World
IITA Laments Poor Budgetary Allocation to Agriculture in Africa
By Adedapo Adesanya
The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) has blamed the insufficient budgetary allocation to agriculture as a major impediment in most African countries.
This formed part of the points raised by the Director-General of the agency, Mr Nteranya Sanginga, who added that this had been militating against the development of the sector in the continent.
Mr Sanginga, from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), assumed office in 2011 and is the first African director-general of the 54-year-old international institute.
Speaking in Ibadan, Oyo State at an interactive session, said that except adequate attention was paid to agriculture by African leaders, it might be difficult to attain foof sufficiency in the continent.
He noted that African countries had more than enough resources to attain food sufficiency to rely less on importation, adding that the endemic leadership problems confronting them had been a clog in their wheel of progress.
Mr Sanginga said this had been further compounded by lack of commitment of most African leaders to agricultural development, as reflected in the quantum of resources being allocated to the sector on yearly basis.
Citing the example of his home country, he said that on the average, DRC usually had 1.7 per cent budgetary allocation to agriculture, while in Nigeria, it was not more than two per cent.
“With all the resources available to DRC, the country still imports more than 70 per cent of food items, such as rice, beans and fish as its annual budgetary allocation to agriculture is about 1.7 per cent, while in Nigeria, it is not more than two per cent.
“The situation is also the same in most other African countries. With these, how can we say that African leaders are serious about attaining food security in the continent?” he queried.
The director-general reeled out his achievements in the last 10 years, saying he had been in the saddle, especially in the areas of creation of business incubation platforms, setting up the youth agripreneur programmers, the implementation of ‘Start Them Early Project’ (STEP) and building of food processing units under the IITA leadership.
“One of my most important legacies has been the creation of IITA Youth Agripreneurs (IYA) programme which was aimed at addressing the high rate of unemployment among African youths, with agriculture sitting as a goldmine, waiting for explorers.
“More than 60 per cent of Africa’s estimated 1.2 billion people are under the age of 25 and yet with little job creation.
“Whereas agriculture remains an essential driver of economic development and an area of great opportunities for young people in the continent,” he said.
The IITA chief said that the IYA initiative had now been adopted by many organisations, especially African Development Bank (AfDB) which had been set up in to 24 countries.
He said that this had rekindled the hope of a new generation of African agricultural entrepreneurs who would feed the continent and create wealth and employment.
The director-general pointed out that these achievements, among others, had motivated the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, to honour him with chieftaincy title of Aare Afurugbin Ola of the Source.
The conferment of the chieftaincy title, meaning “Lead Sower of Wealth and Prosperity of the House Oduduwa” will take place at Ile Oodua, Ooni’s palace, Ile-Ife, on December 11.
While expressing appreciation to the royal father for the honour, Sanginga said that this would further fire his passion for the development of agriculture and agribusiness in the African continent.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
About $32 million has been put into the African Trade and Investment Development Insurance (ATIDI) by Germany through KfW Development Bank.
This funding package allows the European nation to become a D2-class shareholder of ATIDI, a status dedicated to Export Credit Agencies and Non-African Public Entities.
Of this amount, $18.4 million is funded from BMZ budget resources, with the remaining $13.6 million coming from KfW’s own resources. As such, it will assume the obligations and benefits related to its new shareholding status, including representation in ATIDI Governance and decision-making structures, and equally participating towards improving German trade and investments in Africa in alignment with the G20 Compact with Africa (CwA 2.0).
KfW’s subscription in ATIDI is the culmination of a dynamic partnership between the two organisations.
On behalf of the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), KfW has supported several countries’ membership in ATIDI with over $100 million in financing, thus strengthening the organisation’s capital base and expanding its ability to mitigate risk and mobilise private investment across African markets.
The new equity participation adds a direct shareholding to this long‑standing cooperation.
KfW is the 13th Institutional shareholder in Africa’s premier development insurer, further strengthening the organisation’s capital base and its capacity to support trade and investment across the continent.
At the official signing of the subscription agreement in Nairobi, Kenya, a member of the executive board of KfW, Ms Christiane Laibach, said, “Our membership is executed on behalf of the Federal Republic of Germany. It is only the latest culmination of a successful cooperation that has enabled the ATIDI membership of several African states and has created innovative insurance solutions to attract foreign investment on the continent.”
The chief executive of ATIDI, Mr Manuel Moses, said, “This milestone is iconic in many ways. First, it elevates our already dynamic bond with KfW and creates more opportunities for German investors looking to engage in Africa. It is also a recognition of ATIDI’s earned status as Africa’s top development insurer and the acknowledgement of the soundness of our business. Last, it underscores the power of partnerships in a global context increasingly marked by volatility and uncertainty. ATIDI will spare no effort to make this partnership a successful one.”
Established in 1948, KfW is Germany’s state-owned promotional and development bank and a key implementing partner of BMZ in international financial cooperation. Its shareholding in ATIDI is expected to stimulate up to $500 million in trade and investment between German companies and African markets.
Over the past 25 years, ATIDI has grown to become Africa’s premier provider of development insurance and one of its highest-rated financial organisations. It leverages its partnerships with leading multilaterals and regional bodies, including the African Union, the World Bank Group, COMESA, the European Investment Bank (EIB), and the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD), to offer innovative credit and investment insurance products that foster sustainable and transformational growth across the continent.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The Netherlands’ largest energy provider, Essent, has cut the technology costs of its contact centre infrastructure by half.
The organisation, which serves 2.5 million customers, recorded zero critical incidents post-migration and improved agent workplace satisfaction by 36 per cent.
The migration was delivered in partnership with AI-first customer experience transformation specialists, Sabio Group, and was completed in under 12 weeks for an operation spanning over 1,000 agents across two locations.
Agents were forced to juggle multiple disconnected screens simultaneously — a workflow that was as inefficient as it was stressful.
“Our agents were constantly working with different screens — multiple chat instances open at once, multiple agent desktop instances. It was messy, and in some cases, quite stressful,” SAFe Product Manager for Customer Interaction, Omnichannel and Digital Transformation at Essent, Michiel Kouijzer, stated.
“A lot of colleagues were saying I was mad for even suggesting this approach. It kind of feels like a victory on a personal level that it did work out. You just have to be a little ambitious — and have the right expert partner who can make it work,” Kouijzer added.
With stable cloud infrastructure now firmly in place, Essent is turning its attention to the capabilities that were impossible in its legacy environment: AI-powered call summarisation, agentic customer self-service, and next-generation workforce optimisation.
Rather than a reckless ‘big bang’ cutover that could have affected service to millions of households, Sabio engineered a phased migration strategy — beginning with Essent’s SME segment to validate technical readiness before scaling to the full enterprise operation.
“This project showcases Sabio’s unique position in the contact centre technology landscape. We’re not just moving Essent to the cloud — we’re establishing a foundation for continuous improvement in their customer experience delivery,” the Country Manager for Sabio Group Benelux, Wouter Bakker, commented.
By Kestér Kenn Klomegâh
On April 11, the presentation of the book “Africa: a new market for Russian business” took place, which aroused lively diverse interests among business representatives, entrepreneurs and employees of federal structures of Russia. The event was dedicated to discussing the prospects of Russian companies entering the African market and became a platform for the exchange of views and experiences.
Participating guests, packed in the small hall, included:
– representatives of business circles,
– entrepreneurs interested in new directions of development,
– employees of federal agencies curating foreign economic activity.
The presentation was held in a constructive and friendly atmosphere. The author of the book, Serge Fokas Odunlami, detailed the key ideas and conclusions presented in the publication. Particular attention was paid to the practical aspects of operating in the African market, as well as the analysis of opportunities and risks for Russian companies.
During the lively discussion, participants asked questions, shared their experiences and made suggestions for developing cooperation with African countries. This format allowed not only to get acquainted with the content of the book, but also to discuss topical issues of expanding business relations.
Meaning of the book: The publication, “Africa: a new market for Russian business” offers readers not only analytical, but also practical recommendations on investment and market trends, and how to enter the African market. The book will be a useful tool for those considering Africa as a promising destination for investment and business development.
The presentation of the book became a significant event for the Russian business community interested in expanding cooperation with Africa. Serge Fokas Odunlami introduced the participants to the new edition, which is a comprehensive business guide that gives an impetus for dialogue and implementation of joint entrepreneurial projects and corporate initiatives across Africa.
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