Africa in Review by the Numbers (July 2023)
$11 million Equity investment made by African Development Bank in BluePeak Private Capital Fund towards its $155 million target for final close. This financing will provide growth capital for mid-sized companies across different sectors in Africa. (Africa Market Trends) 300 Electric vehicle stations to be launched in Kenya this year by Electric Go Company to boost the e-mobility sector. Better access to charging infrastructure has supported an increase in electric car users to 1500. The government is targeting 200,000 electric cars by 2025, or 5% of all registered vehicles. (ESI Africa) 411 TEUs Volume of goods carried by the first trans-shipment vessel to berth at Lekki Port in Nigeria. The $1.5 billion deepsea port is equipped with ship-to-shore cranes and other technology to position Nigeria as the preeminent trans-shipment hub in West Africa. (Arise News)
$6 billion Financing deal signed by United Bank of Africa and Africa Continental Free Trade Area Secretariat to offer support to small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) across Africa. This three-year partnership will promote development of SMEs under four sectors which are largely import-dependent. (Nigerian Tribune) 3.5% Proportion of global foreign direct investment (FDI) allocated to Africa in 2022. The $45 billion of FDI was a decline from the record $80 billion delivered in 2021, according to UNCTAD's World Investment Report. Despite accounting for a small slice of overall FDI, the continent is over-represented for large-scale works, and is home to six of the 15 greenfield projects worth over $10 billion announced in 2022. (Africa Business Communities) 50,000 Smallholder farmers in Zambia to benefit from off-grid solar systems as part of a $4.4 million deal from Beyond the Grid Fund for Africa. Financed by Norway, the financing will help to scale the operations of two energy service companies serving farmers and families in rural and peri-rural areas. (ESI Africa) $1.8 billion Estimated untapped value of the manufactured food sector in the African Continental Free Trade Area lost through the export of raw goods, according to a recent UNCTAD report. (African Business) 300 tonnes Value-added meat from Ugandan company to be exported to Egypt monthly. This move is part of Uganda's strategy in positioning itself to capture a larger share of the Middle Eastern meat market of $100 billion. (Africa Food Business) 48 MW Solar electricity to be produced in Tanzania by 2024 in a bid to meet the growing demand of power supply for increasing development projects. This project will help improve power reliability that is required to promote the economy of the East African country. (Daily News) 3 Food operations owned by Dangote Industries to merge into a single entity, uniting Dangote Rice, Dangote Sugar and salt-maker NASCON Allied Industries. The planned merger comes after BUA Group consolidated its food companies nearly three years ago, creating Nigeria's largest listed consumer goods company by market value. (Premium Times) 27 million litres Fuel shipped from Kenya to Uganda through the Kisumu oil jetty since it became operational at the beginning of 2023. Landlocked Uganda is increasingly turning to Lake Victoria to import fuel as road transportation costs rise. Kenya hopes the jetty will help fend off competition from Tanzanian fuel supply routes. (Business Daily) $1 billion Exposure exchange agreed between the African Development Bank (AfDB) and its counterpart in Asia to allow the bank provide African countries with additional financing while complying with risk-management obligations. The move is aligned with the G20 Action Plan to optimise multilateral development banks' balance sheets without impacting credit ratings. (Ethiopian Monitor)