The Board of Directors of the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID) has approved $250 million for five member states to boost the oil and gas, energy, road infrastructure and agricultural sectors in those countries.
The
beneficiary countries are Ghana, Burkina Faso, Nigeria, Senegal and Sierra
Leone.
The
approval is part of the intensified efforts by EBID to invest in key sectors to
spur post-COVID-19 pandemic recovery.
The
investment is also to mitigate the impact of the Russia-Ukraine war on ECOWAS
member states.
The President and Chairman of the
Board of Directors of EBID, Dr George Agyekum Donkor, disclosed this at the
79th Session of the Board of Directors of the bank in Lome last Wednesday.
Impact
Dr
Donkor said the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing Russia-Ukraine
war had left many economies in tatters.
He indicated that current market
conditions had compelled investors to seek premium on investments in
sub-Saharan Africa, thereby increasing the cost of capital.
That
had resulted in dampening economic growth, widespread balance of payment
deficits, unfavourable terms of trade, depletion of central bank international
reserves, fiscal deficits and debt distress, the President of EBID stated.
He,
therefore, stressed the need for EBID, as the financial arm of ECOWAS, to
deepen its financial intermediation in all the critical sectors of member
states to assist them to recover from the economic challenges.
Present
at the session was the Vice-President of the ECOWAS Commission, Damtien L.
Tchintchibidja, who lauded the tremendous impact of EBID’s interventions in the
sub-region.
She assured the bank of the commitment
of the new administration of the ECOWAS Commission to collaborate and support
EBID in its activities, especially in the area of resource mobilisation, to
transform the community.
Context
EBID
is a leading regional investment and development bank, owned by the 15 ECOWAS
member states.
Based
in the Togolese capital, Lome, the bank is committed to financing developmental
projects and programmes.
These
range from infrastructure and basic amenities, rural development and
environment, industry and social services sectors through to its private and
public sector windows.
EBID
intervenes through long, medium, and short-term loans, equity participation,
lines of credit, refinancing, financial engineering operations and related
services.
Source: Graphic Online