By Olukayode Idowu
The Board of Directors of the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID) has approved a total of USD250 million for five member states of Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Senegal and Sierra Leone to boost their oil & gas, energy, road infrastructure and agricultural sectors.
According to a statement from the bank, the approvals are part of the intensified efforts by EBID to invest in key sectors to spur up post COVID-19 pandemic recovery and mitigate the impact of the Russian – Ukraine war on the member states of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
The announcement, according to the statement, was made by the President and Chairman of the Board of Directors of EBID, Dr George Agyekum Donkor at the just ended 79th session of the Board of Directors of the Bank.
Donkor, was said to have observed that the impact of the COVID pandemic and ongoing Russian – Ukraine war have left many economies in tatters. He indicated that the current market conditions have compelled investors to seek premium on investments in sub-Saharan Africa thereby increasing the cost of capital.
He also said this has resulted in dampening economic growth, wide-spread balance of payments deficits, unfavourable terms of trade, depletion of central bank international reserves, fiscal deficits, and debt distress, stressing 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.
Present at the session was the Vice-President of the ECOWAS Commission, Her Excellency Damtien L. Tchintchibidja, who lauded the tremendous impact of EBID’s interventions in the sub-region and assured the Bank of the commitment of the new administration of the ECOWAS Commission to collaborate and support EBID in its multifarious activities especially in the area of resource mobilization to transform the ECOWAS Communities.
ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID) is a leading regional investment and development bank, owned by the 15 ECOWAS member states, namely, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Côte d’Ivoire, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo.
The bank with headquarters in Lomé, Togolese capital, is committed to financing developmental projects and programmes covering diverse initiatives from infrastructure and basic amenities, rural development and environment, industry, and social services sectors, through its private and public sector windows.
EBID intervenes through long, medium, and short-term loans, equity participation, lines of credit, refinancing, financial engineering operations and related services.