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Why 2021 MasterCard Index of Women Entrepreneurs holds promise for Africa — President, Harvest Foundation 

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The MasterCard Index of Women Entrepreneurs (MIWE)2021 report, released at the end of March, 2022, has continued to attract reviews from key institutions within the African continent.

The latest of such reactions emerged Tuesday, as the President, Harvest Foundation, Mrs Adaoha Ugo-Ngadi, spoke against the backdrop of MIWE 2021 report which highlighted 13 best African countries for women entrepreneurs.

In the 118-page report, Botswana, South Africa, Ghana, Madagascar, Uganda, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Angola, Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria, Malawi and Egypt were named as top destinations for people seeking a safe haven for women entrepreneurs in Africa.

MIWE 2021 involved a survey of 65 countries, and Botswana at 35 was Africa’s best performing country. The top positions, expectedly, were occupied by entities from North America, West and Eastern Europe, and Asia.

According to MasterCard, its sample size of 65 economies represents 82.4% of the world’s female labour force.

Speaking to the report on Tuesday, Mrs Ugo-Ngadi said that though the revelations showed a comparatively weak performance by African economies, they should be regarded as a challenge to managers of the continent’s economies.

“The MIWE report is, no doubt, an incisive and compelling read. Africa’s best performance standing at 35 out of 65 indicates that a lot more work needs to be done to redress the narrative.

“The reason for this weak performance is not far-fetched. African governments are more guilty of United Nations findings which note that only 10% of all policy measures put in place globally are gender sensitive and are geared towards addressing women’s needs,”Ugo-Ngadi noted in a statement.

The release added: “Reworking the African narrative must be deliberate and well thought out. African leaders, from Cape to Cairo, must open up themselves to fresh understanding of where the global economy is headed. The reality is that across the entrepreneurial landscape, women have become one of the essential elements defining the global economy’s most valuable assets.

“African leaders must come to a realization that African women entrepreneurs hold the key to a regeneration of the continent’s economy, and this is why the Harvest Foundation has committed to piloting the first-ever African Woman International Trade Fair.

Ugo-Ngadi also called for the urgent removal of the barriers stopping African women from reaching their full potential saying, “Women have the numbers. There is an immediate need to factor that into policy making if African female entrepreneurs hope to increasingly occupy an improved place in the 37% accounting for global GDP.”

 

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Nigeria not earning enough for its developmental needs— IMF

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The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has stated that Nigeria is not earning enough revenue to support its developmental needs.

Nigeria’s Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Abubakar Bagudu, during the 2024 budget presentation before parliament, admitted that “revenue generation remains the major fiscal constraint to Nigeria’s fiscal viability. However, the government is reviewing current tax and fiscal policies to improve revenue generation.

“The target is to increase the ratio of revenue to GDP from less than 10% currently to 18% within the current term of this administration. Efforts will however focus on improving tax administration and collection efficiency.”

The Director of the IMF’s Communications Department, Julie Kozak, revealed over the weekend that the country’s 9% revenue to Gross Domestic Product ratio was very low and not enough to support the country’s social safety nets and development spending, and protect its vulnerable households.

“As we mentioned in our Article IV Consultation, which was held in February 2023, raising revenue from the very current low revenue to GDP ratio of 9% is essential to create fiscal space for social and development spending,” she said in response to a question about Nigeria during the briefing.

“Nine per cent of GDP is a very low revenue to GDP ratio, and it is not high enough to be able to support strong social safety nets, and development spending, to help protect vulnerable households and also to meet Nigeria’s development needs.”

She added, “The 2024 budget aims to reduce the fiscal deficit while also creating space for these priority spendings, both on the social side and also on the development side.”

 

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Somalia secures $4.5bn debt relief from lenders

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After a decade-long process of negotiations and reforms with creditors, Somalia has finally secured a $4.5 billion debt write-off from global lenders as the enhanced Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative has spared the nation from repaying its debt.

 

The World Bank reports that the country’s debt has significantly decreased from a peak of $5.2 billion to $600 million as a result of the action taken by multilateral and bilateral lenders, including the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Commercial creditors have contributed $3 billion towards the debt relief, with multilateral creditors contributing $573.1 million, the World Bank’s International Development Association contributing $448.5 million, the IMF contributing $343.2 million, and the African Development Fund contributing $131 million.

Following the Bretton Woods institutions’y boards’ approval process, a historic announcement regarding Somalia’s debt forgiveness is scheduled to take place in Washington DC on December 13.

HIPC completion points were reached by 37 nations, with Somalia following suit after Zimbabwe and Sudan were left behind. Under the leadership of the current president, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, Somalia began holding HIPC talks ten years ago, and the nation has continued on the reform path despite political obstacles.

Kristina Svensson, the country manager for Somalia at the World Bank, praised Mogadishu for its “remarkable” commitment to reform last week.

“There have been a lot of political challenges within Somalia, but this thing (principles of HIPC), has held it quite high,” she said.

“This is satisfactory for them (Somalia) to achieve debt relief,” said Ms. Svensson. “Both the World Bank and IMF as well as other international partners, have been essential to providing technical assistance to support the achievement of these triggers.”

Over the past few weeks, Somalia has achieved huge milestones in its efforts towards socioeconomic and political liberation. It recently joined regional bloc, East Africa Community (EAC), as it seeks strategic partnerships with neighbours.

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