Category: EU-Africa

EU-African trade gets new opportunities

The Ukraine war will also lead to a reorganisation of supply chains in the mechanical and plant engineering sector, strengthening closer economic ties between Europe and Africa. VDMA, Europes’s most important Mechanical Engineering Industry Association has established training centres in Botswana, Nigeria and Kenya, where prospective skilled workers are trained on modern machinery and equipment as part of the initiative “Skilled Workers For Africa”. “After the Ukraine war, many companies from the mechanical and plant engineering sector will try to […]

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VDMA: Strengthen relations with Africa!

V Commenting on the sixth Summit between the EU and the African Union on 17 and 18 February 2022, Ulrich Ackermann, Head of the Foreign Trade Department at VDMA, says: “It is important that this Summit lays the foundation for a deeper and comprehensive partnership between the EU and the African Union, especially in the areas of trade, infrastructure and climate change. Africa is our neighbouring continent with more than 1.3 billion people, making it an important partner region. It […]

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Finance in Africa report: green, smart and inclusive finance

By Nina Fenton, Claudio Cali and Ricardo Santos The EIB, in partnership with Making Finance Work for Africa, surveyed 78 banks in sub-Saharan Africa in early 2021 to see how they are coping during the COVID-19 pandemic and to learn their views on climate risk, green finance and digital financial services. This work formed the basis of our new Finance in Africa report. The report also provides an in-depth analysis of the state of play in the microfinance, private equity […]

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African presidents and global leaders support bold action on climate change adaptation for Africa

In a historic and united show of solidarity for a continent that contributes only 5% to global emissions, more than 30 heads of state and global leaders committed to prioritize actions that help African countries adapt to the impacts of climate change and “build forward better.” Africa now faces the dual onslaught of climate change – currently estimated at between $7 billion and $15 billion each year – and Covid-19, which has claimed 114,000 lives. The African Development Bank expects […]

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WTO’s Dr Okonjo-Iweala: the game-changer we need for the multilateral trading system

by EU Brussels

Statement of leading MEPs Bernd Lange and Sven Simon welcoming the 15 February appointment of Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as the new Director General of the World Trade Organization. “I am extremely pleased with the appointment of Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as the next Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO). Not only will she become the first female Director-General, she will also be the first Director-General from Africa. For too long the interests of developing and emerging countries were not taken […]

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G7: EU to support COVID-19 vaccination strategies and capacity in Africa

The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, has announced today €100 million in humanitarian assistance to support the rollout of vaccination campaigns in Africa, which are spearheaded by the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC). Subject to the agreement of the budgetary authority, this funding will support the vaccination campaigns in countries with critical humanitarian needs and fragile health systems. The funding will, among others, contribute to ensuring the cold chains, roll-out registration programmes, […]

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Ford Invests $1 Billion (R15.8) to Modernize, Expand South African Manufacturing for All-New Ranger

• New advanced technologies and systems will modernize and grow the Ford Silverton Assembly Plant to support expanded production of the all-new Ranger pickup truck, starting in 2022 • Ford will hire an additional 1,200 team members to support expanded production, bringing its workforce in South Africa to 5,500 employees. The investment also will create an estimated 10,000 new jobs across Ford’s local supplier network • A US$686 million (R10.3 billion) investment in technology, upgrades and new facilities at the […]

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EU boosts sustainable cocoa production in Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana and Cameroon

The European Union will contribute €25 million to enhance the economic, social and environmental sustainability of cocoa production in Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana and Cameroon who are, respectively, the first, second and fifth biggest cocoa producers, generating almost 70% of the world production. This funding strengthens the partnership between Team Europe (composed of the EU, its Member States, and European financial institutions) and the three cocoa producing countries and aims at ensuring a decent living income for farmers, halting deforestation and […]

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