Earlier this week, the Corporate Council on Africa’s Health Working Group hosted a World Bank presentation of The Global Financing Facility (GFF), a broad $4 billion facility that aims to promote reproductive, maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health (RMNCAH) in low- and middle-income countries. The GFF–which was announced in
Continue Reading Global Financing Facility Looks Beyond the Millennium Development Goals to Bolster Africa’s Private/Public Healthcare Systems
Ethiopia
Ethiopian Airlines Is Bringing Africa Together and to the World
The ongoing expansion activities of Ethiopian Airlines has the potential to make a significant impact on intra-African trade and in deepening the region’s integration into the global economy.
At between 10% and 12%, intra-African trade lags far behind that of other regions. A key reason for this trade deficit…
Continue Reading Ethiopian Airlines Is Bringing Africa Together and to the World
Why AGOA Should be Extended for 15 years: An Ethiopian Case Study
It is frequently said that investing in Africa is not for the faint-hearted.
It is less well appreciated that entering the U.S. market is not for the faint-hearted either, especially by those small and medium businesses in Africa that AGOA was designed to benefit.
For the last 24 months, the…
Continue Reading Why AGOA Should be Extended for 15 years: An Ethiopian Case Study
An In-Depth Look at the Candidates for African Development Bank President
In a few months’ time, the African Development Bank (“AfDB”) Board of Governors will vote to decide the successor to President Donald Kaberuka whose presidency comes to an end on August 31, 2015. Having first gained international prominence for undertaking sweeping economic reforms as finance minister in a post-genocide Rwanda, Kaberuka has had a highly successful ten years of service as AfDB president. Under his leadership, the AfDB made major improvements in delivery of critically needed infrastructure and technical advice, both of which contributed substantially to the sustained economic growth that Africa has seen during that time.
Today, the AfDB is increasing its impact by using new models of financing projects through investments in infrastructure funds and partial risk guarantees. Both help to attract private capital, which is absolutely critical to fill the infrastructure gap in Africa. It is a model that both Power Africa and Trade Africa have adopted. Indeed, when the Obama Administration was in the early stages of conceptualizing these initiatives, it reached out to Kaberuka for his ideas and support. Kaberuka quickly embraced the initiatives and mobilized a senior team of experts to work with the U.S. government, creating an effective partnership that lasts today.
Set out below are the eight individuals who are looking to follow in Kaberuka’s sizeable footsteps. The ideal next AfDB president will be a global visionary, an inspirational leader, and an outstanding manager of a large, multinational bureaucracy of some 1,500 employees involved in billions of dollars in projects across the continent. The next AfDB president is taking the helm at an especially critical time in the Bank’s history as s/he will be spearheading ongoing implementation of the AfDB’s Strategy for 2013-2022. With a special emphasis on fragile states, agriculture and food security, and gender, the Strategy aims to achieve sustainable and inclusive growth through infrastructure development; regional economic integration; private sector development; governance and accountability; and skills and technology. Regional economic integration through the regional economic communities was an objective of particular interest to Kaberuka who recognized the need to change the fact that Africa continues to trade more outside Africa than within Africa.Continue Reading An In-Depth Look at the Candidates for African Development Bank President
World Bank Identifies Prospects and Challenges for Sub-Saharan Africa
The October 2014 Africa’s Pulse released by The World Bank confirms that economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa continues to be strong. The average growth in the region is projected to increase to 5.2 percent during 2015-16 (up from 4.6 percent in 2014) and to 5.3 percent in 2017. Some markets…
Continue Reading World Bank Identifies Prospects and Challenges for Sub-Saharan Africa
The High-Flying Success of Ethiopian Airlines
Although the African aviation market currently accounts for a small sliver of the global air service market, the continent’s economic and population boom is expected to drive the growth of African air traffic at a rate which outpaces the global market. Furthermore, focusing on meeting air passenger travel demand to,…
Continue Reading The High-Flying Success of Ethiopian Airlines
Wildlife Conservation Efforts Spark Public-Private Partnerships in Africa
Throughout Africa, governments and private organizations are partnering to conserve Africa’s endangered wildlife. Wildlife conservation’s appeal stems not only from ideals of social responsibility, but also from diverse economic interests. These interests stimulate a variety of business partnerships, including public-private ones, in Africa’s wildlife conservation.
- The Economics of Conservation
African…
Continue Reading Wildlife Conservation Efforts Spark Public-Private Partnerships in Africa
What Premier Li’s Visit to Ethiopia Says About China’s Plans for the Continent
As Secretary of State John Kerry wraps up his four nation visit to Africa and Commerce Secretary, Penny Pritzker prepares to visit Ghana, Nigeria and Ethiopia later this month, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang is in Africa this week on his first visit to the continent since he was voted into…
Continue Reading What Premier Li’s Visit to Ethiopia Says About China’s Plans for the Continent