With $6.2 trillion worth of natural resources, 65 percent of the world’s uncultivated arable land, and a vibrant youth population, Africa has no excuse to be poor, African Development Bank Group President Dr Akinwumi Adesina said on Tuesday.

He said the continent must look inward urgently to solve its many challenges and urged citizens to hold governments accountable for poverty.  

The Bank President made the call in Lagos where he delivered a lecture to mark the 40th anniversary of The Guardian, Nigeria’s foremost independent newspaper. The lecture was held under the theme, For the World to Respect Africa.

Adesina, who won The Guardian’s ‘Man of the Year’ Award in 2021, stressed that Africa should not be where it is today and urged its resource-rich nations to strengthen good governance, transparency, accountability, and sound management policies to turn things around.

In his first official trip outside of the capital, United States Ambassador to Ethiopia Ervin Massinga visited Semera, Afar to discuss with regional leadership and elders the longstanding partnership between the United States and the people in the Afar region and across Ethiopia.  He also visited U.S. government-supported health and development projects supporting the Afar people and refugees in the region. 

Ambassador Massinga was welcomed by Afar Regional President Awol Arba and other regional officials.  During their meeting, they discussed opportunities to strengthen the United States’ engagements in Afar and efforts to advance peace.  Ambassador Massinga stressed the need for close collaboration to ensure that the recently restarted food assistance for refugees and the broader population reached those most in need.  The Ambassador emphasized his concern for the protection of civilians, the restoration of services, and the importance of addressing the underlying political, economic, and security challenges. 

Ambassador Massinga met with local leaders to hear their ideas on how to advance peace in the region and build stronger cooperation between the United States and the region. 

Ezra, the leading microlending fintech, has partnered with Kacha Digital Financial Services S.C. and Global Bank of Ethiopia to launch a digital lending service in Ethiopia.

A trailblazer in digital finance, Kacha is transforming the nation’s financial sector. Licensed by the National Bank of Ethiopia, its scope of services also includes payments, airtime and currency exchange. This new partnership with Ezra reflects both companies’ shared commitment to providing inclusive services that empower financially underserved communities.

Ezra has worked with Kacha to develop a Platform as a Service (PaaS) model which facilitates the seamless integration of credit solutions into Kacha’s wallet infrastructure. With Kacha as the customer-facing entity and Ezra as the technology and scoring provider, this partnership has been designed to provide individuals and MSMEs across Ethiopia with a simplified and affordable digital pathway to loan products.

The collaboration was celebrated on Saturday, August 26th at an informative digital lending service workshop and formal agreement signing ceremony.