Southern Africa

At the United Nations (UN) 5^th Conference for Least Developed Countries (LDC5), the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the European Union (EU) announced new Team Europe support of €14 million to improve the water network on the island of São Tomé. The project, which is part of the EU’s Global Gateway strategy, is expected to bring economic, social and environmental benefits for the country and the communities concerned.

More than 2.5 million people living in the eastern regions of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) will benefit from faster, cheaper and more reliable digital connectivity thanks to new fibre-optic network investment being rolled out by Bandwidth and Cloud Services Group (BCS) and backed by the European Investment Bank (EIB). Under Global Gateway, the EU’s positive offer for trusted and sustainable connections with partner countries, the new fibre-optic infrastructure will enable high-speed broadband internet in homes, schools and hospitals, opening up access to digital services and information, and contributing to the country’s digital transformation.

Today the European Investment Bank (EIB), Triodos Investment Management and EDFI ElectriFI announced their new collective investment of €19 million to support WeLight Madagascar’s €28 million project in Madagascar. The investment will enable WeLight to build and develop solar mini-grids to supply electricity to over 120 villages in Madagascar which currently have no access to the electricity grid.