Tuesday, March 28, 2023
  • Login
Upgrade
The Southern African Times
  • Home
  • Southern Africa
  • Global
  • Business
    • African Start ups
    • African Continental Free Trade Area
  • Tech
    • Lifestyle
      • Health
      • Culture
      • Food and Drink
      • Entertainment
  • Opinion
  • Sports
  • SAT Jobs
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Southern Africa
  • Global
  • Business
    • African Start ups
    • African Continental Free Trade Area
  • Tech
    • Lifestyle
      • Health
      • Culture
      • Food and Drink
      • Entertainment
  • Opinion
  • Sports
  • SAT Jobs
No Result
View All Result
The Southern African Times
No Result
View All Result
Home Business

Invest more in Africa—Akinwumi Adesina urges keen Irish business community

by SAT Reporter
July 6, 2022
in Business
0
Invest more in Africa—Akinwumi Adesina urges keen Irish business community
0
VIEWS

Since joining the African Development Bank Group as its 81st shareholder in 2020, Ireland has shown steadily increasing interest in strengthening its economic ties with Africa. That mission received a strong boost last week at the 7th Africa Ireland Economic Forum in Dublin, as African Development Bank Group President Dr. Akinwumi Adesina enjoined the Irish business community to invest more in Africa.

“If you are not investing in Africa, you’re not in business,” Adesina told his audience. “Foreign direct investment of Ireland in Africa was $572 million at the end of 2020 and represented only 0.05% of Ireland’s total net foreign direct,” Adesina said. “This is too low. Ireland should invest a lot more in Africa. Let’s set a target of 15% of Irish investments in Africa.”

The exhortation from Africa’s premier development finance institution’s chief was matched by the Irish authorities’ publicly expressed enthusiasm about Ireland-Africa cooperation. Speaking at the forum on Thursday, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of Defence Simon Coveney talked about Ireland’s deepening economic and cultural links with Africa. He noted the prospects for closer trading links with the continent, pointing out that trade between Ireland and Africa would likely reach €5 billion by 2025.

Receiving the Bank Group chief on Friday, Irish President Michael D. Higgins congratulated Adesina for his work on the recent establishment of the African Pharmaceutical Technology Foundation. “Nothing is more important than that,” said President Higgins. He spoke about his long-time interest in Africa and his optimism for its economic advancement. Discussing the looming global food crisis prompted by Russia’s war in Ukraine, President Higgins welcomed the pre-emptive steps the Bank had taken to ensure food security for the continent.

Describing their meeting, Adesina said: “President Higgins so warmly received me. He has a heart and passion for Africa. He told me: ‘You are doing such an incredible job for Africa with your leadership in running the African Development Bank. I am inspired by your vision.’”

Similar support for continued strong cooperation came from senior Irish officials with whom Adesina met during his visit, notably: Colm Brophy, Minister of State for Overseas Development Aid and Diaspora; John Hogan, Secretary General of the Department of Finance and Alternate Governor for Ireland at the African Development Bank Group; and Paul Ryan, Director of the department’s International Finance and Climate Division, which is responsible for managing Ireland’s shareholding in international financial institutions.

Adesina thanked the Irish government for joining the African Development Bank and the African Development Fund, the Bank Group’s concessional lending arm, and he expressed appreciation for Ireland’s contribution—announced by Foreign Affairs and Defence Minister Coveney on Thursday—of €2 million to the African Development Bank for climate adaptation.

In an address to the forum on Thursday, the African Development Bank head held a packed conference hall captive as he spoke about the current African economic environment, the continent’s challenges, its many opportunities, and about the African Development Bank Group’s role as a “solutions bank,” a valued partner to its regional member countries, its international development partners, and to the international business community, whose investment he said was desirable. “You can count on the African Development Bank as a partner,” he stressed.

The Bank president was also interviewed(link is external) at the Institute of International European Affairs (IIEA) by Ambassador David Donoghue, Ireland’s former Permanent Representative to the United Nations. Welcoming Adesina, he said: “Dr Adesina is often described as Africa’s Optimist-in-Chief and is widely praised for his visionary leadership and passion for the transformation of Africa. Since he took over as President of the African Development Bank in 2015, the Bank has achieved the highest capital increase since its establishment in 1964.”

In his opening remarks, Paul Ryan said: “As well as being Africa’s Optimist-in-Chief, I’d like to say to Dr. Adesina that he is also Ireland’s closest friend in the African Development Bank and in the continent of Africa as well. He has been a fabulous partner for Ireland for the last couple of years, particularly since we joined the Bank in February of 2020. […] The response by the Bank—under the leadership of the President—to Covid and now to the Ukrainian war, has been absolutely exemplary. A lot of future-proofing kicking has been done in relation to food security, renewable energy, economic development, and it’s exactly in line with our developmesnt objectives. We are very happy to join the bank, very pleased with the level of engagement and really pleased with the work that the Bank has been doing in the continent.”

Ryan added that Adesina—“first elected President of the Bank in 2015 and unanimously re-elected for another five-year term in August of 2020”—is a bold reformer who completely transformed the agriculture sector in Nigeria as agriculture minister over four years, and that he has replicated that same success at the African Development Bank. “We are very happy with the President. Our fellow colleagues in the constituency are very happy. And more importantly, the wider membership in the continent of Africa are very happy.”

Adesina spoke about the work of the Bank—in particular the High 5 Strategic Priorities that he is credited with developing for the institution—and how he saw these priorities as the fulcrum for both transforming Africa and helping to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Adesina invited officials and private sector operatives to the next edition of the Bank’s Africa Investment Forum, taking place in Abidjan in November.

Tags: African investmentsBusinessIrish Investor
Previous Post

UK-funded low carbon technology programme calling for proposals in South Africa

Next Post

The enduring shame of America’s human rights problem

SAT Reporter

Related Posts

South African insurer OUTsurance profit jumps, plans Irish expansion
Business

South African insurer OUTsurance profit jumps, plans Irish expansion

by SAT Reporter
March 23, 2023
The UK and Kenya have entered a partnership estimated to be worth $10 billion
Business

The UK and Kenya have entered a partnership estimated to be worth $10 billion

by SAT Reporter
March 22, 2023
Huayou starts trial production at Zimbabwe lithium mine, invests in Namibian project
Business

Huayou starts trial production at Zimbabwe lithium mine, invests in Namibian project

by SAT Reporter
March 22, 2023
Angola creates $15bn fund from recovered assets
Business

Angola creates $15bn fund from recovered assets

by SAT Reporter
March 20, 2023
All set for commissioning of new generator to boost Zimbabwe’s power supplies
Business

All set for commissioning of new generator to boost Zimbabwe’s power supplies

by SAT Reporter
March 20, 2023
Next Post
The enduring shame of America’s human rights problem

The enduring shame of America's human rights problem

Browse by Category

  • African Continental Free Trade Area
  • African Debt
  • African Start ups
  • Algeria
  • Analysis
  • Angola
  • Asia
  • Botswana
  • BOTSWANA
  • Burkina Faso
  • Burundi
  • Business
  • Business
  • Cameroon
  • Central Africa
  • China
  • Climate Change
  • Climate Changev
  • Congo Republic
  • COVID 19
  • Culture
  • Democratic Republic of Congo
  • Eastern Africa
  • Education
  • Egypt
  • Entertainment
  • Environment
  • Ethiopia
  • Europe
  • Fashion
  • Feature
  • Finance
  • Food
  • Food and Drink
  • Foods
  • Ghana
  • Global
  • Guinea
  • Health
  • Immigration
  • in Southern Africa
  • International news
  • Just In
  • Kenya
  • Lesotho
  • Libya
  • Life Style
  • Lifestyle
  • Malawi
  • Malawi
  • Mali
  • Markets
  • Middle East
  • Mozambique
  • Namibia
  • Nigeria
  • North Africa
  • Opinion
  • Politics
  • Racism
  • Rwanda
  • SAT Jobs
  • Senegal
  • Seychelles
  • South Africa
  • South Sudan
  • Sports
  • Startup Africa
  • STOCK EXCHANGE
  • Tanzania
  • Tech
  • Togo
  • Travel
  • Travel
  • Tunisia
  • Uganda
  • Uncategorized
  • West Africa
  • World
  • World
  • ZAMBIA
  • Zambia
  • ZIMBABWE
  • Zimbabwe

Browse by Tags

africa African business news Africa News african footballer African investments African news African start-up Agriculture banking Business China Classic Climate change Content economy Explore Bali Finance football Health Investment Kenya Life Style Markets Market Stories Nigeria oil and gas Opinion Pandemic Politics Premium Russia South Africa Southern African News sports Stay Home technology Travel United Kingdom United Stated Vaccine Work From Home Wuhan Zambia Zimbabwe Zimbabwe Harare Manufacturing Africa Employment creationn

Categories

  • African Continental Free Trade Area
  • African Debt
  • African Start ups
  • Algeria
  • Analysis
  • Angola
  • Asia
  • Botswana
  • BOTSWANA
  • Burkina Faso
  • Burundi
  • Business
  • Business
  • Cameroon
  • Central Africa
  • China
  • Climate Change
  • Climate Changev
  • Congo Republic
  • COVID 19
  • Culture
  • Democratic Republic of Congo
  • Eastern Africa
  • Education
  • Egypt
  • Entertainment
  • Environment
  • Ethiopia
  • Europe
  • Fashion
  • Feature
  • Finance
  • Food
  • Food and Drink
  • Foods
  • Ghana
  • Global
  • Guinea
  • Health
  • Immigration
  • in Southern Africa
  • International news
  • Just In
  • Kenya
  • Lesotho
  • Libya
  • Life Style
  • Lifestyle
  • Malawi
  • Malawi
  • Mali
  • Markets
  • Middle East
  • Mozambique
  • Namibia
  • Nigeria
  • North Africa
  • Opinion
  • Politics
  • Racism
  • Rwanda
  • SAT Jobs
  • Senegal
  • Seychelles
  • South Africa
  • South Sudan
  • Sports
  • Startup Africa
  • STOCK EXCHANGE
  • Tanzania
  • Tech
  • Togo
  • Travel
  • Travel
  • Tunisia
  • Uganda
  • Uncategorized
  • West Africa
  • World
  • World
  • ZAMBIA
  • Zambia
  • ZIMBABWE
  • Zimbabwe

Browse by Tag

africa African business news Africa News african footballer African investments African news African start-up Agriculture banking Business China Classic Climate change Content economy Explore Bali Finance football Health Investment Kenya Life Style Markets Market Stories Nigeria oil and gas Opinion Pandemic Politics Premium Russia South Africa Southern African News sports Stay Home technology Travel United Kingdom United Stated Vaccine Work From Home Wuhan Zambia Zimbabwe Zimbabwe Harare Manufacturing Africa Employment creationn
  • Home
  • Southern Africa
  • Global
  • Business
    • African Start ups
    • African Continental Free Trade Area
  • Tech
    • Lifestyle
      • Health
      • Culture
      • Food and Drink
      • Entertainment
  • Opinion
  • Sports
  • SAT Jobs

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Add New Playlist

Manage Cookie Consent
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Manage options Manage services Manage vendors Read more about these purposes
View preferences
{title} {title} {title}
Are you sure want to unlock this post?
Unlock left : 0
Are you sure want to cancel subscription?