Keynote Speech Delivered by Dr. Akinwumi A. Adesina, President of the African Development Bank Group, at the Virtual 2020 International Forum on African Leadership, December 4, 2020
Your Excellency Dr. Lazarus Chakwera, President of the Republic of Malawi, Honorable Ministers, Eminent Guests, distinguished ladies and gentlemen.
I would like to thank Dr. Ken Giami, the Publisher and CEO of the African Leadership Magazine, organizers of the International Forum on African Leadership, for inviting me to speak to you at this event today. The theme of the event, “Rethinking Global Partnerships and Africa’s Economic Resurgence,” is very apt for the times we are in today.
We live in unprecedented and challenging times with the COVID pandemic.
COVID-19 pandemic offers African aviation a chance to reset
Africa’s aviation industry represents a huge market that the continent’s airlines need to exploit more fully, with technology and AI offering the way forward for expansion, regional development experts said Thursday.
The African Development Bank launches $50 million facility to support energy access companies through and beyond the COVID-19 pandemic
The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank has approved a $20 million concessional investment from the Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (SEFA) to establish the COVID-19 Off-Grid Recovery Platform (CRP). The $50 million blended finance initiative, will provide relief and recovery capital to energy access businesses, supporting them through and beyond the pandemic.
African Development Bank begins webinar series on debt management in Covid-19 era
The African Development Bank launched Thursday, December 3, in partnership with Japan, a series of virtual conferences to debate the debt management of African countries in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic and after the health crisis.
The first webinar in the series, themed: “transparency, accountability and debt reporting”, the Chief Economist of the Bank and Vice-President, Rabah Arezki estimated that if Africa has been relatively spared by the health crisis, the fact remains that the continent must face its heavy economic impact.
Uganda: African Development Fund approves $71.5 million in loans for road upgrading project
The Board of the African Development Fund (ADF) has approved a loan of $71.5 million to pave sections of two roads in southwestern Uganda, a project expected to boost livelihoods, school attendance and rural connectivity.
The financing will be sourced under ADF-15, the most recent replenishment of the Fund, which is the concessional lending window of the African Development Bank Group. The loan represents roughly 86% of the project’s total costs and the government of Uganda will fund the remaining $11.9 million.