MiDA Advisors
Newsletter
May 2020
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As the world faces unprecedented challenges and disruptions from the COVID-19 pandemic,
we are providing you with pertinent market updates
covering US-Africa socio-economic relations and other emerging markets.
Our team will continue to monitor these developments and draw on the expertise and market insight from our industry partners and international development organizations.
We hope that you are all staying safe and healthy.
MiDA Advisors Team
USAID Implementing Partner
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The Impact of COVID-19 on African Economies
World Bank Group projects first recession in 25 years in the Sub-Saharan region
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While many African countries have made huge economic strides in the past ten years, the pandemic is threatening to hinder ongoing progress. In a bi-annual report released from the World Bank Group, studies project a recession in the Sub-Saharan region – the first recession in 25 years. However, leading African economies have been resilient through many shocks over the last decades. We expect a strong recovery based on solid fundamentals.
Read World Bank Report
Here
.
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Special Publication
Overcoming an Outdated Narrative:
Why Investors Need to Recognize Africa’s True Potential
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Cameron Khosrowshahi Directs the INVEST Initiative at USAID
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Mr. Cameron
Khosrowshahi
wrote an exceptional article on why long-held perceptions about Africa are preventing U.S. investors from the diverse and fiscally responsible investment opportunities the region has to offer.
Khosrowshahi also highlights how USAID empowered the MiDA initiative to change the narrative.
"Many African projects are U.S. dollarized, minimizing currency risks linked to foreign exchange rates. And development agencies and development finance institutions (DFIs) provide concrete risk-mitigation—such as partial-credit guarantees, subordinated debt and contingent financing — for many infrastructure investments throughout the region. . . MiDA’s hands-on, intensive approach has started by taking investors directly to the investment sites, inviting them to explore the neighborhoods they were investing in and get to know the people responsible for deploying their capital and looking after their investments."
Click the
here
to read full article.
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The Kenyan Pension Funds Investment Consortium (KEPFIC) was established with the support of MiDA and the World Bank through a joint program in Kenya with local institutional investors. KEPFIC has recently received further assistance from USAID Kenya through the Kenyan Investment Mechanism (KIM).
KEPFIC’s mandate is to increase the capacity of Kenyan pension funds for joint investments in infrastructure and other alternatives. KEPFIC now has over a dozen members representing close to $4 billion dollars of assets under management. Several members of KEPFIC have recently made commitments with two firms that have been active industry partners to the MiDA initiative: Development Partners Initiative (DPI) and Everstrong Capital.
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Everstrong Capital is sponsoring the Everstrong Kenya Infrastructure Fund to focus on the infrastructure sector in Kenya, with investments primarily in energy, transport, information communication and water sectors. The Fund is a pioneer vehicle focused on creating a mechanism for Kenyan institutional investors to invest in Kenyan infrastructure. Despite the challenges imposed by COVID-19, commitments from investors are still being received. Opportunities borne from the pandemic make it clear, collaborative efforts from both private enterprises as well as public sector is critical for continued development of essential infrastructure.
Read more about the Fund
here
.
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Three members of KEPFIC have recently made commitments to a private equity fund managed by London-based Pan-African private equity firm Development Partners Initiative (DPI). DPI invests in small and medium-sized enterprises throughout Africa and provides the technical assistance needed to ensure that each portfolio company and its employees thrive and generate commercial return for its investors.
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Congratulations Donna Sims Wilson!
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MiDA Advisors congratulates Donna Sims Wilson in her new role as COO at Kah Capital. In her capacity as NASP chairwoman, Wilson served as co-creator of the MiDA Initiative in 2016 as a partnership between NASP and USAID
Minority-owned and leading mortgage credit alternative investment specialist, Kah Capital Management (“KCM”) announced the appointment of Donna Sims Wilson to the position of Chief Operating Officer.
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The African Women's Leadership Fund Initiative has officially launched!
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The Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) and its partners, through the African Women Leadership Fund (AWLF), aim to create a sustainable platform to accelerate the growth of women-owned and operated companies across Africa. AWLF will work with and support women-owned and run fund management companies, as well as women-focused impact funds.
To bring this initiative to life, MiDA Advisors facilitated the union between UNECA and Standard Bank and will serve as lead advisor in the management of the structure, operation and allocations to managers across the continent. MiDA Advisors has partnered with Standard Bank Group over the past three years to present a gateway into Africa for US institutional investors seeking opportunities on the continent.
The AWLF has been established with the aim of uplifting female-owned and managed asset management firms and providing a defined economic stimulus to achieve sustainable economic growth in Africa.
Currently, UNECA and Standard Bank Group are calling on women fund managers across Africa to apply to join the African Women Leadership Fund initiative (AWLF).
Visit Standard Bank
website to learn more.
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African Development Bank Group unveils $10 billion Response Facility to curb COVID-19
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The African Development Bank Group announced the creation of the COVID-19 Response Facility to assist regional member countries in fighting the pandemic. The Facility is the latest measure taken by the Bank to respond to the pandemic and will be the institution's primary channel for its efforts to address the crisis. It provides up to $10 billion to governments and the private sector.
Akinwumi Adesina, President of the African Development Bank Group, said the package took into account the fiscal challenges that many African countries are facing. "Africa is facing enormous fiscal challenges to respond to the coronavirus pandemic effectively. The African Development Bank Group is deploying its full weight of emergency response support to assist Africa at this critical time. We must protect lives. This Facility will help African countries to fast-track their efforts to contain the rapid spread of COVID-19," Adesina said, commending the Board of Directors for its unwavering support.
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World Bank Group and IMF mobilize partners in the fight against COVID-19 in Africa
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The World Bank Group and International Monetary Fund convened African leaders, bilateral partners, and multilateral institutions to spur faster action on COVID-19 response in African countries.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa; United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres, Director General of the WHO Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Africa Union Commission Chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat, and officials of individual countries outlined their policy plans for effective use of resources. Multilateral organizations including the United Nations pledged their continued support, and bilateral partners reemphasized their commitment to a debt standstill beginning May 1, 2020.
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COVID-19 Highlights Regional Diversification Initiatives
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As COVID-19 continues to spread across the continent and barrel prices face sustained volatility as a result, there has never been a more critical time for oil- and import-dependent economies to prioritize diversification initiatives, with several African countries having implemented such initiatives following the crash in commodity prices in 2014.
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South Africa is hunting down coronavirus with thousands of health workers
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As South Africa’s health experts watched the coronavirus race through Europe and begin to seed itself in their country, they made a pivotal decision.
Instead of waiting for sick people to start swamping their health system, potentially overwhelming it, they mobilized tens of thousands of medical workers — and brought care to the people instead.
More than 28,000 health-care workers have spread out across South Africa’s nine provinces. Some go door to door, taking down people’s travel histories, temperatures and other risk factors. Others, especially in dense, poor communities known as townships, set up pop-up clinics where turnout has been high.
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NASP Annual Conference
Registration Open
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The NASP Conference has been rescheduled to take place from
December 7-10, 2020
at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Chicago, Illinois.
The
Africa and Emerging Markets Summit
will take place throughout the conference and African speakers will also be featured at conference plenary and working sessions as we celebrate and launch the next phase of the
NASP-MiDA Africa 2.0 initiative
.
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