As countries in Europe are preparing for post-coronavirus world, African countries are advancing their Digital Economy, Green industries and blue economies.
In the case of Europe, Portugal the country of Vasco de Gama who was best known for being the first to sail from Europe to India by rounding Africa’s Cape of Good Hope and over the course of two voyages, beginning in 1497 and 1502, landed and traded in locales along the coast of southern Africa before reaching India on May 20, 1498. First quarter of 2019, the AfDB’s Vice President for Corporate Services and Human Resources said that Portugal has already made available 400 million Euros within the framework of the Lusophone Compact for the Development of Portuguese-speaking African Countries. That amount will go to 25 projects already presented by the Office of Business Support of the Confederation of Economic Associations, in the areas of education, tourism, energy, agriculture and infrastructure.
While investing in Africa, the country is preparing a handful of multibillion-dollar projects, including a new hydrogen plant. The government is also holding a licensing auction for new solar energy plants in June, which had been delayed. The solar-powered hydrogen plant is expected to produce cleaner energy than fossil fuels, and it is estimated that it will attract more than $5 billion in private investment. “The economy cannot grow along the lines of the past and our post-coronavirus vision is to create wealth from projects that reduce carbon emissions and promote energy transition and sustainable mobility,” said Environment Minister João Matos Fernandes. Work on building the hydrogen plant will start within a year, according to Mr. Fernandes.
Solar panels lined up at the Serpa solar power plant in Serpa, near Lisbon, Portugal. The government is preparing multi- billion-dollar “green” projects.
In the case of Africa, the World Bank has pledged to invest US$22.5 billion in Africa to assist the continent in dealing with the fallout of climate change, and urges other governments and businesses to follow suit. The African Development Bank (AfDB) is also contributing to the investment, adding another US$25 billion with an allocation to the Green development efforts that have already begun on the continent, as evidenced by a plan to build the largest solar zone in the world in Burkina Faso, to which the AfDB has already secured US$10 billion in funding.
