AfDB, Islamic Bank provide $618m for digital, creative programme in Nigeria

The African Development Bank (AfDB), the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB), and the French Development Agency (FDA) are committing $618 million investment in Digital and Creative Enterprises Programme (I-DICE) in Nigeria.

The President of the AfDB, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, at the Nigeria International Economic Partnership Forum, speaking on the sideline of the 77th United Nations General Assembly, New York, highlighted that the fund would support the creation of 225 creative start-ups and 451 digital technologies small and medium sized enterprises, or digital SMEs.

Adesina declared that the enterprises would create 6.1 million jobs and will contribute $6.4 billion to the economy.

The AfDB President highlighted: “​That is the power of international partnerships working for Nigeria. Investors must recognise this and invest.

“The future is not just digital, the future will be driven by digital revolution.

“Today, Nigeria has five of the seven unicorns in Africa and raised almost 1.4 billion dollars of the total of four billion dollars raised by Fintech companies across Africa in 2021.

“When you think of financial services digital innovations, think Nigeria, with Flutterwave, OPay, Andela and Interswitch holding the status of unicorn companies, worth at least one billion dollars each.”

Adesina recalled that the continental bank had invested $4.5 billion in Nigeria, saying that the country remained an attractive investment destination.

Adesina also disclosed that the AfDB, International Fund for Agricultural Development, and IsDB provided $540 million to develop Special Agro-industrial processing zones to unlock the agricultural potentials in Nigeria.,

He said that this financing will boost food and agribusiness value chains across Nigeria and make Nigeria more competitive. He added that the continental bank invested $44 billion on infrastructure in Africa in the past six years.

Adesina was of the view that the growth in Nigeria would depend on its ability to fix its infrastructure deficits.

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Adesina had declared: “The National Integrated Infrastructure Masterplan shows that Nigeria will need a total financing of 759 billion dollars to support infrastructure over a 23-year horizon (2020-2043).

“These covers tackling the crippling lack of energy to power the economy, including power generation, transmission and distribution infrastructure, water and sanitation, and transport infrastructure.”

The AfDB President, noting that Nigeria has a debt level of N42.84 trillion or 103 billion dollars with an external debt level of N16.61 trillion or about 40 billion dollars, said that the country needs support to tackle its debt burden.

He said: “​International partnerships on debt are helping Africa, and Nigeria.

“The issuance of special drawing rights (SDRs) by the International Monetary Fund of 650 billion dollars helped to provide liquidity support to countries, with Africa receiving only 33 billion dollars. African countries need more.”

Adesina said that the call by African Heads of State and Government for debt cancellation by developed countries to re-channel an additional 100 billion SDRs to Africa, will go a long way in helping to reduce the debt burden.

According to him, “Allocated SDRs through the bank, as called for by the Heads of State and Government, will be leveraged by four times by the bank.

“This will deliver more financial resources for Nigeria and other African countries.

“Nigeria and other African countries need debt relief. They cannot run up the hill carrying a backpack full of sand.”