Home
FacebookTwitterSearchMenu
  • Subscribe
  • Subscribe
  • News
  • Features
  • Knowledge Library
  • Columns
  • Customs
  • Jobs
  • Directory
  • FX Rates
  • Categories
    • Categories
    • Africa
    • Air Freight
    • BEE
    • Border Beat
    • COVID-19
    • Crime
    • Customs
    • Domestic
    • Duty Calls
    • Economy
    • Employment
    • Energy/Fuel
    • Events
    • Freight & Trading Weekly
    • Imports and Exports
    • Infrastructure
    • International
    • Logistics
    • Other
    • People
    • Road/Rail Freight
    • Sea Freight
    • Skills & Training
    • Social Development
    • Sustainability
    • Technology
    • Trade/Investment
    • Webinars
  • Contact us
    • Contact us
    • About Us
    • Advertise
    • Send us news
    • Editorial Guidelines

Transforming commodity potential into value-added production

16 Nov 2023 - by Ed Richardson
0 Comments

Share

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Google+
  • LinkedIn
  • E-mail
  • Print

Africa cannot eat potential. No one smokes natural gas or drinks crude oil.”That quote from Dr Akinwumi A Adesina, president of the African Development Bank, (Af DB) was used by Prof Kevin Chika Urama at the launch of the bank’s African Economic Outlook 2023 Report on “Mobilising Private Sector Financing for Climate and Green Growth in Africa”.Urama, who is chief economist and vice president for economic governance and knowledge management at the Af DB, pointed out that Africa is a $2.97-trillion economy with five of the world’s 10 fastest-growing economies.It has a young population which is expected to reach 2.4 billion by 2050. Natural resources include 45% of technical potential in renewable energy – the highest in the world; about 65% of the world’s uncultivated arable land; and 30% of global mineral deposits. “Despite all these potentials, the continent lags several other world regions in harnessing climate and green growth opportunities. “The current model of unfettered extraction of natural resources for production of manufactured products in distant lands and shipping them to Africa is not good for economic, social, or environmental sustainability,” he said.The report notes that Africa lags all other regions across all green growth opportunities: green trade, green employment, green innovation, and green investment.“Overall, Africa is not even halfway to meeting green growth and sustainability targets.“On natural capital protection, progress remains slow as African countries continue to struggle with illicit resource and financial f lows.“On efficient and sustainable resource use and social inclusion, Africa is almost at par with other world regions, thanks to good progress in improving access to basic services and resources such as water, sanitation, electricity, and clean fuels, and in increasing gender balance and social equity,” said Urama.He added that the private sector “has shown little appetite for Africa’s climate actions and green growth.“Out of the $29.5bn of climate finance f lows to Africa in 2019/2020, private climate finance accounted for only 14% or $4.2bn. This is the lowest share in the world.”Urama sees the advent of electric vehicles as a key driver of value addition.“Africa can significantly move up the battery and electric vehicles value chain, moving away from the current focus on mining green minerals and metals with limited value addition.

Sign up to our mailing list and get daily news headlines and weekly features directly to your inbox free.
Subscribe to receive print copies of Freight News Features to your door.

Africa Outlook 17 November 2023

View PDF
G7 leaders pledge $600bn to finance infrastructure development
16 Nov 2023
Growth of e-commerce creates logistics opportunities
16 Nov 2023
AfCFTA could kick-start infrastructure development
16 Nov 2023
Big plans to bring rail out of steam age
16 Nov 2023
Self-interest trumps continental trade at AfCFTA negotiations
16 Nov 2023
‘Ports race’ puts countries at risk
16 Nov 2023
Green hydrogen holds immense potential
16 Nov 2023
SADC countries enhancing trade
16 Nov 2023
More at stake than Agoa benefits in trade with the United States
16 Nov 2023
Ivory Coast spells out beneficiation plans
16 Nov 2023
New qualification addresses skills training in warehousing sector
16 Nov 2023
Organised crime stealing Africa’s future
16 Nov 2023
  • More

FeatureClick to view

West Africa 13 June 2025

Border Beat

Police clamp down on cross-border crime
Yesterday
Zim's anti-smuggling measures delay legitimate freight operations
06 Jun 2025
Cross-border payments remain a hurdle – Masondo
30 May 2025
More

Poll

Has South Africa's ports turned the corner?

Featured Jobs

New

Key Account Manager

Lee Botti & Associates
Johannesburg
18 Jun
New

Sea Import Controller - willing to be trained into Multimodal

Tiger Recruitment
East Rand
18 Jun
New

Pricing Specialist

CANEI
South Africa (Remote)
17 Jun
More Jobs
  • © Now Media
  • Privacy Policy
  • Freight News RSS
  • About Us
  • Advertise
  • Send us news
  • Contact us