On the sidelines of COP29 at Baku in Azerbaijan, the Ghanaian conglomerate, the Jospong Group of Companies (JGC), has revealed plans to secure US$400 million in funding from the African Export-Import Bank (Afrexim Bank) for comprehensive waste management and rice projects in Lagos State, Nigeria, and Ghana.
The waste management project, involves building nine plants to turn waste into recyclable materials, fertilizers, and valuable products.
Additionally, Jospong Group, is investing in transfer stations and augmenting waste collection services in Lagos.
Jospong Group’s Chief Investment Officer, Noah Gyimah, emphasised the need for broader discussions with Afrexim Bank to support the Group’s investment efforts across Africa.
“The interesting part of that conversation was the various options they offer, including research and development funding for feasibility studies at accommodating rates,” Gyimah noted.
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Jospong Group, is expanding across Africa, with advanced discussions underway in Nigeria, Uganda, and Kenya, aiming to replicate its successful waste management model.
As part of the financing arrangement, JGC plans to source an additional US$50 million for its rice project in Ghana.
“They expressed great interest in food security and funding options for our rice production business,” Gyimah stated stressing the need for further conversations with Afrexim Bank’s leadership to prioritize key projects, outlining project stages and exploring opportunities for collaboration.
Jospong Group’s subsidiary, Asian African Consortium, is scaling up Ghana’s rice industry by investing in high-quality seeds, modern production technologies, and training for smallholder farmers.
The goal is to replace imported rice, addressing Ghana’s urgent need for local production. Rice consumption has nearly tripled in the past decade, with individuals consuming approximately 45 kilograms per year.
In 2023, the Asian African Consortium partnered with major rice industry players in Thailand and Ghana to develop an integrated rice farming project, aligning with the government’s import substitution objectives.
Ghana spent over ¢6.8 billion (equivalent to $560 million) on rice imports in 2023, despite local production potential. The partnership between Jospong Group and IRRI aims to address this issue and foster self-sufficiency in rice production.
The partnership offers Jospong Group, access to advisory services and funding at competitive rates. Afrexim Bank’s expertise will fast-track the lending process and support Jospong Group’s growth plans.
This strategic partnership will enable Jospong Group to drive sustainable development and economic growth across Africa.
Afreximbank is participating at COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, where it is doubling down on its commitment to facilitating a just energy transition for Africa that supports the continent’s critical development needs and unlocks its economic potential.
The Bank’s participation will align with the African Union’s Nairobi Declaration from the 2023 Africa Climate Summit and build on COP28’s actions around climate finance, loss and damage compensation, utilizing gas as a transitional fuel, and mobilizing high-quality climate finance.
Afreximbank’s efforts will integrate climate change with development goals, emphasizing the role of the African Continental Free Trade Area (“AfCFTA”) in fostering sustainable growth and regional integration. Importantly, the foregoing considerations will also be anchored on the core principles of the AU Agenda 2063: The Africa We Want.
A primary objective of the Bank will be to advocate for the swift operationalization of the Loss and Damage Fund, which provides financial support to countries suffering from climate-related losses and push for the timely disbursement of the funds to African countries to ensure that they have the resources needed to address both immediate and long-term climate impacts. It will also emphasise the importance of transparent and accessible finance mechanisms to ensure that local communities directly affected by climate change can receive the support they need.
Speaking during the African Day at African Union’s Pavilion at COP29, Prof. Benedict Oramah, President and Chairman of the Board of Directors at Afreximbank stated:
“Africa is disproportionately affected by the impacts of global climate change despite being responsible for less than 4% of global emissions. Losses in economic growth, migrations and regional instability represent significant negative impacts of climate change on the continent that will probably intensify in the next decade. We are at the point where taking action does not only suggest good environmental stewardship but must also be seen as a sound economic policy considering that the cost of immediate and decisive action is far less than the cost of inaction and delayed efforts. The issue of financing climate adaptation in Africa and the Island States of the Caribbean has become an emergency and as such our participation at COP29 is an opportunity to advocate for Africa and the Caribbean’s climate priorities, amplify their voice in global discussions, and push for urgent climate finance.”
Prof. Oramah added that financial resources and sound investments are critical to addressing climate change, lowering emissions, encouraging adaptation as well as building resilience. Africa for instance, he explained, needs between US$1.3 trillion and US$1.6 trillion in total climate financing every year till 2030 to meet its pressing needs. Understanding its mandate as a trade and development partner for Africa and the Caribbean community, Afreximbank will advocate for policies and investments to accelerate Africa’s energy transition, responsibly developing the content’s abundant natural resources, ensuring adequate infrastructure to reduce energy poverty, facilitate trade, and position the continent for an accelerated and appropriate energy transition.
In addition, Afreximbank, will advocate for a scaling up of the New Collective Quantified Goal on Climate Finance (NCQG), to replace the previous $100 billion pledge which has seen insufficient disbursement, and push for financial mechanisms like green bonds, concessional loans, and carbon markets to fund Africa’s climate projects.
Afreximbank, will also engage in side-events and panels at COP29, focusing on solutions for Africa. These panels will include a session on ‘Financing a Green Transition in Solidarity’being held on 14th November and featuring high-level panellists, including Prof. Benedict Oramah, President and Chairman of Afreximbank; Ambassador Josefa Sacko, Commissioner for Agriculture, Rural Development, Blue Economy and Sustainable Environment (ARBE), African Union; Claver Gatete, Executive Secretary, Economic Commission for Africa; H.E. Wamkele Mene, Secretary General, African Continental Free Trade Area Secretariat; Ibrahima Cheikh Diong, Executive Director of Fund for responding to Loss and Damage (FRLD); and Mariane Søndergaard-Jensen Senior Director EIFO, E3F Chair, and Chair OECD Arrangement Participants. The session will be moderated by Prof. Andreas Klassen, Research Associate at the University of Oxford.
Additionally, the Bank will participate in the ‘Sustainable Trade Africa’ event scheduled to hold on 15th November, in collaboration with United Arab Emirates Trade (UAE) and DCG” will feature speakers such as Yoofi Grant, Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC); Oluranti Doherty, Managing Director, Export Development Bank, Afreximbank; Hon. Susan Auma Mang’eni, Kenya, Champion of MSME development; Mr. Hao Ren, NWTN, Leader in sustainable technology; and Dr. Nassim Oulmane, UNECA, Expert in climate change & green economy.
Afreximbank will commit to progress discussions that build upon amplifying the African climate narrative, supporting just energy transition for Africa, mobilizing climate finance, calling for the operationalisation of the Loss and Damage Fund as well as aligning trade with climate goals.
African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) is a Pan-African multilateral financial institution mandated to finance and promote intra-and extra-African trade. For 30 years, the Bank has been deploying innovative structures to deliver financing solutions that support the transformation of the structure of Africa’s trade, accelerating industrialization and intra-regional trade, thereby boosting economic expansion in Africa.
A stalwart supporter of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), Afreximbank has launched a Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) that was adopted by the African Union (AU) as the payment and settlement platform to underpin the implementation of the AfCFTA.
Working with the AfCFTA Secretariat and the AU, the Bank is setting up a US$10 billion Adjustment Fund to support countries to effectively participate in the AfCFTA. At the end of September 2023, Afreximbank’s total assets and guarantees stood at over US$33.4 billion, and its shareholder funds amounted to US$5.8 billion.
The Bank disbursed more than US$104 billion between 2016 and 2023. Afreximbank has investment grade ratings assigned by GCR (international scale) (A), Moody’s (Baa1), Japan Credit Rating Agency (JCR) (A-) and Fitch (BBB). Afreximbank has evolved into a group entity comprising the Bank, its impact fund subsidiary called the Fund for Export Development Africa (FEDA), and its insurance management subsidiary, AfrexInsure, (together, “the Group”). The Bank is headquartered in Cairo, Egypt.
