Innovative financing for infrastructure: Africa50 Fund issues

Author(s):  
George Kararach

Increasing the rate of infrastructure delivery in Africa implies a greater focus on project preparation and project development. The specific case of the Africa50 Fund as a financing vehicle is explored. The vehicle aims at mobilizing private financing to accelerate the speed of infrastructure delivery in Africa. Africa50 will focus on high-impact national and regional projects in the energy, transport, ICT and water sectors. A number of issues for the Fund’s success are discussed. First, to deliver on Africa’s current infrastructure pipeline, including PIDA, Africa50 will need an equity investment of USD 10 billion, as well as attracting USD 100 billion worth of local and global capital. Second, to function as a commercially oriented financial institution, Africa50 will need to preserve and grow its capital base and provide a return to shareholders. Finally, the ownership of the founder’s equity by African countries is central to the strategy of Africa50.

Author(s):  
Damian Frankiewicz

A global lender of last resort is an institution that plays a significant role in an international financial system. It was clearly brought into the limelight by the recent financial crisis. The existence of this institution is strongly justified by the volume and volatility of global capital flows, the increasing financial and economic interlinkages between the countries, as well as the consequent possibility of the spill over effects. The article argues that the International Monetary Fund appears to be the only international financial institution capable of acting as a global lender of last resort and thus ensuring stability of the international financial system. The IMF has proven useful in providing liquidity support to countries struggling with financial dificulties in recent years. It is equipped with adequate financial resources, lending facilities tailored to address the specific circumstances of its members, highly qualified staff and the coordination capacities at the international level, which are indispensable to forestall the crisis in the global economy


2020 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 169-186 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peterson K. Ozili

Purpose This study aims to investigate the association between social inclusion and financial inclusion. Social inclusion and financial inclusion are two major development policy agendas in many countries, and the association between them has received little attention in the policy and academic literature. Design/methodology/approach The findings reveal a positive and significant correlation between social inclusion and financial inclusion for Asian countries, Middle Eastern countries and African countries while the correlation between social inclusion and financial inclusion is negative for European countries. The findings also show that European and Asian economies experience higher levels of social inclusion and account ownership in a formal financial institution while African countries and Middle Eastern countries experience lower levels of social inclusion and account ownership. Originality/value The association between social and financial inclusion has received little attention in the policy and academic literature. This is the first study that investigates the association between social and financial inclusion.


2019 ◽  
Vol 42 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph A. Tainter ◽  
Temis G. Taylor

Abstract We question Baumard's underlying assumption that humans have a propensity to innovate. Affordable transportation and energy underpinned the Industrial Revolution, making mass production/consumption possible. Although we cannot accept Baumard's thesis on the Industrial Revolution, it may help explain why complexity and innovation increase rapidly in the context of abundant energy.


Author(s):  
R. C. Cieslinski ◽  
M. T. Dineen ◽  
J. L. Hahnfeld

Advanced Styrenic resins are being developed throughout the industry to bridge the properties gap between traditional HIPS (High Impact Polystyrene) and ABS (Acrylonitrile-Butadiene-Styrene copolymers) resins. These new resins have an unprecedented balance of high gloss and high impact energies. Dow Chemical's contribution to this area is based on a unique combination of rubber morphologies including labyrinth, onion skin, and core-shell rubber particles. This new resin, referred as a controlled morphology resin (CMR), was investigated to determine the toughening mechanism of this unique rubber morphology. This poster will summarize the initial studies of these resins using the double-notch four-point bend test of Su and Yee, tensile stage electron microscopy, and Poisson Ratio analysis of the fracture mechanism.


2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 97-105
Author(s):  
Mary Zuccato ◽  
Dustin Shilling ◽  
David C. Fajgenbaum

Abstract There are ∼7000 rare diseases affecting 30 000 000 individuals in the U.S.A. 95% of these rare diseases do not have a single Food and Drug Administration-approved therapy. Relatively, limited progress has been made to develop new or repurpose existing therapies for these disorders, in part because traditional funding models are not as effective when applied to rare diseases. Due to the suboptimal research infrastructure and treatment options for Castleman disease, the Castleman Disease Collaborative Network (CDCN), founded in 2012, spearheaded a novel strategy for advancing biomedical research, the ‘Collaborative Network Approach’. At its heart, the Collaborative Network Approach leverages and integrates the entire community of stakeholders — patients, physicians and researchers — to identify and prioritize high-impact research questions. It then recruits the most qualified researchers to conduct these studies. In parallel, patients are empowered to fight back by supporting research through fundraising and providing their biospecimens and clinical data. This approach democratizes research, allowing the entire community to identify the most clinically relevant and pressing questions; any idea can be translated into a study rather than limiting research to the ideas proposed by researchers in grant applications. Preliminary results from the CDCN and other organizations that have followed its Collaborative Network Approach suggest that this model is generalizable across rare diseases.


2018 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 9-10
Author(s):  
James Talmage ◽  
Jay Blaisdell

Abstract Pelvic fractures are relatively uncommon, and in workers’ compensation most pelvic fractures are the result of an acute, high-impact event such as a fall from a roof or an automobile collision. A person with osteoporosis may sustain a pelvic fracture from a lower-impact injury such as a minor fall. Further, major parts of the bladder, bowel, reproductive organs, nerves, and blood vessels pass through the pelvic ring, and traumatic pelvic fractures that result from a high-impact event often coincide with damaged organs, significant bleeding, and sensory and motor dysfunction. Following are the steps in the rating process: 1) assign the diagnosis and impairment class for the pelvis; 2) assign the functional history, physical examination, and clinical studies grade modifiers; and 3) apply the net adjustment formula. Because pelvic fractures are so uncommon, raters may be less familiar with the rating process for these types of injuries. The diagnosis-based methodology for rating pelvic fractures is consistent with the process used to rate other musculoskeletal impairments. Evaluators must base the rating on reliable data when the patient is at maximum medical impairment and must assess possible impairment from concomitant injuries.


Pflege ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-39 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julian Hirt ◽  
Christian Buhtz ◽  
Benedikt Mersdorf ◽  
Gabriele Meyer

Zusammenfassung.Hintergrund: Die Häufigkeit pflegewissenschaftlicher Beiträge aus dem deutschsprachigen Raum in Zeitschriften mit hohem Impact Factor gibt Hinweise auf die Teilhabe der Disziplin am internationalen Diskurs. Bisherige Analysen beschränken sich auf pflegewissenschaftliche Zeitschriften. Diese konstatieren eine Unterrepräsentanz experimenteller Studien und klinischer Themen. Ziel: Identifikation und Analyse der Publikationen von im deutschsprachigen Raum ansässigen Pflegewissenschaftlerinnen/Pflegewissenschaftlern in internationalen pflegerelevanten High Impact Journals. Methode: Mittels Journal Citation Reports wurden pflegerelevante Zeitschriftenkategorien identifiziert, in denen die nach dem 5-Jahres-Impact-Factor höchsten 10 % der Zeitschriften der Jahre 2010 bis 2014 ausgewählt wurden. Der Einschluss der Publikationen und die Datenextraktion erfolgten durch zwei unabhängige Personen. Ergebnisse: Durchsucht wurden 106939 Publikationen aus 126 Zeitschriften. Eingeschlossen wurden 100 Publikationen, an denen 114 Pflegewissenschaftler/-innen aus dem deutschsprachigen Raum insgesamt 229 Mal beteiligt sind. Insgesamt 42 % sind Beobachtungsstudien, 11 % sind experimentelle Studien. Die berichteten Themen sind mehrheitlich klinisch orientiert (55 %). Über 50 % sind in den letzten zwei Jahren publiziert worden. Schlussfolgerungen: Das pflegewissenschaftliche Publikationsaufkommen aus dem deutschsprachigen Raum in High Impact Journals ist gering. Eine Zunahme über den Beobachtungszeitraum ist zu verzeichnen. Im Gegensatz zu früheren Analysen zeigt sich ein höherer Anteil klinischer Forschung.


2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-38 ◽  
Author(s):  
Isaac Munene

Abstract. The Human Factors Analysis and Classification System (HFACS) methodology was applied to accident reports from three African countries: Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa. In all, 55 of 72 finalized reports for accidents occurring between 2000 and 2014 were analyzed. In most of the accidents, one or more human factors contributed to the accident. Skill-based errors (56.4%), the physical environment (36.4%), and violations (20%) were the most common causal factors in the accidents. Decision errors comprised 18.2%, while perceptual errors and crew resource management accounted for 10.9%. The results were consistent with previous industry observations: Over 70% of aviation accidents have human factor causes. Adverse weather was seen to be a common secondary casual factor. Changes in flight training and risk management methods may alleviate the high number of accidents in Africa.


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