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The Herald
Prosper Ndlovu recently in NIAMEI, Niger
ZIMBABWE is ready to take advantage of the available financial services provided by the African Export-Import Bank (Afrekimbank) and the African Development Bank (AfDB) to boost its industrial transformation through increasing domestic production and enhancing regional trade.
In an interview on Friday at the closing of the African Union (AU) Extraordinary Summit of Heads of State and Government on Industrialization and Economic Transformation held in Niamey, Niger, President Mnangagwa said practical industrialization is already accelerating economic growth and development.
During the summit, President Mnangagwa engaged colleagues from the continent, shared insights into Zimbabwe’s economic transformation story and invited heads of regional financial bodies to Harare for detailed investment talks on how Zimbabwe can access existing financial packages.
The leaders of Afreximbanka and AfDB in their presentations during the official opening of the summit presented a chain of financial resources for the member states to use in the growth of their industrial capacities and intra-regional trade.
Emerging from the lengthy closed-door meeting, President Mnangagwa said the quest for regional integration had been the subject of intense consideration by the continent’s leaders, and stressed the need to ensure that each African member state played its part.
Taking advantage of the opportunities within the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) had to be accepted by all countries, and Zimbabwe, as one of the first signatories, was already a step ahead of others in terms of positioning for continental integration, the president said.
By advocating rural industrialisation, encouraging value chain production modelling, strengthening agricultural production to replace reliance on imports, increasing infrastructure investment as well as embracing science, technology and innovation, President Mnangagwa said Zimbabwe was already addressing bottlenecks hindering economic growth and trade in the past.
“I understand that in Zimbabwe, looking at the content of the discussion and the documents that were presented at the summit, it is pleasant because we have already accepted it at home,” the president said.
“Zimbabwe focuses on all these factors: there is hardly any area where Zimbabwe lags behind. But in addition, the Afrekimbank representative, Professor (Benedict) Oramah, and the AfDB showed several financial windows, which are available, and we were not really aware of them.
“After the meeting, I sent messages to both presidents that I would like them to come and talk to see how Zimbabwe can take advantage of some of the financial windows that they explained at the conference.
Financing industrialization in Africa and scaling up existing flagship programs as a new approach to strong industrial transformation were some of the key topics for discussion.
As such, President Mnangagwa said unlocking regional finances is most critical for Zimbabwe, whose development momentum has been hampered by the continued imposition of sanctions by the US and some of its Western allies.
Due to the sanctions, the country is unable to access new credit lines from global financial houses, while the country’s compromised risk profile hampers foreign direct investment and smooth trade flow.
In his speech, Professor Oramah said Africa’s economic transformation will be defined by the level of access to finance to drive key industrial capitalization and growing trade within the region.
In his draft, he said several financial packages are being offered by Afrekimbank, including support for central banks to mitigate Covid-19, estimated at around US$80 billion, and support for the procurement of key commodities such as fertilizer and for trade facilitation.
In a statement read by a senior bank official, AfDB President Dr. Akinwumi Adesina said the whole of Africa must embrace the AfCFTA and challenged member states to wean themselves off reliance on commodity exports by developing value chains.
Increasing agricultural production has been a major opportunity for the continent and the AfDB has used up to US$25 billion to finance agro-industrial projects on the continent.
The bank has funding to unlock new energy projects with a focus on climate adaptation, value chain industrial production and women and youth empowerment.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Dr. Frederic Shawa, who attended the preliminary meetings before the Heads of State and Government meeting with the Minister of Industry and Trade, Dr. Sekai Nzenza, said that the main discussions focused on several measures that member states could implement to catalyzed the industrialization of Africa. agenda, in accordance with the aspirations of Agenda 2063.
“We examined critical issues relevant to the industrialization agenda, such as: the industrialization of Africa through the development of regional value chains, innovation, intellectual property rights and technology transfer for increased productivity,” the minister said in a statement.
Other critical topics included competitiveness and accelerated industrialization, women and youth in industrial development in Africa.
This year’s summit was held under the theme: “Industrializing Africa: A Renewed Commitment to Inclusive and Sustainable Industrialization and Economic Diversification.”
It was part of the annual African Industrialization Week commemorative activities aimed at highlighting Africa’s renewed determination and commitment to regional industrialization.
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