Africa Day 2018

It is on the African continent that we must step up our efforts the most, in order to attain the UN Sustainable Development Goals, EIB President Werner Hoyer stressed as he opened at the Africa Day conference in Addis Ababa on Thursday co-hosted by the EIB and UNIDO. “We need to have the right structures in place to facilitate private sector development and ‘crowd-in’ private sector finance”, the President of the EIB said in his opening address. “Together, we need to support a shift from aid to investment, from poverty to prosperity”

n the margins of its Africa Day in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, the European Investment Bank has signed a new fifteen year EUR 200 million loan agreement with the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), aimed at supporting trade-related productive investments, including in renewable energy projects, in Africa. The facility will support promoters in more than 40 countries across Africa with long-term funding.

The European Investment Bank (EIB) and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) have co-hosted the EIB Africa Day 2018 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. UNIDO’s Director General, LI Yong, and EIB President, Werner Hoyer, opened the high-level event, alongside H.E. Sahle-Work Zewde, President of Ethiopia.

At its Africa Day in Addis Ababa, the European Investment Bank signed today a new loan with the Ethiopian Ministry of Finance and Economic Cooperation to further boost female economic inclusion and empowerment across the country.

How does it feel to be on the ground visiting a project co-financed by the EIB? VP Fayolle visits Hayelom and Aster garment company which produces uniforms and expanded its business thanks to EU Bank

In its fourth edition, this report focuses on recent developments in Africa’s banking sectors and the policy options for all stakeholders.

How the EIB supports conflict prevention and recovery in fragile regions in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific Region through investment.

2017 saw the approval of ten new grant operations, in support of seven different projects, for a total amount of EUR 73.6 million.

This paper gives an overview of market needs, EIB’s activities in the area, and proposed future steps to improve the situation.

To confront enormous global challenges such as climate change, poverty and migration, the EIB conducts one-tenth of its activity outside the EU.

Electricity is a pre-requisite for economic development, just like clean water.

Millions benefit from Ethiopia mobile money service M-Birr.

Microfinance loans empower African small businesses and change lives.

The women featured in this video have one thing in common: they are inspired entrepreneurs with strong projects – whether it be to open a grocery stand in Kenya or to empower women to become Fashion Designers in Ethiopia – and have benefited from the support of the European Investment Bank.

Investment in Africa means jobs that don’t force people to leave their homes and families. Across Africa, approximately 15 million people have left their homes to find jobs as far away as Europe, the Gulf or the Americas. The EU bank finances businesses in Africa, creating jobs that allow workers to remain in their homes and near their families. Projects like those in Senegal featured in this film build Africa’s future by creating viable private sector companies.

Funded with the support of the EIB, Next Design – a fashion label and design college – is empowering a new generation of Designers, Tailors and Entrepreneurs in Ethiopia.

M-Birr is the first mobile money service in Ethiopia. It enables social welfare payments to be made from any M-Birr agency.

d.light is a company which provides a range of off-grid, solar-powered lighting solutions across the developing world.

Discover more about the project and our operations in Kenya

How UNIDO is using its Programme for Country Partnership approach to take industry and manufacturing in Ethiopia to the next level.

In the Republic of Gambia, where only 13% of the rural population has access to electricity, Fandema -a women’s development centre– is emerging as a beacon of hope.

When survival is a must and the day-to-day is consumed by addressing basic needs, little space or time is left for artistic development. However, creative industries have proved to be an effective agent of change and a sustainable instrument to reduce poverty.

“I believe it was the right choice to come back home. I feel good about coming home. The opportunities I have now would never have been available in a foreign country as a refugee.”

Unemployment and underemployment are persistent problems in Ethiopia, especially among youth. Although the eastern African country has one of the fastest growing economies on the continent, 50% of young people are still unemployed.

On 26 September on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, heads of state, high-level representatives of governments, development financing institutions and UN agencies, together with representatives of the private sector, non-governmental organizations and academia, met today at UN Headquarters to discuss how inclusive and sustainable industrial development can support the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement.

Fatma Riyami has been named East African Businesswoman of the Year 2017 at the annual All Africa Business Leaders Award ceremony to honour business leaders who have made a considerable impact on their industry and community.

The new technology fills a gap that many governments and training institutions in Africa are struggling to bridge: the need for more skilled workers. With an ageing workforce and lack of trained youth joining the job market, the vocational skills shortage is becoming a big problem. 

Extreme poverty in Africa cannot be eradicated without a structural transformation of the continent’s economies. In order to achieve this objective, Africa must industrialize. It must also do so in a socially inclusive and environmentally sustainable manner. Promoting industrialization has therefore featured high on the agendas of African governments for decades. 

Morocco is staring into an uncertain water future. With a median population age of only 27, Morocco is a youthful nation in transition, contending with the interwoven challenges of urbanization, rapid population growth, industrialization, and climate change.

In the next decades, Africa is set to become the youngest and most populous continent in the world, with a working age population expected to grow by around 70 per cent. Credits to: Aditya Desai for the aerial shot in the beginning of the video.

The Programme for Country Partnership (PCP) is UNIDO’s innovative model for accelerating inclusive and sustainable industrial development in Member States. Aligned with the national development agenda and focused on sectors with high growth potential, the programme supports a country in achieving its industrial development goals.

In line with the Nigerian government's agenda to accelerate economic growth, UNIDO's Entrepreneurship Curriculum Programme (ECP) aims to enhance social stabilisation and contribute to job creation for youth in Nigeria.

How UNIDO is using its Programme for Country Partnership (PCP) approach to take industry and manufacturing in Ethiopia to the next level.

With funding from the Government of Japan, UNIDO supported the Government of Sudan to promote soybean as an alternative crash crop for small holder farmers.

Liberia is one of the world's most underdeveloped countries with high levels of unemployment. The ebola outbreak of 2014-2015 has further compounded the country's development resulting in increased social instability and poverty.