logo
AIIB and IsDB pledge around $6 billion for Africa electrification push

AIIB and IsDB pledge around $6 billion for Africa electrification push

Reuters28-01-2025

DAR ES SALAAM, Jan 28 (Reuters) - The Islamic Development Bank and the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank pledged up to $6.15 billion in funding on Tuesday for an initiative to connect 300 million Africans to electricity in the next six years.
Mission 300, launched by the World Bank and the African Development Bank in April, is projected to cost $90 billion - with funding from multilateral development banks, development agencies, private businesses and philanthropies, according to the Rockefeller Foundation, opens new tab, which is part of the initiative.
Muhammad al Jasser, chairman of the IsDb, said in a statement released during a summit of African heads of state in Tanzania that the Jeddah-headquartered bank was committing $2.65 billion in project financing and another $2 billion to insure power projects in Africa.
Beijing-based AIIB is set to provide $1-1.5 billion in financing.
"Six hundred million people in Africa without access to electricity is intolerable," said AIIB President Jin Liqun.
The additional finance builds on commitments of up to $48 billion from the World Bank and the AfDB, summit officials said, predicting more funding commitments would be announced during the gathering.
Provision of 300 million people with access to electricity, half of those currently without power on the continent, is a crucial building block for boosting Africa's development by creating new jobs, said World Bank President Ajay Banga.
Apart from lighting up homes and businesses, Mission 300 is expected to boost the provision of clean cooking energy to homes, cutting reliance on wood and charcoal which are harmful, said Tanzania's president, Samia Suluhu Hassan.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Denmark picks French, German and Norwegian air defence suppliers
Denmark picks French, German and Norwegian air defence suppliers

Reuters

time15 minutes ago

  • Reuters

Denmark picks French, German and Norwegian air defence suppliers

COPENHAGEN, June 10 (Reuters) - Denmark will acquire short-range air defence systems from MBDA France, Germany's Diehl Defence and Kongsberg Gruppen ( opens new tab of Norway, the Nordic country's defence ministry said in a statement on Tuesday. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen in February ordered the military to go on a buying spree to beef up the country's defences in preparation for potential future Russian aggression in Europe. Denmark will spend over six billion Danish crowns ($919 million) on the artillery acquisition, with the first deliveries expected in 2026, the defence ministry said. Denmark received 10 offers, including from suppliers in Turkey, Israel and Italy, and decided in the end to buy systems from French and German suppliers and to lease one from Norway's Kongsberg, it added. ($1 = 6.5304 Danish crowns)

China is only 3-6 months behind US in AI, Trump official says
China is only 3-6 months behind US in AI, Trump official says

Reuters

time16 minutes ago

  • Reuters

China is only 3-6 months behind US in AI, Trump official says

WASHINGTON, June 10 (Reuters) - China is three to six months behind the United States in artificial intelligence, White house AI and crypto czar David Sacks said Tuesday at an event in Washington, warning that excess U.S. AI regulation could damage American innovation in the industry. "China is not years and years behind us in AI. Maybe they're 3-6 months,' said Sacks, speaking at the AWS summit in Washington. "It's a very close race."

World Bank sharply downgrades forecast for global economic growth to 2.3%
World Bank sharply downgrades forecast for global economic growth to 2.3%

Rhyl Journal

time20 minutes ago

  • Rhyl Journal

World Bank sharply downgrades forecast for global economic growth to 2.3%

Citing 'a substantial rise in trade barriers' but without mentioning Mr Trump by name, the 189-country lender predicted that the US economy – the world's largest – would grow half as fast (1.4%) this year as it did in 2024 (2.8%). That marks a downgrade from the 2.3% US growth it had forecast back for 2025 back in January. The bank also lopped 0.4 percentage points off its forecast for global growth this year. It now expects the world economy to expand just 2.3% in 2025, down from 2.8% in 2024. In a forward to the latest version of the twice-yearly Global Economic Prospects report, World Bank chief economist Indermit Gill wrote that the global economy has missed its chance for the 'soft landing' – slowing enough to tame inflation without generating serious pain – it appeared headed for just six months ago. 'The world economy today is once more running into turbulence,' Mr Gill wrote. 'Without a swift course correction, the harm to living standards could be deep.'

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store