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<p>The World Bank says the African Continental Free Trade Agreement is a major opportunity for African countries to diversify their exports, accelerate growth and attract foreign direct investment. So how ready is Africa to take advantage of this trade pact?  Dr. Abdu Mukhtar, AFDB&#8217;s Director of the Industrial &#038; Trade Development Department and Muda Yusuf, Director-General of the Lagos Chambers of Commerce and Industry join CNBC Africa for more.</p>


How the AfCFTA can drive Africa’s COVID-19 recovery

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<p>According to the World Bank report for 2019, remittances from Africa’s diaspora outweighed western aid to the continent. So, could this source of funding help revive economies on the continent? Joy Wanjiru Machungu, CEO African Market Europe spoke to CNBC Africa for more.</p>


How remittances from Africa’s diaspora can help revive economies

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<p>The World Bank says the amount of money migrant workers are able to send home is expected to decline by 14 per cent in 2021. According to the bank, the foremost factors driving the decline in remittances include weak economic growth and employment levels in migrant-hosting countries, weak oil prices; and depreciation of the currencies of remittance-source countries against the US dollar. Michael Kent, Founder of Azimo joins CNBC Africa for more.</p>


How COVID-19 is changing global remittance flows

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<p>The President of the World Bank, David Malpass says the COVID-19 has dealt an unprecedented setback to the worldwide effort to end extreme poverty, raise median incomes, and create shared prosperity.</p>


World Bank President addresses COVID-19 induced inequality & poverty

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<p>The World Bank has confirmed the economic downturn in Sub-Saharan Africa, with COVID-19 pushing the region into its first recession in 25 years. With the toll that the pandemic has taken on economic activity, growth is projected to fall to negative 3.3 per cent this year. The heavy blow could also erase at least five years of progress in fighting poverty. Joining CNBC Africa to unpack the latest report from the World Bank is Albert Zeufack, Chief Economist for Africa at the World Bank.</p>


COVID-19 plunges SSA into first recession in 25 years

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<p>The World Bank says the Covid-19 pandemic could push over 100 million people into extreme poverty this year. According to the Bretton Woods Institution, Nigeria has the largest poor population in Sub-Saharan Africa that’s about 79 million extreme poor which accounts for 20 per cent of the total poor in the region. Dipo Ajayi, Head of Fixed Income at Chapel Hill Denham joins CNBC Africa for more.</p>


World Bank: COVID-19 to push over 100mn people into extreme poverty in 2020


<p>WASHINGTON (Reuters) &#8211; The World Bank said on Wednesday that the coronavirus pandemic could push as many as 150 million people into extreme poverty by the end of 2021, wiping out more than three years of progress in poverty reduction.</p>



<p>Releasing its flagship biennial report on poverty and shared prosperity, the multilateral development lender said that an additional 88 million to 115 million people will fall into extreme poverty &#8211; defined as living on less than $1.90 a day -in 2020. The report said this could grow to 111 million to 150 million by the end of 2021.</p>



<p>That would mean that 9.1-9.4% of the world’s population would be living under extreme poverty this year, about the same as 2017’s 9.2% and representing the first rise in the extreme poverty percentage in about 20 years.</p>



<p>The 2019 extreme poverty rate was estimated at about 8.4% and had been expected to drop to 7.5% by 2021 before the coronavirus pandemic. The report said that without swift, substantial policy actions, a longstanding goal of cutting the rate to 3% by 2030 looked out of reach.</p>



<p>“The pandemic and global recession may cause over 1.4% of the world’s population to fall into extreme poverty,” World Bank President David Malpass said in a statement, calling it a “serious setback to development progress and poverty reduction.”</p>



<p></p>



<p>The report found that many of the new extreme poor are in countries that have high poverty rates already, but around 82% of these are in middle-income countries, where the poverty line is defined as income of $3.20 a day for low-middle-income countries and $5.50 a day for upper-middle-income countries.</p>



<p>While extreme poverty has been concentrated in rural areas in the past, the World Bank report found that increasing numbers of urban dwellers have been thrown into extreme poverty as jobs dry up from coronavirus lockdowns and reduced demand.</p>



<p>Sub Saharan Africa has the highest concentration of those living on less than $1.90 a day, and could see an increase of over 50 million people by 2021 compared to pre-coronavirus estimates. About 42% of the region’s population could be living under extreme poverty by 2021 versus a pre-COVID estimate of 37.8%, the study showed.</p>



<p>The coronavirus also has stagnated “shared prosperity,” defined as growing income for the poorest 40% of a country’s population. The World Bank said that from 2012 to 2017, income rose for this group by an average of 2.3% in 74 of 91 economies for which data was available.</p>



<p></p>



<p>The COVID-19 crisis could now reduce income for the poorest 40%, increasing income inequality and reducing social mobility, the bank said.</p>



<p>To get back on a track of poverty reduction, countries will need collective action to control the virus, provide support for households and build more resilient economies once the pandemic subsides, the World Bank said.</p>



<p>“Countries will need to prepare for a different economy post-COVID, by allowing capital, labor, skills and innovation to move into new businesses and sectors,” Malpass said.</p>


CDC coronavirus

Coronavirus may push 150 million people into extreme poverty: World Bank

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<p>On Thursday, the World Bank approved a $130 million grant to Uganda for road infrastructure in the West Nile sub-region.</p>


World Bank approves $130mn infrastructure grant to Uganda

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<p>Nigeria’s Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo says the tech sector received investments worth $377 million between 2018 and 2019. Osinbajo further noted that the focus of the Nigerian government on its digital sector is vital to its overall socio and economic wellbeing. However, the World Bank says for countries like Nigeria, the digital economy offers opportunities, but also brings risks of being left behind. Tliewa Adebajo, CEO of CFG Advisory joins CNBC Africa for more.</p>


CFG Advisory on how Nigeria can harness its digital economy for growth

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<p>The World Bank says the global agricultural markets have been less affected so far by the pandemic than industrial commodities. Prices of the main food commodities have declined by about 9 per cent since January. But disruptions to trade, distribution and supply chain raises concerns for food security.  Nigeria recently gave four companies an emergency approval to import maize. Akinyinka Akintunde, Vice President; Financial Markets at AFEX Commodities Exchange joins CNBC Africa for more.</p>


COVID-19: How the pandemic has impacted Nigerian commodities

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<p>A ministerial panel of key OPEC plus oil producers meets today to review the group’s compliance with the current oil supply cut pact an also assess the oil market. Ahead of the meeting, Nigeria’s President Mohammadu Buhari and Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz discussed efforts taken to stabilise and re-balance global oil markets. Olumayowa Ige, Research Analyst at Financial Derivatives joins CNBC Africa for more.</p>


Brent nears five-month high as OPEC+ meets today

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<p>For weeks, protesters have taken to the streets in Cote d’Ivoire moving against President Alassane Ouattara&#8217;s quest for run for a third term in the October 31st polls.</p>


How Cote d’ Ivoire’s election tensions impact country’s economic outlook

How Cote d’ Ivoire’s election tensions impact the country’s economic outlook

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<p>For weeks, protesters have taken to the streets in Cote d’Ivoire moving against President Alassane Ouattara&#8217;s quest for run for a third term in the October 31st polls. According to reports, the protests have led to loss of lives. Ayalanesh Tafesse, Country Risk Analyst at Rand Merchant Bank joins CNBC Africa’s Christy Cole to discuss the risks these events possess to Cote d’Ivoire’s economy.</p>



<p>ABUJA (Reuters) &#8211; The World Bank has approved $114 million to help Nigeria tackle its coronavirus pandemic, the global lender said on Friday.</p>



<p>The money comes in the form of a $100 million loan and a $14 million grant to be split between Nigeria’s 36 states and federal-level procurement of medical equipment, tests and medicine.</p>



<p>Africa’s most populous country has recorded more than 45,000 confirmed coronavirus cases and 930 deaths, but low levels of testing have left a muddy picture of the outbreak’s severity.</p>



<p>“Nigeria has ramped up its efforts to contain the COVID-19 outbreak, but more needs to done at the state level, which are at the front line of the response,” Shubham Chaudhuri, the World Bank’s director for Nigeria, said in its statement on Friday.</p>


Logo_The_World_Bank.svg

World Bank approves $114 mln for Nigeria’s COVID-19 response

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<p>The World Bank says the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted trade and triggered up to $79 billion in output losses in Africa alone this year. But the bank stressed that the African Continental Free Trade Agreement has the potential to boost Africa’s income by $450 billion by 2035. Winston Osuchukwu, co-Founder of Trans-Sahara Incorporated joins CNBC Africa for more.</p>


World Bank: AfCFTA to boost Africa’s income by $450bn by 2035

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<p>The World Bank outlined a six year partnership framework that will guide the Bank in supporting Rwanda&#8217;s strategic priorities as laid down in the National Strategy for Transformation. The new framework is developed from World Bank’s comprehensive analysis of opportunities for achieving poverty reduction and shared prosperity in Rwanda as well as the challenges that the country faces. Financial Advisor, Eddie Balaba spoke to CNBC Africa for more.</p>


World Bank outlines 6-year support framework to drive Rwanda’s growth

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<p>According to the World Bank, Kenya faces an infrastructure financing gap of approximately $2.1 billion annually. Public-Private Partnerships are considered crucial in closing in this gap and the government plans to raise $2 billion in the financial year 2020/2021 through PPPs to fund key infrastructure projects. Isaac Otolo, Director Advisory Transactions at PwC spoke to CNBC Africa for more.</p>


World Bank

How the AfCFTA can drive Africa’s COVID-19 recovery

How remittances from Africa’s diaspora can help revive economies

How COVID-19 is changing global remittance flows

World Bank President addresses COVID-19 induced inequality & poverty

COVID-19 plunges SSA into first recession in 25 years

World Bank: COVID-19 to push over 100mn people into extreme poverty in 2020

Coronavirus may push 150 million people into extreme poverty: World Bank

World Bank approves $130mn infrastructure grant to Uganda

CFG Advisory on how Nigeria can harness its digital economy for growth

COVID-19: How the pandemic has impacted Nigerian commodities

Brent nears five-month high as OPEC+ meets today

How Cote d’ Ivoire’s election tensions impact the country’s economic outlook

How Cote d’ Ivoire’s election tensions impact country’s economic outlook

World Bank approves $114 mln for Nigeria’s COVID-19 response

World Bank: AfCFTA to boost Africa’s income by $450bn by 2035

World Bank outlines 6-year support framework to drive Rwanda’s growth

COVID-19: How public-private partnerships can help bridge Kenya’s infrastructure gap

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World Bank

How the AfCFTA can drive Africa’s COVID-19 recovery

How remittances from Africa’s diaspora can help revive economies

How COVID-19 is changing global remittance flows

World Bank President addresses COVID-19 induced inequality & poverty

COVID-19 plunges SSA into first recession in 25 years

World Bank: COVID-19 to push over 100mn people into extreme poverty in 2020

Coronavirus may push 150 million people into extreme poverty: World Bank

World Bank approves $130mn infrastructure grant to Uganda

CFG Advisory on how Nigeria can harness its digital economy for growth

COVID-19: How the pandemic has impacted Nigerian commodities

Brent nears five-month high as OPEC+ meets today

How Cote d’ Ivoire’s election tensions impact the country’s economic outlook

How Cote d’ Ivoire’s election tensions impact country’s economic outlook

World Bank approves $114 mln for Nigeria’s COVID-19 response

World Bank: AfCFTA to boost Africa’s income by $450bn by 2035

World Bank outlines 6-year support framework to drive Rwanda’s growth

COVID-19: How public-private partnerships can help bridge Kenya’s infrastructure gap

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