Radisson Hotel Group announced the addition of six new hotels to its African portfolio, bringing the total to almost 100 hotels across 32 African markets.
Building on the recent announcement of its reinforced African development team structure, the announcement of the six new hotels further demonstrates the Group’s commitment to the continent.
Elie Younes, Executive Vice President & Chief Development Officer, Radisson Hotel Group, said “we believe in the vast potential of Africa. The addition of the six hotels, following the announcement of Radisson Hotel Saint Denis earlier this year places us firmly on track to reach over 150 hotels in operation and under development across the continent within the next five years. The new hotel announcements include our debut in new markets, the introduction of additional brands and the strengthening of our presence in cities we’ve identified for scaled growth. We thank our hotel partners for their invaluable trust in Radisson Hotel Group and its people.” One of the six hotels will be in Addis Ababa.
Radisson Hotel Group’s fifth hotel in Ethiopia, scheduled to open in 2021, is located just 4km from Ethiopia’s newly expanded Addis Ababa Bole International Airport terminal, now the biggest airport aviation hub in Africa, expected to accommodate 22 million passengers a year.
The 114-room hotel will boast a wide variety of food and drink outlets, the hotel will offer guests a truly local experience in a traditional Ethiopian specialty restaurant and bar and appease international taste buds in a bespoke all-day-dining restaurant which leads out into a pool bar. In addition, the hotel will also have a third bespoke panoramic bar.
Radisson Hotel Group announces six new hotels in Africa, one in Addis
African authorities deploy KC Wearable Smart Helmet to combat spread of COVID-19
With over 720,000 confirmed cases across Africa, COVID-19 has already claimed almost 16,000 lives. In their efforts to reduce the devastating impact of the disease, several national authorities have partnered with leading technology and innovation company KC Wearable to use company’s KC N901 Smart Helmet.
The helmet can detect fevers, the most prevalent COVID-19 symptom, with 96% accuracy. South Africa was the first African country to use the helmet following a surge in cases last month and it is already being used in airports and logistics hubs across Cape Town, Durban, and Johannesburg. Authorities in Algeria, Egypt and Gabon are now also using the smart helmet, as they look to better protect their populations and avoid further escalation of the pandemic.
Beyond Africa, the helmet is already being used in over 35 countries, including Indonesia, the UAE, Italy, Netherlands, Kuwait, Chile, and Turkey. KC Wearable has partnered with national authorities and major transport hubs such as airports, as well as schools and hospitals, to detect COVID-19 symptoms in a range of settings.
With the ability to screen the temperatures of up to 200 people a minute, the helmet offers a quick and accurate alternative to traditional thermal cameras. The wearable headset improves the efficiency and flexibility of COVID-19 screening.
IFC invests $5.6 billion for private sector development
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, committed $5.6 billion to private sector development in the Middle East and sub-Saharan Africa in fiscal year 2020, supporting businesses across the two regions to launch, grow, provide jobs and fight the impacts of the global COVID-19 pandemic.
In addition, IFC committed nearly $2 billion in short-term trade financing to support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
In sub-Saharan Africa, between July 1, 2019 and June 30, 2020, IFC committed $4.6 billion in investments to private firms across the region. Despite the challenges of delivering during a global health pandemic, IFC exceeded its fiscal year 2019 commitment of $4.1 billion.
Investments focused on sectors including healthcare, agribusiness, solar energy, housing finance, infrastructure, and financing for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), including in fragile and conflict-affected situations (FCS) where IFC committed more than $1.2 billion in investments.
In the Middle East and North Africa, where the COVID-19 pandemic has led to declines in oil production, tourism revenues, and remittances, IFC invested more than $1 billion, including to support the construction of hospitals and clinics in Iraq, Jordan, Egypt, and Morocco.
Sérgio Pimenta, IFC Vice President for the Middle East and Africa, said, “Countries in the Middle East and Africa were making significant progress before the COVID-19 pandemic struck and at IFC our goal was to unlock private investment and create markets and opportunities to support that progress. In the wake of the economic crisis brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, we stepped up the momentum to help our clients stay in business and maintain jobs which are critical to economic growth and livelihoods. We applaud the perseverance and resilience of the small, medium and large businesses that are the foundation of economies in Africa and the Middle East and we will continue to support them in the next phase of the crisis and through the recovery.”
