Latest news with #Urama
Zawya
28-04-2025
- Business
- Zawya
Ahead of Conference of the Parties (COP30), Africa champions new approach to measuring green wealth of countries and incentivizing climate action
Proper valuation of natural capital and the ecosystem services it provides, such as carbon sequestration, is a win-win strategy for growing economies— Urama, African Development Bank ( We need to make bold decisions and act swiftly to accelerate the measurement of Africa's green wealth— Suda-Mafudze, African Union Commission. African leaders are advocating for a new approach to measuring the continent's green wealth, emphasizing that current gross domestic product measures in most African countries are outdated and underestimate their true wealth. They spoke on Thursday at an event hosted by the African Union Commission and the African Development Bank Group at the African Union Mission to the United States on the sidelines of the 2025 Spring Meetings of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). 'We need to talk the talk and walk the talk. It is time to turn our commitments and pledges into concrete actions,' said Ambassador Hilda Suda-Mafudze, Permanent Representative of the African Union Mission to the U.S. "We need to invest in our systems of national accounts. If we want to have accurate measures of our wealth and create a store of assets, we can leverage them to drive our ambitions of shared prosperity and sustainable development." The event featured discussion of a 2024 African Development Bank Group report that found that including the value of carbon sequestered in African forests only would have resulted in an additional $66.1 billion of GDP for the continent in 2022, an expansion of about 2.2 percent. Professor Kevin Urama, African Development Bank Chief Economist and Vice President presented key findings from the report, Measuring the Green Wealth of Nations: Natural Capital and Economic Productivity in Africa. Leaders emphasized that a proper valuation of Africa's natural resources would transform the continent's financial landscape by unlocking access to global financial flows, improving national risk profiles, and creating new capacity for investments in green economies and climate-resilient infrastructure. This call to action comes ahead of the November UN Climate Change Conference in Belém, Brazil, where African leaders are expected to press for reforms to the global economic and financial infrastructure, so these better reflect Africa's green wealth and sustainability contributions. 'It is time for us to redefine our identity as Africa,' said Nigerien Prime Minister Ali Lamine Zeine in a panel discussion on practical steps towards implementing the 2025 System of National Accounts (SNAs) in Africa. 'Africa is underestimated. We must work strategically to change this.' Panelists noted that several African countries still use SNAs dating back to 1968. SNAs are an international standard system of concepts and methods for national accounts that have been adopted by most countries worldwide. Madagascar's Minister of Economy and Finance Rindra Rabarinirinarison called for more robust technology transfer and technical capacity building to enable African countries to build proper statistical systems for natural capital. She outlined that Madagascar has launched pilot projects to leverage and measure the value of its natural resources. 'Madagascar is a rich country but not rich,' she lamented, pointing to the country's abundant natural resources. Erich Strassner from IMF's Statistics Department described the report as transformational and assured that the Fund was ready to work with the African Development Bank, the World Bank, and governments to implement its recommendations. He emphasized the need to focus on priorities in each country, 'so that together we can put together a plan to bring each country up to speed on the new system of national capital evaluation.' Quoting African Development Bank figures, Ambassador Suda-Mafudze observed that if countries rebased their GDP based on carbon sequestration by forests alone, the impact would be substantial, with estimated GDP increases of 38.2% in Côte d'Ivoire, 36.7% in Benin, and 33.5% in Niger. 'We need to ensure a proper valuation of Africa's green wealth. When we know the value of this significant asset base and incorporate its true value into our national accounts, we improve our economies' risk profiles and enhance access to financial flows for financing our development,' the Ambassador said. In his presentation, Vice President Urama pointed to the massive economic value of Africa's natural resources—estimated at $6.2 trillion in 2018—and the fact that the continent accounts for 26% of global forest-based carbon capture despite contributing only 4% of global carbon emissions. "Africa's green wealth and the important global public goods and ecosystem services it provides to the world are often overlooked in economic valuations," Urama said. "This significantly underestimates African countries' gross domestic product, despite abundant green wealth." He said that in addition to natural capital, ecosystem services and informal economic activities were also not factored into GDP. Revaluing these assets through Natural Capital Accounting (NCA) and the updated System of National Accounts, which includes the informal sector, could significantly increase Africa's GDP and improve access to sustainable finance, Urama noted. 'This is not just about correcting statistics. It's about ensuring comparability of the measures of countries' GDP in Africa and globally. By updating the System of National Accounts in countries, we can ensure that the basket of goods and services included in the measure of GDP of countries is the same, and avoid comparing oranges and apples,' Urama said He called on African countries to allocate appropriate budgets to upgrade their National Accounting Systems and rebase their GDPs, noting that 'this is a smart investment that can deliver low-hanging fruit.' The Executive Secretary of the African Economic Research Consortium, Prof. Victor Murinde, described the new model developed by the African Development Bank as transformative. "It is a bold step to address a methodological gap in how the GDP of countries is measured to consider the true wealth of nations. Its recommendations provide rich materials for economists to work on in the coming years to improve the methodology for assessing the wealth of nations," he remarked. The African Development Bank expressed a commitment to work with the World Bank, the IMF, and other partners to implement the recommendations of the report. It is also advancing practical steps that include creating standard methods to value natural resources, connecting environmental goals with other policies, training local experts across Africa, and helping African countries sell their environmental benefits in worldwide carbon markets. The Bank Group will also host the African Natural Capital Accounting Community of Practice Distributed by APO Group on behalf of African Development Bank Group (AfDB). Click here for photos: Click here for the report: Media contact: Emeka Anuforo Communication and External Relations Department media@ About the African Development Bank Group: The African Development Bank Group is Africa's premier development finance institution. It comprises three distinct entities: the African Development Bank (AfDB), the African Development Fund (ADF) and the Nigeria Trust Fund (NTF). On the ground in 41 African countries with an external office in Japan, the Bank contributes to the economic development and the social progress of its 54 regional member states. For more information:
Zawya
11-04-2025
- Business
- Zawya
African Development Bank Group Annual Meetings 2025 to focus on harnessing Africa's capital for continent's development
The African Development Bank Group's ( 2025 Annual Meetings next month will take a deep dive into how Africa can better harness its wealth of capital and address current issues such as heavy debt burdens, climate change and rising tariffs in a complex geopolitical landscape, the institution's Secretary General and Chief Economist said on Wednesday. Prof. Vincent Nmehielle, Secretary General of the African Development Bank Group and Prof. Kevin Urama, Chief Economist and Vice President for Economic Governance addressed journalists at the traditional press briefing which takes place ahead of the institution's annual meetings. The hybrid meeting took place at the Bank's headquarters in Abidjan and online, with the participation of over 100 representatives of news organisations worldwide. Nmehielle, speaking in his capacity as Secretary to the respective Boards of Governors of the Bank and the African Development Fund as well as the Boards of Directors, said the meetings would take place from the 26th to the 30th of May 2025, at the Sofitel Abidjan Hotel Ivoire in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire. The Secretary General ran through the objectives and the agenda of the annual meetings and noted that a key session would be the election of the next president of the Bank, following the end of the 10-year term of current president, Dr Akinwumi Adesina. The new president would be selected out of five candidates from five African countries, by the Bank Group's 81 governors through a double majority—50 plus one percent of the vote of all the 81 shareholders and 50 plus 1 percent of the regional member countries. The new president would be sworn in on 1st September, Nmehielle said. Harnessing Africa's capital for its development needs Speaking on the theme of this year's annual meetings: 'Making the Most of Africa's Capital to Foster Its Development,' Urama said the focus was clear—harnessing better what Africa has already to drive development in Africa, through its rich fiscal, human capital, natural and business capital. Discussion with heads of state, ministers, civil society, experts and the bank's development partners during the four major knowledge events, as well as a presidential dialogue, would ensure a thorough dissection of the theme of this year's meetings and concrete proposals to address the how of what needs to be done, Urama said. The African Development Bank's 2025 African Economic Outlook report to be released during the annual meetings would address the changing global economic landscape, debt burdens and resource mobilisation to assist African countries to build effective institutions, he added. Journalists asked questions on topics ranging from ongoing trade tariffs imposed by the United States, the loss of USAID financing and procedural questions on the election of a new president for the African Development Bank. Urama noted that a point raised about trade wars aligned well with the overall theme of this year's conference—making Africa's capital work better for Africa's development—and that discussions would look at business capital, including issues around tariffs. 'The impact of trade tariffs on economies are well known, but also it depends on how countries respond to the domestic policies of those with whom they trade,' Urama said, adding that this subject would be dealt with in the report as he extended an invitation to journalists to attend. Nmehielle said dwindling aid and higher tariffs should encourage Africans to look inward for their solutions. 'Africa's capital should work for Africa, tell our leaders that they have to look inward and let our capital work for Africa,' he told the journalists. Media partners can help tell Africa's development story Both leaders urged journalists to tell the continent's development story in a clear and unbiased manner with a focus on facts and not just the negatives. 'Narratives matter and you are the best people to create positive narratives… Africa has enough… let's not bemoan the decline in aid… let's focus our narrative on what Africa can do,' Urama said. 'You as journalists are a part and parcel of making our institution's work. The whole essence of your work is also about accountability,' Nmehielle said urging journalists to call out institutions for not working. 'You can help exposing inefficient institutions … it's the responsibility of everyone,' Nmehielle said. African Development Bank president Adesina has been highly critical of the 'Africa premium' that countries pay when accessing capital markets, despite data showing that Africa's default rates are lower than those of other regions. He has made repeated calls for an end to this risk perception, which he said leads to higher borrowing costs for African nations. During the Annual Meetings of the African Development Bank Group, its Boards of Governors, as the highest decision-making and oversight organs of the Bank and the Fund, review the annual report on the finances, operations and other activities of the Bank and the Fund during the preceding financial year. Watch the recording of the press conference here ( for anything you missed. More information about the 2025 Annual Meetings is available here Distributed by APO Group on behalf of African Development Bank Group (AfDB). Contact: Amba Mpoke-Bigg Communication and External Relations Dept email: media@ About the African Development Bank Group: The African Development Bank Group is Africa's premier development finance institution. It comprises three distinct entities: the African Development Bank (AfDB), the African Development Fund (ADF) and the Nigeria Trust Fund (NTF). On the ground in 41 African countries with an external office in Japan, the Bank contributes to the economic development and the social progress of its 54 regional member states. For more information:
