to continue to find time to play football?



A. (Laughs) Why not? Maybe I will organize a game or championship&#8230; and every year, we play football and then cooperate more and work more together. I haven’t played football over the last three months, but then, I have been walking and running. And even when I travel, I try to jog in the city for 30 minutes. When I am at home, my two daughters, aged 22 and 17, and my son, aged 12, sometimes organize football games with their friends, and they invite me and I run with them. Sometimes, they’re surprised!

IMG_5548

Amadou Hott On Africa: ‘Create Jobs And Increase The Wealth For Ourselves’

<blockquote class="wp-block-quote has-text-align-center is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
“We are not merely making policy, but are nurturing a legacy of boundless growth and shared prosperity under BeTA (Bottom-up Economic Transformation Agenda),” says Prime Cabinet Secretary and Cabinet Secretary For Foreign Diaspora Affairs, Dr Musalia Mudavadi.
</blockquote>



Kenya, the largest economy in East Africa, celebrated 60 years of independence on December 12, 2023.



In June, during the country’s Madaraka Day celebrations, which commemorate the day Kenya attained self-rule in 1963 – a day that would prove pivotal in its pursuit of independence, President William Samoei Ruto stated that “every Kenya African understood [the first Madaraka Day] to be the beginning of the hard and noble work of securing and enhancing social and economic freedom as well.”



“For six decades now, the people of Kenya have worked hard, with admirable diligence and unwavering determination, to perfect the political freedom of their nation through sustained socioeconomic progress,” he added.



The country, in which GDP is projected to grow 5.6% in 2023 and 6.0% in 2024, according to an economic outlook published by the African Development Bank (AfDB) earlier this year, is considered “a powerhouse within the East African community”.



This was the sentiment from Dr Musalia Mudavadi, Prime Cabinet Secretary and Cabinet Secretary for Foreign Diaspora Affairs.



“On the global stage, Kenya’s influence has soared, expanding its footprint in international trade, becoming a key member of regional bodies such as the East African Community (EAC), the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), and forging essential economic partnerships like AGOA with the United States and having an Economic Partnership Arrangement with the European Union (EU),” he tells FORBES AFRICA.



Furthermore, the country is committed to global harmony, underscored by its active participation in the United Nations peacekeeping framework.



“As we celebrate 60 years of independence, these achievements and challenges serve as stepping stones toward a future of even greater promise,” Mudavadi adds.



Solidifying Kenya’s commitment to economic development, in 2022, it exported a total of $7.4 billion, globally.



Approximately, $767 million of this revenue came directly from the country’s 89 Export Processing Zones (EPZs). This year, President Ruto announced new plans to expand this number with an additional five new zones to complement this growth and encourage more foreign investment in the country.



The East African nation’s technology ecosystem also holds immense potential, according to Endeavor Kenya Managing Director, Maryanne Ochola.



“The Kenyan startup ecosystem is nascent and full of promise,” she says, adding, “A number of important events saw Kenya turn the tide. These were the laying of the first undersea internet cable, the launch of M-PESA and the establishment of innovation hubs such as iLab at Strathmore University. These



developments underscore the importance of two key assets – enabling infrastructure and physical spaces for like-minded innovators to convene and exchange ideas.”



Mudavadi also emphasizes “Kenya’s pioneering role in the mobile banking revolution” and concludes: “Our legacy, we hope, will be woven from the threads of unity, determination, the resilient spirit of the African, and a relentless pursuit of a better tomorrow for every African.”



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Aerial view of illuminated city buildings against sky at night,Nairobi,Kenya

Leading With A Legacy Of Economic Transformation: Kenya Celebrates 60 Years Of Independence

By Akinwumi A. Adesina, President, African Development Bank.



We are in a battle against time to curb the COVID-19 pandemic. While tackling the Coronavirus pandemic has grabbed global attention, a new crisis that could claim a lot more lives is brewing in Africa: massive locust invasions.



Billions of desert locusts are ravaging countries all across East Africa, including Kenya, Somalia, Ethiopia, Sudan, South Sudan, Uganda, and Djibouti. It has been reported that their numbers are likely to increase by up to 400 times by June 2020, reaching crisis levels.



The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has estimated that unless quickly controlled, 5 million additional people in East Africa will be hungry by June.



An unprecedented race against time has begun to urgently stop the progression and potentially devastating impact of the deadly twins: COVID-19 and the locusts for millions in Africa.



We all know that rains are good for crops. But then when good rains also caused favorable breeding environments for locusts, the joy of rains has suddenly turned hopes of expected plenty into glooms of hunger.&nbsp; Is the best of times becoming the worst of times?



Locust breeding populations have increased massively. The locust plague moves with devastating effects: imagine a carpet of locusts of up to 150 million locusts covering a square kilometer. And think about it, that they can consume crops in one day that can feed approximately 35,000 people. In East Africa, where FAO estimates that some 20 million people are already food insecure, the effects will be devastating.



The locust crisis emerges as the continent is dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. These are tough odds to face.



Today, distressfully, choices for millions of the poor are oddly similar: to stay in confinement and escape dying from Coronavirus or dying from hunger staying at home.



It is already playing out. Food riots broke out a few days ago in Kibera, the largest slum in Kenya, as people trampled over each other, defying social distancing &#8211; prescribed to stem the spread of the Coronavirus &#8211; to get food. Coronavirus could kill, but hunger kills many more people.



With the lockdowns for the COVID-19 pandemic, pest control workers are largely unable to go out to spray. While restrictions have been lifted to allow aircrafts used to spray to operate, they can do little as they are largely unable to get access to the chemicals, due to disruption of supply chains.



It appears that those who escape the COVID-19 will soon face LOCUST-19. In East Africa alone, the number of hungry people could jump to 30 million people.



There are several lifesaving recommendations we can act on now. These include one, the creation of a &#8220;green channel&#8221; for the free flow of food and agricultural inputs and pesticides to control pest attacks. Two, putting in place measures to prevent food price hikes by releasing food from government grain reserves and implementing anti-hoarding policies. Three, rapidly scaling up food production technologies, including high-yielding, early-maturing, drought-tolerant, disease- and pest-resistant staple crops, and programs such as the African Development Bank’s flagship program, the Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation (TAAT) initiative.



The good news is that the African Development Bank has joined the FAO as the frontrunners in this unprecedented race against time. The Bank has just approved a $1.5 million grant to the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) and the FAO to support efforts to spray against the locusts and safeguard livelihoods in the East and the Horn of Africa. More help will be needed.



The last thing Africa needs now, as we are battling with the COVID-19 pandemic, is a hunger pandemic.



COVID-19 has taken the international community on an unpredictable journey. Thankfully, we can preclude and halt the locust crisis. For that to happen, we all must rally around the FAO to provide the $153 million needed.



COVID-19 cannot be followed by LOCUST-19.

PRST Adesina

Op-Ed: Why Africa Cannot Afford LOCUST-19

Abidjan, Côte d&#8217;Ivoire, 8 April 2020 –&nbsp;The African Development Bank Group on Wednesday announced the creation of the COVID-19 Response Facility to assist regional member countries in fighting the pandemic.



The Facility is the latest measure taken by the Bank to respond to the pandemic and will be the institution&#8217;s primary channel for its efforts to address the crisis. It provides up to $10 billion to governments and the private sector.



Akinwumi Adesina, President of the African Development Bank Group, said the package took into account the fiscal challenges that many African countries are facing.



&#8220;Africa is facing enormous fiscal challenges to respond to the coronavirus pandemic effectively. The African Development Bank Group is deploying its full weight of emergency response support to assist Africa at this critical time. We must protect lives. This Facility will help African countries to fast-track their efforts to contain the rapid spread of COVID-19,&#8221; Adesina said, commending the Board of Directors for its unwavering support.



The Facility entails $5.5 billion for sovereign operations in African Development Bank countries, and $3.1 billion for sovereign and regional operations for countries under the African Development Fund, the Bank Group&#8217;s concessional arm that caters to fragile countries. An additional $1.35 billion will be devoted to private sector operations.



Commenting on the Facility, Acting Senior Vice-President Swazi Tshabalala said: &#8220;The setting up of the Facility required a collective effort and courage by all our staff, Board of Directors and our shareholders.&#8221;



Two weeks ago, the Bank launched a record-breaking $3 billion Fight COVID-19 Social Bond, the world&#8217;s largest US dollar-denominated social bond ever on the international capital market. Last week, the Board of Directors also approved a $2 million grant for the World Health Organization for its efforts on the continent.&nbsp;



&#8220;These are extraordinary times, and we must take bold and decisive actions to save and protect millions of lives in Africa. We are in a race to save lives. No country will be left behind,&#8221; Adesina said.



Press Release provided by the AfDB Group.

Afdb

AfDB Unveils $10 Billion Response Facility To Curb COVID-19

Landmark transaction, largest Social bond transaction to date in capital markets



Abidjan, Côte d&#8217;Ivoire, 27 March 2020 &#8211; The African Development Bank (AAA) has raised an exceptional $3 billion in a three-year bond to help alleviate the economic and social impact the Covid-19 pandemic will have on livelihoods and Africa’s economies.  



The Fight Covid-19
Social bond, with a three-year maturity, garnered interest from central banks
and official institutions, bank treasuries, and asset managers including
Socially Responsible Investors, with bids exceeding $4.6 billion. This is the
largest Social Bond ever launched in international capital markets to date, and
the largest US Dollar benchmark ever issued by the Bank. It will pay an
interest rate of 0.75%. 



The African
Development Bank Group is moving to provide flexible responses aimed at
lessening the severe economic and social impact of this pandemic on its
regional member countries and Africa’s private sector.



“These
are critical times for Africa as it addresses the challenges resulting from the
Coronavirus. The African Development Bank is taking bold measures to support
African countries. This $3 billion Covid-19 bond issuance is the first part of
our comprehensive response that will soon be announced. This is indeed the
largest social bond transaction to date in capital markets. We are here for
Africa, and we will provide significant rapid support for countries,” said
Dr.&nbsp;Akinwumi Adesina,&nbsp;President of the African Development Bank Group.



The order book
for this record-breaking bond highlights the scale of investor support, which
the African Development Bank enjoys, said the arrangers.



“As the Covid-19
outbreak is dangerously threatening Africa, the African Development Bank lives
up to its huge responsibilities and deploys funds to assist and prepare the
African population, through the financing of access to health and to all other
essential goods, services and infrastructure,” said Tanguy Claquin, Head of
Sustainable Banking, Crédit Agricole CIB.



Coronavirus
cases were slow to arrive in Africa, but the virus is spreading quickly and has
infected nearly 3,000 people across 45 countries, placing strain on already
fragile health systems.&nbsp;



It is estimated
that the continent will require many billions of dollars to cushion the impact
of the disease as many countries scrambled contingency measures, including
commercial lockdowns in desperate efforts to contain it. Globally, factories
have been closed and workers sent home, disrupting supply chains, trade,
travel, and driving many economies toward recession.&nbsp;



Commenting on
the landmark transaction, George Sager, Executive Director, SSA Syndicate,
Goldman Sachs said: “In a time of unprecedented market volatility, the African
Development Bank has been able to brave the capital markets in order to secure
invaluable funding to help the efforts of the African



continent&#8217;s
fight against Covid-19. Not only that, but in the process, delivering their
largest ever USD benchmark. A truly remarkable outcome both in terms of its
purpose but also in terms of a USD financing”.



The Bank
established its Social Bond framework in 2017 and raised the equivalent of &nbsp;$2 billion through issuances denominated in
Euro and Norwegian krone. In 2018 the Bank was designated by financial markets,
‘Second most impressive social or sustainability bond issuer” at the Global
Capital SRI Awards.



“We are thankful
for the exceptional level of interest the Fight Covid-19 Social Bond has raised
across the world, as the African Development Bank moves towards lessening the
social and economic impact of the pandemic on a continent already severely constrained.
Our Social bond program enables us to highlight our strong development mandate
to the investor community, allowing them to play a part in improving the lives
of the people of Africa. This was an exceptional outcome for an exceptional
cause,” said Hassatou Diop N’Sele, Treasurer, African Development Bank.



Fight Covid-19 was allocated to central banks and official institutions (53%), bank treasuries (27%) and asset managers (20%). Final bond distribution statistics were as follows: Europe (37%), Americas (36%), Asia (17%) Africa (8%,) and Middle-East (1%).



Press Release by the African Development Bank

gettyimages-488744010-594×594

What You Need To Know About AfDB’s $3 billion “Fight COVID-19” Social Bond

“There is no greater asset to Africa than its youth,” a statement that has been repeatedly proclaimed, but the continent still has a long way to go. Despite robust economic growth over the past two decades, a 1 percent increase in growth between 2000–14 was associated with only 0.41 percent growth in employment. This figure suggests that employment stood at less than 1.8 percent a year, far below the nearly 3 percent annual growth in the labor force. If this trend continues, 100 million people will join the multitudes of the unemployed in Africa by 2030.



With this in mind, researchers, youth representatives, business leaders,
and policymakers have joined over 350 stakeholders in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt,
to significantly move the needle on youth empowerment.&nbsp; 



The annual African Economic Conference (AEC), is jointly
organized by the African Development Bank, the Economic Commission for Africa
and the United Nations Development Programme, to discuss pertinent issues
affecting the continent. 



The 2019 AEC is held in Egypt and hosted by the
Bank on the theme; “Jobs, entrepreneurship and capacity development for African
youth” and runs from 2-4 December.



Turning the youth bulge into opportunities has been
the focus of the African Development Bank’s game-changing approach to job
creation, entrepreneurship, and capacity development. In recognition of the crucial
role that entrepreneurship plays in the creation of high-quality jobs, the Bank
developed its Jobs for Youth in Africa (JfYA) Strategy&nbsp;(2016-2025). The
Strategy aims to create 25 million jobs for African youth over the next decade as
well as equipping 50 million youth with a mix of hard and soft skills to
increase their employability and their entrepreneurial success rate. 



The impact is already being felt. Since its launch
in 2016, over $20 billion has been invested by the Bank across 318 projects.
These investments are directly making a difference in the African youth skills,
entrepreneurship, business development, and job creation.



In parallel and working closely with its partners,
the Bank is helping strengthen entrepreneurship ecosystems in Africa. &nbsp;The flagship Youth Entrepreneurship and
Innovation Multi-Donor Trust Fund&nbsp;(YEI MDTF) program provides&nbsp;interventions
that equip the African youth, women-led start-ups, and micro, small, and medium
enterprises (MSMEs) with skills and financial support to run bankable
businesses. 



The program also assists regional member countries (RMCs)
in their implementation of economic and social reforms toward job creation. 



In just one short year, the Trust Fund’s resources leapfrogged
from USD4.4 million (in 2017) to almost USD40 million (in 2018). By providing
technical assistance through enterprise support organizations and financial
institutions, the Fund is anticipated to reach more than 480 youth-led startups
in Ghana, Mali, Nigeria, Togo, and Zimbabwe.



The Bank has also been very active on the education
front, supporting higher education institutions to deliver innovative training
curricula that are adapted to the changing demand of the labor market and the private
sector. &nbsp;Academic incubators—also known
as innovation centers of excellence, have been established. 



One great example of success is the &nbsp;African Institutions of Science and Technology
(AIST) Program, whose mission is to deliver quality postgraduate education and
build collaborative research capacity in various fields of Science,
Engineering, Technology and Innovation (SETI). With funding from the Bank, a
total of 1,477 PhD and MSc students have graduated, out of which 676 are women.
Additionally, a total of 35 partnerships have been brokered with the private
sector to enhance the quality and relevance of research.



Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) has
also been acknowledged by the Bank as one of the main drivers of human capital
development alongside enhanced basic education that generates knowledge and
skills more broadly. As such, the Bank’s TVET project in Tanzania, has bolstered
TVET and teacher education with an investment amounting to $52 million. The
expected outputs include expanded infrastructure of 13 institutions targeting
about 8,000 trainees, expanded and extensive use of ICT in instruction at 53
institutions, and increased capacity for teaching, policy formulation, planning,
and quality assurance.



The insights and thoughts provided by other African
stakeholders, youth representatives, and political leaders on the debate on
youth jobs, skills, and entrepreneurship capacities during the AEC 2019 are
immensely important in helping the continent move forward. 



Now, more than ever, we must listen to the voices of the African youth.



&#8211; Hanan Morsy, Director, Macroeconomic Forecasting and Research at the African Development Bank Group.

WhatsApp Image 2019-11-30 at 07.51.13

Op-Ed: Fostering Jobs, Entrepreneurship, And Capacity Development For African Youth: The Time For Disruption Is Now!

Entrepreneurs have a pivotal role to play in Africa’s unemployment crisis. Today over a third of the continent’s young workforce (those aged 15-35) are unemployed. Another third are in vulnerable employment. By 2035, Africa will contribute more people to the workforce each year than the rest of the world combined. By 2050 it will be home to 1.25 billion people working aged.



To absorb these new entrants, Africa needs to create over 18 million new jobs each year. Governments need to put in place policies that drive economic growth and competitiveness. These in turn, will enable the growth of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). This is important because they currently play a significant role in low-income countries, representing nearly 80% of jobs. They are also responsible for 90% of new ones created each year.



The challenge for countries is how to support the growth of SMEs. Various African governments have experimented with ways to help address the US$140 billion funding gap for startups and SMEs. For example, one approach has been to set up entrepreneurship funds.



Based on my experience of watching their performance over the past 18 years, I would issue some words of caution. Some entrepreneurship support models work better than others. And how they are set up – particularly the governance structures put in place to manage them – is key to their success, or failure.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Funding gap</h2>



Access to financing is consistently listed as the biggest obstacle to business for SME’s in African countries. They often face double digit interest rates from local banks. And venture capital penetration is still extremely low. Top end 2018 estimates put it at about $725 million for the whole continent.



To tackle the problem, African countries continue to start new entrepreneurship funds. In July 2017 Ghana launched the National Entrepreneurship and Innovation Plan. The aim is to provide integrated national support for start-ups and small businesses.



Almost a year later, Rwanda secured a $30 million loan from the African Development Bank for the establishment of the Rwandan Innovation Fund. This will focus on investments in tech-enabled SMEs.



As new funds are started, African countries must look to the successes and failures of both global and regional funds to replicate best practices and avoid common pitfalls. African governments should explore replicating models similar to Small Enterprise Assistance Funds and the USAID backed enterprise funds. Both include robust investment selection criteria for funds.



In doing so, African government-backed entrepreneurship funds would operate as fund-of-funds – where a fund invests in another private equity or venture fund rather than directly in businesses themselves – as do many development finance institutions globally such as the UK’s CDC or FMO of the Netherlands.



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">The what and the how</h4>



The fund of funds structure creates an arm’s length relationship between the government agency that houses the entrepreneurship fund and the businesses that eventually receive investment. In between, sits a professional fund manager that earns the majority of its income from making good investments, growing companies and exiting them after a period of five to seven years. In this way, there are natural disincentives for corruption and market-based selection criteria for the entrepreneurs who receive investment.



How the fund managers are selected also matters. To ensure true investment independence from the government, fund managers and board members must be chosen in a transparent and competitive process. And once selected, representatives of the government entrepreneurship fund agency can sit on the investment committee for oversight purposes but should respect the fund managers’ independent decision-making.



There are examples of funds being set up without the necessary independent, accountable fund managers. One is the YouWin program in Nigeria. Created in 2016, it was set up to help youth entrepreneurs grow businesses. But senior civil servants handed out awards to friends and relatives.



Government supported fund managers through the FoF model can also catalyse additional investment. By operating in markets and sectors often ignored by traditional private equity funds, Small Enterprise Assistance Funds and enterprise funds have mobilized additional capital for investment-starved companies. African government-backed entrepreneurship funds could do the same by participating in blended finance deals with development finance institutions, social-impact investment funds, local banks and other market players to back growing firms.



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Measuring success</h4>



While not actively managing the funds’ portfolio investments, governments have a key role to play in guiding the funds priorities. Priorities may vary by country and given Africa’s growing rates of unemployment, funds should prioritise job creation by evaluating investment on key performance indicators. These would include the number of jobs created per dollar invested, indirect jobs created per dollar invested, and average salary of job. In addition to job creation, governments can direct funds to focus on specific sectors either in need of increased capital or high-growth areas in local economies.



Beyond establishing investment criteria, government-backed funds should prioritise rigorous measurement of investment results and long-term data tracking to inform future investment decisions. The UK British Bank regional growth fund found the cost per job created varied considerably by project from £4,000 to over £200,000. It concluded that a better allocation of funds could have led to thousands more jobs created for the same resources.



Data driven investments can not only lead to a better results, but further curtail issues around potential mismanagement of funds.



Tackling Africa’s job creation challenge requires innovative thinking and initiatives that support private sector-led growth. Looking to the model of Small Enterprise Assistance Funds and enterprise funds, African governments can spur local ecosystems and drive new private capital to regions today seen as unfriendly or too risky to outside investors.



Properly structured investments today could yield much larger dividends tomorrow.



-Aubrey Hruby; Senior Fellow, Africa Center, Georgetown University



&#8211;The Conversation



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Entrepreneurship Funds In Africa: Distinguishing The Good From The Bad

The first-ever Africa Investment Forum was a resounding success with some fascinating math: 49 projects worth $38.7 billion over three days, all for the continent. 



<hr class="wp-block-separator"/>



On a breezy Wednesday morning in November in Johannesburg, there is a feverish bustle at the Sandton Convention Centre, one of South Africa’s most prestigious destinations for conferences. Known for regularly hosting world-class exhibitions and events, today, it is playing host to one of the most important events of the year. 



The second floor of the convention center is pulsating with action and excitement as hundreds of businessmen and power women in sharp suits and African attire greet each other. At each corner of the grand room are huge posters with quotes that say, “People don’t eat potential! It’s time to turn potential into real deals,” and,



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">We believe that the growth of Africa’s economy represents opportunities for its neighbors </blockquote>



The word on everyone’s lips is transactions. The inaugural edition of the Africa Investment Forum (AIF), organized by the African Development Bank (AfDB), is officially opened by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa. 



The bigwigs of corporate Africa and political power brokers are all here, including Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, along with Nigerian Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo and Ethiopia’s first female president Sahle-Work Zewde. 



The AfDB describes the forum as a collaborative platform for the economic and social development of the continent. The goal is to bring together project sponsors, borrowers, lenders and public and private sector investments to unlock billions of dollars that will accelerate investment. The rationale is simple. Six of the 10 fastest-growing economies are in Africa, yet Africa has a mammoth infrastructure funding gap of $130-$170 billion a year. 



The man called ‘Mr. Development’ in the October 2018 issue of FORBES AFRICA, AfDB President Akinwumi Adesina, believes there needs to be a convergence of stakeholders from all over Africa to broker deals that finally unlock the potential of Africa. 



As with any conference with a multitude of minds, opinions are divided for this one too. On the one hand are those who quietly wonder whether this is going to be yet another three days of rhetoric and ambiguous targets that bear no fruit? Then you have those believers who are convinced that Africa is ripe for an integrated marketplace that can actually deliver real growth. 



For these people, the AIF offers new hope. They believe that the continent’s largest and smallest economies are ready to come together and take charge of their own destiny. 



According to the World Bank, year-on-year economic growth in sub-Saharan Africa is slashed by two percentage points due to a lack of infrastructure. Analysts believe around $100 billion must be invested each year to eliminate the deficit and give African infrastructure a shot at competing with other developing regions. 



Traditionally, the World Bank, the AfDB and African governments have sought to address the infrastructure gap by investing in larger infrastructure projects valued at more than $1 billion. 



This means smaller-scale projects, in the $100 million to $200 million range, which are also necessary for the development goals of the continent, are neglected. 



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">History shows that trade has the potential to transform nations. </blockquote>





Adesina believes this.&nbsp;





“The AIF is probably the most important game-changing initiative for accelerated economic development in Africa. It is a unique platform for investment, finance, transparent transactions and a genuine African marketplace for closing deals to accelerate the economic development of Africa. The fact is that no individual benefactor, no matter how rich, or government or sovereign wealth fund, or even a multilateral development bank, for that matter, can provide the resources to meet Africa’s critical economic development needs,” he says in his opening address at the conference. 



According to Adesina, the solution is clear. Africa can and Africa must collectively work towards financing its development, requiring broad partnerships with the private sector and an appreciation of the realities of global investment partners. 



“This will be an African investment marketplace where the AfDB and its partners will screen and enhance bankable projects and attract co-investors and facilitate transactions to close Africa’s investment gaps. This platform will reduce intermediation costs and improve the quality of documentation and information and increase active and productive engagements between African governments and the private sector,” he says. 



It is that type of collaboration that brings Shamima Mallam-Hassam, Country Executive of Alter Domus, all the way from Mauritius to Johannesburg. 



“We are a leading fund and corporate services provider, headquartered in Luxemburg, with an office in Mauritius. The purpose of being at the Africa Investment Forum is to meet with people that have projects in Africa, that we can help in their structuring, and use Mauritius as a platform for their investment into Africa. So this is a very high-level forum, where a lot of insights have been shared about where Africa is going and how there can be more collaborations to make projects happen,” she says. 



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="683" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/AIF-190_EthiopianPresident-1024x683.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-38061" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/AIF-190_EthiopianPresident-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/AIF-190_EthiopianPresident-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/AIF-190_EthiopianPresident-600x400.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/AIF-190_EthiopianPresident-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/AIF-190_EthiopianPresident.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption>Ethiopia&#8217;s first female president Sahle- Zewde networking with delegates at the Africa Investment Forum. Picture: Gypseenia Lion</figcaption></figure>



Can developing nations thrive in a global economy without an international, collective mind-set? International organizations like the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) believe that for sustainable development to exist, more developed African economies need to break down barriers between them and less developed economies. To begin with, the continent needs to address rising unemployment. 



“We need to create 400 million jobs for 400 million Africans, who are already born, between now and 2030. These massive numbers need massive responses,” says Ibrahim Mayaki, CEO of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) during a panel conversation at AIF. A total of 49 deals were made at the AIF, which were valued at $38.7 billion, according to the final numbers released. These deals represent a renaissance for the African continent. But the concern for some is whether the returns from these deals will remain on the continent. 



“The ownership of industrial assets must be African companies. A lot of developers make the mistake of allowing foreign ownership, which alters the trajectory of your destiny,” says Basil El-Baz, chairman and CEO of Egypt’s Carbon Holdings. 



The all-important issue of women’s empowerment in corporate Africa is also discussed. A panel in ‘Investing in women for accelerated growth’ reveals women entrepreneurs experience a significant funding gap of $42 billion annually, but are more likely to repay loans compared to male borrowers. David Makhura, the premier of the Gauteng province where the conference is held, attests: “African women need to be supported. They are the ones that sell to provide for their children and families.” 



The panel comprises prominent and successful women, including Ibukun Awosika, president of First Bank of Nigeria Limited, Hayat Sindi, senior advisor to the president of the Islamic Development Bank, and Daphne Mashile-Nkosi, chairperson of Kalagadi Manganese. 



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">We need to make women a critical component of our financial system <cite> Ibukun Awosika</cite></blockquote>



Underpinning the market place is ‘The AIF Platform’, that connects 200,000 American businesses and users from 100 countries, many of whom are potential investors and trade partners for Africa. 



The AIF Platform is announced in partnership with the Inter Development Bank (IDB) who launched a similar platform, Connect America, in 2014. “We have over 400 million smartphones in Africa. Within a few years, this number will exceed a billion. But none of these are made in Africa. We are the consumers but we’re not the value creators,” says Ashish Thakkar, founder of Mara Group, before the closing plenary. 



The AIF Platform was created to address exactly this. By connecting African-based companies like Mara to global trade partners, there can be economies of scale. 



If there is one thing to take away from the conference, it is this: there is a fight to back Africa as an investable destination so that capital can land in the continent and unlock its potential. As Adesina puts it: “This is Africa’s time to change the rhetoric. We need to make Africa independent; we can no longer build Africa relying on aid. The only way to achieve this is a complete rise in intra-Africa trade.”



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="926" height="617" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Dangote.png" alt="" class="wp-image-38063" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Dangote.png 926w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Dangote-300x200.png 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Dangote-600x400.png 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Dangote-768x512.png 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 926px) 100vw, 926px" /><figcaption>Africa&#8217;s richest man, Aliko Dangote attended the inaugural Africa Investment Forum. Picture: Gypseenia Lion</figcaption></figure>



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Akinwumi-Adesina

Deals, Dollars and Developments On The African Continent

Press Release
➢ WITH “ROOM2RUN,” AfDB LAUNCHES SECURITIZATION MARKET FOR MULTILATERAL 
DEVELOPMENT BANK SECTOR 
➢ TRANSACTION IS IN DIRECT RESPONSE TO G20 ACTION PLAN FOR MDB BALANCE SHEET OPTIMIZATION 
➢ AfDB COMMITS TO REINVEST FREED UP CAPITAL INTO NEW AFRICAN INFRASTRUCTURE 
LENDING, MAKING ROOM2RUN ONE OF THE LARGEST IMPACT INVESTMENTS EVER 
➢ TRANSACTION IS SUPPORTED BY NEW EUROPEAN UNION GUARANTEE TOOL (EUROPEAN FUND FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT)
OTTAWA, Canada, 18 September 2018 — The African Development Bank (AfDB), the European Commission, Mariner Investment Group, LLC (Mariner), Africa50, and Mizuho International plc today announce the pricing of Room2Run, a US $1 billion synthetic securitization corresponding to a portfolio of seasoned pan-African credit risk. Room2Run is the first-ever portfolio synthetic securitization between a Multi-Lateral Development Bank (MDB) and private sector investors, pioneering the use of securitization and credit risk transfer technology to a new and previously unexplored segment of the financial markets.
Structured as a synthetic securitization by Mizuho International, Room2Run transfers the mezzanine credit risk on a portfolio of approximately 50 loans from among the African Development Bank’s nonsovereign lending book, including power, transportation, financial sector, and manufacturing assets. The portfolio spans the African continent, with exposure to borrowers in North Africa, West Africa, Central Africa, East Africa, and Southern Africa. Mariner, the global alternative asset manager and a majority owned subsidiary of ORIX USA, is the lead investor in the transaction through its International Infrastructure Finance Company II fund (“IIFC II”). Africa50, the pan-African infrastructure investment platform, is investing alongside Mariner in the private sector tranche. Additional credit protection is being provided by the European Commission’s European Fund for Sustainable Development in the form of a senior mezzanine guarantee.
“Room2Run gives us fresh resources to invest in the projects Africans need most,” said Akinwumi Adesina, President of the African Development Bank Group. “Africa has the most promise, the greatest natural resources, and the world’s youngest population. But we also have the world’s most persistent infrastructure deficits. The African Development Bank has the strategy to address these infrastructure finance gaps—and Room2Run gives us the capacity to make it happen.”
Structured as an impact investment, Room2Run is designed to enable the African Development Bank to increase lending in support of its mission to spur sustainable economic development and social progress. In connection with Room2Run, AfDB has committed to redeploy the freed-up capital into renewable energy projects in Sub-Saharan Africa, including projects in low income and fragile countries.
“On the Impact scale, Room2Run is off the charts,” said Dr. Andrew Hohns, Lead Portfolio Manager and head of the Mariner Infrastructure Investment Management team. “Room2Run answers the call of the G20 for private sector participants to step in and facilitate development finance, providing a template for attracting significant private sector capital into urgently needed projects in developing economies.”
Raza Hasnani, Head of Infrastructure Investment at Africa50 commented, “Room2Run provides an innovative and commercially viable solution to the African Development Bank’s risk management and lending objectives, while paving the way for commercial investors to support and benefit from the growth of infrastructure on the continent. Africa50 is very pleased to participate in this landmark transaction, which is in line with our mandate to drive increased investment in infrastructure in Africa, and to create pathways for long-term institutional capital to flow into this space.”
Room2Run enjoys the support and participation of the European Commission with an investment from the European Fund for Sustainable Development, in the form of a senior mezzanine guarantee. “Only a few days after announcing our renewed Alliance with Africa for sustainable investments and jobs, I am very happy to announce that we are, together with the African Development Bank, launching Room2Run,” commented Neven Mimica, the European Commissioner for International Cooperation and Development. “This initiative is a perfect example of what we are doing to support investments in African low income and fragile countries through the External Investment Plan. Through Room2Run we provide 
an additional protection to investments in the field of renewable energy. Through our Guarantee, investments under Room2Run will translate into extending supply to many people currently without electricity whilst creating much-needed new jobs.”
Room2Run also directly responds to calls by the G20 that MDBs use their existing resources to full capacity, as articulated in the 2015 G20 MDB Action Plan to Optimize Balance Sheets, as well as calls for greater MDB efforts to crowd-in private investment. The G20 has called on MDBs to share risk in their non-sovereign operations with private investors, including through structured finance, mezzanine financing, credit guarantee programs, and hedging structures.
The Government of Canada has been a global leader in advocating for MDBs to use their existing resources more efficiently and to mobilize private capital for global development. The goal of the G20 MDB Action Plan to Optimize Balance Sheets is to catalyze significant new development financing from the MDBs throughout the real economy in key development regions. “Attracting more private capital into global development efforts is critical to building economies that work for more and more people around the world,” said Bill Morneau, Canada’s Minister of Finance, “that’s why Canada and our G20 partners have been calling on multilateral development banks to use their existing resources as efficiently as possible, and to look for new ways to attract more private capital. We are pleased to see the African Development Bank come forward with a transaction that directly responds to both of these objectives. Room2Run is an innovative solution to a long-standing challenge.”
Juan Carlos Martorell, Co-Head of Structured Solutions at Mizuho International, adds, “Compared to other synthetic securitizations, a major achievement of Room2Run has been to ensure that ratings agencies, and in particular S&amp;P, reflect the merits of the risk transfer into their rating assessments for multilateral development banks. AfDB’s leadership through this transaction has now set the stage for broader adoption of the instrument throughout the MDB community.”

21st World Energy Congress Meeting In Montreal

With “Room2Run,” AfDB Launches Securitisation Market For Multilateral Development Bank Sector

No doubt, African nations and institutions remain resolute in their quest for peace and prosperity.
As the African Development Bank (AfDB) takes ownership of this grand mission through its High 5 development priorities, the West Africa sub-region, host to the bank’s headquarters and the location of Africa’s poorest, largest and fastest growing economies, continues to be a source of cheer and sobriety in equal measure.
West Africa’s political, economic and investment climate has been inundated lately with news of the new government in Ghana settling down to the business of governance; the inglorious exit of Yahya Jammeh, the Gambian politician and former military officer who ruled The Gambia from 1994 to 2017; Cote d’Ivoire’s modest macroeconomic achievements, now hinged on its 2016-2020 National Development Plan; Liberia’s preparations for presidential elections in October and Nigeria’s ongoing struggles with the health of its inflation-prone economy.
Equally distressing for Nigerians is the deteriorating health of President Muhammadu Buhari, as they marked two years of his administration last month. While economic stagnation and inertia were the dominant features of Buhari’s first year in office, his second year has been riddled with political and policy spats between the legislature and executive. Buhari’s recurrent disappearing acts have also not helped matters. For the second time this year, he had to be flown to London for urgent medical attention at the beginning of May, heightening fears of his incapacity to lead and govern Africa’s largest economy by GDP ($594.28 billion as at 2016).
Sadly, it is difficult not to connect Buhari’s private and personal struggles with the economic and public affairs of the nation. His physical and cognitive absence from the administration and shenanigans of governance has turned out to be the defining character of his tenure so far. It is also a symbolic reflection of Nigeria’s inability to lead the rest of Africa as the continent pursues social and economic rejuvenation.
To attain its numerous lofty goals for the continent, the rest of Africa and the AfDB will need the democratic engine of the Nigerian nation firing on all cylinders. Ghana’s former president John Dramani Mahama once said if Nigeria sneezes, the rest of West Africa catches a cold. With approximately 184 million inhabitants, Nigeria accounts for 47% of West Africa’s population, and has one of the largest populations of youth in the world, according to the World Bank, which also expects 1% and 2.5% growth for Nigeria’s economy in 2017 and 2018, respectively.
Clearly, harnessing the energy and creativity of Africa’s youth will be key to transforming the continent’s fortunes over the next several decades. Also crucial is intra-Africa trade, currently at 12%. Africa needs to trade with Africa, increasing the exchange of goods, services and investment across our fragmented borders.
Linked to trade and Africa’s youthful population is bio-technology and Africa’s capacity to feed itself. When African heads of state gathered in the Indian city of Ahmedabad during the 17th annual general meeting of the AfDB last month, the future of agriculture in Africa was top of the agenda. While the continent is hoping to feed itself and eradicate malnutrition by 2025, the average age of farmers on the continent is currently 60 years.
AfDB President Akinwumi Adesina says: “There are opportunities to empower the youth at each stage of the agricultural value chain as ‘agripreneurs’. Young people are doing new and amazing things in the agricultural space all over the continent but need to be motivated.”
The Bank sought to showcase young African Agripreneurs during its week-long Indian meetings, hoping to prove the point that Africa’s youth can be catalysts for job and wealth creation. Between 2010 and 2015, it had deployed $5.5 billion in agriculture sector investments, covering a portfolio of 6,000 projects and youth operations in agriculture and allied industries in Cameroon, Sudan, Nigeria and several other countries. It is working with scientists at the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA) in Ibadan, Nigeria, to empower young farmers under the Empowering Novel Agri-Business-Led Employment (ENABLE) youth program.
Keen to replicate the trailblazing works he did as Nigeria’s agriculture minister between 2010 and 2015 across Africa, Adesina once told this writer, “My vision for Nigeria’s agriculture sector is that we will use agriculture to produce stupendous amount of wealth&#8230; and become an agriculturally industrialized economy.”
Let’s hope this vision comes true.

GettyImages-140177271

Agriculture Behind Africa’s Health

Life in Nigeria today is like living in a dilapidated caravan, or driving around in a fancy jalopy.
When this sort of accommodation or transportation is your daily reality, then your long-term ambitions become hobbled by the pragmatic quest to simply make it to the next day’s hustle, the next salary, the next windfall or gift from that well-to-do cousin, and perhaps, for businesses, waiting for that large order that may never come. Under these faltering conditions, a balanced diet, quality education, satisfactory healthcare, comfortable and safe transportation, and strategic focus become luxuries.
For most folks, simply existing has become a risk; and for businesses and corporate citizenship, a wasteful pleasure. Phrases like “the economic growth and recovery plan” begin to sound somewhat pretentious. Another government mirage perhaps. Sadly, the disdain for diligence is rife and few Nigerians seem convinced that patriotism has its rewards. The paradox of hoping for affluence has become a pandemic, with citizens, companies and communities prowling around for scarce resources and opportunities like a herd of famished goats. Even government’s uptake of loans – $1 billion from the African Development Bank (AfDB) and $1.3 billion from China’s Exim Bank for rail projects – has not restored confidence in the shaky polity. Another $1 billion World Bank facility is expected to flow into government’s coffers in 2017, says Nigeria’s Finance Minister, Kemi Adeosun.
“The economy is on the path to recovery and confidence in the macro-picture is key,” Adeosun told CNBC Africa anchor Wole Famurewa in February. “Government is focused on investing in the priority areas of power and infrastructure… even as we continue work on payroll clean-ups and efficiency at the state level…”
The dire economy will not stop government from taking its statutory pound of flesh from companies, as oil revenues now represent only 10% of GDP. So, tax reforms will take center stage. At 6%, Nigeria has one of the lowest tax to GDP ratios in the world, with Ghana at 15% and South Africa 24%, Adesoun cautions, warning that “we should be very careful about getting excited about recent crude oil price recovery.”
At the micro level, pervasive poverty, disdain for Abujanomics and the proliferation of dodgy pyramid/Ponzi schemes is the new social order. Camouflaging as financial literacy, network marketing or empowerment programs, they represent on one side, the quest for overnight wealth and absolute disregard for government’s agenda and promissory notes, and on the flip side, the emergence of a new breed of professional charlatans peddling crafty concepts in an increasingly sophisticated economy.  Somebody needs to commission a poll to measure Nigeria’s social desperation index.
In a risk-averse, reward-hungry society such as this, contemporary concepts and capabilities like coding, digital literacy, big data analytics, cybersecurity, the Internet of Things (IOT) and artificial intelligence (AI) are farfetched ideas. Non-profits like the Lagos-based Book Club, which has been promoting the altruistic pleasures of reading books and advocating for a return to the culture of heuristics, seem largely ignored, their activities lost in the babble of personal, communal and corporate survival.
The nation seems to have lost a large portion of its liberal ethos. The number of pepper soup joints and event centers has now surpassed the number of libraries and bookstores in the land. Clearly, the pursuit of leisure and lucre has overtaken the quest for the wealth of knowledge to be found on books – or e-books.
But it is difficult to grow a culture of reading and research when citizens go to bed every night with hunger in their bellies and hyperinflation on their minds. Consumer price inflation peaked at an 11-year high of 17.9% in September 2016 and had neared 19% by February. “2016 was defined by politics and policy spats… our currency and foreign exchange issues led to the economy catching cold. But as we entered 2017 the forex issue moved from being a cold into financial pneumonia stage,” Kayode Oguntayo, a Lagos-based entrepreneur told this writer.
Notwithstanding these issues, Nigeria’s $1 billion Eurobond was eight times oversubscribed during its early hours of trading on the London Stock Exchange last February. The 15-year bond offering 7.875% in trading is the first Nigerian offering since 2013 and the 2015 change of government. Nigerian legislators had last year rejected government’s plan to raise $30 billion through loans.
Could Nigeria be flirting with a new era of economic rejuvenation?

Risks, Rewards  And Eurobonds

Kenya’s attraction of foreign direct investment (FDI) has no doubt been impressive in the past few years, buoyed by demand in consumer and real estate sectors.
East Africa’s largest economy for instance received an estimated $1.9 billion in FDI in 2015, a 65% climb from 2014, data by the African Development Bank (AfDB) shows, cementing its unique position among countries with no significant natural resources that are receiving significant FDI inflows targeted at their consumer-oriented sectors.
In its medium-term economic framework, Kenya actually aims to tap FDI proceeds to help boost its economic performance amid wobbly returns from agriculture that has for decades been its mainstay in terms of GDP contribution.
A new regulation sneaked through the East Africa nation’s Parliament requiring foreign companies to allocate 30% shareholdings in their operations in Kenya to local investors. This threatens to reverse gains in FDI attraction.
“It may be very expensive, if not impossible, for Kenyan individuals to purchase or invest at least 30 percent in a foreign company. The process of carrying out due diligence in a company in another jurisdiction to effect the share sale or allotment would not only be time consuming, but also expensive,” says a lobby of United States investors, the American Chamber of Commerce, in Kenya.
Investors who fail to comply with the fresh ownership rules will be slapped with a fine of KSh5 million ($50,000), so states clause 975(2b) of the Companies Act 2015 that was adopted last November.
“This requirement may do more harm than good to the Kenyan economy. To start with, this 30 percent rule flies in the face of Kenya’s goal of being a regional business hub. A major concern is the conflict between this rule and the fact that Kenya is a liberalized market economy which embraces the free-market ideology. This rule is a form of protectionism,” says Lois Musikali, a legal expert at the Nairobi-based Centre for Applied Research in Law and Policy (CARLP).
Several leading foreign firms, including Vodafone, Coca-Cola, Diageo, General Electric (GE), and Bharti Airtel, have operations in Kenya and authorities should strive to maintain a friendly and predictable business profile that would attract more investors.
“There are concerns that foreign companies will look elsewhere for an investment partner. It is also true that many Kenyans will find it almost impossible, in terms of cost, to acquire a 30 percent stake in a foreign company that wants to register in Kenya,” says Musikali, noting that the absence of guidelines for foreign companies on how or where to find these Kenyan citizens creates a loophole for rent seeking, whereby corrupt public officials could acquire stakes in foreign firms seeking registration in Kenya using taxpayers money thereby advancing crony capitalism.
These resentments are weighty and Kenya has no option but to expunge the regulations from its laws to prevent polarizing investment.
Kenya’s Attorney General Githu Muigai says the regulation will be repealed through the Finance Bill 2016 that is currently before Parliament.
“The clause was unilaterally inserted and does not reflect the investment policy of the Kenyan government. The rule will be repealed through the Finance Bill 2016 that is at the committee stage in Parliament,” he says.
Nonetheless it is baffling that the regulations were allowed to see the light of day because Kenya has previously unsuccessfully tried to introduce a local ownership rule in its telecoms industry after it emerged hat foreign firms were facing difficulties in securing local partners with the right expertise and financial muscle to support the business.
Under this rule foreign companies investing in the telecom sector were required to reserve at least 30% of their shareholding for local partners. This shareholding was reduced to 20% and eventually reviewed for discouraging foreign capital flows in the country.
Kenyan authorities must pull off this path or risk causing ripples among foreign investors given the realities of other outlier factors such as the prevailing global economic slowdown.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) projects that Kenya’s FDI will fall by nearly a quarter this year, thanks to declining inflows into hydrocarbons exploration and an adverse global economy. According to the latest IMF update on the Kenyan economy, FDI could fall by 23.7% to $981 million.

No Choice But To Drop Contentious Rule

We are at Camp Kigali, the venue of the 2016 World Economic Forum (WEF) in Rwanda in May, and Akinwumi Adesina, President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), has just walked past the media center in a suit sporting a bright bowtie – he probably has the nattiest collection of bowties on the continent.
There are other men around him and in the background, wearing grey suits, coffee stains and lazy expressions. And Matthew Rugamba swaggers in, in a peacock blue suit and vest, making a sartorial statement louder than all their spiffy PowerPoint presentations.
The 26-year-old founder and creative director of House of Tayo is not at WEF to peddle his latest collection of Afrochic bowties and accessories that are currently wowing Rwanda. He’s here as part of a high-caliber panel, including former AfDB chief Donald Kaberuka, speaking about youth entrepreneurship and Africa Rising.
“Throughout the panel discussion, I had to keep pinching myself,” says Rugamba.
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“There was a time when people would laugh at me for saying I wanted to make bowties in Rwanda, and here I was on stage with some incredible people.”
Born in England to Rwandan and Ugandan parents, Rugamba lived and studied in Kenya, Swaziland and the United States (US), where he acquired a degree in international relations. In his final year, he walked up to his mentor and advisor and announced he wanted to pursue a career in fashion design.
“It’s funny how much my international relations background has impacted what I am doing now. My advisor said ‘do what you want to do’, and told me that through fashion and design, I would probably have a greater impact in the field of international relations than some of my peers who were going to grad school or doing a PhD,” says Rugamba.
Part of the reason for his fortitude was he wanted to be his own boss. After high school, when he was 17, his parents persuaded him to take up a summer job in the United Kingdom (UK). That’s when he sold toys and painting sets to kids at Hamleys and Harrods in London.
“I earned only commissions. I told myself I would never do a job like that in my life. It almost controlled you. Sometimes, going to work was more expensive than staying at home,” says Rugamba, also a diehard Manchester United fan, who confesses to taking time off work even now to watch a good match.
When the war was raging in Uganda, there were no opportunities for young people so Rugamba’s father had moved to the UK, juggling three jobs at the age of 23. His mother, Rosette Chantal-Rugamba, herself a trailblazer credited with changing the tourism landscape in a post-genocide Rwanda in the 2000s, is an entrepreneur in the conference tourism industry; she runs Songa Africa. She too had started her career at Harrods in the UK, when she first joined her husband in the eighties.
After college, Rugamba applied for a summer job in his mother’s company and worked on one of her tourism projects, using the $300 he earned to launch his bowtie brand.
“My parents said I had to prove myself. So I sold some sample bowties and scarves to two of my aunts and they loved it; they said whatever support I needed, they would help.”
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Thereafter, Rugamba returned to the US to complete his degree. That’s where he delved into the mind of the customer.
“In Washington DC, when you step into the metro, everyone is wearing standard red and blue ties. And here I was, wearing these loud bowties… When I said I was from Rwanda, there would always be immediate pity or if it wasn’t pity, it was condescending praise, such as ‘oh my God, your English is so good’. I hated the pity and thought ‘what can I do to change perceptions’, and saw power in bowties…  All the soft power I learned in class was now coming to the fore.”
Rugamba retuned to Rwanda in 2013 and now crafts his products in bold African colors and vibrant patterns at a workshop in Kigali, working with women’s cooperatives to make men’s accessories.
“The women are so dedicated and accommodating. I bought them an industrial sewing machine to show them that I wasn’t there to just make money, but also wanted a long-term working relationship with them,” says Rugamba.
His design aesthetic is local, but he is aiming for an international reach. There are many things he would like to first change in the local industry though.
“I have started to push for changes in the fashion industry as a whole. There is a huge gap for skills, raw materials and for my business to thrive, I need the industry to grow as a whole. I am also keen on 3D printing. This is also why I am here at WEF, to network,” says Rugamba, gesturing to the sprawling venue.
When you are successful, you attract others like you. And in Rwanda’s close-knit business circles, you make more friends than foes.
Ephraim Rwamwenge, the 23-year-old CEO of Rwa Business Group, also a WEF delegate, joins Rugamba with a hug and handshake for an impromptu photoshoot. The two had met professionally and then became mates. This is another entrepreneur worth his salt – or sugar. Also a regular emcee at high-profile corporate events and dinners, Rwamwenge had emceed the youth event at this edition of WEF, hosted by Rwanda’s First Lady Jeannette Kagame on day one of the business meet.
“I keep telling Matthew he should give me suits so when I go up and emcee, I can say I am wearing House of Tayo. Matthew is famous, his brand is so visual, unlike the rest of us, who sell sugar,” laughs Rwamwenge.
Born and raised in Botswana and of Ugandan-Rwandan parentage, Rwamwenge started his business at the age of 19. He is also a WEF Global Shaper.
He had returned to Rwanda in June 2012 with $1,000 borrowed from a family friend and business mentor.
“I had to pitch to him for support to raise capital. My parents were both teachers, and we were middle class. Then my dad became a full-time pastor and did missionary work. We had a decent childhood but not one of privilege. I had to work hard for everything I wanted,” says Rwamwenge.
In high school, if he wanted to buy PlayStations, he would make money selling lyrics.
“Back then, the girls and boys in school would listen to songs and write the lyrics. One of my uncles had an internet café, so I would google the songs, print the lyrics and sell them. A page would sell at 50 cents. Most songs would be two pages, and I would make sure the font was big, so I would make more money.”
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As an entrepreneur, Rwamwenge now packages, distributes and sells sugar from Kigali to Rwanda’s rural areas. Success has been sweet.
“People talk of low margins in commodities but there is a serious return on capital invested, especially if you can work on a good turnover. So we started the export of coffee. So to the people who were supplying us with sugar, we said you give us sugar, we will give you coffee, and offset the balances.”
Rwamwenge’s company turnover last year was about $1.3 million, and with his investors and partners, he is hoping to multiply and expand his businesses. Up next is a range of premium coffee.
Later that night – the last day of WEF – we meet Rugamba and Rwamwenge again, at Innovation Village, the hip art café and culture hub on the top floor of Kigali’s public library. Everything their generation loves is here: art, coffee, business – and bowties.

The Sweet and  Fashionable Life Of Being  Your Own Boss

It must be one of the smallest airports in the world. It’s about 100 square meters with one entry and one exit. This is the gateway to Walvis Bay, Namibia, a place where the desert meets the ocean.
Its noon, the city is as quiet as the grave. It is the beginning of the year and most executives in the fishing industry are on holiday, far from their workers who risk their lives for a catch. The Walvis Bay dock tells the story of two fishermen and with it, the economy.
On this day, one fisherman is angry and feels cheated. Immanuel Petros, a charismatic union man in his forties, is leading chanting workers with clenched fists. They want more money and better working conditions.
“If you see a shack in Walvis Bay, you know it belongs to a fisherman. Workers doing the hard work earn less than $100 a month, while working for more than 16 hours a day. The city lives and breathes poverty,” says Petros.
The country’s failure to create jobs for the poor was also confirmed in a World Bank report in 2015.
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“Namibia’s economic growth, prudent macroeconomic policies, and generous social programs have not generated the jobs needed to overcome the inequitable distributions of income and assets or raise living standards in rural areas and among the urban poor,” says the report.
According to the Central Bureau of Statistics, the unemployment rate in Namibia decreased to 28.10% in 2014 from 29.60% in 2013. Although the economy shows some signs of improvement, Petros and many others feel it’s not enough.
On the other side of the dock, fishing has thrown up an entrepreneur. The Namibian economy gave Rojo van Wyk the chance to catch a better future.
Van Wyk is the director of Mack Fishing. Ten years ago, he was selling a handful of fish but now sells more than 40 truckloads per month.
“Getting into the fishing business was my big chance, 10 years ago I was doing nothing and literally down and out and along the way I got this opportunity and now I own a fishing quarter.”
By owning a fishing quarter, Van Wyk can allocate fishing rights to beginners who pay him a small amount to fish their way out of poverty. For him, more fish is more money on his balance sheet.
According to the World Bank, political stability and sound economic management have helped anchor economic growth and poverty reduction in Namibia, leading to opportunities like the one taken by Van Wyk.
“Low interest rates, fiscal stimulus, and unusually high foreign direct investment (FDI) in mining have resulted in a construction boom, fast household consumption growth, and solid growth in tradable services,” says the bank.
The African Development Bank (AfDB) believes the country can do more in addressing the challenges faced by many of Petros’ peers.
“Namibia must deepen reforms to get better value from agriculture and extend nonmineral diversification to create jobs and reinforce spatial inclusion,” says one of the AfDB’s Economic Outlook reports.
Hanns Spangenberg, an analyst at NKC Independent Economists, says Namibia continues to be rated at an investment grade BBB- with a stable outlook.
“While the country’s fiscal and current account balances have deteriorated in recent years, and this report reflects weaker than before projections over the medium term, there is no reason to panic. The government is able to cover its borrowing needs on the domestic and international capital market while the current account deficit has increased external debt to a similar level recorded by Namibia’s ‘BB+’ and ‘BBB-’ peers,” he says.
“Namibia’s positive long-term prospects for mining exports are one of our key sovereign debt rating strengths. However, the sector has struggled during the last year due to lacklustre external demand for the country’s extractive exports. A decrease in diamond extraction led directly to the sector’s weak growth last year, while uranium output continued to record a contraction.”
He also added that, on a nominal basis, Namibia’s GDP is estimated to have contracted from around $14.6 billion in 2014 to around $13.2 billion in 2015 due to the depreciation of the South African rand (and subsequently the Namibian dollar).
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“On real terms, however, economic expansion is estimated at 4.9 percent in 2015, and is projected to accelerate slightly to 5 percent this year. Factors driving real GDP growth include strong wholesale and retail numbers, government activity, and a healthy financial services sector.”
Gary van Staden, a political expert, says there has been renewed impetus to tackle issues surrounding poverty and unemployment.
“The newly elected administration included some new people with vast experience in this field that are sure to make a meaningful impact over the long term,” says Van Staden.
He also added that political stability was crucial to Namibia’s future prospects.
“While one-party systems tend to be relatively unstable, given enough time, there is no indication of that in Namibia at the moment. On the contrary, the stability of the political environment has been a key factor in attracting foreign investment. While this may change over the extreme long term (i.e. in the next 10 to 20 years), this is not considered to be an issue currently.”

“IF you see a shack in walvis bay you know it belongs  to a fisherman”

We called it. Nigeria, the African Development Bank’s (AfDB), biggest shareholder, finally landed the bank’s presidency at its fourth attempt.
Final figures showed Akinwumi Adesina, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development in the administration of former president, Goodluck Jonathan, was backed by 58.01% of all shareholders, to defeat Chad’s finance minister, Kordje Bedoumra (34.48%), and Cape Verde’s finance minister, Cristina Duarte (2.87%).
Africa’s largest country, which holds 9.3% of the AfDB, almost double the total of the next two biggest African shareholders, had failed on three previous attempts to capture the presidency of the bank since its inception in 1964, scuttled by an unwritten rule that Africa’s biggest economies shouldn’t vie for big continental positions and the discomfort of smaller nations wary of domination and stronger candidates than its own.
“Today, I have been given a great responsibility,” said Adesina after beating seven other candidates that had contested one of the most open election processes for a global development finance institution that mirrors the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the Asian Development Bank.
“I will be a president for all. I will not let you down.”
In six rounds of voting, in Abidjan, the capital of CÔte d’Ivoire, spanning just over four hours, Nigeria’s alliances proved the more resilient. In the first round, Adesina was second with 26% of the overall vote, trailing Duarte who led by 29.5%, with the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC)-backed Thomas Sakala of Zimbabwe third, with 13.5%. Sierra Leone’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Samura Kamara, whose country holds 0.25%, was eliminated after receiving 0.3%. No figures were available for the latter rounds at the time of going to press.
Adesina takes over Africa’s only triple-A rated development finance institution, which last year increased project funding by 15% to $7.6 billion, largely in infrastructure, adding to the $28 billion poured in the decade to 2014, versus $18 billion in the four decades between 1964 and 2004.
Aside from infrastructure, outgoing president, Donald Kaberuka of Rwanda, also focused on attracting private sector money to the bank, an effort that saw South Africa’s FirstRand and the bank partnering in creating a $200-million fund to boost African trade. The inclusion of women in economic development was also key, as well as continuing efforts to reduce conflict through the bank’s Fragile States initiative.
Both Adesina and Nigeria’s former Finance Minister, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, under whose watch Nigeria supported Adesina, emphasized inclusiveness in the bank’s decision-making process, seeking to allay the fears of marginalization raised by smaller African countries who have now seen the number one and number two economies take leadership of the continent’s foremost institutions after South Africa’s Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma was elected Chairperson of the African Union in 2012 in heavy lobbying African analysts say came at a heavy political price for President Jacob Zuma.
“We will be inclusive in our approach,” Okonjo-Iweala told FORBES AFRICA after Adesina’s victory. “It’s a great 50th anniversary gift from God to the country. We appreciate it and we take the responsibility very seriously. We will not abuse it.”
In his statement to the board of governors in support of his nomination, Adesina said he wanted to help build a competitive and more integrated Africa while ensuring that growth is more inclusive. To achieve this, his strategy combines five key themes including some from the AfDB’s 10-year strategy outlined at the 2014 meetings and the Africa Union’s Agenda 2063.
That seeks an integrated infrastructure program, growing the private sector, creating jobs for women and youth, reviving Africa’s rural economies and pursuing regional integration through transnational infrastructure and the expansion of regional markets.
“Given the bank’s strength and Africa’s needs, the next phase of the AfDB Group is to take development to the nooks and corners of Africa, through inclusive growth that transforms the lives of the urban and rural populations of Africa,” says Adesina.
It is a plan the board of governors of the bank appear to have bought and that will be tested over the next five years, as Africa’s growth shifts from being externally driven to leveraging off the increasing power of African consumers and economies that have made Africa, alongside India, as the only regional nodes of economic expansion in the world this year.

Tag: African Development Bank

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