Africa, second-fastest growing global region – AfDB
By Felicia Nwosu
The newly launched 2023 African Economic Outlook Report by the African Development Bank has projected through its forecasts that Africa will consolidate its post-Covid-19 pandemic recovery to 4.3 percent GDP growth in 2024 from 3.8 percent in 2022 while some 22 countries will record growth rates above 5 percent.
The report applauded the continent over its survival instinct, resilience and audacity in remaining strong economically in the face of numerous economic challenges and despite the devastating impact of the pandemic on the economy. It noted that Africa is set to be the second-fastest growing region in the world after Asia in 2023-24.
AFDB gave this revelation during the launch of the 2023 African Economic Outlook Report, at the bank’s annual meetings in Sharm El Sheikh Egypt, with the theme: “Mobilizing Private Sector Financing for Climate and Green Growth.”
According to the report, the projected growth will depend on global conditions and the continent’s ability to bolster its economic resilience. The flagship report recommends incentives to draw private investment in green growth as well as robust policy actions, including incentivizing green industries and providing guarantees at scale to de-risk private sector investments in managing natural capital across the continent.
Kevin Urama, Chief Economist and Vice President for Economic Governance and Knowledge Management of the African Development Bank, while presenting the report’s findings, listed several potential policy actions for stimulating more private sector financing for African climate and green growth initiative.
“These options include tapping into the expanding global and domestic private equity and venture capital appetite for African markets and “cautiously engaging with the emerging carbon markets and debt-for-climate swaps,”
Akinwumi Adesina President, African Development Bank Group, who unveiled the 220-page report, said African countries must do more, including mobilizing more domestic resources and restructuring debt to withstand global headwinds.
“African economies are moving in the right direction,” Adesina said, noting that five of the six pre-pandemic top-performing economies are set to be back in the league of the world’s 10 fastest-growing economies in 2023–2024.But as we gather today, the world is facing multiple challenges, including climate change, inflation driven by higher prices of energy, commodities, and disruption of supply chains due to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war,” he said.
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