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Economic Affairs Officer at the Economic Commission for Africa, Mactar Seck, highlights the need to promote the representation of women in information and communication technology (ICT), at the Internet Governance Forum’s (IGF) Women’s Summit. In his remarks during the session, Mactar Seck notes, “only 12% of women currently operate in the ICT sector. There is a substantial digital gap on the continent, with women representing 51% of the population, yet only 20% having access to the Internet. Several studies have shown that if we can solve gender inequality, we can contribute $3 million to the global GDP.” Mr. Seck identified…

Internet access is pivotal to Africa’s economic and social transformation making it vital for governments to invest in digital technologies, the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, Acting Executive Secretary, Antonio Pedro, has urged “Digitalisation is key to achieving the SDGs and Agenda 2063 and achieving that requires the contribution of all stakeholders,” said Mr. Pedro, speaking at a High-Level Leaders Session on Universal, Affordable and Meaningful Connectivity, at the opening of the Internet Governance Forum 2022 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Mr. Pedro underscored the importance of partnerships and collaboration in boosting digital connectivity in Africa which is on the path…

African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) is pleased to announce its support of The Zanzibar Trade and Investment Forum which will take place on 30 November-1 December. The Forum will showcase investment opportunities and projects in Zanzibar, facilitate B2B engagements, as well as encourage joint ventures, partnerships and business deals within the context of the African Continental Free Trade Area. This conference builds on Zanzibar’s existing mercantile foundations as an African trading hub, and member of key regional blocs including the East African Community (EAC), the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), and the Small Islands…

African countries should articulate effective policies, strategies and programmes and take action to promote trade and exports in order to realize the objectives of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), Economic Commission for Africa, Acting Executive Secretary, Mr. Antonio Pedro, said. Mr. Pedro told participants at the opening session on “Harnessing the AfCFTA for Africa’s industrialization: Fostering competitiveness and sustainability in the digital era”, at the African Union Summit on Industrialization and Economic Diversification, being held in Niger, that intra-regional trade has potential to facilitate increased economies of scale, diversification and value addition. “The major objective of AfCFTA is…

The 18th edition of the Europe-North Africa Convention opened today in Nouakchott, Mauritania, for two days. This international event aims to promote investments and partnerships in a process of rapprochement today boosted by the energy and climate challenges that currently prevail. It is in this context that the expert Hassana Mbeirick was invited to take part in the high-level panel alongside the Country Manager of BP Mauritania, Mr. Mohamed Limam, the Managing Director of TotalEnergies for Mauritania, Mr. Abdellatif Boumediane, the Siemens Energy Regional Director, Mr. Jean-Christophe Thomas and the international expert Francis Perrin. At the end of this first…

 The Liquidity and Sustainability Facility (LSF) designed by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), in collaboration with African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), announces at COP 27 it has concluded its inaugural repo transaction with Citi for an amount of USD 100 million. NThis innovative transaction, with funding support from Afreximbank, seeks to bring the benefits of a well-developed repo market to the African continent, with the goal of enhancing the liquidity of a diversified basket of Sovereign Eurobonds including The Arab Republic of Egypt, Kenya and Angola as issuers. The transaction relies on an innovative Triparty platform designed for the…

The hosting of the COP27 conference in Africa signifies a unique opportunity for the continent to assert its needs, challenges and outlooks, and most significantly to drive the African Position on just transition.Historically this conference, focused on climate change and its humanitarian ramifications, has marginalized Africa – whose contribution to humanity’s carbon footprint is minimal but whose people are suffering disproportionately from its effects. But with this year’s gathering of world leaders occurring in Egypt’s Sharm El Sheikh, it is vital that Africa’s authentic voice is heard – this is the overriding purpose of Afreximbank’s mission at COP27. By inserting…

SecondSTAX, a technology company that is building solutions to enhance intra-Africa capital and investment flows, launched the SecondSTAX Portal – a technology-driven order management and execution routing system for investment firms – in Kenya and Ghana, enabling institutional investors across Africa to easily and directly invest in the Nairobi Securities Exchange and the Ghana Stock Exchange. With this initiative (facilitated in collaboration with Kestrel Capital (East Africa) Limited (Kenya) and Databank Group (Ghana), licensed broker-dealers, asset managers, large commercial banks and other institutional investors from across the continent will find it easier to invest into Ghana and Kenya’s premier exchanges via…

Pan-African housing development financier Shelter Afrique has approved USD13 million line of credit to Lagos-based real estate firm, Mixta Real Estate PLC. The 5-year facility with a moratorium of 24 months has been structured to fund the Group’s current real estate projects in Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal and Morocco. The USD13 million loan will co-finance the construction of 356 housing units in Côte d’Ivoire, 162 units in Senegal, and 371 units in Morocco, with selling prices varying from USD 26,000 in Morocco, USD 45,000 in Ivory Coast, and between USD36,000 and USD52,000 in Senegal. Speaking in Nairobi at a signing ceremony, Shelter Afrique Ag. Managing Director Kingsley Muwowo…

The African Development Bank and the Eastern and Southern African Trade and Development Bank (TDB) have united to launch a unique financial instrument to catalyze financing for sustainable development on the continent. At the ongoing global climate summit, COP27, the African Development Bank on Wednesday announced an investment commitment of USD 15 million in TDB’s Class C Green+ Shares. This is the first equity instrument of its kind to provide a pathway for institutional investors to support climate action with risk capital, with each dollar invested to be leveraged four times into qualifying projects and transactions. More broadly, the shares…

Francophone Africa go-to integrated communications agency, Opinion & Public BCW, a subsidiary of THOP The Holding Opinion and Public has appointed Lerato Mpholo as its Managing Director effective since 1 November 2022. From South Africa, Ms Mpholo has been in the public relations and communications industry for 13 years. She has gained much experience working in well-established agencies such as, BCW Africa, Hill+Knowlton Strategies and consulting for international corporate brands in the finance, professional and technology sectors across the continent. Responsible for all aspects of the business, Ms Mpholo, is elated to be leading the awarded agency and its talent.…

Global leaders on Tuesday rallied around climate adaptation for Africa. They attended the Africa AdaptationLeaders’ Event, convened by African Union Chair President Macky Sall of Senegal, Global Center on Adaptation CEO Patrick Verkooijen, and African Development Bank Group President Akinwumi Adesina. The event took place at the global climate summit (COP27) in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt. It underscored the critical need for climate adaptation in Africa and responded to the call for the capitalization of the Africa Adaptation Acceleration Program (AAAP). “This is a pivotal step in the fight against climate change,” African Union Chair President Macky Sall said. “The commitments…

bp today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Government of Mauritania under which it will deliver an innovative programme exploring the potential for large-scale production of green hydrogen in the country. Building on bp’s existing strong relationships with the country, the agreement could be an important step towards the development of significant green hydrogen production in Mauritania. The MoU was signed today in a meeting alongside COP27, by the President of Mauritania, His Excellency Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani, H.E. Abdessalam Ould Mohamed Saleh, Minister of Petroleum, Mines and Energy for the Government of Mauritania, bp’s chief executive…

The Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) today kickstarted its COP 27 activities with a gathering of global leaders who expressed enthusiasm and pledged commitment to accelerating action on the Great Blue Wall Initiative (GBW). “All of us here are advocates, promoters, and leaders in the blue space. We have to take on this challenge, and we cannot do it alone; it has got to be a collective effort,” said President Wavel Ramkalawan of the Republic of Seychelles who also underscored the need for all to “stop talking about the Indian Ocean, the Pacific Ocean, and the Atlantic Ocean,” and instead “talk about…

The Board of Directors of Shelter-Afrique, the pan-African housing development finance company, has approved a US$13 million line of credit to the second largest bank in Mauritania, Banque Populaire De Mauritanie (BPM).   The 10-year loan with a 24-month moratorium will be used to provide mortgage loans to civil servants and staff of well-established private and parastatal companies. The facility may also be used to provide loans to BPM’s corporate clients for the acquisition and marketing of construction materials. Commenting on the agreement, the Ag. Managing Director of Shelter Afrique; Mr. Kingsley Muwowo, said the line of credit will enable the Bank to expand its…

African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has announced a historic lending arrangement to Botswana, in the form of a three-year Country Programme of up to US$1.5 billion (on a net basis), with funding for up to seven years for eligible transactions. The financing package has been designed to support key strategic projects underpinning Botswana’s Economic Transformation and Diversification Plan – with funding allocated to road, rail, Digital Broadcast/ Creative Industry, Manufacturing, Local Content Promotion, Mining,export agriculture and industrial infrastructure. Afreximbank’s historic commitment to Botswana brings to conclusion a comprehensive process of consultation and analysis which saw close collaboration between Afreximbank and the…

“As we look forward to COP27, we must generate a breakthrough on finance for climate adaptation.” – Prof Verkooijen, CEO, GCA. Rotterdam, the Netherlands, 3 November 2022 – Africa is facing a critical shortfall in funding for climate adaptation according to a new report, State and Trends in Adaptation in Africa 2022, launched by the Global Center on Adaptation today. The report reveals that cumulative adaptation finance to 2030 will come to less than one-quarter of the estimated needs stated by African countries in their National Determined Contributions (NDCs) unless more funding for climate adaptation is secured. In 2019 and…

African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) is attending the third edition of the Africa Investment Forum Market Days 2022 (AIF) in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, from 2 to 4 November 2022. This event will be the first held in person since the COVID-19 pandemic. The AIF, Africa’s largest transactional investment marketplace, will bring together deal sponsors, deal brokers and deal makers from around the world to achieve its main objective which is to close the African continent’s investment gaps. It aims to do this by organising productive engagements between the public and private sectors, providing investors with access to a funding platform within…

Africa needs to mobilize innovative financing for development programmes and effectively manage its debt burden, which left untackled, threatens economic growth. A workshop on Debt Management, organized for policy makers from different African countries and research institutions to share challenges and best practices in debt management, heard that rising debt was constraining economic growth in Africa, worsened by the combined crises of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Ukraine war. Mr. Adam Elhiraika, Director of the Macroeconomics and Governance Division, United National Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), opening the workshop said while debt is a significant source of funding for the…

Sanlam and MTN Group are pleased to announce that our strategic alliance to market and distribute insurance and investment products across Africa has reached a significant milestone with the fulfilment of the regulatory, competition and other requirements. The effective date of the transaction is 31 October 2022. The strategic alliance will be implemented through MTN Group’s InsurTech platform aYo Holdings (aYo) and each partner will hold 50% of aYo. Through aYo, the alliance will continue to build and develop digital insurance and investment offerings that provide people across Africa with easier access to Sanlam’s products, particularly those people who have…

The Eastern and Southern African Trade and Development (TDB) has extended a 3-year USD 10 million trade finance line of credit to support NMB Bank’s corporate clients in export-focused sectors of the economy. In line with the Bank’s financial institutions strategy, this new facility to NMB will contribute to funding corporates with trade enabling working capital and capital expenditures. Priority will be given to sectors that enhance Zimbabwe’s export base, increase forex revenue and support expanded employment in sectors such as agriculture, mining, hospitality, tourism, and manufacturing. Michael Awori, TDB CEO said: “As part of the Bank’s financial institutions strategy, TDB has…

• Fintech Challenge offers early stage and mature start-ups the potential to partner with Ecobank across 33 African countries• Applications open until 16 SeptemberLomé, Togo, 25 August 2022 – Pan-African banking group, Ecobank Group, has launched the fifth edition of the Ecobank Fintech Challenge and encourages African Fintech entrepreneurs to enter the competition.Fintechs that are aligned with the Bank’s strategic objectives stand a chance to win an overall cash prize of US$50,000 for the top winner and the opportunity to partner and scale their solutions across Ecobank’s 33 African markets.Fintech companies and developers originating from any of Africa’s 54 countries,…

“We need Mozambique to be a strategic centre for implementation of green initiatives to power green industrialization to help us fight against natural disasters and droughts that the country is prone to” said Mr. Silvino Jose Moreno, Minister of Trade and Industry, Republic of Mozambique. Mr. Silvino said his country is honoured to be elected as Chair of the 28th Intergovernmental Committee of Senior Officials and Experts (ICSOE) on behalf of the Republic of Mozambique along with Botswana as Vice Chair and Angola as Rapporteur. He said this was a great opportunity for Mozambique to link its chairmanship and its…

LPA-CGR avocats has been present on the African continent for some fifteen years, first in Algeria and Morocco, then in Cameroon, thus enabling the firm to offer expertise in African law. With its multidisciplinary and multicultural teams, the firm’s Africa platform, which includes professionals based in Africa and Paris-based teams dedicated to Africa, has nearly forty lawyers and legal advisors, including a dozen partners. They assist European, African and international clients in setting up and developing their activities on the African continent, in their investment, partnership or financing operations. Samir Sayah is based in Paris. He reinforces the activities of…

United Nations Day (UN), on 24 October 2022, marks the 77th anniversary of the entry into force in 1945 of the UN Charter – a landmark document embodying the hopes, dreams and aspirations of peace, ending extreme poverty, and balancing the scales of opportunity and freedom for women and girls and ensure human rights for all. In celebration of UN Day, the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) organized a flag-raising ceremony at the ECA compound in Addis Ababa. The UN family, Ethiopian Country Representatives, the African Union (AU) and Members of the Diplomatic Corps were in attendance Africa remains front and…

· The Company has already conducted an in-house capacity building in partnership with the African Development Bank ahead of launch. Shelter Afrique is developing a Sovereign Lending product to supplement its traditional products that attend to both the demand and supply sides of the housing value chain, the pan-African housing development financier has disclosed. Speaking in Nairobi, Shelter Afrique Ag. Managing Director Kingsley Muwowo said Africa’s GDP contraction resulting from COVID-19 pandemic was an alarming sign of slump in the inclusive housing goals in many countries and thus the need by the Company to respond to the risk of a possible…

The Eastern and Southern African Trade & Development Bank Group (TDB Group) formally launched TDB Captive Insurance Company (TCI) in Ebene, Mauritius, this past 24th of August 2022, following the inauguration of the Group’s Mauritius Principal Office, on the side lines of TDB Group’s 38th Annual General Meeting. The Launch gathered more than 250 participants including TDB Group Governors, TDB Group Governors, Directors and senior executives, senior-ranking officials and attendees from the Government of Mauritius and from the Mauritian business community, insurance companies and insurance brokers, among others. TCI is a TDB Group subsidiary which provides credit and political risk insurance and…

The Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) will host the Eighth meeting of the Regional Committee for Africa of the United Nations Global Geospatial Information Management (UN-GGIM: Africa) in Ethiopia from 24-28 October to discuss opportunities and look at issues related to geospatial information policy at the national and regional levels that require a decision, resolution or recommendation to be issued by Member States, ECA or partners and other stakeholders. UN-GGIM: Africa was established to coordinate African geospatial development and to contribute to the wider global initiative. UN-GGIM: Africa plays a leading role in making joint decisions and setting directions on…

Oragroup has become an official Signatory of the UN  Principles for Responsible Banking – a single framework for a sustainable banking  industry developed through a partnership between banks worldwide and the United  Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI).   The Principles are the leading framework for ensuring that banks’ strategy and practice align with the vision society has set out for its future in the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Climate Agreement. Banks who have signed the Principles commit to be ambitious in their sustainability strategies, working to mainstream and embed sustainability into the heart of their business,…

The Government of Rwanda and the United Nations (UN) will celebrate the 60th anniversary of the country’s membership in the UN under the theme, “Partnering for a Better, Shared Future for All”.  The official celebration will take place on Monday, 24 October 2022 in Kigali to mark the anniversary, and fruit trees will be planted during Umuganda in Huye and Musanze Districts, and in Kigali, on Saturday, 29 October 2022. These events serve as an opportunity to reflect on the success stories and lessons learned from the partnership between Rwanda and the UN. Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation…