“A partnership signed today between IFC and Djibouti-based East Africa Bank (EAB) will help EAB better mitigate financial risks which have been amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic and improve its sustainability.”
“When COVID-19 struck Africa and country-wide lockdowns began, Obi Ozor, founder and CEO of Kobo360 —an African company that is digitizing cargo delivery and connecting truck drivers with cargo companies—knew he had to act fast. The only way the business would outlast the pandemic, he realized, was if Kobo360’s operations went 100 percent digital.”
“Africa’s Internet economy is transforming development on the continent by fostering economic opportunities, creating jobs, and providing innovative solutions to complex challenges, like access to healthcare, education, and finance.”
“IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, today announced a $50 million loan to Nigeria’s First City Monument Bank (FCMB) Limited to help it expand lending to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) so they can sustain business activities disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic.”
“Projected estimates for 2020, as a whole, paint an even grimmer picture, with a 50 percent drop in total passenger traffic (to 4.6 billion) and a drop of nearly 57 percent in airport revenues (to $97.4 billion), compared to pre-COVID-19 forecasts.”
“The global economy right now is on an unsettling journey to an uncertain destination. The unsettling journey is mainly because of the health-related disruptions to economic activity.”
“Kenya, like most countries in Africa, has been in lockdown since late March, shutting down all international flights. With only 18 percent of households with Internet access and more than 80 percent of the Kenyan workforce in the informal sector, there’s no doubt that the pandemic will hit my country’s economy hard.”
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