The economic bill of confinement in Morocco, Egypt, Tunisia, Senegal, Cameroon and Côte d'Ivoire has had a strong impact on economic growth and budgetary balances.

A deduction made by a comparative analysis of the economic situation in Africa in the era of Covid, initiated jointly by the African Development Bank and Attijari Global Research. This study was presented by Sara Bertin, Country Economic Head at the AfDB, and Abdelaziz Lahlou, Economic Director of Attijari Global, during the first edition of the Digital CIB Meetings, a cycle of webinars launched by the Investment Finance Bank (CIB) of Attijariwafa bank. This inaugural videoconference focused on African economies in the face of Covid-19.

An opportunity to take stock of the situation and prospects of six countries in three regions of Africa. “This pandemic has certainly had a health dimension (costs) but it also includes a shock that is both exogenous, induced by the impacts on international flows, and endogenous, linked to the shutdown of production lines and a drop in income. which has a negative effect on the demand for goods”, can we point out to Sara Bertin. The expert indicates that despite the slowdown in economic activities, opportunities remain to be seized. In this sense, she listed the prioritization of investments, favoring human infrastructure or the development of local value creation capacity and intra-African trade, particularly within the framework of South-South cooperation.

“Opportunities that will make this crisis an opportunity to review economic models, with a view to making the development of our countries sustainable,” she underlines. For his part, Abdelaziz Lahlou affirmed that the countries of the region are in the process of acquiring incredible experience at the African and global levels in relation to new needs, new trends and the different visions that will result from them. . "Something that can only be beneficial in terms of lessons to make the most of this crisis," he said. It should be noted that the Digital CIB Meetings are intended to respond to the concerns of economic operators by allowing them to periodically debate current topics, in particular the impact of the Covid-19 health crisis on economic growth in Africa with a clear deciphering of current and future environments and challenges.