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Africa Offers Asian Business an Abundance of Investment Opportunities, Webinar Participants Learn

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The African Development Bank today held a workshop to convey the continent’s immense investment and partnership opportunities to Asian business leaders, particularly as the continent seems poised to return to economic growth in 2021 following the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The two-hour virtual event, held in English, Korean, and Chinese, offered participants an opportunity to learn more about the Bank and its operations. The webinar comes on the heels of the recently launched African Economic Outlook 2020 -Asia Supplement, which revised growth projections and outlook for Africa for 2020 and 2021.

“I take this opportunity to strongly encourage Asian private sector entities gathered here today, to partner with the Bank to take advantage of the multiple investment opportunities that exist on the continent,” said Samuel Higenyi Mugoya, the Bank’s Director for Syndication, Co-financing and Client Solutions Department, which co-organized the event, together with the Bank’s Asia External Representation Office.

In introducing the Bank, Takashi Hanajiri, Head of the Asia External Representation Office, provided an overview of the Bank and its history and components before providing a summary of its flagship Africa Investment Forum initiative and the opportunities it offers. Referring to the AIF event held in Johannesburg in 2019, he said “So far the largest deal was a LNG project in Mozambique with a total cost of $24.6 billion,” adding, “many Asian institutions, both public and private, are sponsoring the project.”

Following a discussion of the Bank’s responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, Hanajiri concluded on a positive note, noting “Africa’s growth will rebound to 3% in 2021 from -3.4% in 2020.”

Bank staff presented on the Bank’s non-sovereign operations and financial product offerings. Other sessions covered Africa’s immense potential in energy, particularly renewable energy, as well as agriculture, which remains the continent’s most important economic sector.

Director Mugoya praised Asian countries’ ongoing support for the Bank and Africa’s development. “There are four Asian member countries in the Bank, namely China, India, Japan, and Korea, that have been long-standing and strategic partners for almost 40 years. The Asian member countries have consistently contributed to the Bank’s capital requirements and supported the African Development Fund’s successive replenishments.” The African Development Fund is the Bank’s concessional window.

The webinar, which drew around 300 participants, closed with a question and answer session. Queries addressed such issues as the Bank’s representation in India, trade financing offerings and access to financing for women. Participating corporations and institutions included Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, China Export & Credit Insurance Corporation, Export-Import Bank of India, JICA, Korea Eximbank, Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA), and Korea Overseas Infrastructure & Urban Development Corporation (KIND).

Africa’s huge and highly diverse continent has the second-largest population in the world and the second-largest land mass after Asia, offering tremendous investment opportunities for the Asian private sector. The Bank views Africa’s private sector as a critical engine of economic growth and development but Asian companies often lack information about the business climate.

Until the COVID-19 pandemic, Africa was the second-fastest growing continent outside Asia. Over the past decade, the continent has experienced the longest period of unbroken growth in per capita incomes since the 1960s.

Is the CEO and Founder of Investors King Limited. He is a seasoned foreign exchange research analyst and a published author on Yahoo Finance, Business Insider, Nasdaq, Entrepreneur.com, Investorplace, and other prominent platforms. With over two decades of experience in global financial markets, Olukoya is well-recognized in the industry.

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FG Warns Property Owners: Settle Ground Rent in 60 Days or Lose Certificates of Occupancy

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The Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Development has announced plans to revoke the Certificates of Occupancy (C of O) of property owners who continue to refuse payment of ground rent and other statutory charges owed to the Ministry.

This development was disclosed by the Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Ahmed Dangiwa, during the 29th Conference of Directors of Lands held in Abuja on Wednesday.

Dangiwa stated that the Federal Government is giving C of O holders a 60-day ultimatum to clear their outstanding debts.

At the conference, themed “Equitable Land Stewardship: Challenges of Land Administration and Its Impact on Climate Change and Community Rights,” Dangiwa revealed that property owners’ refusal to pay their dues has resulted in a loss of trillions of naira in revenue for the government.

According to him, President Bola Tinubu’s administration will not tolerate non-compliance, as the revenue is critical to delivering on the president’s agenda.

He said, “The Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Development is aware that several owners of titled properties have failed to pay ground rent and other statutory charges to the Ministry for several years.

“This non-compliance has resulted in the loss of trillions of naira in revenue to the Federal Government. Under the Renewed Hope Agenda of His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, this cannot be tolerated, as this revenue is much needed to deliver the Renewed Hope Agenda.”

“As such all Federal C of O title owners are hereby given a 60-day notice to settle all outstanding ground rent and statutory charges. Failure to make payment within this period will result in the revocation of their C of Os.”

“Failure to adhere to these requirements will attract the appropriate penalties and sanctions,” Dangiwa warned.

The announcement comes amidst the economic hardship ravaging the country as a result of the fuel subsidy removal of President Bola Tinubu government’s.

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Deji Adeleke Boasts of Generating 15% of Nigeria’s Electricity, to Unveil $2bn Worth of Power Plant Next Year

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A billionaire businessman and father of popular music star David Adeleke, also known as Davido, Dr. Adedeji Adeleke has disclosed that he has a firm that generates about 15 per cent of Nigeria’s electricity.

He disclosed this while speaking at the Seventh-Day Adventist Church’s General Conference Annual Council 2024.

Adeleke revealed that he is in the process of constructing a 1,250-megawatt power plant worth $2billion, saying that upon completion, is expected to be the largest in the country and that it would be operational in January, 2025.

He said as a businessman in electricity, he owns power plants and generate presently about 15 percent of the electricity needs of Nigeria.

The elder brother of the Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, said he has Chinese engineering companies that work for him, adding that his tenth new power plant will be the biggest thermal power plant in the country.

Adeleke disclosed that while preparations for the project were underway, an unnamed government official threatened to prevent its completion.

Despite this challenge, Adeleke credited the near-completion of the project to the mercies of God, stating that it is a testament to divine intervention that the venture has progressed this far.

Adeleke noted that his Chinese friend had to travel down to Nigeria to discuss a way out because he never believed that prayer was enough to get the project done.

He affirmed that prayer did as the then Minister of Power granted the approval because he saw that the project was a brilliant one.

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British International Investment and Ecobank Sierra Leone Sign $25 Million Risk Sharing Agreement to Boost Private Sector Growth

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British International Investment (BII), the UK’s development finance institution and impact investor, today announced a $25 million risk sharing facility with Ecobank Sierra Leone to boost private sector growth in high-impact sectors of the economy.

The risk sharing facility, which includes a comprehensive technical assistance programme, will support Ecobank to increase lending to ambitious businesses in a frontier market where economic growth is hampered by lack of capital and investment.

The private sector is crucial to Sierra Leone’s economy and mainly comprises small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) who provide employment for about 70 per cent of the population. However, they struggle to gain access to capital due to various factors including limited availability of suitable financial products, high collateral requirements, high interest rates and the prevalence of short-term loans.

The new facility will support local currency lending, demonstrating BII’s ability to act as the first mover in frontier markets and drive impact through pioneering risk navigation strategies. The investment will help Ecobank Sierra Leone to grow its loan book by increasing credit limits and extend lending tenors to up to five years, which are not otherwise available in the market. This is expected to boost business growth, create more jobs and increase private sector contribution to Sierra Leone’s economy.

The transaction marks a significant milestone as the first investment under the Africa Resilience Investment Accelerator (ARIA), which is a collaborative initiative launched by BII and co-funded with FMO, the Dutch entrepreneurial development bank, to boost investment in frontier markets such as Sierra Leone.

The Sierra Leone economy faces challenges including a depreciating currency driven by high inflation, a large trade deficit due to over-reliance on imports, and insufficient investment in infrastructure and services. BII’s investment aims to spur economic growth and development by targeting critical sectors including renewable energy, agriculture, agro-processing, infrastructure and manufacturing.

The announcement builds on a $50 million trade finance facility between BII and Ecobank in 2021, which helped the bank to deepen its reach across Africa and support supply chains in frontier markets such as Burkina Faso, Chad and Togo.

UK Minister for Development, Anneliese Dodds said: “I am delighted to see BII announce this new risk sharing facility with Ecobank Sierra Leone. This agreement will support local currency lending, bringing much-needed capital into sectors with a high development impact, thereby contributing to job creation and economic growth. This is yet another example of BII innovating to address risks and enable development in frontier markets.”

Samir Abhyankar, MD and Head of Financial Services, BII, commented: “The signing of this agreement with Ecobank Sierra Leone underscores BII’s pioneering role to lead investments in countries that are often overlooked by investors. The facility will be a game-changer for Sierra Leone, providing much-needed capital for ambitious local businesses to accelerate their growth, spur job creation and deepen impact. It’s an example of BII innovating and working with partners to help address pressing challenges where it matters the most.”

​Sebastian Ashong-Katai, Managing Director, Ecobank Sierra Leone, said: “We are delighted to have secured the support of British International Investment in boosting Ecobank’s vital lending capacity for Sierra Leone businesses who are the engine room for our country’s growth, economic development and employment. This further strengthens our intent to be the bank of choice for Sierra Leone’s businesses and leverages our delivery of world class products, services, solutions, borderless digital pan-African platform and business skills training which are designed to support them in further growing their businesses.”

Alex Kucharski, BII’s Head of West Africa for ARIA, added: “ARIA aims to unlock investment in Sierra Leone, a market full of potential. We are delighted to have enabled the investment by British International Investment into Ecobank Sierra Leone, which will bring much needed growth capital to underserved businesses in the country, showing that more investment is possible.”

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