Afreximbank projects growth despite pressures across the continent
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
African economies will survive pressures and rebound this year, the African Import-Export Bank (Afreximbank) has projected ahead of its annual meetings in Cairo.
Afreximbank said post pandemic adjustment and the Russian war in Ukraine would put a lot of pressure on the economies of African countries but they would see positive growth at the end.
A report by Afreximbank Chief Economist and Research Director Hypolite Fofack anticipates that 16 countries on the continent would grow at more than 5 per cent.
“Africa’s growth forecast for 2022 points to continued fortitude even in the face of heightening inflationary pressures and geopolitical risks. While other parts of the world have suffered sharp downward revisions, the IMF has maintained its growth expectations for Africa.
“Accordingly, Africa’s GDP is projected to expand by around 3.9% this year, slightly less than IMF’s earlier forecasts of around 4.3%, and our own forecast of 4.2%,” said the report, titled, ‘Africa’s 2022 Growth Prospects: Poise under Post-Pandemic and Heightening Geopolitical Pressures’.
“In a sign of increasing resilience, the revised growth forecasts show that the economic expansion of 16 countries (representing around 30% of all African nations) will exceed 5% in 2022, with the asymmetric nature of the commodity price shock emerging as a major growth accelerator for some of the largest economies across the region.”
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Output expansion
Despite the numerous, lingering negative effects of the pandemic – from global supply chain disruption and rising inflationary pressures to recurrent waves of COVID-19 infections and the emergence of threatening variants – the globalisation of growth resilience will emerge as one of the most important stories when economic historians reflect on this time, Afreximbank enthused, per Vanguard reporting.
“In a major and synchronised reversal, growth bounced back in 2021 in one of the strongest post-recession recoveries in decades.
“Although the recovery rate was uneven across regions and countries (World Bank, 2021a; IMF, 2021a), output expansion was exceptionally strong in many advanced as well as emerging market and developing economies, the base effect notwithstanding.
“Botswana’s GDP, which expanded by 12.5%, making it the fastest-growing economy in Africa and one of the fastest-growing in the world, exemplifies these circumstances among developing economies.
“Even the region’s most affected tourism-dependent economies enjoyed strong rebound…”
Afreximbank said growth across the region was made possible through its financial support for African countries, setting new records for disbursements in the process, along with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
