The President of the African Development Bank, Dr Akinwumi Adesina, says the coronavirus pandemic needs audacious leadership that is able to navigate complexities and restore hope and confidence, to grow back safer, healthier and with greater resilience.
He was speaking at the 2020 Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) Fellowship Investiture on Saturday.
“So many lives have been lost. Economies have been devastated. Africa’s economic growth this year will decline by 3.4%. Globally, economies have gone into recession, as global trade, financial flows, investments, tourism and global supply chains have been disrupted. Millions of jobs have been lost. Consumer demand and business investments have declined. With huge fiscal stimulus packages, interest rates are at all-time lows,” he says.
Dr Adesina says the African Development Bank stands ready to strongly support African countries, financial institutions and the private sector to accelerate Africa’s economic growth.
The Bank has launched a $3 billion fight COVID-19 social bond on global capital markets, the largest US dollar denominated social bond ever in world history.
Dr Adesina says it has also achieved an increase in its capital from $93 billion to $208 billion, the largest ever capital increase in the history of the Bank since its establishment in 1964.
COVID-19 cases on the continent currently stand at 2 232 944; 53 252 people have succumbed to the illness while 1 903 987 have recovered.
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