World Bank to invest over $5bn to restore Africa’s drylands

The World Bank plans to invest over $5bn over the next five years to help restore degraded landscapes, improve agriculture productivity, and promote livelihoods across 11 African countries on a swathe of land stretching from Senegal to Djibouti.

The financing will support agriculture, biodiversity, community development, food security, landscape restoration, job creation, resilient infrastructure, rural mobility, and access to renewable energy.

OPEC Fund signs $50m agreement to finance Africa’s post-Covid infrastructure

The OPEC Fund for International Development, a development finance institution established by the members of the oil cartel, has signed a $50m loan agreement with the African Finance Corporation (AFC) to finance and build infrastructure for Africa’s post-Covid recovery. The proceeds of the 10year loan will also support increased financial flows to Africa and contribute to Covid-19 recovery efforts in African economies.

DHL invests in South African cold-chain storage facility

German courier DHL Global Forwarding is investing $8.3m in a new facility in Johannesburg. The 13,000 square metre office and warehousing facility on a 10year lease is located within the Skyparks Business Estate near OR Tambo International Airport. The site will feature a specialised cold-chain facility consisting of three adjustable temperaturecontrolled refrigerators geared to handle life science and healthcare products being transported in and out of South Africa.

Heirs Holdings acquires 45% stake in Nigeria’s OML 17 oilfield licence

Investor Heirs Holdings and affiliated Nigerian company Transcorp have acquired a 45% interest in Nigerian oil licence OML 17 and related assets from the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria, Total E&P Nigeria and ENI through related company TNOG Oil and Gas, which will be sole operator. Financing for the $1.1bn deal was provided by a consortium of banks and investors. OML 17 has a current production capacity of 27,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day and, according to Heirs estimates, proven and probable reserves of 1.2bn barrels of oil equivalent.