IslamicFinance.de

On Thursday, the Mo Ibrahim foundation announced that its prestigious Mo Ibrahim Prize for Outstanding African Leadership and Governance will have no winner for 2015. This makes it the fifth year this prize has gone unclaimed since its inception in 2006.
In a statement issued by the Chairman of the foundation, Mo Ibrahim, he agreed with this verdict. “When we launched the prize ten years ago, we deliberately set a very high bar.” The Sudanese-British mobile communications entrepreneur and billionaire founded the foundation with a clear objective: to encourage better governance in Africa based on the belief that governance lays at the heart of tangible and shared improvements in the equality of life of African citizens. However, this recent announcement means that a number of revered heads of states such as Emilio Guebuza (Mozambique) and Jakaya Kikwete of Tanzania, both widely credited with the sharp reduction of poverty in their respective states, and presiding over periods of notable economic success, have been overlooked for this year’s prize.
The Award has now been unclaimed more times than won

The government of Mozambique plans to access funding from the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) to finance various investment projects of small and medium-sized enterprises, the Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade, Osmar Mitha said. Mithá said the IDB reacted positively to this request from Mozambique, but said the country still faces some obstacles, notably the introduction of some legal improvements. The IDB has applied at least US$300 million in various sectors in Mozambique since 1995, the year the country joined the financial group. Currently, there are 22 ongoing projects valued at more than US$160 million in sectors such as agriculture, education, health and water supply.

The annual meeting of the Islamic Development Bank began in the Mozambique capital of Maputo on Sunday that would consider a report on the Medium-Term Sukuk Program for which the bank had already allocated $10 billion. The meeting will also consider the progress made so far in the implementation of its member country partnership strategic program; 20 member countries have so far signed up with the bank. In line with the four day official event, various activities will be organized on Thursday, one of which is a private sector forum where Islamic Corporation for Insurance of Investments and Export Credits will present the importance of export credit and investment insurance in Africa.

Mozambique will next month host the annual meeting of the Jeddah-based Islamic Development Bank (IDB), an event which is expected to be attended by 700 delegates. It will take place on 8 and 11 next June. Eduardo Macuà¡cua, Deputy Executive Director of the Confederation of Economic Associations of Mozambique (CTA) said that the private sector in coordination with the Government, through the Investment Promotion Centre, is already preparing to not only participate in meeting but also, and above all, present projects and business opportunities that the country offers, and perhaps form partnerships. To this end, the CTA is organizing the Private Sector Forum on 8 June, which discusses the role of the private sector in the development of the IDB member countries, particularly those in Africa.

The Islamic Development Bank (IDB) and its poverty reduction arm, the Islamic Solidarity Fund for Development (ISFD), have now extended more than $100 million in financing to help eight African nations combat extreme poverty, improve public health and achieve more sustainable development. In each of these projects, host governments will partner with the IsDB, the Earth Institute and Millennium Promise to carry out the projects. The combined $104 million will finance three major programs: The ISFD’s new flagship Sustainable Villages Program (SVP) in Chad, Mozambique, and Sudan ($40 million), Scale-ups of the Millennium Villages Project in Mali, Senegal and Uganda ($29 million), Implementation of the Drylands Initiative in Djibouti, Somalia and Uganda ($35 million). The $104 million will be provided in the form of Islamic finance to the recipient countries, except in the case of a grant provided to Somalia. All of these countries are members of the bank.

The Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) is to provide $104m (£67.3m) in loans to African governments to fund an expansion of Millennium Villages, the controversial project led by Jeffrey Sachs, director of Columbia University's Earth Institute. About $40m of the money will go towards a flagship sustainable villages programme (SVP) in Chad, Mozambique, and Sudan. In addition, $29m will support the extension of existing Millennium Village projects (MVPs) in Mali, Senegal and Uganda, while $35m will be used for a drylands initiative in Djibouti, Somalia and Uganda. Governments will team up with the IsDB, the Earth Institute, and its partner, Millennium Promise, to carry out the projects. The Millennium Village project covers more than 500,000 people in 14 areas of 10 countries in different environments across Africa. Each site was considered a "hunger hot-spot" at the time the project began in 2006. The concept works on the principle of interventions across several key areas – health, education, enterprise and agriculture – over a 10-year period.