Finance | - Part 184

The Davos Challenge: bikes for school children in SA

When was the last time you walked 6km to work or school? Did you know that this is the average daily distance to school for half a million students in South Africa? This past week, participants at the World Economic Forum took part in “The Davos Challenge: Walk for Education” by having their steps tracked with electronic pedometers. For every 6km walked, UBS and the UBS Optimus Foundation donated a bicycle for school children in…

Net private capital inflows to decrease by 2% in 2015

Posted on by The Editorial Team

The Institute of International Finance (IIF) projected net private capital inflows to emerging markets at $1,064bn in 2015, constituting a decrease of 2.2% from $1,088bn in 2014 and a drop of $94bn from its forecast in October. It attributed the decline to the expected increase of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s policy rate and to the relative slow growth in emerging markets. It said that lower oil prices would stimulate global growth, but it noted that…

IMF Says Pan-African Banks Could Pose Systemic Risks

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Rapid expansion of cross-border banking in Africa in recent years poses oversight challenges that, if unaddressed, may increase systemic risks, IMF staff said. A recent report noted that pan-African banks have a systemic presence in around 36 countries and are now more important than the continent’s long-established European and American banks. Pan-African banks are improving competition, especially in host countries with small markets, driving innovation, and bringing new opportunities for diversification for the home countries….

The Resilience that African Economies Have Built Over the Past 15 Years is Real

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Donald Kaberuka, president, African Development Bank At the dawn of 2015, the question being asked frequently is: Are the good times over for much of Africa? Can the decade-long momentum be sustained, given the Ebola epidemic; the chronic crises in Central African Republic; South Sudan; the sharp fall in commodity prices; and a slowdown in the emerging markets, etc? In a sense it is déjà vu. The same question was asked in the aftermath of…

DAVOS: Energy high on the agenda of African policy makers

Posted on by The Editorial Team

The world economic forum is creating a working group of African leaders to build political momentum for a sustainable energy transition in Africa. Members of the group –to be known as AFRICAN ENERGY LEADERS GROUP, will come together to share insights and to enhance the overall capacity to build public-private partnerships, leverage political support and mobilize funds for sustainable energy and development initiatives on the continent.The Group noted at the inaugural Press Conference, the importance of…

Africa Finance Corporation initiates $900m power project in Ghana

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Africa Finance Corporation (AFC), last week, effected the ground-breaking of the $900 million Kpone Independent Power Project (Kpone IPP) in Ghana, implemented by the Cenpower Generation Company Limited. AFC is the lead project developer, mandated lead arranger and largest equity investor in Kpone IPP, which reached financial close in December 2014. The ceremony was attended by Ghanaian Vice President KwesiAmissah-Arthur, Minister of Power Dr. KwabenaDonkor, and Robert Dwamena, Managing Director of the Electricity Company of…

Boosting Solar Energy Capacity in Africa

Posted on by The Editorial Team

Sub-Saharan Africa is rich in energy resources but its potential remains mostly untapped. Despite the abundance of sunlight, solar projects have been developed slowly and often inefficiently.Weak competition and high transaction costs are some of the obstacles that hamper the progress of the technology.In a continent where most people live without electricity, expanding the supply of energy has become an imperative that cannot be delayed. To meet projected demand, Africa needs to increase its power-generation…

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