adminOliver Kazunga Senior Business Reporter
THE African Development Bank (AfDB) says it invested $2 billion on the continent last year, which will collectively create 200,000 jobs in the Information Communication Technology (ICT) sector benefiting about 18 million people.
In its 2015 annual report on transport released recently, the bank said the investment it made would collectively improve the mobility of at least 1.2 million public transport users.
“The impacts arising from investments made by the African Development Bank Group in 2015 will collectively improve mobility of at least 1.2 million users of public transport, result in employment generation of about 200,000 jobs in the ICT sector and benefit almost 18 million people from improvements in road infrastructure,” it said.
This, it said, indicates the bank’s continued support for development of efficient transportation and telecommunication infrastructure to promote regional integration, support agriculture development and facilitating industrialisation for Africa.
“The expected impacts over the next few years in integrating Africa, boosting agriculture, and facilitating industrialisation will be tremendous,” reads the report.
Zimbabwe is one of the countries that has secured funding from the regional financier.
The bank said during the period under review, lending was 50 percent above target mainly due to increased access by African Development Fund countries to AfDB financing instruments and greater leverage of co-financing facilities such as the Africa Growing Together Fund.
Roads and highway corridors represented the largest share of the lending.
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