French President Emmanuel Macron who is touring East Africa, with stops in Djibouti, Ethiopia and Kenya, has pledged to invest $2.8 billion in Africa by financing and supporting startups and small- to – medium-sized enterprises by 2022. Macron, who started his trip to East Africa Monday, said the French government would support about 10,000 enterprises across the continent by providing credit, technical support and equity financing. In his stop in Ethiopia, Macron said France will provide about $96 million to support the East African nation’s economic openness. The French President also vowed to improve cooperation in the region in the security and defense sectors during his talks Wednesday in Nairobi with President Uhuru Kenyatta of kenya. The French President who will chair on Friday the UN-backed One Planet Summit said France will work closely with Kenya on green energy.

Source: The North Africa Journal March 14, 2019 15:45 UTC