to support and upskill SMEs in the clinical technical services sector to deliver on the 500% to 1 000% growth in ventilator production needed globally to prevent unnecessary deaths due to the
shortage. The team at UJ invites industry partners, researchers and practitioners in the clinical technical services sector to join forces to fast track research and prototype development, and
support critical maintenance activities to ensure that the project can be scaled and replicated on the continent.
UJ Centre for Africa-China Studies looks at economic fallout of COVID-19
Video link: https://youtu.be/1XC-Ih0ZqH4
effects based on differences between African countries and their relationship with China,” said Ryder. Admassu Tadesse looked at how African governments would respond to the immense economic fallout of Covid-19. “To pick up commodity, trade has to be opened. We currently don’t have stimulus packages coming through, we have to work very hard and see if the commercial world can start breathing.” “Also, increasing liquidity buffers to firms in affected sectors is necessary to continue business and avoid debt default by otherwise sound enterprises. Reducing fixed charges and taxes and credit forbearance would also help to ease the pressure on firms facing an abrupt falloff in demand,” explained Tadesse. “Beyond health, the priority should be people. Options include using universal basic income (UBI) and providing vulnerable households with temporary cash transfers to tide them over the loss of income from work shutdowns and layoffs.” “The G20 should lead a coordinated policy response. In addition, if countries announced coordinated fiscal and monetary support, confidence effects would compound the effect of policies,” Tadesse concluded.
restaurants, and shops closed, COVID-19 has slowed down the demand in China for manufacturing and consumer goods, and as a result, imports of such goods into China from Africa may be disrupted, or prices may need to be reduced. This might, in turn, lead to production cuts and job losses in African countries. “The second type of COVID-19 impact is a ‘supply-side’ shock. Many African (and other) countries import goods that are manufactured in China for use on infrastructure projects, for sales in shops, and much more. With COVID-19, we have seen China slashing its manufacturing, in turn leading to less exports from China to African countries, and/or exports
COVID-19 has significantly disrupted economies due to
quarantines, restrictions on travel, factory closures and a sharp decline in many service sector activities. Its impact on business in Africa was specifically focused on during a webinar by the Centre for Africa- China Studies (CACS), held on Thursday 16 April 2020. The webinar featured presentations by Hannah Ryder, CEO of Development Re-imagined, a ground-breaking international development consultancy, headquartered in Beijing, China; Admassu Tadesse, President and CEO of the Eastern and Southern African Trade and Development Bank (TDB); and Prof Saurabh Sinha, UJ’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Research and Internationalisation, who served as the chair of the series. “The outbreak presents a ‘twin- threat’ to economic growth for all countries, but especially in Africa,” said Hannah Ryder. “The first effect is a ‘demand-side’ shock. In simple terms, we all know that several African (and other) economies export goods to China, to be used in factories or sold to Chinese consumers. For instance, Nigeria and Angola export oil to China, and South Africa exports precious metals to China. But with lockdowns and other movement restrictions, as factories,
at higher prices. This affects consumer demand in African
countries and can lead to the kinds of empty shelves that are being seen in Kenya,” said Ryder. Development Re-imagined was hoping that Africa as a region would prove relatively resilient to COVID-19 in both health and economic terms. “But this is not a given, and our initial analysis suggests that effects on poverty may well be exacerbated if governments and development partners only act on the basis of media reports and singular data. Our analysis is just the start of better understanding these
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