Morocco: African Development Bank commits €199 million to cereal production
The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank approved on Wednesday, 28 September 2022, in Abidjan a €199 million loan to finance Morocco’s Competitive and Resilient Cereal Development Support Program (PADCRC).
This new operation forms part of the African Emergency Food Production Facility to help boost food security, nutrition, and resilience across Africa.
The program will help reduce Morocco’s cereal imports, focusing on improving productivity and the resilience of cereal production to climate change. It also provides for structural reforms that will lead to more efficient and resilient production systems.
Côte d’Ivoire: African Development Bank signs grant agreement for $400,000 with Caisse des dépôts to support micro-enterprises.
The African Development Bank has signed a grant agreement for $400,000 with the Caisse des dépôts et consignations of Côte d'Ivoire (CDC-CI). The funds will support CDC-CI to accelerate its activities to assist Ivorian small and medium-sized enterprises. The agreement was signed on 27 September 2022 in Abidjan. CDC-CI is a State bank that handles official deposits.
The grant will be sourced from the Capital Markets Development Trust Fund, a multi-donor fund administered by the African Development Bank.
The financing will enable CDC-CI to promote entrepreneurial initiatives for women and youth, supporting small and medium-sized enterprises in Côte d'Ivoire to recover from the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic. CDC-CI will do this through - among other things - the development of a strategy document that defines the scope of its intervention to assist SMEs; this will then be supported by a feasibility study to identify, prepare, and validate options for implementation. As part of the capacity building, staff of the CDC-CI will also receive training and tools.
African Development Bank and African Guarantee Fund sign $110 million agreement with Tanzania’s CRDB Bank to boost access to finance by women’s SMEs
The African Development Bank today signed a $60 million financial package comprising $50 million subordinated debt to support CRDB Bank’s regional expansion efforts and a senior loan of $10 million to accelerate access to finance for small businesses managed and owned by women in Tanzania.
The facility is coupled with a $175,000 technical assistance grant from the African Development Bank’s Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa Initiative (AFAWA) with support from the Women Entrepreneurship Finance Initiative to strengthen CRDB’s capacity to support women entrepreneurs in Tanzania to become more bankable.
Similarly, the African Guarantee Fund has signed a guarantee line to CRDB Bank worth $50 million. The line includes the AFAWA Guarantee for Growth component to minimize risk in investing in women-led businesses and further support their growth.
African Development Bank and African Guarantee Fund Launch AFAWA Finance Series in collaboration with Tanzania Bankers’ Association
The African Development Bank’s Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa (AFAWA) initiative kicked off the first AFAWA Finance Series in collaboration with the African Guarantee Fund (AGF) and the Tanzania Bankers’ Association this week in Dar es Salaam.
The opening day on Tuesday 26 July 2022 drew over 200 representatives from banks and other financial institutions, governments, policymakers, and entrepreneurs in Tanzania for two days of exploring opportunities to reduce the $42 billion financing gap for women-led small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
Invest in Africa, African Development Bank chief urges investors at U.S.-Africa Business Summit
The President of the African Development Bank Group Dr. Akinwumi Adesina has given strong assurance to U.S. investors that Africa is a secure, competitive and profitable market for investment.
Adesina was speaking on Wednesday at the U.S.-Africa Business Summit in Marrakech where he told American investors to see Africa as a logical investment destination and to engage with the continent in win-win partnerships.
He said U.S. investments were critical for accelerating infrastructure development on the continent. “This is an opportune time for American investments in Africa, at scale,” Adesina said. “Tomorrow cannot wait. Africa’s time is now. Africa’s future is bright. We are open for business, and we welcome you with wide open arms.”
African Development Bank approves Risk Participation Agreement with Crédit Agricole CIB to stimulate intra-African trade
The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank Group has approved a Risk Participation Agreement of $50 million with Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank.
The deal will enable African banks and their small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) clients to participate more in regional and international trade. It aims to support a cumulative trade transaction volume of $450 million over the next three years.
“This agreement strengthens confidence among various African actors to encourage a new trade dynamic on the continent,” said Mohamed El Azizi, the African Development Bank’s Director General for North Africa. “And this is crucial for the realization of the African Continental Free Trade Area, which will help to build resilience, generate growth and promote a recovery that creates opportunities and jobs.”
Egypt: African Development Bank approves USD 271 million for the Food Security and Economic Resilience Support Program
The African Development Bank Board of Directors approved a loan of USD 271 million to finance Egypt’s Food Security and Economic Resilience Support Program to support efforts to mitigate the impact of the global shocks on the domestic economy from the Russia-Ukraine conflict and to preserve resilience.
The program includes two major components: Support for the Food Security Response and Build Private Sector and Fiscal Resilience.
The first component seeks to increase national agricultural productivity and mitigate food security risks for people in vulnerable situations. The program will support broad-based growth by increasing agricultural productivity and sustainability by setting additional incentives to encourage local farmers to grow wheat and increasing their share of subsidized fertilizers.
Nigeria: African Development Bank Board approves $134 million loan to boost local food production
The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank Group on Friday approved a $134 million loan for the National Agriculture Growth Scheme – Agro Pocket program in Nigeria to scale up food production and boost livelihood resilience.
The program will support fast-tracking of the implementation of key policy and institutional reforms and boost private sector participation in agriculture. This will help increase cereals and oil grains production by 7 million tonnes to 35 million tonnes. It will also increase average cereal yields from 1.42 tonnes to 2 tonnes per hectare during the September 2022-December 2023 implementation period.
The program aligns with the Bank’s African Emergency Food Production Facility and will support Nigeria’s efforts to mitigate the impacts of the war in Ukraine. Food prices have been rising rapidly due to higher volatility caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, aggravated by the war.
African Development Bank approves $175 million Regional Trade Finance Funded Risk Participation Agreement facility for Eastern and Southern African Trade & Development Bank
The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank Group has approved a $175 million Trade Finance Funded Risk Participation Agreement facility between the African Development Bank and Trade & Development Bank (TDB). The agreement is expected to boost intra-Africa trade, promote regional integration, and contribute to the reduction of the trade finance gap in Africa.
The Bank will provide liquidity of up to 50% (the other 50% to be matched by TDB), to Issuing Banks on a risk share basis, to support trade activities of local corporates and SMEs in member countries of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA). Together, the two institutions will provide a ticket size of $350 million to support trade transactions. This is a strategic effort by the African Development Bank to support the Africa Continental Free Trade Area’s agenda of reshaping markets and economies across the region by helping to boost output in the services, trade, manufacturing, and natural resources sectors.
African Development Bank Group approves Euro 50 million Trade Finance Risk Participation Partnership with Societe Generale to support local banks and SMEs in Africa
The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank Group on Wednesday 13 July approved a €50 million unfunded risk-sharing facility partnership with Societe Generale to further support trade finance activities across Africa. The facility will contribute to reducing Africa’s trade finance gap by enhancing Societe Generale’s risk bearing capacity by up to fifty percent, enabling it to provide increased confirmation limits to local issuing banks on the continent.
The parties will share the default risk on a portfolio of eligible trade transactions originated by African Issuing Banks and indemnified by Societe Generale. Beneficiaries of this facility will be issuing banks in Africa who will benefit from additional support from international banks to grow their trade finance business, as well as small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and domestic firms who rely on these issuing banks to fulfill their trade finance commitments.
Stefan Nalletamby, Director for Financial Sector Development at the African Development Bank, said the partnership with Societe Generale will help support African small businesses and local corporates involved in international trade.