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Cameroon: African Development Bank provides €63 million loan to improve entrepreneurship and industrial skills

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Cameroon

The Bank’s funding is motivated by the need to support Cameroon’s strategic efforts to reduce the shortage of skilled labor in priority sectors

ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast, July 15, 2023/APO Group/ — 

The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank Group (www.AfDB.org) has approved a €63.09 million loan to Cameroon to promote entrepreneurship and improve skills to match industry needs.

Multinational partners, the private sector and the Cameroonian government will contribute approximately €2 million to the project cost, estimated at €64.93 million.

Covering five of Cameroon’s regions — Centre, Littoral, South, Southwest, and Far North — the project will improve skills and encourage entrepreneurship and youth and female employment in construction, transport, energy, agro-industry, ICT, and the green economy. Specifically, the project will directly strengthen 12 training centers and nine public and private entrepreneurship support facilities.

A lack of skilled human resources in Cameroon threatens the country’s industrialization process and the development of its economic growth. The project aims to get the private sector in Cameroon – in tandem with the government – involved in key structural measures: building technical and vocational training infrastructure and strengthening the capacity of stakeholders and the education system.

The project will benefit 7,350 young people in apprenticeships by improving training courses to meet the job market’s needs

The private sector will contribute through three levers: the delegated management of vocational training centers, the establishment of a Vocational Training Development Fund and the funding of private initiatives backed by the Youth Project Development Support Mechanism, and the creation of a network of business incubators operating within promising sectors.

This should result in a greater quality of learning properly suited to the job market. It will promote self-employment and professional integration for young people, especially in the targeted growth sectors, and strengthen the institutional capacities of technical and professional stakeholders.

Two of the five regions in the project area have been affected by conflict: the Southwest (Anglophone Crisis) and the Far North (Boko Haram terrorist attacks). The project will help to improve the access that young people and women have to employment and better-paid activities. This will reduce the potential appeal of terrorist movements and build peace, thereby improving living conditions and economic growth in Cameroon.

The project will benefit 7,350 young people in apprenticeships by improving training courses to meet the job market’s needs, and 1,225 young entrepreneurs or project leaders in the five regions, who will be enrolled in an incubation program until they start their businesses.

The project will also significantly impact Cameroon’s socio-economic development. It could generate 28,000 additional jobs by 2050 (an average of 1,120 per year between 2027 and 2050).

The Bank’s funding is motivated by the need to support Cameroon’s strategic efforts to reduce the shortage of skilled labor in priority sectors.

The project aligns with Cameroon’s National Development Strategy 2020-2030 (NDS30) and two priority areas of the Bank’s 2023-2028 Country Strategy Paper for Cameroon: developing infrastructure to promote the agro-industrial sector and strengthening human capital and governance to improve the institutional and business framework. It also aligns with one of the Bank’s “High 5” strategic priorities – improving the quality of life for the people of Africa – and its new Ten-Year Strategy for 2023-2032, which is being finalized.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of African Development Bank Group (AfDB).

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Ministers among hundreds of energy-sector leaders to attend AOW event

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Sinclair

The event kicks off with an invitation-only ministerial symposium focused on the theme of “Fostering innovation, attracting investment, and promoting sustainable growth in the oil, gas, and energy sectors”

CAPE TOWN, South Africa, October 4, 2024/APO Group/ — 

AOW: Investing in African Energy (https://AOWEnergy.com) – Africa’s leading oil, gas and energy event – has confirmed attendance for more than 80 ministers and senior officials, representing African governments, energy departments and regulators at next month’s event.

These influential stakeholders will be among the more than 1 600 senior delegates and industry leaders who will be attending the event to develop policy, share discoveries, secure investment, and shape Africa’s energy future.

The event kicks off with an invitation-only ministerial symposium focused on the theme of “Fostering innovation, attracting investment, and promoting sustainable growth in the oil, gas, and energy sectors.”

Given the recent major oil-and-gas discoveries across Africa, the energy transition and major geopolitical events, it is clear that the energy sector needs positive intervention

Among the officials and government ministers attending will be energy leaders from South Africa, Nigeria, Namibia, Cote d’Ivoire, Mozambique, DRC, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Eswatini, Uganda, CAR, Guinea Conakry, Guinea Bissau, Ethiopia, The Gambia, Gabon, Malawi, Morocco, Zanzibar, Liberia, Senegal, Congo Brazzaville and Sierra Leone.

In addition, the event will feature high-level delegations from numerous national oil companies, as well as multilateral bodies including the African Union, (AU), African Energy Commission (AFREC), African Petroleum Producers’ Organization (APPO) and the Southern African Power Pool (SAPP).

AOW will see these energy leaders networking with C-suite executives and decision-makers from more than 760 top energy companies at daily networking events, to discuss insights, forge new relationships, and negotiate major energy deals.

“We are so excited to see the calibre of delegates at this year’s AOW event,” says Chief Executive Officer of Sankofa Events, Paul Sinclair. “Given the recent major oil-and-gas discoveries across Africa, the energy transition and major geopolitical events, it is clear that the energy sector needs positive intervention. The high-powered attendance proves AOW is a key platform to enable this intervention.”

Key themes to be discussed at this year’s AOW will be sustainable upstream development; expanding gas value chains; renewables and new energies; adoption of best-in-class technologies; and access to finance.

AOW: Investing in African Energy will culminate in a special anniversary party at Groot Constantia Vineyard to celebrate 30 years of the AOW event.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of AOW: Investing in African Energy.

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Afreximbank approves US$20.8 million for Starlink Global’s cashew factory project in Lagos

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PAPSS

The facility is expected to promote value addition which will guarantee increased earnings to the company while also fostering the creation of about 400 new jobs

CAIRO, Egypt, October 4, 2024/APO Group/ — 

African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) (www.Afreximbank.com) has approved a US$20.8 million financing facility for Nigeria-based Starlink Global & Ideal Limited to enable the company construct and operate a 30,000-metric tonne per annum cashew processing factory in Lagos.

We are delighted at this partnership which promises to deliver significant impact on employment in Nigeria

According to the facility agreement signed in on July 22, 2024, Afreximbank will provide the funds in two tranches with the first tranche of US$7.48M going toward capital expenditure for the construction of the factory and the second, totalling US$13.25M to be deployed as working capital for the operations of the factory.

The facility is expected to promote value addition which will guarantee increased earnings to the company while also fostering the creation of about 400 new jobs once the factory becomes operational. It is also expected to support about 40 small and medium-sized enterprises.

Commenting on the transaction, Mrs. Kanayo Awani, Executive Vice President, Intra Africa Trade and Export Development, Afreximbank, said that by supporting Starlink Global to establish a modern processing facility, Afreximbank is making it possible for Africa to add value to its agro-commodities, thereby facilitating exports and subsequent inflow of much-needed foreign exchange into the continent.

“We are delighted at this partnership which promises to deliver significant impact on employment in Nigeria. It will contribute to value creation and to the development of the local community while also improving the lots of smallholder farmers and small business suppliers that will work with Starlink across the value chain,” Mrs. Awani added.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Afreximbank.

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Sonangol to Lead Decarbonized Oil & Gas (O&G) Development, Says Angolan National Oil Company (NOC) Head

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Sonangol

Participating in an on-stage interview at Angola Oil & Gas 2024, Sonangol CEO Sebastião Gaspar Martins emphasized that oil and gas remains a core focus for the national oil company

LUANDA, Angola, October 3, 2024/APO Group/ — 

Angola’s national oil company Sonangol reiterated its commitment to driving sustainable hydrocarbon development during the Angola Oil & Gas (AOG) conference this week. Speaking during an “In-Conversation with” session, Sonangol CEO Sebastião Gaspar Martins stated that the company will not abandon oil and gas, but rather advance decarbonized oil and gas development.

We are looking at opportunities in the gas sector and have identified the right partner to develop non-associated gas

By investing in upstream oil and gas production while prioritizing low-carbon projects, Sonangol aims to boost national crude output, while diversifying and decarbonizing the industry. The NOC is focusing efforts on non-associated gas development, as well as alternative energy sources such as solar.

“We are looking at opportunities in the gas sector and have identified the right partner to develop non-associated gas. Gas produced from Angola LNG will be used for the production of fertilizer and we are evaluating the utilization of gas in the south of the country, linking gas with steel industries. We also have a blue carbon project, linked to the reduction of carbon through the plantation of mangroves. We have one area in Luanda and have identified four additional areas for this,” stated Gaspar Martins.

Sonangol has undergone transformation in recent years: following the creation of the National Oil, Gas & Biofuels Agency (ANPG) in 2019, Sonangol transferred its role as national concessionaire and regulator. This transformation has aimed to make Sonangol more competitive and strengthen its capacity as an upstream operator. Concurrently, the government is partially privatizing the NOC, with privatization set to be complete in 2026. This process will enhance financial capacity, allowing Sonangol to drive new upstream projects forward.

“The transformation of Sonangol started several years ago, when we passed the regulatory, concessionaire role to the ANPG. At the time, we transferred almost 600 employees to the ANPG. After that, Sonangol underwent a restructuring program where we created five core business units from 36 different entities – starting with exploration and production. We want to go public, but we want to do it properly. So, we are currently going through all the processes to do this,” stated Gaspar Martins.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Energy Capital & Power.

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