A pan-African approach is needed to solve the continent’s food-security dilemma given the high cost of developing agricultural systems, according to Sara Menker, founder and chief executive officer of Gro Intelligence.
Africa faces challenges with both food availability and affordability, so governments must make it cost-effective for small-scale farmers to grow into bigger operations and find efficient ways to move food between countries, she said at the Bloomberg New Economy Gateway Africa forum in Morocco on Wednesday.
“Every African country is trying to be self-sufficient on its own as opposed to thinking of food security for the continent,” she said. With a broader approach, each country can then play on their relative strengths to supply other African nations and ensure continental food security, she said.
Short-term fixes are also required as weakening African currencies have inflated the cost of imported food, Menker said.
Ghana Pushes for Debt-for-Climate Swaps Ahead of COP28 (June 14, 4:06 p.m.)
Ghana is pushing for debt-for-climate swaps to feature prominently on Africa’s agenda at the international climate summit, COP28, scheduled for November in Dubai, Minister for Lands and Natural Resources Samuel Jinapor said.
The swaps, which would require proceeds from debt relief to be channeled to climate-linked projects, would help provide financing to several African countries, he told the forum. The program could support activities such as green energy, electric vehicles funds and planting trees, he said.
Ghana also plans to process its first lithium locally to ensure it maximizes revenue from the metal, a key component of electric-vehicle batteries, Jinapor said.
Visa Chair Sees Minor US Economic Downturn (June 14, 1:13 p.m.)
Visa Inc. Chairman Alfred Kelly said the US could go through a small downturn despite global consumer resilience.
“I do not know if we avoid a recession, but we will be on the edge,” Kelly said in an interview at the forum. “If we have one, it will be very narrow and very short.”
Kelly also criticized a fresh attempt to reform US credit-card networks, which would require banks to ensure their cards offer alternatives to Visa and Mastercard Inc. to process electronic transactions. “The legislation is quite flawed” and could harm consumers as well as providers, he said.
Sovereign Wealth Funds Urged to Fund African Digital Infrastructure (June 14, 12:28 p.m.)
Africa needs money from sovereign wealth funds to build digital infrastructure on the continent, said Strive Masiyiwa, founder and executive chairman of African telecom company Econet Group.
“We’ve probably raised about $1 billion now for data centers, of which about $300 million came from the US sovereign fund,” he said. “And we’re still raising it, so if any sovereigns are ready, just give it to me. I’ll bury it in cables right here.”
Visa to Fund Africa Fintech Startups (June 14, 12:15 a.m.)
Visa Inc., which is investing $1 billion in Africa over the next five years, plans to fund and train financial technology startups to help it tap businesses amd consumers in a continent where McKinsey & Co. estimates that up to 90% of financial transactions are conducted using cash.
The San Francisco-based technology firm plans to train 40 startups and fund a few each year, Andrew Torre, Visa’s president for Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa, said in an interview at the forum.
Read More: Visa to Aid Fintech Startups to Help Expand Its Reach in Africa
Africa’s Forests Key to Slowing Global Warming (June 13, 6:05 p.m.)
Africa, home to the vast Congo Basin tropical forest and almost a quarter of the world’s mangroves, needs to monetize its trees to help slow global warming, the head of AFC Capital Partners said.
Forests absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, mitigating against the effects of greenhouse gases by creating so-called carbon sinks. Not enough has been done to monetize their natural assets, Chief Executive Officer Ayaan Zeinab Adam said in an interview Tuesday at the forum.
“When you look at Africa and say what’s the biggest bang for your buck on mitigation, it’s really not energy because we are energy starved. It’s our forest, mangroves,” she said.
Read more: Africa Needs to Monetize Its Trees to Help World Reach Net Zero
Morocco Sees Post-Gray List Boost (June 13, 6 p.m.)
Morocco’s removal from the Financial Action Task Force’s so-called gray list in February will “definitely” make it easier and cheaper to raise debt, Finance and Economy Minister Nadia Fettah Alaoui told the forum. Countries are included on the list due to shortcomings in tackling money laundering and terrorist financing, and are subjected to greater oversight.
Investors have already rewarded Morocco for what Alaoui termed the strong reforms it has enacted and its medium-term agenda, she said. Among the steps it has taken is expanding access to social welfare in a country with a large informal economy.
“The moment they see that they can benefit from social security and go to hospital they definitely are willing to pay for their own taxes,” she said.
--With assistance from Farah Elbahrawy, Yinka Ibukun, Amogelang Mbatha, Antony Sguazzin, Abeer Abu Omar, Matthew Hill, Jennifer Zabasajja, Janice Kew, Souhail Karam and Mike Cohen.
