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AIF 2023 builds formidable powerhouse around investments in Africa

This year’s Africa Investment Forum attracted significantly  increased investment to the continent.

November 28th, 2023 By Dianna Games

The Africa Investment Forum (AIF) 2023 has lived up to its name, with investment promises amounting to $34.82bn made over the three-day Market Days event held in Marrakech, Morocco, in November. It was attended by financiers, investors, pension funds, policy makers, private equity firms and governments.

The pledged investments are across several sectors of the continent’s economy. As always, infrastructure was a main feature of discussions.

Kenya secured $300m for building new power lines, for example. Tanzania secured a $5.9bn investment in the country’s new Mtwara-Mbamba Bay standard-gauge railway project. It also received funding for the Mangapwani II Integrated Hub Port project in Zanzibar, which forms part of the government’s drive to develop its blue economy.

Power was also a top draw, with a focus on green energy projects. Huge power deficits across many countries and the drive for net zero carbon emissions have lent momentum to renewable energy rollout in Africa, including in the continent’s two biggest economies – Nigeria and South Africa.

Also on the table were deals in health and creative industries and agriculture. Side events included regional transport corridors and a Mayors’ Forum on leveraging cities and municipalities to unleash growth and development. This included mayors and governors from Lagos, Nairobi, Addis Ababa, Abidjan and ministerial representation from Rwanda.

The event hosted the launch of the private sector-focused Alliance for Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones. This drew a commitment of $3bn towards development of these zones across the continent made by the AfDB, Afreximbank, the Islamic Development Bank and other partners.

The Forum also included some non-traditional discussions. One was about the role of sport in boosting economic development. The newly elected President of Rugby Africa, Ghana’s Herbert Mensah, highlighted the opportunity. “To invest in rugby across Africa is to invest in a continent of 1.3bn people, utilising the sport as a catalyst for both economic development and empowerment of the youth.”

‘Speed dating’ for investors

Organised by the African Development Bank (AfDB), the Africa Investment Forum, held under the theme “Unlocking African value chains”, is now in its fifth year. It was launched in South Africa in 2018 as an innovative marketplace. It was hosted this year in Marrakech, under the high patronage of King Mohammed VI.

Dedicated to advancing projects to bankable stages, raising capital, and accelerating the financial closure of deals, it has sometimes been described as “speed dating” for investors. The three-day global event drew over 1,000 delegates from more than 60 countries.

AfDB Group President and Chairperson of the AIF, Dr Akinwumi Adesina, said “We are building a formidable powerhouse around investments in Africa that will have transformative impacts on the lives of people. That is the bottom line of the Africa Investment Forum: investing to improve lives.”

Adesina highlighted the success of the AIF which, since 2018, has drawn 16,500 participants and generated nearly $143bn in investment interest, including securing $15.5bn for the Abidjan-Lagos highway corridor and $3.6bn for the East Africa railway corridor.

Its founding partners are the AfDB Group, Africa50, Afreximbank, the Africa Finance Corporation, the Development Bank of Southern Africa, the European Investment Bank, the Islamic Development Bank and the Trade and Development Bank.

Among delegates were several African heads of state and government, including Comoros President Azali Assoumani, President Samia Suluhu Hassan of Tanzania; President Julius Maada Bio of Sierra Leone; and Rwanda’s Prime Minister Eduoard Ngirente, also joined by the Prime Minister of Barbados, Mia Mottley.

Adesina observed that despite insalubrious global economic conditions, African countries had exhibited resilience, even growing faster than the global average.

“African economies witnessed a real GDP growth of 3.8% in 2022, higher than the world average of 3.5%. Five of the six pre-pandemic top-performing African countries are projected to be back in the league of the world’s 10 fastest-growing economies for 2023-2024.”

He said his optimism is based on the data. Africa, he noted, is expected to have a population of 2.5bn by 2050, accounting for 25% of the global labour force, making it a key player in the global economy.

The continent is expected to grow to $3.4 trillion as a result of the African Continental Free Trade Area, with the agricultural market worth $1 trillion by 2030.

He pointed out that the continent is critical to the green energy transition, being home to many of the minerals needed for the production of electric vehicles. “Africa accounts for the largest source of the ‘green metals’ for the development of electric vehicles, including platinum (70%), cobalt (52%), manganese (46%), bauxite (25%), and graphite (21%).”

The King calls on the private sector

In opening remarks read on his behalf by Omar Kabbaj, an advisor to the king and president emeritus of the AfDB, King Mohammed VI noted that the complex economic issues facing the continent, exacerbated by geopolitical tensions and climate change, had been further complicated by challenging fiscal conditions.

He urged greater private sector investment and participation in African countries. “State budgets alone cannot cover all the investment needed, especially in high-potential, job-intensive sectors.”

The King observed that while infrastructure development is a barrier to development in Africa, he emphasised what can be done, using the example of Morocco.

The Kingdom of Morocco now has 4.1 GW of installed renewable electricity generating capacity, and is continuing to roll out its strategy to increase the share of renewable energy to over 52% of its national electricity mix by 2030. The Tanger Med port complex has helped position the kingdom as one of the top 20 logistics hubs in the world.

The importance of being derisked

Speakers raised the issue of the unrealistically high perceptions of risk in Africa, which affects the flow of capital into the continent and pushes up costs of finance. It has also deterred the deployment of assets under management from pension funds and other institutions for infrastructure and other investments.

Investors and institutions based in Africa or already doing business here believe the risk is overstated and does not match the reality on the ground. The AfDB aims to change this by derisking investment, improving information about opportunities in Africa and pushing for, and supporting, more bankable projects. The founding members of the AIF weighed in with some of their views.

The CEO of the Islamic Trade Finance Corporation, Eng. Hani Salem Sonbol, said that Africa was a land of boundless possibilities and a dynamic engine of growth.

Admassu Tadesse, Trade and Development Bank group president emeritus and group MD, said the TDB Group was pleased to see the AIF continuing to attract diverse financiers and institutional investors for greater engagements on investments and co-financing opportunities.

European Investment Bank vice-president Ambroise Fayolle restated the importance of a strong, innovative and resilient private sector and added, “We are happy to see how the creativity and vision of African innovators is making an impact, particularly in the area of technology.”

Africa Finance Corporation president and CEO Samaila Zubairu said collaboration through strategic partnerships such as the AIF was critical to unlocking opportunities in Africa’s rich and diverse value chains. The CEO of the Development Bank of Southern Africa, Boitumelo Mosako, praised the utility of the event in providing a platform for engagement with partners on transactions.

Alain Ebobissé, Africa50 CEO, said: “Once again, this year, the Africa Investment Forum has been a testament to the founding partners’ dedication to initiating projects that tap into Africa’s rich potential across diverse sectors.”

Source:  African Business, 9th November 2023

 

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Reimagining economic growth in Africa: Turning diversity into opportunity

By Mayowa Kuyoro, Acha Leke, Olivia White, Jonathan Woetzel, Kartik Jayaram, and Kendyll Hicks
Africa’s economy downshifted over the last decade, yet half of its people live in countries that have thrived on the continent. Africa has the human capital and natural resources to accelerate productivity and reimagine its economic growth, which is, more than ever, vital for the welfare of the world.

Africa is home to the world’s youngest and fastest-growing population, burgeoning cities, and bold innovations in everything from fintech to clean energy. With its population expected to nearly double to 2.5 billion people by 2050, the continent presents myriad opportunities for robust, inclusive growth that harness its rich natural resources and abundant human potential to increase prosperity not only in Africa but around the world.

These strengths and assets present a chance for the continent to vastly improve its productivity and reverse the economic deceleration it endured from 2010 to 2019. GDP growth fell 35 percent over that period—and then the COVID-19 pandemic took hold, followed by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Those events set off shifts that are still working their way through the global economy. Today, 60 percent of Africa’s population lives in poverty, the result of per capita income growth that has averaged just 1.1 percent a year for the past several decades.

Yet the continent-wide statistics obscure successes in many of its constituent countries that can serve as models to establish productivity as the foundation of Africa’s economic growth. Over the past decade, certain countries, cities, sectors, and companies have been beacons of innovation, productivity, and growth—there is no “one Africa.” In those beacons lie lessons and innovations that can reinvigorate the African economy. Our new research indicates that abundant growth and development are still possible in Africa, still happening—and, more than ever, vital for the welfare of the world.

Africa’s real GDP per capita has grown only 1.1% annually since 1990.
Real GDP per capita

Africa’s growth has downshifted since 2010 after a promising opening to the millennium

Africa entered the 21st century with a promising burst of economic growth that persisted for a decade before returning to the slow pace it experienced in the 1990s. From 2000 to 2010, real GDP grew at an average rate of 5.1 percent annually, up from an annual average of only 2.5 percent in the previous decade. Growth slowed to 3.3 percent per year between 2010 and 2019.

While the continent’s GDP did increase faster than its population, the absolute number of Africans living in poverty went up by 30 million. That population growth helps explain the contrast between average annual GDP per capita growth of 5 percent and 8 percent, respectively, in India and China but only 1 percent in Africa over the 30-year period from 1990 through 2019.

There is no ‘one Africa’—the continent’s recent slowdown masks divergence across countries

Almost half of Africa’s people live in countries where GDP growth between 2010 and 2019 exceeded the continent’s average growth rate of 4.2 percent since 2000. These countries, which fall into clusters we call “consistent growers” and “recent accelerators,” were largely midsize economies that benefited from higher-than-average increases in investment, exports, and urbanization, which increased productivity. These countries offer valuable models for the continent to emulate.

The other half of the African population lives in countries that grew more slowly over the past decade, including the continent’s three largest economies—Egypt, Nigeria, and South Africa—as well as ten of the smallest countries on the continent.

Together, those countries, which fall into our “recent slowdown” and “slow growers” clusters, accounted for almost 75 percent of the continent’s GDP in 2019. Increasing their productivity is imperative to restoring Africa’s economic vitality.

Africa’s economies are shifting rapidly from agriculture and extraction to services, but productivity still lags

The African economy has undergone a profound structural shift to services over the past 20 years, as people left work in the fields to take jobs in trade and other services in cities. Reflecting that shift, employment in services increased from 30 percent to 39 percent over that period, although in 2019, half the African workforce remained in agriculture. Going forward, the continent has the human capital and resources it needs to propel growth and increase productivity across all sectors, starting with the services sector. Services have secured their place as the major driver of the continent’s economic output, contributing 56 percent in 2019 compared to 50 percent in 2000. The sector presents significant opportunities for African countries to boost economic output and job creation—but only if productivity improves. The real productivity of Africa’s services sector, at $7,200 in 2019 compared to $8,900 in India, $17,700 in Latin America, and $20,900 in China, is the lowest of any region in the world. It is critical that Africa improve the productivity not only of its services sector but also of its industrial sector. And with half of Africa’s workforce still employed in farming, boosting agricultural productivity and farmer incomes remains critical.

Africa is undergoing a fundamental structural shift to services.

Image description:

A sequence of stacked bar charts plots Africa’s distribution of employment over time across four sectors. Agriculture leads but shrinks from 58% in 2000 to 49% in 2019. The services sector gains the most, rising from 30% to 39% over the same period. The other two sectors, extraction and industrial, hold steady. A second sequence of stacked bar charts plot those same sectors’ gross value added. Services again gains, rising from 50% to 56%, almost entirely at the expense of the extraction sector’s share.

End of image description.

Improved productivity will create the jobs needed to sustain Africa’s burgeoning population

Africa will be home to the world’s largest working-age population by 2040, and smart deployment of its labor force in highly productive jobs will spur economic growth. By 2030, the services sector on its current trajectory will create at least 85 million net new jobs across the continent, enough to absorb half of new labor market entrants in highly productivity work. The number of new services jobs would almost triple if Africa matched the productivity of Asia’s strongest services hub, which would add $1.4 trillion to the continent’s economy. Additionally, agriculture remains the backbone of many African economies, accounting for 49 percent of the continent’s total employment. The agricultural sector’s productivity and output have improved steadily over the past two decades. As more people move out of agriculture and into services, Africa has opportunities to increase yields and add value to agricultural output to match the standards of global peers. Across all sectors, the trick will be to develop the skills and increase the digital tools and technologies that enable Africa’s rich pool of talent to spark and sustain productivity-led growth across the continent.

Imagining a more interconnected Africa

Africa trades much more with economies beyond the continent than within. Only 10 percent of its imports and 17 percent of its exports are intraregional. By contrast, in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, 21 percent of imports and 22 percent of exports are intraregional, while in Latin America, intraregional trade accounts for 19 percent of imports and 20 percent of exports. African public- and private-sector leaders can find ways to realize the potential of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement, which aims to reduce border constraints that inhibit intracontinental trade and to enhance economies of scale, competitiveness, and flows of technology and talent across borders. Agro-processing, pharmaceuticals, automotive, and logistics could deliver substantial value, but bold interventions and investment are needed to realize their potential. For example, improving transportation and logistics would require adding and improving infrastructure, reducing customers delays at borders, increasing the quantity and availability of quality trucks through financing, and scaling cold chain storage and transportation, all steps that lead to higher productivity.

Africa trades more with other world regions than itself.

Image description:

Two sets of stacked bar charts show the sources of Africa’s imports and the destinations of African imports across 13 trade sectors, specially highlighting how much trade stays within Africa. Only 10% of African countries’ imports come from another African country. Top sectors for intra-Africa imports are mining, food and beverages, wood and paper products, and oil and gas. Only 17% of African countries’ exports go to another African country. Top sectors for intra-Africa exports include food and beverages, machinery, wood and paper products, and medical supplies and pharmaceuticals.

End of image description.

Africa is the world’s fastest urbanizing region, but depends too heavily on its primary cities

The future of Africa lies in its vibrant cities. Although 57 percent of the population lived in rural areas in 2019, the continent is urbanizing faster than any other place on the planet. Since 2000, Africa’s urban population has grown 3.7 percent, outpacing overall population growth on the continent of 2.5 percent. Over the next two decades, Africa will become majority urban as more than 500 million people migrate to its cities and create the largest total number of urban dwellers in the world. By 2040, Africa will be home to 12 cities of more than ten million people each as ten more cities join Cairo and Lagos, and 19 “second” cities will have populations between five million and ten million, up from ten today.

Nonetheless, Africa has fewer and often smaller second cities than other regions of the world; among the largest cities on the continent, only four of 14 have a second city bigger than half the size of their primary cities. African primary and second cities need infrastructure investment to support businesses and workers so they can deliver the high productivity needed to increase the pace of economic growth on the continent.

African second cities are undersized compared with primary cities.

Image description:

A dot plot shows a population comparison of the largest and second-largest cities in 14 African countries. The countries are shown in rows, with two circles representing the cities and a line connecting them. Cameroon is at the top with primary city Yaounde connected by a short line to second city Douala, whose population is about 90% of the size. The next closest pairs of cities are in Malawi, Ghana, Republic of Congo, and South Africa. The circle pairs get farther apart as you go downward. Adjacent is a similarly formatted chart of select non-African countries whose second cities are about 75% of the size of their primary cities: China, India, the United States, and Brazil.

End of image description.

Africa’s many large companies have been resilient—and have considerable unmet potential for growth

Large private-sector firms have an important role to play in rekindling economic progress in Africa because they contribute disproportionately to growth, innovation, employment, exports, productivity, and taxes. In Africa today, at least 345 companies have annual revenues of $1 billion or more. Collectively, they produce revenues of more than $1 trillion. The performance of large companies in Africa varied dramatically between 2015 and 2021, a period that included a global commodities downturn and the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

While the number of large corporations overall on the continent shrank compared to other regions and countries, Africa has nonetheless had some extremely high-performing companies across all sectors. As GDP growth recovers in many parts of the continent, large companies have considerable potential to create value by increasing their productivity. We estimate that large companies in Africa could increase their revenues collectively by more than $550 billion by 2030 with ambitious strategies to access new markets, strengthen productivity, increase operational efficiency, and play a role in society.

Africa has potential to unlock more than $3 trillion in consumer spending—but this will take more than a growing population

Over the past decade, certain African countries, cities, and companies have been beacons of innovation, productivity, and growth. Their successes offer models for countries on the continent where growth has been less robust. Growth can help move one billion Africans across the empowerment line, defined as the means needed to achieve self-sufficiency in basic needs such as nutrition, energy, housing, healthcare, education, and other essentials.

This would swell the ranks of the 250 million Africans who are expected to join the consuming class by 2030, unlocking $3 trillion in consumer spending. Such spending creates an opportunity for businesses to offer affordable prices at scale, target expansion in growth hot spots, and innovate in local value chains. As continent-wide growth stalled between 2010 and 2019, rising incomes accounted for only 24 percent of the increase in African consumption, while population growth drove the lion’s share, a reminder of the potential embedded in Africa’s future consumption, especially if rising income levels accompany population growth.

Improving and increasing the productivity of all sectors must power Africa’s economic growth going forward. The continent is blessed with a young and vibrant population, rich natural resources, thriving cities, and emerging innovations, all assets that can be enlisted to enhance output and add value. Successes achieved at granular levels in countries, cities, and sectors offer models to reaccelerate growth. Increasing digitization, developing talent, collaborating more regionally, supporting more business champions, and building green businesses are just some of the ways Africa can increase productivity. The world needs a thriving Africa to make the transition to net zero, lessen the emerging impact of demographic decline, and give the continent its rightful place in global commerce and trade. Achieving sustainable growth from a foundation of strong productivity will increase African resilience and spread well-being and prosperity across the continent.

Source: McKinsey, June 2023

 

 

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World Bank: Developing countries on path to debt crisis and lost decade

Only quick and coordinated action by debtor governments, private and official creditors, and multilateral financial institutions will prevent a lost decade for poorer countries, says the World Bank.

 

Developing countries are on a “path to crisis” and face another “lost decade” unless more support from creditors is forthcoming, says the World Bank.

Developing nations spent a record $443.5bn to service their external public and publicly guaranteed debt in 2022, the World Bank’s 50th International Debt Report shows. Debt-service payments – which include principal and interest – increased by 5% over the previous year for all developing countries as global interest rates remain at four-decade highs.

This week, African Business reported that Ethiopia could became the latest African nation to default on its debt after missing a bond payment. It would join Ghana and Zambia’s as Africa’s latest debt defaulters.

“Record debt levels and high interest rates have set many countries on a path to crisis,” said Indermit Gill, the World Bank Group’s chief economist and senior vice president.

“Every quarter that interest rates stay high results in more developing countries becoming distressed – and facing the difficult choice of servicing their public debts or investing in public health, education, and infrastructure.

“The situation warrants quick and coordinated action by debtor governments, private and official creditors, and multilateral financial institutions – more transparency, better debt sustainability tools, and swifter restructuring arrangements. The alternative is another lost decade.’’

The report says that interest payments consume an increasingly large share of low-income countries’ expenditure, and more than a third of their external debt involves variable interest rates that could rise suddenly.

“Many of these countries face an additional burden: the accumulated principal, interest, and fees they incurred for the privilege of debt-service suspension under the G-20’s Debt Service Suspension Initiative. The stronger US dollar is adding to their difficulties, making it even more expensive for countries to make payments. Under the circumstances, a further rise in interest rates or a sharp drop in export earnings could push them over the edge,” the Bank writes.

The trends were reflected in debt servicing costs accumulated by countries eligible to borrow from the World Bank’s International Development Association (IDA), which supports the poorest nations. The 75 eligible countries paid a record $88.9bn in debt servicing costs in 2022.

Over the past decade, interest payments by these countries have quadrupled to an all-time high of $23.6bn in 2022. Overall debt-servicing costs for the 24 poorest countries are expected to balloon in 2023 and 2024 by as much as 39%, the report finds.

The report notes that IDA-eligible countries have spent the last decade adding to their debt at a pace that exceeds their economic growth, which the Bank says is “a red flag for their prospects in the coming years”.

From 2012 through 2022, IDA-eligible countries increased their external debt by 134%, outstripping the 53% increase they achieved in their gross national income.

Financing options dwindle

As debt-servicing costs have climbed, new financing options for developing countries have dwindled. In 2022, new external loan commitments to public and publicly guaranteed entities in these countries dropped by 23% to $371bn, the lowest level in a decade.

Private creditors largely abstained from developing countries, receiving $185bn more in principal repayments than they disbursed in loans. That marked the first time since 2015 that private creditors have received more funds than they put into developing countries.

New bonds issued by all developing countries in international markets dropped by more than half from 2021 to 2022, and issuances by low-income countries fell by more than three-quarters. New bond issuance by IDA-eligible countries fell by more than three-quarters to $3.1bn.

Source: African Business, 14th December 2023

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Africa’s most active startup investor, Techstars, Announces 12 new investments through its Africa- focused program in partnership with ARM Labs

 Techstars, the most active startup investor in Africa, has announced its second cohort of 12 companies to participate in its pan-African accelerator program in partnership with Lagos-based innovation program, ARM Labs. Following a successful inaugural program, the ARM Labs Lagos Techstars Accelerator will build upon its commitment to helping entrepreneurs that are changing Africa and the world.

The 2023 cohort, selected from over a thousand applications, delivers tech-enabled solutions across various verticals in Sub-Saharan Africa. The sourcing and selection was led by Managing Director for the accelerator, Oyin Solebo. It culminated in a screening committee joined by fellow directors at Techstars, executive leaders at ARM – Jumoke Ogundare, Sadiq Mohammed, Wale Odutola, Uche Azubuike and Ina Alogwu; as well as selected invited seasoned investors – Nneka Eze of Vested World, Maya Horgan Famodu of Ingressive Capital, Olumide Soyombo of Voltron Capital and Dotun Olowoporuku of Ventures Platform.

For its first cohort, the program had initially focused on companies operating in FinTech and PropTech, but this year expanded to focus more broadly on entrepreneurs that are changing Africa and the world, by using technology, data and intelligence to serve a population growing in size, youth, income and digital access. Sectors invested in include FinTech, Logistics, E-commerce, HealthTech, Renewable Energy, and Future of Work.  The cohort comprises startups operating in Ghana, Nigeria and East Africa, and has four teams with at least one female co-founder.

The 14-week immersive program will see Techstars invest up to $120,000 in funding in each startup as well as provide them with access to over $400,000 in cash equivalent hosting, accounting and legal support and other benefits worth more than $5M. The selected startups will also receive tailored mentorship, world-class company-building support, lifetime access to the Techstars worldwide network and targeted interactions with prospective investors to ensure that the continuum of follow-up capital is available as they grow. By partnering with ARM Labs, founders are also exposed to ARM’s local network, research and insights and decades long financial advisory expertise.

The selected companies are, in alphabetical order:

  • 24Seven, founded by Olufemi Idowu, is an asset-light marketplace that enables small businesses and convenience stores to order inventory on credit with one-hour doorstep delivery

  • Beauty Hut leverages technology to bridge the gap between beauty brands and consumers through efficient product distribution and marketing channels, via their e-commerce web-store and mobile app. It is founded by Subuola Oyeleye

  • Eight Medical, by Dr. Ibukun Tunde-Oni, is an end-to-end platform that connects users in need to emergency medical resources (such as hospitals, ambulances, personnel, information & credit), reducing waiting times from an average of 3 hours to 10 minutes or less

  • GetEquity facilitates access to investment opportunities by SEC-accredited providers, reducing entry barriers through investment aggregation across various asset classes. It is founded by Jude Dike, Temitope Ekundayo and Chigozirim Ugochukwu

  • JumpnPass, by Tunde Ademuyiwa and Qudus Quadry, is a mobile self-checkout platform for modern retail in Africa. They enable shoppers to use their smartphones to effortlessly scan product barcodes, pay for items, and skip long queues

  • One Plan helps workers in Africa’s informal economy create affordable financial plans, making it easier to start a retirement plan, access low-interest credit, and access health + life insurance cover. It is founded by Harold Awuah-Darko.

  • PBR Life Sciences offers pharmaceutical, consumer healthcare and medical device companies fast and easy access to high-quality market data and insights, helping them make objective decisions on product pricing, volumes and company strategy. The company is founded by Ayodeji Alaran

  • PressOne Africa provides African businesses with deeper insights into phone conversations with customers through a communication platform that provides conversation intelligence and call monitoring. It is led by Mayowa Okegbenle, Opeyemi Shokunbi and Unoma Adeyemi

  • Rana democratises access to clean and reliable solar systems for SMEs and residential customers through affordable long-term solar subscriptions, replacing the need for expensive, unreliable, and toxic backup generators. The company is founded by Abraham Mohammed and Mubarak Popoola.

  • Surge Africa, founded by Kumar Shourav and Ebrahim Essop, allows individuals, micro-entrepreneurs and MSMEs in Africa to make instant cross-border transfers and pay up to 80% less in fees

  • Swoove empowers logistics companies in emerging markets to digitise and scale their businesses with dispatch automation, fleet management, tracking and telematics, and a wide delivery network. It is led by Kwaku Tabiri, Kingsley Amponsah, Gloria Pascucci, Robert Quainoo and Kevin Blankson

  • Veend, founded by Olufemi Olanipekun and Ebenezer Ajayi, enables individuals and businesses with verifiable income to access funds on-demand, addressing their needs for emergency funds or working capital

Oyin Solebo, Managing Director, ARM Labs Lagos Techstars Accelerator commented, ‘Our second cohort truly showcases, and perhaps also epitomises, the wealth of talent, innovation and ingenuity that can be found within the African tech ecosystem. Supporting this group in reaching their full potential feels like the perfect segway following the close and success of the inaugural cohort.  The current market dynamics means that founders need a combination of financial support as well as technical assistance and access to networks in order to build resilient businesses. We are glad to be able to provide comprehensive support that covers this entire spectrum.’

In addition to the Techstars-led program, the cohort receive mentorship sessions with notable experts in the African tech ecosystem providing them with comprehensive guidance and specialised services to support their growth journey. These experts include Tunde Kehinde – Founder/CEO, Lidya, Bode Abifarin – Chief Operating Officer at Flutterwave, Tingting Peng – Chief Capital & Strategy Officer at Moove, Kevin Simmons – Partner, LoftyInc, Lola Esan – Partner, EY, Yischai Beinisch – Head, West Africa – Emerging Market Power, Shell Energy Europe & Africa.

Dr. Ibukun Tunde-Oni, Founder of Eight Medical who echoed the sentiments of the cohort stated, ‘Securing a spot in the ARM Labs Lagos Techstars Accelerator program has signified an important milestone in the growth of my company. More than anything else I believe it has demonstrated an absolute vote of confidence by experts who have accessed our model and track record and also estimated our impending growth potential. The learning experience has so far been invaluable and I am eagerly looking forward to our next phase of business.’

Oluwadunni Fanibe, Program Manager, added, ‘Techstars’ tried and trusted model has been instrumental in building thousands of successful companies, all over the world. We are excited with the opportunity to implement this proven playbook of support, networks, knowledge base, experiences, technology and data, on our 2023 cohort and are confident they can replicate the same notable successes of their local and global predecessors.’

Ina Alogwu, Group Director, Digital Transformation, ARM noted ‘Programs like the ARM Labs Lagos Techstars Accelerator enable us to comprehend, champion, and actively contribute to the growth of technology-driven solutions emerging throughout Africa, and we are thrilled to be on this journey for the second year running in collaboration with our valued partners.’

The program will conclude with an invite-only Demo day on February 22nd, 2024 where founders will showcase their progress. Register here to attend.

Source,  Africa Business, 15th December 2023

 

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US Invests in Africa in Effort to Counter Chinese Influence

FILE - US President Joe Biden listens as Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, left, speaks during the closing session at the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit on promoting food security and food systems resilience in Washington, Dec. 15, 2022.

US President Joe Biden listens as Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, left, speaks during the closing session at the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit on promoting food security and food systems resilience in Washington, Dec. 15, 2022.

The United States has struck hundreds of deals worth $14.2 billion with African nations over the past year as Washington tries to counter growing influence on the continent by China.

The 547 new trade and investment agreements represent a 67% increase from 2022 in the number and value of closed deals, according to British Robinson, coordinator for the Prosper Africa trade and business initiative, a program that connects U.S. and African businesses.

Robinson said the presidential and national security initiative is aimed at strengthening strategic and economic partnerships by mobilizing two-way trade and investment flow, and young people are key to realizing that goal.

“The U.S. business and investment community is increasingly recognizing Africa’s extraordinary market potential and dynamism. The continent is home to the world’s youngest population, an asset that creates significant opportunities for viable business deals that create jobs and foster shared prosperity,” Robinson said during a December 12 virtual media briefing.

Judd Devermont, U.S. National Security Council senior director for African Affairs, said it has been a record-setting year for U.S.-Africa relations, with the United States following through on its commitment to invest some $55 billion over three years.

“As we wind down 2023, we have already delivered on more than 40% of this commitment. In fact, by the end of year two, we anticipate surpassing 70% of our goal, if not more,” Devermont said. “With these resources, we’ve expanded our trade and investment; we have advanced major food and health security partnerships; charted a course for digital transformation; forged new security and good governance cooperation; and catalyzed landmark diaspora-driven engagement.”

The briefing was held to mark the one-year anniversary of the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit in Washington, where Biden pledged to go “all in” on the continent.

The announcement comes as Washington works to deepen its engagement with Africa, where China has been expanding its influence with infrastructure, investment, loans, among other initiatives.

Devermont, President Joe Biden’s top Africa adviser, said Africa is not only important economically but politically, adding the U.S. has been pushing for more African voices on the world stage for some time.

“President Biden last year called for the African Union to become a permanent member of the G20, and in September we proudly welcomed this development,” Devermont said. “We’re now advocating for a third seat for the —for Sub-Saharan Africa on the IMF board, and of course we reiterate our call for permanent representation for Africa at the UN Security Council.”

The U.S. has had to alter its investment and trade strategies in countries affected by conflict. U.S. Department of State Bureau of African Affairs Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Jonathan Pratt said that, in Sudan, U.S. policy has been to put sanctions in place. “Sanctions haven’t just been on individuals; they’ve also been on companies and different asset classes. And so that’s one strategy that we’ve used in conflict countries and locations,” he said.

Pratt said in Niger, one of several countries hit by military coups and violence, the United States is prioritizing peace through negotiations.

“We’ve been very supporting of the ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States) sanctions that have been put in place. And then to support that effort we have leveraged our own assistance and investments, which we’ve announced very clearly, if the country and the leadership there turns back to a democratic path, we’re willing to explore progressively lifting that freeze in assistance and potential investments,” Pratt said, adding that the U.S. also uses “a combination of sanctions plus leveraging our engagement and assistance.”

Devermont agreed saying that trade investment has been an important part of the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit.

“One of the most important initiatives that has come out of the continent in the last couple years has been the Africa free – Continental Free Trade Area. And we signed an MOU with the AfCFTA at this summit because the goals of the AfCFTA to unite 1.3 billion people in a single market and to trade a nominal GDP that’s larger than India’s is a huge boon. And in that process, harmonizing regulations, reducing trade and non-trade barriers, that will benefit all countries whether they are experiencing a crisis or not.”

Devermont said the U.S. is also looking at the underlying drivers of conflict, and is investing in new approaches, including elevating its focus on elections and anti-corruption measures.

Source: VOA, 14th December 2023

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