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..As Google Plans $1bn Investment In Nigeria,Others
The World Bank says Nigeria’s economy is projected to grow by2.4 per cent in 2021.
This is an increase in the bank’s earlier growth projection of 1.8 per cent made in January this year.
In its new edition of its Africa’s Pulse report titled ‘Climate change adaption and economic transformation in Sub-Saharan Africa’,the bank the projected growth in Nigeria is driven by growth in the service sectors of the economy.
It added :“Within Africa, recovery is also multi-speed. Angola, Nigeria, and South Africa, the largest economies in the region, are expected to emerge from the 2020 recession, yet at different paces.
“Angola is expected to grow by 0.4 per cent in 2021, after five consecutive years of recession. The country is still battling to gain momentum, with elevated debt levels and weak performance of the oil industry.
“Nigeria is expected to grow by 2.4 per cent in 2021, supported by the service sector.”
According to the report, Nigeria and South Africa still lagged behind in the projected growth for the Sub-Saharan region.
“Excluding South Africa and Nigeria, the rest of Sub-Saharan Africa is rebounding faster, with a growth rate of 3.6 per cent in 2021,” the report said.
Nigeria’s economic growth,it said, shows little sign of speedy recovery from the 2020 recession,adding that it grew five per cent in the second quarter, from 0.5 per cent growth in the first quarter.
This was the third consecutive quarter of positive growth since the pandemic crisis.The main driver of the recovery is the non-oil sector, with a growth rate of 6.7 per cent compared with 0.8 per cent in the first quarter.
“The service sector recovered strongly after a disappointing first quarter, rising from -0.39 per cent to 9.27 per cent in the second quarter, while agriculture contracted from 2.28 in the first quarter to 1.30 per cent. Industrial activity also declined to -1.23 per cent in 2021Q2, down from 0.94 per cent in 2021Q1.
“Recent improvements in the labour markets have been largely attributed to workers turning to small-scale, nonfarm enterprise activities in retail and trade although their incomes remain precarious.
“In the first half of 2021, the fiscal deficit widened at four per cent of GDP, driven by an increase in debt servicing costs and capital expenditure.”
The Sub-Saharan region is projected to grow by 3.3 per cent in 2021, which is a percentage point higher than the forecast in April 2021 Africa’s Pulse projection, 3.5 per cent in 2022, and 3.8 per cent in 2023.
“This rebound was fuelled by elevated commodity prices, relaxation ofstringent measures, and recovery in global trade,” the report stated.
It warned that although Sub-Saharan Africa was exiting recession in 2021, the recovery growth was still fragile, suggesting faster vaccine development to accelerate growth above five per cent for 2022.
Meanwhile,Google has announced a plan to invest $1 billion over five years to support Africa’s digital transformation. The investment focuses on enabling fast, affordable internet access for more Africans; building helpful products; supporting entrepreneurship and small business; and helping nonprofits to improve lives across Africa. The announcement was made at Google’s first ever Google for Africa event, held virtually and livestreamed.
The planned $1 billion investment announced today by Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google and Alphabet, will include enabling affordable internet access and building helpful products.
He said Google is building global infrastructure to help bring faster internet to more people and lower connectivity costs.
He added that the subsea cable Equiano will run through South Africa, Namibia, Nigeria and St Helena and connect the continent with Europe.
Internet access is also hampered by the affordability of smartphones. Android has developed a device locking technology as part of the Android platform that will enable partners to offer financed devices. Google has collaborated with Kenya’s largest carrier Safaricom to support the launch of the first “Device Financing” plan in Kenya, and will expand this initiative across Africa with partners like Airtel,MTN, Orange, Transsion Holdings and Vodacom, and more. These partnerships will help millions of first-time smartphone users gain access to quality, affordable Android smartphones.
Plus Codes are a free and open source addressing system to provide addresses for everyone. The government of The Gambia has adopted this in providing addresses for residents and businesses across the capital Banjul and are now scaling to the rest of the country. Plus codes will expand to South Africa, Kenya and other countries in partnership with governments and non-governmental organisations.
Investments in entrepreneurship and technology. Through a Black Founders Fund, Google will invest in Black-led startups in Africa by providing cash awards and hands-on support. This is in addition to Google’s existing support through the Google for Startups Accelerator Africa, which has helped more than 80 African startups with equity-free finance, working space and access to expert advisors over the last three years. Google also announced the launch of an Africa Investment Fund. Through this fund, the company will invest $50M in startups and provide them with access to Google’s employees, network, and technologies to help them build meaningful products for their communities.
Empowering businesses as they continue or embark on their digital transformation: In collaboration with the non-profit organisation Kiva, Google is providing $10M in low-interest loans to help small businesses and entrepreneurs in Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa get through the economic hardship created by COVID-19.
Renewed funding for nonprofits. Google.org is expanding its commitment to support nonprofits working to improve lives across Africa, with $40M to help more partners who are responding to challenges they see firsthand in their communities – innovators like the Airqo team at Makerere University, who use AI and sensors to monitor poor air quality, a leading cause of premature death. Google is providing $3M in new grant funding to expand this pioneering work from Kampala across 10 cities in 5 countries on the continent.
The announcement expands Google’s ongoing support for Africa’s digital transformation and entrepreneurship. In 2017, Google launched its Grow with Google initiative with a commitment to train 10 million young Africans and small businesses in digital skills. To date, Google has trained over 6 million people across 25 African countries, with over 60% of participants experiencing growth in their career and/or business as a result. Google has also supported more than 50 nonprofits across Africa with over $16million of investment, and enabled hundreds of millions of Africans to access internet services for the first time through Android.
CEO of Google and Alphabet, Sundar Pichai said: “We’ve made huge strides together over the past decade, but there’s more work to do to make the internet accessible, affordable and useful for every African. Today I’m excited to reaffirm our commitment to the continent through an investment of $1B over five years to support Africa’s digital transformation to cover a range of initiatives from improved connectivity to investment in startups.”
Nitin Gajria, Managing Director for Google in Africa added: “I am so inspired by the innovative African tech startup scene. In the last year we have seen more investment rounds into tech startups than ever before. I am of the firm belief that no one is better placed to solve Africa’s biggest problems than Africa’s young developers and startup founders. We look forward to deepening our partnership with, and support for, Africa’s innovators and entrepreneurs.”
790000cookie-checkWorld Bank:Nigeria’s Economy To grow By 2.4%
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