Africa accounts for only 2.4% of global Gross Domestic Products (GDP), although the continent has approximately 30% of the earth’s remaining mineral resources, Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) revealed last week. Despite Africa’s disproportionately low share of the global GDP, the continent has the largest reserves of precious metals with over 40% of […]
Tag: Africa
West, China must ‘urgently’ cooperate to avert Africa’s debt distress
The West and China should seek deeper cooperation over Africa’s debt conundrum in 2023, without which many countries on the continent will face debt distress and defaults, a new research paper by Chatham House warns. The report warns that although China’s lending to Africa did not cause the current African debt distress in most cases […]
Border barriers within EAC hamper its trade ambitions with Africa — AfDB report
Immigration restrictions between citizens of East African Community (EAC) member states could derail the efforts by the bloc to align with the continental free trade policies, according to new data prepared by the African Development Bank (AfDB). The report released by the AfDB and African Union Commission on Sunday shows that while the EAC is […]
Ghana’s president slammed for taking IMF loan yet asking Africa to stop ‘begging’ the West
Ghana’s President Nana Akufo-Addo cannot call on African leaders to stop begging from the West while he is doing the same, said former Nigerian senator, Shehu Sani, in response to Akufo-Addo’s recent advice to African leaders against “begging” from the West. “If we stop being beggars and spend African money inside the continent, Africa will […]
UK-based BII, African Guarantee Fund ink $75m pact to fund SMEs across Africa
UK-based finance institution British International Investment (BII) and the African Guarantee Fund (AGF) have signed a $75 million re-guarantee agreement for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) across Africa, Zawya reports. The fund, according to BII, will provide credit guarantees to partner financial institutions for up to 75% of the risk on SME loans, thus increasing […]
Africa’s crypto winter: arrest of FTX’s boss prompts calls for tighter regulation
At the heart of the Africa’s crypto boom was FTX, an international exchange run by US crypto guru Sam Bankman-Fried, whose collapse in November has sent shockwaves across the continent, along with calls for more regulation. An unknown number of African customers held funds on the Bahamas-based platform, as did numerous African startups. On Tuesday […]
China’s Maritime Silk Road projects come with environmental costs for Africa — study
While some of the ports, bridges and other coastal projects constructed as part of Beijing’s so-called Maritime Silk Road help developing economies increase their capacity for trade, there are environmental downsides to China’s coastal infrastructure, according to a new academic study that has just been published in the journal One Earth. The study, by researchers […]
Climate Commissions of Congo Basin & Sahel: 24 African countries meet in Casablanca
Twenty-four African countries, member of the Congo Basin and Sahel Climate Commissions are gathered in Casablanca for an exchange and capacity building session, held at the initiative of the Climate Change Competence Center (4C Morocco), in partnership with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). The session, to run till dec.9, features two workshops focusing on […]
AfCFTA must boost intra-African agrifood trade, become food self-reliant
The Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) must aim at reversing the unsustainable trend of excessive dependence by many of its members on imports of basic commodities, such as food and strategic agricultural inputs that has only exacerbated their vulnerabilities. This is the main message from a recent webinar organized by the UN Food and […]
Drought-ravaged Malawi to receive 260,000 tons of fertilizer donated by Russia, other African countries to follow
Russia has donated 260,000 metric tons of its fertilizer that was sitting in European ports and warehouses for use by farmers in drought-ravaged Malawi and other countries in Africa, the United Nations said. Welcoming the announcement, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said that “this will serve to alleviate humanitarian needs and prevent catastrophic crop loss in […]









