Author: Adama WADE

Ecobank Transnational Incorporated is holding its 30th Ordinary General Meeting on April 24, 2018 in Lome in a rather optimistic context. The main indicators are green again. The bank went from a deficit in 2016 to a return of profits in 2017. The net result is 182 million dollars. But nothing is yet acquired. Architect of the current dynamics, Nigerian Ade Ayeyemi knows, the bank located Boulevard Mono in Lomé which has reduced its cost-benefit ratio by reducing its workforce to 15 930 (44% women) and closed many agencies including 75 in Nigeria , must further progress and improve…

The African Continental Free Trade Area was signed on March 21 in Kigali by 44 African countries. This giant step is held back by Nigeria, the continent’s leading economy, which abruptly suspended its participation on the eve of the summit of heads of state under pressure from its industry association. They denounce the non-involvement of the private sector in the negotiations and condition any membership of the ZLECA, process leading to the removal of 90% of customs duties, clarification of the rules of origin. Many observers recall that by boycotting Kigali, the West African giant, sponsor of the Lagos Plan…

It is well known that Nigerian banks are struggling to establish themselves in French-speaking Africa. Will the UBA show the opposite with Amie Ndiaye Sow? In charge of the subsidiaries of Senegal, Guinea and Mali, this former Ecobank banker holds a degree in economics, a master’s degree in finance, banking and insurance and a master’s...

The second largest shipping company, the Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) is based in Geneva, Switzerland, a country as landlocked as Mali and Niger. Present in East Africa since the beginning of its activities in the 70s and in West Africa since the 90s, the group develops three of its main activities through three entities: the shipping company MSC in the transport containers and newly vehicles, the TIL group (Terminal Investment Limited) which deals with the management of port terminals worldwide – including in Africa, and Medlog, a new entity, logistic branch and armed arm of the group for go to…

An audit conducted in the Interbank Banking Group of Central Africa (GIMAC) between September and November 2017 concluded the centralization of responsibilities in the hands of the Director General, Valentin Mbozo’o, and unsustainable staff costs. In particular, the Director-General is criticized for having spent the construction of the relief site in Douala, ie 388 million CFA francs, through the private agreement procedure. On this specific point, the GIMAC expressed its incomprehension as to the conclusions of the audit, arguing that the members of the Group Management Committee, consulted at home on December 12, 2016, confirmed the agreement given to the…

«BOLLORÉ COVERS ALL THE AFRICAN CONTINENT» Present on the African continent for half a century, Bolloré intends to invest 100 million euros between 2017 and 2018 in the logistics part. Eight regional hubs are involved, says Jérôme Petit. Interview. What are Bolloré’s main activities in Africa? In Africa, Bolloré has four core businesses: port concession operations, shipping, logistics and railways. Present in Africa for over fifty years, our group covers the entire continent (46 countries) and employs 24,000 people. Our success is based on a long-term vision, resilience capacity and diversification in terms of trades and geography. This long-term strategy,…

Solar projects of 30 to 50 MW are growing everywhere on the African continent. This is overall good news given the number of Africans (600 million, or 50% of the population) who do not have access to electricity. However, given the proposed economic models, financial set-ups and modest projects, it would not be inappropriate to ask if the production of solar energy on Lucie’s land is still ecological? If they are profitable for project promoters, are the financial parties involved, these micro-power stations, for the community, the communities and the state? A 30 MW plant of the type recently built…

Rental of old trains in the Congo, denunciations, reprisals, burial first class, recycling and clanism. Has the World Bank become a banana institution in Africa? The laborious negotiations currently taking place between the Congo and the Bretton Woods institutions offer a small concentration of the limits of the development policies applied in Africa. As the work unfolds, we learn that the main ministers in charge of the file are subject to a presidential audit. The measure would concern in particular the Minister of the Directorate of Major Works, Jean-Jacques Bouya, arrested recently in Parliament for the project of a road of…

Lafarge Holcim’s current Managing Director for West and Central Africa, Emmanuel Rigaux has been working in Africa for more than five years. Former country leader for Zambia and the DRC, he illustrates the ambitions of his group in this interview conducted on the sidelines of the Africa CEO Forum. What does the West and Central Africa zone mean for LafargeHolcim in terms of country presence and investments? It is an area that includes Francophone African countries with an industrial presence in 4 of these countries, namely Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea Conakry, Cameroon and Benin. In addition, there is a commercial presence,…

With a solid AA rating, AGF is about to sign a new acquisition, this time in Southern Africa, which would be added to the acquisition of GARI and, ultimately, form a resolutely pan-African guarantee fund. In this exclusive interview, the CEO, Félix Bikpo, talks about issues and perspectives. The African Guarantee Fund (AGF) has recently been rated “AA-“, several notches above the investment grade floor. What explains this quality of signature recorded by Fitch Ratings? The rating reflects an overall appreciation of the vision, the strategy put in place, the business model, human resources and financial strength. It is the…

Some 900 people have been registered for this 41 edition of the Assemblies of the Federation of African Societies of African National Law (FANAF). If the panels were raised, dealing with important topics such as raising the minimum capital (we will come back to this important topic in our future editions), most of the actors were looking for the right partners. Distortion on DAT Alongside insurers, reinsurers and brokers, there are many fund managers and brokers looking for the right deal. Customers (insurance companies) would be more demanding in terms of the remuneration of the deals. Thus West Africa…

The US stock market plunged against anticipations of a future increase in the Fed’s interest rates. Behind the mammoth Yankee, all the financial centers followed. The famous index of fear reaches new heights. This correction should continue even according to Mostafa Belkhayate, former world champion of the stock market, several times awarded in Paris, New York, Dubai or Casablanca. “This is just the beginning,” warns Mostafa in this special video to readers of Financial Afrik. “The trend is expected to continue,” he says, with candlesticks in support. For the former student of Faidherbe High School in Saint-Louis (Senegal), the yellow…

The 29 th edition of the Forum of Banks and Credit Institutions Club of Africa opened on Thursday 8 February in Dakar (Senegal) in the presence of a hundred representatives of the profession. Under the theme of “the bank of tomorrow, its regulatory context, the major issues of innovation and digitalization”, the meeting was the site of a technical and strategic debate between leading economists, invited to present a helicopter vision of the sector and the practitioners, “topographers” of an activity confronted with technological, financial and regulatory stakes. The debate, first posed by the economist Dhafer Saidane, focused on…

The highly publicized return in early January of Modibo Koné in Mali was preceded by 3 days of intense exchanges (late December) between the senior executive of the West African Development Bank (BOAD), which opted for early retirement to he declared at the foot of the plane, to put himself at the service of his country, and the Chérif de Nioro. The supreme authority of Hamallism, the cardinal personality of Islam, has not officially taken a stand. But for many observers, these three nights of interview with the leader of the Mali Kanu movement, under the seal of secrecy, are…

The resounding resignation of Paul Romer, Chief Economist of the World Bank, following his criticism of the Doing Business ranking, weakens this authoritative report for fifteen years.  According to the famous economist at New York University, known for his theory of endogenous growth, sometimes political considerations have motivated the ranking of some of the 190 countries highlighted in this document particularly taken seriously in Africa. The case of Chile illustrates this state of affairs well. The Latin American country would have been penalized voluntarily since the arrival of the socialist Michelle Bachelet, in 2014. Since then, Chile has lost 20…

Alberic Kakou leaves the African Development Bank....

The week of January 12 was marked by a significant rebound in transactions on the Regional Stock Exchange (BRVM). Thus, the total value of transactions recorded over the week is 16,81 billion FCFA for 1 897 356 shares exchanged against 1,50 billion FCFA for 638 393 securities processed last week. Negotiations focused on 51 Securities, including 42 on the stock market and 9 on the debt market. The market capitalization of the stock market was 6 513,33 billion FCFA against 6 574,99 billion FCFA last week. That of the bond market amounts to 2 964,97 billion FCFA against 2 965,71…

The Senegalese media mainly saw the small fault of orthography. Elsewhere, it is the expression “black race” that challenges. “Africa and the black race deserve respect,” the Senegalese president reacted in response to his American counterpart Donald Trump, who described some African countries as “shitty country”. The tweet of Macky Sall joined the reaction of Botswana were rather well received by the African netizens. In Senegal, the small sprain to the conjugation will force “tirailleurs of the French language” to leave the wood. The communication service of the palace will provide a learned explanation by endorsing the famous mistake. This…