The Board of Directors of the African Development Fund – the African Development Bank Group’s (www.AfDB.org) concessional financing window – approved a grant of $42.86 million to Ethiopia on 22 May 2024 to fund the implementation of the Agri-MSMEs development for jobs Program.  

Aimed at boosting the growth and productivity of youth and women-led MSMEs in Ethiopia, the program focuses on improving access to finance, providing business development services, and strengthening the entrepreneurship enabling environment.

AfDB’s financing is bolstered by a $10 million contribution from the Development Bank of Ethiopia and $6.24 million from the Ethiopian Government. These will significantly boost this promising initiative seeking to eliminate the barriers to finance access for youth and women entrepreneurs’ access in Ethiopia.

The project aims to enhance the growth and productivity of over 8,000 micro, small and medium-sized businesses (MSMEs) led by young people and women. Emphasizing the transformational nature of the project, AfDB Deputy Director General for East Africa, Dr Abdul Kamara, stated, “The project interventions are timely and will support major sector reforms that will help strengthen the strategic and institutional framework for financial inclusion, and youth- and women-led entrepreneurship development in Ethiopia”.  

The project comprises two pillars. One seeks to expand access to finance and non-financial services for youth and women led agri-MSMEs, with institutional capacity strengthening for the main institutional providers of non-financial services. Not only will it support financial institutions to increase lending to youth and women-led Agri-MSMEs, it will also improve the quality and range of services offered by key public and private sector entrepreneurship service providers.

These enhancements are designed to increase the quality of business development services and promote stronger linkages across different service providers. Ms Martha Phiri, AfDB Director for Human Development confirmed that “the project focus on youth and women entrepreneurs will immensely contribute to advancing the inclusive growth agenda and gender commitments of the Bank”.

The second pilar centres on designing, establishing and deploying the Youth Entrepreneurship Investment Bank (YEIB) (https://apo-opa.co/44QwcvG) framework. Its goal is to offer long-term financial and non-financial support to mitigate risks for youth entrepreneurs and nurture their talents and entrepreneurial spirit. The support includes a management company to oversee an equity investment fund providing long-term patient capital to youth businesses in the form of equity and quasi equity. The management company will also work closely with the national Public Credit Guarantee Scheme under design to provide guarantees to financial institutions to incentivise them to lend to youth businesses, which are most often asset-light, without collateral. It will also work closely with the Entrepreneurship Development Institute under the Ministry of Labour and Skills to build MSME capacity.

The Bank’s Acting Director of Financial Sector Development, Mr Ahmed Attout explained that, “The YEIB aims to transform hurdles for young entrepreneurs by acting as ecosystem anchor, convening stakeholders, achieving financial synergies, and establishing youth entrepreneurs as an attractive investment asset class.”

The project implementation emphasizes collaboration with the Africa Adaptation Acceleration Program, seeking to capitalize on opportunities for strengthening  businesses, while focusing on climate adaptation through capacity building and empowerment initiatives.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of African Development Bank Group (AfDB).

Media contact:
Alexis Adélé
Communication and External Relations Department
media@afdb.org

About the African Development Bank Group:
The African Development Bank Group (AfDB) is the premier multilateral financing institution dedicated to Africa’s development. It comprises three distinct entities: the African Development Bank (AfDB), the African Development Fund (ADF) and the Nigeria Trust Fund (NSF). The AfDB has a field presence in 41 African countries, with an external office in Japan, and contributes to the economic development and social progress of its 54 regional member states. For more information: www.AfDB.org

On May 22, 2024 the First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus, Sergei Lukashevich, received copies of Credentials of the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia to the Republic of Belarus, Cham Ugala Uriat.

The meeting was timed to coincide with the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the countries. On this occasion, congratulatory messages were conveyed on behalf of the President and the Prime Minister of the Republic of Belarus.  

The sides noted their mutual interest in more active use of the existing potential of bilateral relations and bringing them to a higher level. During the meeting, the parties discussed promising areas of Belarusian-Ethiopian cooperation in industry, agriculture and food security, as well as the development of the legal framework for bilateral cooperation.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus.

Millions of people are facing food insecurity due to El Niño-fueled drought and floods in Southern Africa, WFP Executive Director Cindy McCain warned during a visit to Zambia, at the epicenter of the crisis. Severe drought has wiped out harvests in a region where 70 percent of the population relies on agriculture to survive.

“What I’ve seen in Zambia is not just alarming, it is heartbreaking,” said Director McCain, after speaking with farming families in rural Zambia. “I met farmers who usually grow enough to feed their families and communities. This year they harvested nothing. Now imagine a similar scenario for millions of people throughout Southern Africa, and we have a humanitarian catastrophe.”

Although this El Niño cycle is coming to an end, the impact of extreme drought will have tragic consequences for months to come. Not only have temperatures soared, but the region was also hit with its driest February in decades, resulting in a 20 percent reduction in rainfall at a crucial time for crop growth. The three hardest hit countries—Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Malawi—have declared states of drought disaster. They face widespread crop losses, with between 40 and 80 percent of their maize harvests decimated. 

At an Extraordinary Summit of the heads of state and government of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) on the current crisis, leaders announced that 61 million people were impacted by El Niño. They launched a humanitarian appeal for US$5.5 billion to supplement the affected member states’ own resources, calling for support to meet the urgent humanitarian needs.

As food runs out, so does the time to respond. “I’m asking the international community to join us and step up now,” added McCain. “We can’t ask millions to wait for the next harvest season – a year from now – to put food on their tables. These families need our support today while we help to build a more resilient future.”

The drought and floods struck at a time when food insecurity and malnutrition were already at alarming levels and humanitarian activities were stalled due to funding shortages. WFP teams have started to respond but US$409 million are needed for six months to assist 4.8 million people in Malawi, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

These climate extremes serve as a reminder of the urgent need to increase investment in activities that build resilience, especially in Southern Africa where climate shocks severely impact lives and livelihoods.

To help communities prepare for climate disasters before they hit, WFP has been working with governments and partners to roll out solutions. In August 2023, WFP unlocked over US$14 million of anticipatory finance to assist more than 1.2 million people projected to be affected by El Niño. WFP supported communities in Lesotho, Madagascar, Mozambique, and Zimbabwe with early warning messages on weather risks, anticipatory cash transfers, drought-resistant seeds, agricultural training, and improved water sources

WFP is also working with governments to protect communities in the immediate aftermath of climate shocks. In a matter of weeks, WFP will begin disbursing nearly US$10 million in insurance payouts over the coming six months to almost 280,000 affected people, complimenting ongoing national drought responses. This will allow vulnerable households to cope with the impacts of the drought and steadily restore their livelihoods.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of World Food Programme (WFP).

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) convened a crucial hybrid meeting on Monday, 20 May 2024, bringing together key stakeholders to launch the Regional Nutrition Agenda officially. The event highlighted the integration of nutrition into agricultural policies and strategies, marking a significant step forward in addressing nutritional challenges in the region.

The Director of Agriculture and Rural Development, Alain SY TRAORE, in his opening remarks, highlighted the prevalence of stunting, wasting, and overweight among children under five in West Africa is estimated at 30.9% (20.2 million), 6.9% (4.5 million), and 2.7% (1.8 million), respectively (FAO et al., 2022) justifying that nutrition remains a concern in the region. He also explained how the Sahel and West Africa region has faced significant food and nutrition insecurity, with around 42.5 million people potentially classified as being in a “crisis or worse phase” during the lean season from June to August 2023. Director Alain mentioned that in the bid to mitigate the nutrition challenge, the agriculture sector decided to conduct a deep dive to determine how well nutrition is integrated into agriculture sector policies, strategies, and plans because such would contribute to creating an enabling environment in the Sahel countries (ECOWAS Member States, Chad, and Mauritania).

A goodwill message, Mr. Issouifou BAOUA, representing the EU-funded PAGR SANAD project, underscored the collaborative efforts and support for the initiative from various projects and organizations. To improve the situation, the regional nutrition agenda, endorsed by technicians, member states, and stakeholders with the United Nations FAO, UNICEF, and WFP, aims to enhance the agricultural sector’s contribution to improving West Africa’s nutritional situation by integrating nutrition into the agricultural policies, strategies, and plans, based on diagnostic studies conducted in ECOWAS countries, Mauritania, and Chad, aligning with international commitments.

Speaking at the event, Mrs. Fatmata Lucia SEIWOH, ECOWAP/CAADP Monitoring&Evaluation Programme Officer, Directorate of Agriculture and Rural Development, outlined the vision, guiding principles, objectives, strategic priorities, expected results, and the regional action/key activities where she sighted the eradication of malnutrition in all its forms by 2030 striving towards “Zero Hunger.” The detailed regional nutrition agenda and Action Plan for integrating nutrition into agricultural policies and strategies was also presented. This comprehensive plan includes actionable steps and measurable targets to improve nutritional outcomes.

The discussion provided a platform for participants to engage, share insights, and contribute to refining the action plan. The discussion highlighted the importance of multi-sectoral collaboration and community involvement in achieving the agenda’s goals. The Director recognized the efforts of technical and financial partners, especially CILSS, European Union, FAO, WFP, UNICEF, UEMOA, and ROPPA, for their confidence in the Directorate and reaffirming ECOWAS’ dedication to helping improve nutrition in the region.

Following frantic discussions and exchanges, Director Alain Sy TRAORE officially launched the regional agenda and action plan on behalf of President Omar Touray, Commissioner of Economic Affairs and Agriculture Massandje Toure-Litse.  These will be used as a basis for discussions as the sector approaches 2025, when the sector policy will be reviewed.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).