News - Afrikan Heroes

Gas should power post-Covid growth for our low-carbon future

August 31, 2020

By Olu Verheijen

Covid-19 has exacerbated the fragility of West African countries where population growth continues to outpace economic growth, relegating millions to extreme poverty. Further, pandemic-related shutdowns have muted global oil demand and, in turn, limited the measures that oil-dependent economies can implement to mitigate the effects of COVID-19.

**Olu Verheijen, Managing Director at Latimer Energy**

In Nigeria, the region’s largest economy, the unemployment rate is near 30%, and reduced revenue constrains the government’s capacity to provide relief to the more than 80 million people who live on less than $1/day. Facilitating broad-based economic growth for West African countries to achieve upper middle-income status has become even more difficult of a challenge.

Access to affordable and reliable energy is critical to the region’s development, and renewables— solar, wind and hydropower—will certainly play a role in West Africa’s energy mix.

However, the region’s abundant natural gas resources should underpin its energy system as natural gas can best provide the energy intensity needed for the next stage of West Africa’s development. Despite their constrained finances, governments should therefore double down on policies that encourage the development of natural gas energy systems. Infrastructure development, manufacturing, and industrialization are vital components of transitioning West Africa to an upper middle-income-region.

The growth rate of Africa’s manufacturing sector outpaced the rest of the world from 2005 to 2014.Ghana’s manufacturing sector alone grew at an average rate of 7% a year from 2015-2017. As manufacturing jobs continue to shift to Africa, the quality and affordability of power will determine the sector’s global competitiveness. Globally, the industrial sector constitutes 54% of energy consumption.

West Africa’s high costs of electricity, when adjusted for grid reliability and self-generation costs, remain an impediment to competitiveness. Electricity outages cost Gambian firms as much as 15% of their annual sales, for example. A natural gas dominated energy system in West Africa offers a credible pathway to millions of high paying jobs while still decarbonizing.

On a levelized cost basis, energy from combined-cycle natural gas turbines is more affordable than diesel and solar technologies when factoring in the cost of storage. In addition, natural gas plants are more than twice as reliable as solar plants and produce four times more energy per acre of land.

The footprint required for power generation will become increasingly crucial in urbanizing and highly decentralized energy markets like Nigeria. These qualities of natural gas plants make them perfectly suited to fuel the industrialization needed for the region’s economic development.

West Africa cannot achieve high economic growth rates by framing energy policy around household energy. For example, Nigeria’s recently unveiled Energy for All initiative provides households with solar units that can support a few light bulbs and minor appliances.

This program aims to be an alternative to grid extension in poor and rural areas where energy demand is low. However, the costs of these systems range from 50% to 200% of monthly income for these households, leaving little or nothing for food, housing, healthcare, or education expenses, which is unsustainable and subsidy dependent.

While solar and battery technologies could become more affordable with further innovation, they do not address the root causes of poverty for the target population.

While energy access is a well-known and important SDG7 metric, it offers little insight into the energy intensity required to achieve economic growth and poverty alleviation. For example, Ghana and Malaysia are similar in population size, with energy access levels at 85% and 100%, respectively.

However, Malaysia’s GDP per capita is five times Ghana’s – partially enabled by its population’s energy consumption, which is thirteen times Ghana’s. Although a target of 100% energy access is laudable, Ghana will industrialize faster, create more high-paying jobs, and eliminate extreme poverty by enabling affordable and reliable energy for commercial and industrial use.

Energy policies should focus on achieving competitiveness in sectors critical to generating high economic growth. Nigeria’s NLNG Train 7 and Assa North-Ohaji South projects are steps in the right direction.

These projects anticipate reduced demand for oil exports and connect abundant gas resources to established domestic and regional offtake centers, including the West African Gas Pipeline.West African governments and companies will need to access foreign capital to further develop export and regional gas markets. Therefore, policymakers must focus scarce public resources on creating attractive investment environments for natural gas related projects.

The development of natural gas-based energy systems in West Africa are in line with global trends of gas replacing coal dominated energy systems. Africa’s historical contribution to global CO2 emissions is low— the average German emits as much CO2 as twenty-nine Ivorians in one year.

Therefore, a significant reduction in global CO2 emissions is more relevant in developed economies and achievable with minimal impact on living standards in those economies.

A gas-based energy system gives West Africa an opportunity to fuel its post- COVID economic growth with less carbon intensity than the historic growth paths taken by developed countries. The region will further reduce its emissions as innovations allow heavy industry to decarbonize economically.

The ambitions of policymakers must be to fundamentally transform living standards rather than merely alleviate poverty. Energy is a key pillar of broad-based economic growth. In West Africa, natural gas, alongside renewables, offers a credible path to achieving higher living standards for generations.

By Olu Verheijen is the Managing Director at Latimer Energy

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry

Startup Launches Anti Corruption Tool for Government Procurement Processes

August 30, 2020

One of the finalists at the Startupbootcamp AfriTech Virtual hackathon held last year has commercialized its presentation for adoption. The innovative platform was built within a mere three days during the Startupbootcamp AfriTech virtual hackathon, hosted in conjunction with the UK-South Africa Tech Hub and the UK Government-funded Global Digital Marketplace Programme.

Adam Shapiro, AutoPilot CEO, and co-founder

A Cape Town based automation startup, Autopilot which made a presentation of an innovative tool for the government procurement process, has taken it a step further in adopting the project for use. Analysts say the product may change the way government procurement procedures are handled and by extension help curb graft in government agencies in Africa.

The tool, Autocollect will help at easing validation and authentication in the procurement process for local governments. The procurement of critical personal protective equipment (PPE) and medical supplies has become a critical issue around the globe due to the global pandemic. Autopilot has developed AutoCollect in an effort to address the current issues surrounding the procurement of critical personal protective equipment. AutoCollect provides government and corporate clients with a complete solution that is accurate, transparent, and scalable. Additionally, it provides both government and corporate clients with a complete audit trail.

Speaking on the inspiration behind AutoCollect, Adam Shapiro, AutoPilot CEO, and co-founder explains that “our goal in building AutoCollect was to minimise the potential for lost suppliers because of incomplete information or sheer frustration. Manual on boarding processes can take weeks or even months, by which time a supplier might have lost the capacity to fulfill the procurement request”. Not only does AutoCollect cater to government procurement but it also can assist organisations in the onboarding process for customers and employees. Initially aimed at the government and the manufacturing sector, AutoCollect plans to expand its tools to be applied in the medical and call centre spaces.

While the tool may have been built over just a few days, the thinking behind it had been in the works for some time. Shapiro explains that Autopilot saw a gap in the market to provide an affordable onboarding authentication process. “The issue of haphazard document approvals and clunky onboarding processes came up time and time again when we were consulting clients. Our Market research revealed that there were a few companies that charged a fortune for these services and a few smaller companies that covered some of the bases. AutoCollect removes almost all those pain points”.

AutoCollect has several features such as online forms to collect supplied information, business registration information verified against CIPC (optional); and supplier contracts generated, signed, and submitted online. AutoCollect comes with a once-off implementation fee, a monthly license fee, and a fee per verification.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry

Why World Bank Suspended ‘Ease of Doing Business’ Rankings

The World Bank has announced the suspension of its flagship “Ease of Doing Business Report, which ranks countries based on the costs of doing business. The shocking decision to suspend the ranking exercise is the latest crisis to beset the global lender with a far reaching impact on its other programmes. The Bank had in a statement noted that “A number of irregularities have been reported regarding changes to the data in the Doing Business 2018 and Doing Business 2020 reports.”

Carmen Reinhart, World Bank chief economist

The institution said it had informed the authorities of the most affected countries, but did not name them. “We will act based on the findings and will retrospectively correct the data of countries that were most affected by the irregularities,” the statement added. There are reports that data on China, Azerbaijan, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia “appeared to have been inappropriately altered.”

If confirmed, the revised data could affect the rankings of the five countries. The latest report, for example, showed vast improvement among Middle Eastern economies with Saudi Arabia climbing 30 places. The latest report, published last year, ranked Togo and Nigeria among the 10 countries that had shown the most improvement and collectively accounted for “one-fifth of all the reforms recorded worldwide.” But there are no reports that either the scores of either country were tampered with.

In the report, only two Sub-Saharan economies, Mauritius and Rwanda, ranked among the top 50. Kenya, South Africa, Zambia, Botswana, and Togo ranked among the top 100 while South Sudan, Eritrea and Somalia ranked among the lowest globally.

The decision to suspend the rankings is also likely to reignite controversy around the annual report, particularly in the methodologies behind the rankings. In the 17 years it has been published, the Doing Business reports have amassed “surprising influence over global regulatory policies,” researchers wrote in a paper published in 2019. The researchers found that the rankings strongly affect policy as governments make reforms to improve their ranking.

“Changes over time in the Doing Business rankings are not particularly meaningful. They largely reflect changes in methodology and sample—which the World Bank makes every year, without correcting earlier numbers—not changes in reality on the ground,” Researchers at the Center for Global Development wrote in February 2018.

In June, the Bretton Woods institution appointed Carmen Reinhart as its new chief economist. Reinhart’s two predecessors, Penelope Koujianou Goldberg and Paul Romer, resigned after less than two years on the job. Romer quit in January 2018 after igniting a controversy around Chile’s ranking in the Ease of Doing Business Report, which he suggested may have been deliberately lowered under the presidency of left-leaning Michelle Bachelet.

The World Bank is also struggling to counter the fallout from the publication of an internal paper that looks at elite capture of foreign aid. The key finding of the study is that aid handouts “coincide with significant increases in deposits held in offshore financial centres known for bank secrecy.” Pinelopi Goldberg quit in February, effective 1 March.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry

How African Airline Industry Lost $55 Billion to Covid-19

August 29, 2020

Africa’s fledging aviation sector has been hard hit by the coronavirus pandemic at a time many of them were struggling to keep their heads out of water. Prior to the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, Africa as a region though lagging behind other regions of the world in aviation growth was still the fastest growing due mainly to the existing gap between the region and other regions. The growth was primarily driven by the tourism sector as many African countries got serious on economic diversification away from natural resources.

Amani Abou-Zeid, Commissioner for the African Union

This led to the massive constructions of new airport terminals, and the birthing of more national and private carriers. According to the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) quoting data from OAG Schedules Analyser airline seat capacity in Africa grew by 4.3% in 2019, this was more or less in line with the 10 year compound average rate of 4.5% pa between 2009 and 2019. International capacity, which accounted for 73.6% of the total in 2019, grew slightly faster, by 4.6%, while domestic capacity growth is 3.3%.

Comparatively, Africa lagged behind the rest of world aviation. It has the fewest annual seats, the smallest fleet of narrowbody and widebody jets, the lowest number of aircraft on order, and weakest passenger load factor of all world regions. It also has the second smallest ratio of intra-regional to intercontinental seats (after the Middle East, where transfer traffic boosts intercontinental capacity). The small scale of Africa’s internal market according to analysts is a function of many factors, not least infrastructure and aeropolitical restrictions. This gives its airlines only a small base on which to build intercontinental operations in competition with other airlines. Non-African airlines have 40% of all seats within Africa and more than 70% of seats on intercontinental routes.

It was against this backdrop that Africa’s leading airline Ethiopian Airlines performance stood out as it was quite profitable, while growing faster than any other airline in Africa’s top 10 and managing a growing portfolio of associated subsidiaries. The response to challenges faced by other, loss-making, national airlines ranges from proposed privatisation (South African Airways) to proposed nationalisation (Kenya Airways). In North Africa, EgyptAir, Royal Air Maroc and Air Algérie have slowed growth or cut capacity in recent years.

Ethiopian Airlines is again Africa’s largest airline by seats, with 52% more capacity than number two EgyptAir, 80% more than third placed Royal Air Maroc, and almost double the size of fourth ranked, once market leader, South African Airways. To appreciate how well Ethiopian Airline has done in the last decade, it was ranked fourth and South African was number one, but the two have since swapped places. South African Airlines which was number one in Africa as recently as 2015, has cut its capacity by 30% over the past five years. In addition to these four, the list of top 10 airlines by 2019 seats in Africa also includes two others based in the continent: fifth placed Air Algérie and eighth ranked Kenya Airways.

Unfortunately, this has been cut short by the lockdown occasioned by the Covid-19 pandemic which has cost Africa’s travel and tourism industry $55 billion due to the closure of borders across the continent in attempts to stave off the spread of the novel coronavirus. This is according to the African Union, who says that on the continent where safaris are a powerful overseas tourism market, the sector has been crushed by hard lockdowns that sealed air, land and sea borders. “The impact is really severe,” says Amani Abou-Zeid, Commissioner for the African Union. “We are talking here about $55 billion lost within three months in a year when we were supposed to see an increase in travel and air transport. There are airlines that may not survive COVID-19,” Abou-Zeid warned.

She warned that in Africa, tourism is not a luxury but a livelihood for millions across the continent. As countries attempt to re-open the aviation industry, there is need for governments to have a rethink on the need to hasten the implementation of the single African Air Transport Market which has remained a hindrance to the growth of a sector that has capacity to lift millions out of poverty through job creation and ancillary employments.

Prosper Zo’o Minto’o of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) says that the impact the virus has had on the African airline industry is ‘alarming.’ Zo’o Minto’o estimates that a $20 billion stimulus package, at the very least, would be required to aid the industry back into the sky as it was before the pandemic struck.

With the majority of European and North American countries putting a series of roadblocks to both incoming and outgoing travelers, there is a need for African governments to create opportunities for the development of a continental domestic tourism industry that focuses on attracting Africans to see Africa, instead of relying mostly on foreigners while Africans travel outside Africa. To actualize this Abou-Zeid called on governments to lower taxes, reduce ticket fares and visa facilitation to encourage tourism between African nations.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry

South African Crypto Exchange Records High Subscription Internationally

South African Crypto exchange Luno is witnessing a spike in the number of subscribers leading to a record five million spread over 40 countries thanks to the company’s aggressive expansion strategy which has seen the company make landfall in Australia. The launch comes shortly after the crypto exchange revealed it would also be available in the UK. Speaking on the development, the General Manager for Luno Africa Marius Reitz says that key factors in the decision to enter the Australian market also included the young age of the population as well as disposable income. “Our African expansion is moving steadily forward and we recently launched in Zambia and Uganda. Luno is on an expansion drive and the Australian crypto landscape ticked many of the boxes on our checklist.”

General Manager for Luno Africa Marius Reitz

There has been an upsurge of about five-fold in the number of fintech companies in Australia in the past five years. Almost 60% of the digitally active adults in the country are considered fintech adopters. While there are crypto exchanges operating in Australia, they tend to be quite complex and serve a niche of tech-savvy traders. “We identified an opportunity due to the relative complexity of their cryptocurrency landscape. Luno’s platform is a simple, easy and safe way for average and starter crypto investors to buy crypto – new customers can go through our digital KYC (know your customer) process and complete their first transaction within a few minutes. We have a distinct focus on helping our customers to learn more about the future of money and cryptocurrencies,” says Reitz.

Cryptocurrency according to Reitz is well received in Australia noting that “Australia’s Independent Reserve Cryptocurrency Index (IRCI) estimates that at the current rate of adoption, more than 50% of Australians under 34 will own crypto in the next five years. A third of regular investors spend $100 – $500 per month on crypto.”Meanwhile, the regulatory environment is a further bullish indicator. The Reserve Bank of Australia has run a proof-of-concept for a wholesale central bank digital currency while the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC), the country’s financial intelligence agency and anti-money laundering regulator, has been regulating the crypto industry since April 2018.

“We believe that regulation is an important catalyst for broader cryptocurrency adoption. Luno welcomes regulation as it will provide consumers and professional service providers, such as banks and auditing firms, with the comfort that the company they are dealing with is held to defined regulatory standards,” says Reitz.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry

Morocco Strengthens Ties With Kenya

…As Bilateral trade between the two countries Hit $21 million

The Kingdom of Morocco is working to strengthen its bilateral ties with Kenya in the light of growing opportunities both countries could explore. The Moroccan Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nasser Bourita, has discussed the cooperation opportunities between Morocco and Kenya with his Kenyan counterpart, Raychelle Omamo has been in discussion on bilateral cooperation, especially through the intergovernmental, regional, and international organizations of which both Morocco and Kenya are members. Bourita and Omamo also discussed several issues of common interest, said a statement from the Moroccan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, without disclosing further details.

Moroccan Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nasser Bourita

Morocco and Kenya entertain generally positive relations, especially in the field of trade and air transport. The countries are linked with several agreements that aim to increase bilateral trade and allow direct flights between the two states. Over the past two decades, trade between Morocco and Kenya has increased by over 123 times. In 1998, the value of bilateral trade stood at $170,000. Meanwhile, in 2019, trade has reached nearly $21 million, according to the UN Comtrade Database.

While economic relations between Morocco and Kenya have been in constant development, diplomatic ties went through some tense episodes. In February 2014, Morocco had a row with Kenya after the East African country opened an embassy of the self-proclaimed Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) in Nairobi. However, a few months later, the Speaker of the Kenyan Senate, Ekwee David Ethuro visited Morocco to show that his country does not challenge the Kingdom’s territorial integrity.

During his visit, the Kenyan official met with the Moroccan head of government at the time, Abdelilah Benkirane. Discussions covered several issues, including higher education scholarships for Kenyan students in medical and engineering fields.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry

Arthur Eze Says ADM Energy and Oilbank International Fraudulently Used His Name for Bidding

August 28, 2020

Prince Arthur Eze, Executive Chairman of Atlas Petroleum International and Oranto Petroleum, has categorically denied recent news report of his involvement in a partnership with ADM Energy on the ongoing Marginal Fields Bidding Round in Nigeria.

On August 3^rd, 2020, ADM Energy announced its successful pre-qualification in the Nigerian Government’s 2020 Marginal Field Bid Round, as the exclusive technical partner of Nigerian company Oilbank International.

However, Oilbank International has fraudulently used Prince Arthur Eze’s name and presented him as its Chairman, leading to media reports stipulating Prince Eze’s partnership with ADM Energy.

“The misuse of my name and reputation is a blatant fraud. I am not involved in any shape or form in the management of Oilbank International, nor do I serve as its Chairman of the Board. Consequently, neither I nor my companies Atlas Petroleum International and Oranto Petroleum have ever had in any way, shape or form, any discussion about a potential partnership with ADM Energy,” declared Prince Arthur Eze.

While the Nigerian Marginal Fields Bidding Round is expected to attract a lot of international partnerships to inject necessary capital and technology into the country’s marginal acreages, it is the duty of foreign partners to do their due diligence before partnering with local entities.

“If Atlas Petroleum International wants to acquire and operate a marginal field, it can do so on its own rights and does not need partnership with small companies like ADM Energy or Oilbank International to pursue such an opportunity. This is further demonstration that all stakeholders must adhere to President Muhammadu Buhari’s call to end corruption and promote sound and transparent business practices and corporate governance standards across the energy sector,” concluded Prince Arthur Eze.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry

African water and sanitation projects critical to preparedness for COVID-19-like pandemics

Wambui Gichuri argues that investments in improved water and sanitation infrastructure is a public health priority for countries and communities.

As the prevalence of COVID-19 accelerates across Africa, over 40% of the population in Sub-Saharan Africa do not have access to clean water and are unable to heed the advice of health experts to wash their hands as a primary way to stop the spread of the virus. Preventing infection thus remains out of reach for many.

Wambui Gichuri is the Acting Vice President, Agriculture, Human and Social Development and Director, Water Development and Sanitation at the African Development Bank — Wambui Gichuri, Acting Vice President , Agriculture, Human and Social Development and Director, Water Development and Sanitation at the African Development Bank

Action in the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene sector, also known as WASH, is therefore critical to containing COVID-19. WASH’s core – providing access to clean water, improved sanitation systems and implementing healthy hygiene practices – lowers the infection rate and builds communities’ ability to ward off infectious disease outbreaks.

The African Development Bank’s guide on WASH interventions is currently helping our client governments in their COVID-19 preparedness and emergency response The guide supports the implementation of emergency WASH interventions at hotspots; utilities and service providers to enhance business continuity; hygiene promotion; improved viability of critical hygiene products and supply chains, as well as enhancement of sustainability of hygiene outcomes.

The Bank has been supporting and advocating WASH long before COVID-19’s arrival. Our investment of an estimated $6.4 billion in strengthening core WASH infrastructure systems over the last decade, has provided approximately 52 million additional people access to improved water, sanitation and hygiene as well as increased pandemic preparedness.

Over the next decade or so, our investments in the water sector are set to provide an estimated 154 million more people access to improved WASH.

Many of our established, on-the-ground WASH interventions have adapted to the coronavirus era, especially in resource-constrained settings.

In Zambia, school children recruited in early 2019 to be “WASH ambassadors” have since added the COVID-19-specific message of wearing masks, social distancing and implementing stay-at-home orders to their healthy hygiene and sanitation practices promotion campaign. Their campaign t-shirts, emblazoned with the slogan “Stop Spreading Germs, Wash Your Hands with Soap,” are just as applicable today as when they were designed pre-COVID, as part of a $243 million Lusaka Sanitation Program co-funded by the Bank and other development partners.

In rural northern Malawi, the Bank co-financed and supervised the Integrated Urban Water and Sanitation Project for the Mzimba Town project, which increased the community’s access to potable water from 65% to 95%, raised access to improved sanitation from 45% to 97% and created around 1,000 jobs. It comprised the construction of primary school sanitation facilities, including secured toilets to provide privacy and comfort to the pupils, especially girls.

School children are also serving as ambassadors to convey the message about preventing the COVID-19 pandemic from spreading into their homes and neighborhoods.

This WASH project recently received the Prince Tall International Prize for Human Development. The $200,000 in prize money will go to projects implemented by government agencies, public institutions or social businesses approved by the Mzimba Town scheme.

Investments in improved water and sanitation infrastructure is a public health priority for countries and communities as it significantly contributes to reduced mortality, ill health and impacts of water-related epidemics/pandemics which are a major economic drain.

Investing in WASH is a no-regret policy and decisions taken now to improve these public health systems are going to be worth it, regardless of the uncertainty around COVID-19.

Wambui Gichuri is the Acting Vice President, Agriculture, Human and Social Development and Director, Water Development and Sanitation at the African Development Bank .

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry

GCR affirms Afreximbank’s A- rating

Prof Benedict Oramah, president Afriexim bank

Confirmation of African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), Africa’s foremost multilateral trade finance institution, as one of the biggest multilateral development institutions in tg Africa region came through its new rating by the Global Credit Rating (GCR) affirming its international scale long-term and short-term issuer ratings of A- and A2, respectively, with a stable outlook.

In addition, GCR has affirmed the international scale long-term issue rating on the Bank’s US$5 billion Euro Medium Term Note (EMTN) programme of A-, with a stable outlook.

GCR notes that Afreximbank’s ratings are supported by its “strong status as one of the largest Multilateral Development Banks within the African region, diverse regional membership, strong mandate and track record, demonstrated preferential creditor treatment, beyond adequate capitalization, strong risk position, diverse funding and robust liquidity.” GCR further notes that Afreximbank’s ratings also factor in the growing track record of the Bank carrying out its countercyclical role, especially in light of the current global COVID-19 pandemic and sees the Bank’s response to COVID-19, the US$3billion net Pandemic Trade Impact Mitigation Facility, as a positive proof of mandate.

GCR cites the Bank’s highly structured loan book as a rating positive, noting that “c.70% of the loan book is secured with high quality collateral comprising cash, insurance with A rated international insurers, and sovereign backed securities.” The rating agency considers the Bank’s risk positions “intact for now, despite the COVID-19 shock weighing on asset quality metrics (albeit slightly) in the short term” with credit losses comparatively favourable to rated peers and loan concentrations relatively better in comparison to other Multilateral Institutions.

The Bank’s liquidity is strong, with a liquidity coverage ratio of over 149%, while liquidity is further “supported by low risk cash flows from the ring-fenced trade finance structure and a fairly good amount of liquid placements with OECD banks.”

The report notes that Afreximbank “has capacity to carry out its mandate in light of the pandemic, supported by a strong balance sheet.” Looking ahead, the rating agency expects Afreximbank’s broad geographical reach and increasingly growing membership to ensure its relevance and importance to its shareholders remains high.

Speaking on the development, Prof. Okey Oramah, President of Afreximbank said that the Bank is delighted to have its strong rating affirmed by GCR. Our strong liquidity, robust management of risk and preferred creditor status all provide a firm foundation through which the Bank can deliver positive results for both our shareholders and the African nations we exist to support.

This foundation has allowed us to act decisively with the Pandemic Trade Impact Mitigation Facility, our countercyclical response to the impact of Covid-19 pandemic, while also continuing to be a driving force behind the expansion of intra-African trade, ” he added.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry

Ethiopian Airlines Opens New Multi-million Dollars World Class Terminal at Addis Ababa Airport

Mr. Tewolde GebreMariam, Group CEO of Ethiopian Airlines

As part of its bigger dreams of expanding its global hub at Addis Ababa Bole International Airport, Africa’s leading airline, Ethiopian unveils its new Aviation Infrastructure, the first of its kind in Africa by blending Modernity with Bio Safety.

Ethiopian Airlines Group has successfully completed a new passenger terminal at its hub Addis Ababa Bole International Airport with emphasis on Bio Security and Bio-Safety measures.

The new terminal has check-in hall with 60 check-in counters, 30 self-check-in kiosks, 10 self-bag drop/SBD/, 16 immigration counters with more e-gate provisions, 16 central security screening areas for departing passengers are the new faces of the airport. In addition, it has three contact gates for wide-body aircraft along with 10 remote contact gates with people mover – travellator, escalator, and panoramic lifts. It will house 32 arrival immigration counters with eight e-gate provisions at the mezzanine floor level.

Regarding the expanded infrastructure, Mr. Tewolde GebreMariam, Group CEO of Ethiopian Airlines remarked, “I am very pleased to witness the realization of a brand-new terminal at our Hub. While Addis Ababa Bole International Airport has overtaken Dubai to become the largest gateway to Africa last year, the new terminal will play a key role in cementing that position. What makes the new terminal unique is that it’s the first terminal in the world to be completed after Covid-19. It was designed, not re-purposed, with Biosafety and Biosecurity in mind. I’m sure our esteemed customers will highly appreciate that.”

Aviation infrastructure expansion is one of the core pillars of Ethiopian’s Vision 2025. Ethiopian is continuously working on expanding airport facilities. The features of the new airport play a key role in protecting passengers’ and employees’ safety as airport experience becomes contactless.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry