The International Monetary Fund (IMF) recently approved a $271 million Extended Credit Facility for Burundi, with an immediate disbursement of more than $62 million. But an earlier assessment in 2021 by the IMF had concluded that the East African country’s economy showed resilience, with economic growth expected to strengthen in 2022 to at least 3%. Before this latest IMF financing, the World Bank had hinted at the impact of new financial reforms on Burundi’s economic transformation. Asides from Agriculture which serves as its key employer and foreign earner, Burundi has one of the largest global nickel reserves. About 6 % of the global nickel reserves are in Burundi, placing it on the top 10 list of countries having significant untapped deposits of nickel.

Source: The North Africa Journal July 20, 2023 17:42 UTC