With Africa into a new world order in times of global crisis

The ongoing Corona pandemic and now the war in Ukraine – one crisis follows the next, hampering much-needed recovery. Weakened health systems, economic slumps and acute food insecurity threaten many African countries. Geopolitics and scarcity of raw materials pose the urgent question of sustainable and future-oriented cooperation on the neighboring continents of Africa and Europe. What this could look like was also the topic of discussion at the parliamentary breakfast with Dr Markus Berndt of the European Investment Bank (EIB) and H.E. Amadou Hott, Minister of Economy, Planning and International Cooperation in Senegal.

At the invitation of Dr Karamba Diaby MP and Dr Ingrid Hamm, founder and managing director of GPI, the participants at the parliamentary breakfast in the Bundestag discussed above all the economic consequences of the simultaneous crises. Africa urgently needs private investment, emphasized Minister Hott as a priority, but this is not enough. Therefore, the tax base must be widened, secured, and companies should mobilize the money of institutional investors. Minister Hott critically pointed out that only 0.4% of German foreign investment goes to countries in sub-Saharan Africa and asked how this reluctance on the part of European investors could be reduced. Dr Berndt emphasized the special responsibility of Europe and North America and stressed the need for action: the public sector should take residual risks and thus encourage the private sector to invest, for example through green bonds. Patron Dr Diaby MP also drew explicit attention to the cooperation in the energy sector between African and European countries, including Senegal and Germany.

It became very clear that the importance of Africa as a long-term, equal partner of Europe must be discussed in a new light – political and especially economic cooperation is crucial now. The participants agreed: Now is the time to invest in Africa.