Sian Crampsie The African Development Bank (AfDB) has approved a $104 million loan to help Ethiopia improve its power system. Ethiopia has set a target of an electrification rate of 90 per cent by 2020 to meet growing industrial, commercial and domestic demand. It intends to meet these goals through grid-based rural electrification, additional off-grid...
By Pierre Donadieu and Aurelia End EIGHT candidates are vying to become the next head of the strategic African Development Bank as the continent is undergoing an economic transformation in an anticipated vote that will pit some of the region’s major players against each other. With 80 AfDB shareholders—54 African states and 26 non-African countries—set...
By Yonas Abiye The Government of Ethiopia is going to launch a campaign to win votes for Sufian Ahmed, who is one of the candidates for the presidency of the African Development Bank (AfDB), the continental policy lending institution. The current Minister of Finance and Economic Development of Ethiopia, Sufian, who will turn 57 in...
By Rene Vollgraaff Three African finance ministers are among eight candidates in the running to replace Donald Kaberuka as president of the African Development Bank. Ethiopia’s Sufian Ahmed, Chad’s Kordje Bedoumra and Cristina Duarte from Cape Verde have been nominated for the position, the lender said in an e-mailed statement on Friday. The other candidates...
By Keynan Jama Every year, Somalis abroad send home more money than the federal government spends. In 2023, remittances reached about USD 1.7 billion—more than the federal budget that year and more than the USD 1.1 billion received by aid agencies. The 2025 federal budget was USD 1.34 billion. Remittances equal roughly one-sixth of Somalia’s...
By Dulmar Maalim The Horn of Africa is currently at a critical juncture, transitioning from a history of fragmentation and instability to a period where deeper regional economic integration is not merely an option, but a necessity. For Somalia, this imperative is particularly acute, necessitating the advocacy for a Horn of Africa Regional Economic Bloc...
Gaalkacyo (WDN)- Puntland President Said Abdullahi Deni on Tuesday officially launched the reconstruction of a strategic road linking the towns of Gaalkacyo and Bacaadweyn in the Mudug region—a 40-kilometer project fully said to be funded by the Puntland government. The president, who is currently visiting Bacaadweyn, presided over a ceremony marking the commencement of construction...
NAIROBI/ABIDJAN, (Reuters) – The African Development Bank is meeting in Ivory Coast this week to pick a new president at a time when the continent’s biggest multilateral lender faces unprecedented challenges from funding cuts by the U.S. government. Washington wants to cut $555 million in funding to the AfDB and its African Development Fund, which offers low-priced...
As African leaders gather for the 38th African Union (AU) Summit, the call for a visa-free continent has taken center stage. The AUC and the African Development Bank (AfDB) have jointly urged African governments to accelerate the removal of visa restrictions that continue to hinder regional integration, trade, and economic development. Speaking at the High-Level...
By Abdullahi Ahmed Nor The recent tripartite agreements signed in Asmara last week, which seek to align the interests of Somalia, Eritrea, and Egypt, initially appear to be a strategic step towards neutralizing Prime Minister of Ethiopia Mr. Abiy Ahmed’s ambitions to annex Somali coastal territory in the North. However, if we carefully assess the...