NDB board of directors approves USD$1billion COVID-19 emergency program loan to South Africa

On April 2, 2021, the Board of Directors of the New Development Bank (NDB) approved a USD 1 billion COVID-19 Emergency Program Loan to the Government of the Republic of South Africa for supporting South Africa’s economic recovery from COVID-19.

The Loan will support the Government of South Africa in its efforts to contain the economic fallout of the pandemic and start economic recovery. The Loan will finance the creation of employment opportunities in South Africa, in particular, the first phase of the Presidential Employment Stimulus (PES) aimed to create and support about 700,000 job opportunities in the public sector, together with social protection measures for active labor market participants that temporarily lost their jobs, in order to help them remain in the labor market.

NDB’s financing under the Program is primarily aligned with Sustainable Development Goal 8: Promote sustained, inclusive, and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment, and decent work for all.

The Loan is part of the second batch of COVID-19 Emergency Program Loans to NDB’s member countries focusing on economic recovery. The Loan focuses on supporting economic growth through employment generation as well as support for labor force participation. This follows the first COVID-19 Emergency Program Loan to South Africa that provided emergency relief funding for supporting healthcare and providing social grants in the country.