EU Launches $47b Fund for Africa

The European Union announced that it has launched a €44 billion ($47.46 billion) Africa Economic Development Fund aimed at helping Nigeria and other African countries drive economic growth and development.

The vice president of EU Digital Single Market, Andrus Ansip, said the EU is already developing a strategic framework for the implementation and disbursement of the fund, maintaining that the EU is also designing security measures to ensure the fund is effectively and efficiently disbursed, news outlets reported.

Ansip during a press briefing in Lagos, Nigeria, explained that the fund which would be made available for disbursements in .0first quarter 2018 as credit money, was designed to help developing economies cover identified risks to attract foreign direct investments.

The fund is also going to help the digital industry in Nigeria which the EU sees as one of the areas with the strongest growth potential.

He said: “Our aim is to help developing economies. We have decided to create the European external investment fund which is targeted at covering main risks to attract private investment. This kind of fund was really efficient in the European Union where we created investment for strategic investment and we believe this fund will go a long way to help the African economy.”

  Reducing Refugees

According to him, the fund would go a long way in reducing the number of refugees who seek greener pastures in European countries, saying that in the last two years, Europe has experienced the greatest mass movement of people since the Second World War.

He pointed out that more than one million refugees and migrants have arrived in the EU, adding that EU has agreed on a range of measures to deal with the crisis.

“This fund meant for supporting development in African countries will be beneficial to the European countries as you know today that most people in Africa prefer to leave African countries to seek greener pastures in European countries. We are faced with lots of refugee crisis. To tackle this menace, we can provide some help to those countries to help build their economies instead of seeking refuge in Europe,” he said.

Italy launched a new fund of €200 million ($216 million) last Wednesday to help African countries control their borders, in the latest of a slew of measures pushed by the European Union to stop migrants reaching Europe, Reuters reported.

EU leaders on Friday gave their backing to the new drive to stem African migration to Europe. It includes stepping up training of Libya’s coastguard and financing for the UN agencies for refugees and migration to improve dire conditions for migrants there.

“The strategic objective is to help (African countries) control their external borders and to stop departures,” Italy’s Foreign Minister Angelino Alfano said in Rome.

  Digital Industry

Ansip further said, “Our aim is to support digital development in Africa and also help to build healthy economies in developing countries. The EU is the biggest donor of digital development aids. We believe the fragment of digital aid is little in developing countries, this is where we are. The European Union wants to support digital development in Africa. We will like to provide financing to build strong and healthier economies in developing countries in Africa.”

He said digital development in Nigeria and in other African countries has grown rapidly, noting that internet penetration has grown to over 80% where 100% of Nigerians now have access to Internet services.

“The development was much more rapid when compared to Europe. I believe in digital development for the bright future of Africa,” he said.

He said funds are important for economic development, but stressed that ideas and how to cooperate with other African countries is even more critical to get more assistance of development funds.

African countries must create, he noted, the right environment for digital development, create an effective regulatory environment that would have a much bigger influence than funds in the future of African countries.