During a youth dialogue, a special event at the AEC 2024, experts explored how technological innovation could promote economic stability and growth in Africa.

Moderating the discussion, Adetola Akinola said the objective of the session was to examine how technological innovation, particularly at universities, could drive sustainable development in African economies. The aim would be to balance economic growth, environmental sustainability, and social inclusion, while utilising Africa’s most valuable asset, the youth, to address the present challenges to Africa’s transformation and economic development.

Opening the conversation, Moumouni Dialla, President of the PAN African Youth Union, emphasised the need for regional and international cooperation in developing the continent’s technological resilience. “Africa has to welcome alliances that guarantee long-term development goals and are not overwhelmed by transient benefits,” he said. He underlined the necessity of integrating skill development into education, encouraging international specialisation to support friendly rivalry, and attract key technological investments. From his vantage point, continental cooperation and sustainable innovation must start with partnerships. (Press Release)

The 2024 Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA) Week opened in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia with a clarion call for key players to leverage transformative financing and regional integration for sustainable development of the infrastructure sector.

Participants agreed that greater economic activity, enhanced efficiency and increased competitiveness on the continent were continually being hampered by inadequate transport, communication, water and power infrastructure.

“Inadequate infrastructure increases the continent’s production and transaction costs, which reduces its competitiveness in the global market,” said Claver Gatete, Under Secretary General of the United Nations and Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA).

Gatete further noted that Africa’s infrastructure deficit lowers its per capita economic growth by 2% a year and reduces the productivity of its firms by as much as 40%. (Press Release)

The United States Government through its Agency for International Development (USAID) has launched the Markets for Sanitation (M4S) project, a $31 million, five-year initiative that will improve access to sanitation and hygiene services across Ethiopia. The project focuses on reaching the most vulnerable populations, particularly women and girls. The USAID-funded M4S builds on the success of the USAID Transform WASH project, an eight-year, $47.5 million initiative that supported over 500 sanitation businesses and helped more than one million Ethiopians gain access to improved sanitation services. 

The new USAID M4S project will be implemented in Tigray, Amhara, Oromia, Sidama, Somali, South Ethiopia, Central Ethiopia, and Southwest Ethiopia. It aims to provide 5.4 million people with access to basic sanitation and enable 180,000 women and girls to access menstrual health and hygiene products. 

The USAID M4S will address long-standing challenges in Ethiopia’s sanitation and hygiene sector by promoting market-based solutions that drive sustainable and inclusive growth. By fostering a competitive sanitation market, the project seeks to ensure that sanitation products and services are both affordable and accessible to all, creating lasting economic and social benefits for communities. (Press Release)

A jumbo loan, also known as a jumbo mortgage, is a type of home mortgage that exceeds the lending limits set by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) for conventional mortgages. Unlike those mortgages, a jumbo loan is not eligible to be purchased, guaranteed, or securitized by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. Lenders offer jumbo loans to finance luxury properties and homes in very expensive local real estate markets and have more stringent underwriting requirements for them.