The Board of Directors of the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID) has approved $250 million for five member states to boost the oil and gas, energy, road infrastructure and agricultural sectors in those countries.
The beneficiary countries are Ghana, Burkina Faso, Nigeria, Senegal and Sierra Leone.
The approval is part of the intensified efforts by ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID) to invest in key sectors to spur post-COVID-19 pandemic recovery.
The investment is also to mitigate the impact of the Russia-Ukraine war on ECOWAS member states.
The President and Chairman of the Board of Directors of ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID), Dr George Agyekum Donkor, disclosed this at the 79th Session of the Board of Directors of the bank.
Dr Donkor said the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war has left many economies in tatters ,indicating that current market conditions had compelled investors to seek premium on investments in sub-Saharan Africa, thereby increasing the cost of capital.
That had resulted in dampening economic growth, widespread balance of payment deficits, unfavourable terms of trade, depletion of central bank international reserves, fiscal deficits and debt distress.
He, therefore, stress the need for EBID, as the financial arm of ECOWAS, to deepen its financial intermediation in all the critical sectors of member states to assist them to recover from the economic challenges.
Story by Kelvin Danso
