Author: Adama WADE

When UEMOA and CEMAC issue warnings and Kenya proposes a Global Depositary Receipt (GDR) The initial public offering (IPO) of Dangote Petroleum Refinery will remain open until October 27, 2026, instead of the originally planned October 13. The operation involves 4.1 billion shares at 525 nairas, totaling 2,152.5 billion nairas (approximately 1.6 billion dollars). The...

The French high school mobilization fascinates far beyond the Hexagon. One can condemn without reservation the damage to public property, the violence and the clashes with law enforcement. But how can one not shudder at contemplating this democracy still capable of producing dissent, confrontation and debate. How beautiful it is, this freedom to approve, to challenge, to doubt! How beautiful democracy is, when the living people stand up, sovereign, masters of their words and their destiny. A youth rises. It refuses silence. It demands more resources for schools, but also the right to speak about the world as they see…

The shadow areas of the “sponsored” rating agency by the African Union He is neither a central banker, nor a former employee of Moody’s, Fitch or S&P. Trained as a demographer, entrepreneur in market research for nearly thirty years, Sifiso Falala has gradually established himself in the small African world of financial rating. His group,...

Ivory Coast has just crossed a new frontier in the regional public debt market. Abidjan launched, on Tuesday, October 6, 2026, a Treasury bond with a maturity of 20 years, or 240 months, the longest ever offered on the UMOA Securities Market. Until now, the historical ceiling was set at 15 years. This is a...

On the occasion of announcing its project to list on the London Stock Exchange, Airtel Money is entering a new phase of its development. Present in 13 African markets, the subsidiary of Airtel Africa claims around 53 million active monthly customers and aims to accelerate its expansion in digital payments and financial services. In this...

Libreville, September 15, 2026. BGFI Holding Corporation is opening the second phase of its capital increase this Tuesday, September 15. The operation, which will run until October 15, 2026, involves 1,006,975 new shares offered at CFAF 80,000 each, representing a maximum fundraising target of CFAF 80.558 billion. The minimum subscription is set at 10 shares,...

The National Bank for Economic Development (BNDE) jumps from 8th to 5th place. Status quo at the top between CBAO Attijariwafa bank and Société Générale Senegal. The Islamic Bank of Senegal climbs onto the podium, Ecobank falls back, and BHS drops. Behind a hierarchy that seems relatively stable, the 2025 ranking of Senegalese banks by...

Behind what is likely to be the biggest IPO ever conducted in Africa, a cast of leading African financiers is emerging. As Dangote Petroleum Refinery & Petrochemicals (DPRP) prepares for its listing on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX), scheduled for October 2026, two names are prominent in the background: Benedict Oramah, former president of Afreximbank, and...

It’s not yet the banking transfer window, but it looks like it. Safiétou Niang Sarr, who has been serving as the general manager of Banque Régionale de Marchés (BRM) for six years, left her position on Thursday, August 13, 2026. According to Financial Afrik, she is expected to take over as the director of Afrika...

The African Development Bank (ADB) will enter a new organizational configuration starting September 1, 2026. Approved by the Boards of Directors, the reform led by President Sidi Ould Tah redistributes decision-making centers around two Managing Directors, six vice-presidential complexes, and eight Regional Growth Poles. This transformation aims to bring decision-making closer to the field and...

Ivory Coast celebrates, on August 7, 2026, the 66th anniversary of its independence in a unique economic momentum. “Our country has managed to maintain its development trajectory. Our economy remains dynamic, with one of the highest annual growth rates in the region and the world,” said President Alassane Ouattara in his traditional address to the...

On July 19, 2026, in Freetown (Sierra Leone) for its 69th ordinary session, the summit of the Heads of State and Government of ECOWAS saw the signing of the Intergovernmental Agreement framing the development of the Atlantic African Gas Pipeline, initiated by His Majesty King Mohammed VI and the late Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari with nearly 6,800 kilometers along the Atlantic coast, thirteen countries crossed and $20 billion in investment. Analysis. ECOWAS has just endorsed in Freetown the Atlantic African Gas Pipeline initiated by the Kingdom of Morocco. What is your interpretation of this moment? In line with the vision…

“ATIDI has become an essential institution for mobilizing investments in Africa” What is your assessment of the ATIDI General Assemblies in Nairobi, which also mark the 25th anniversary of the institution? Professor Kelly Mua Kingsly: I come out of these General Assemblies with a real sense of satisfaction. When we look at the progress made in twenty-five years, we can see the extent of the transformation. We started with an idea supported by a few visionaries. Today, ATIDI has become an almost indispensable institution for the economic development of the continent. Why indispensable? Because the world is going through a…

The former Monaco Resources Group, now renamed Sonel Investments S.A.M., seems to be experiencing its final struggles. According to Financial Afrik, United Bank for Africa (UBA) has instructed bailiffs to seize the equipment of the Société des Bauxites de Guinée (SBG) as part of a recovery procedure. While this banking initiative illustrates the immediate difficulties...

The CEO of ATIDI, Manuel Moses, took advantage of the 26th General Assembly of the institution, held in Nairobi, to open a new chapter in its history. Beyond the assessment of the first twenty-five years, he presented the outlines of ATIDI 2.0, a strategy aimed at making the agency a central player in the new African financial architecture. His message is clear: African solutions are now mature enough to meet the financing needs of the continent. Founded in 2001 by seven member states, ATIDI now brings together 24 member states and 14 institutional shareholders, with the arrival this year of…

The silver jubilee celebrations of the ATIDI Agency began on July 1, 2026 in Nairobi, with around 500 delegates from Africa and beyond in attendance. The theme is clear: “a stronger Africa: managed risk, deployed growth.” As highlighted by its CEO, Manuel Moses, the institution has a total exposure of $9.2 billion, up 20% in 2025. Its equity stands at $883 million. Given the stated development ambitions, the goal now is to increase equity to $2 billion. In this regard, Kenya announced a contribution of $25 million, to be increased to $65 million, in line with President William Ruto’s statements…

Heirs, Captains of Industry, and Networks of Influence: Who are the Real Winners of the New Employer Governance? The General Confederation of Moroccan Enterprises (CGEM) appointed the 20 leaders of commissions at the end of its board meeting on June 22, 2026, focusing on its orientations between 2026 and 2029. By renewing nearly 80% of...

“The Blue Fund must transform announced commitments into concrete projects by 2026” As the financial agent of the Blue Fund for the Congo Basin since 2021, the Central African Development Bank (BDEAC) played a central role in preparing the roundtable organized on the sidelines of the 2026 Annual Meetings of the African Development Bank in Brazzaville. In this interview with Financial Afrik, its Vice-President, Jean Paterne Megne Ekoga, discusses the progress made, details the priority portfolio of 63 projects representing $5.32 billion in investments, and outlines the next steps in implementing the Blue Fund. The BDEAC is heavily involved in…

“Ships of the world, start your engines and let the oil flow freely.” Rarely has a message from Donald Trump summed up the essence of a diplomatic agreement with such frankness. Behind the speeches about regional stability, international security, and nuclear non-proliferation, it is energy that remains the beating heart of Middle Eastern geopolitics. The...

The second edition of the BOAD Development Days has come to an end. For two days, on June 11th and 12th, Lomé welcomed bankers, investors, insurers, guarantee specialists, real estate developers, architects, and public decision-makers around a question that goes beyond just the housing sector: how to finance the growth of a Union expected to have over 300 million inhabitants by the middle of the century? On the eve of the event, the President of the West African Development Bank (BOAD), Serge Ekué, granted an exclusive interview to Jeune Afrique, Sika Finance, Agence Ecofin, and Financial Afrik. A conversation that,…

In a West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA) facing a deficit of an estimated 3.5 million housing units and an annual demand for 800,000 additional units, financing housing emerges as one of the main development challenges. It is around this conviction that the second edition of the BOAD Development Days opens in Lomé this year, focusing on sustainable housing. On the eve of the event, the President of the West African Development Bank (BOAD), Serge Ekué, defended an ambitious vision of housing, considering it not just as a banking product but as a true instrument of macroeconomic policy. “Housing…

Following the Annual Meetings of the African Development Bank (AfDB) Group, held in Brazzaville from May 25 to 29, 2026 and marked by the governors’ endorsement of its strategic vision, President Sidi Ould Tah announced a thorough overhaul of the institution’s organizational structure. In a message to the staff, he unveils a series of reforms...

With the passing of Professor Moustapha Kassé on June 1, 2206 at the age of 85, Senegal loses one of its greatest economists and Africa one of its last leading thinkers on development. Honorary dean of the Faculty of Economics and Management Sciences (FASEG) at Cheikh Anta Diop University in Dakar (UCAD), the first Senegalese...

On Wednesday, May 13, 2026, in the plush lounges of the Palais de la Marina in Cotonou, Patrice Talon chaired his final Council of Ministers. A scene almost liturgical for a head of state who, over a decade, imposed on the Beninese apparatus a discipline of management rarely observed in these latitudes, combining a culture of results, an obsession with deadlines, and an assumed verticality of executive power. The time has now come for transmission. To the elected president, and even more so to the technocratic structure called upon to outlive men, falls the delicate responsibility of preserving this legacy,…

“In our participation in the Dakar Forum, it demonstrates the commitment of the United Arab Emirates to work with their African partners …” In the wake of the 10th edition of the Dakar International Forum on Peace and Security (April 20-21, 2026), Financial Afrik spoke with Shakhboot bin Nahyan Al Nahyan, State Minister at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the United Arab Emirates. An opportunity to assess the challenges and prospects of relations between the emirate and Africa. “The recent International Forum on Peace and Security in Africa brought together leaders to address the constantly evolving security challenges on…

Appointed on February 1, 2026 as Head of the Abidjan Regional Office of the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development, this internationally seasoned finance professional outlines the key levers he intends to activate to strengthen the institution’s impact across six West African countries  Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal, The Gambia, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde and Guinea. From project structuring and scaling up public-private partnerships to mobilising private capital, he sets out a roadmap aligned with the Bank’s GRO strategy (Growth, Resilience, Optimisation), with a clear focus on driving sustainable and inclusive economic transformation across the sub-region. Can you outline your professional…

The presidential elections in Benin are taking place on April 12 in a tense Sahel region, where the proximity of the countries of the Sahel States Alliance (AES) offers a striking contrast between elective democracy and popular dirigisme. In the margins of Liptako, a discreet duel is playing out between regimes that, like Burkina Faso’s...

The new Gabonese nationality code, supported by the Constitution promulgated by presidential decree No. 0004/PR/2026, introduces a distinction between “Gabonese by birth”, “Gabonese by adoption” and “Gabonese by descent”. This text, adopted without passage through Parliament, consecrates a differentiation of citizenship statuses with immediate implications: in this framework, neither a profile like Bally Bagayoko, nor a profile comparable to that of Zohran Mamdani could claim to hold the position of mayor in Libreville. The case of Bally Bagayoko is illustrative. Elected mayor of Saint-Denis in France and of Malian descent, he embodies a system in which political citizenship takes precedence…

Yaoundé, March 30, 2026 — Gathered for four days in the Cameroonian political capital, the 166 members of the World Trade Organization concluded their 14th Ministerial Conference (MC14) in the night of March 29 to 30 with a minimalist but politically significant compromise. Originally scheduled for midday on March 29, the final agreement was only reached around midnight, after prolonged negotiations and last-minute dealings, illustrating the persistent fault lines within the multilateral trading system. In the absence of a comprehensive agreement, ministers validated several operational decisions and, most importantly, last-minute consolidation of momentum around the Investment Facilitation for Development (IFD)…

In the margins of the 14th Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization (MC14), currently taking place in Yaoundé (March 26-29, 2026), China, through Ambassador Li Yongjie, reaffirmed its commitment to a multilateral trade organization that is “operational, performative, and focused on development”. During a press briefing on March 27 in front of journalists from the least developed countries (LDCs) and developing economies, Beijing outlined a clear strategic line: defending the rules, accelerating reforms, and strengthening South-South cooperation. Ten years after the last ministerial conference held on the African continent, this MC14 comes at a time of high trade tensions…