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“Our role is to support African economies ” Admassu Tadesse, is President Emeritus and Group Managing Director of the Trade and Development Bank (TDB Group, former PTA Bank), a specialized development finance institution serving Eastern and Southern Africa and beyond. In this interview the “Best development banker in Africa“, a distinction presented during the last Financial Afrik...

By Maria Nadolu, Bucarest. Ion Florescu is born in Casablanca, from a Romanian father, refugee during the days when Romania was occupied by the Soviet Union, and an Italian mother with African connections. Growing up in between Rome, London, and Geneva, he graduated History at Cambridge, and then, went to Eastern Europe lured by some ancestral call, and challenging opportunities in a fast-transforming region. His investment fund group, Reconstruction Capital and Reconstruction Capital II, is well-known for its activities in Romania and South East Europe; having been involved in some of the most important economic sectors in the…

The General Commission has the honor to announce that the Inaugural Conference of The Africa Road Builders – Trophée Babacar NDIAYE 2022 will take place on March 31, 2022 in Abuja, Nigeria, under the theme: “Building roads, building economies”. As every year, for 7 years, the Inaugural Conference takes place in the country that won the previous edition of the Babacar NDIAYE Trophy. As a reminder, in 2021, it is the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, HE Mr. Muhammadu BUHARI, who was named Winner of the Super Prize Great Builder – Trophée Babacar NDIAYE, for his personal leadership…

The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank Group has approved a new policy that aims to strengthen debt sustainability among low-income African countries. The Board approved the Sustainable Borrowing Policy on 23 February 2022. The new policy primarily targets recipients of the African Development Fund, the concessional window of the Bank Group. The Fund caters to low-income and transitional countries on the continent. The Sustainable Borrowing Policy responds to a changing debt landscape in Africa, especially among the abovementioned countries. In recent years, low-income countries have gained access to new sources of finance, including private creditors and creditors…

Following our exclusive article announcing the dismissal of the Managing Director of Shelter Afrique, we received, on March 3, 2022, a right of reply from Mrs. Célestine Ketcha Courtès (photo), Minister of Housing and Urban Development of Cameroon in her as President of the Bureau of the General Assembly of Shelter Afrique. We publish the right of reply dated February 23, 2022 in its entirety. On February 18, 2022 you published an article in your newspaper entitled “The General Manager of Shelter Afrique dismissed”. In it, you allege the support of the Cameroonian Minister of Housing and Urban Development in…

OCP Group, the world’s leader in the phosphate fertilizer market, has earned the first level of EDGE (Economic Dividends for Gender Equality) certification. This is considered the global  standard for assessing corporate performance in terms of gender equality and the creation of  equal career opportunities for both female and male employees.   This first level of certification, called Assess, is based on a broad criteria including the gender  balance within core functions; recruitment and promotion policies; pay equity; and inclusive  culture. This certification also takes into account employees’ perception of the degree of inclusion and career opportunities within the company.  This…

From June to November 2021, Bolloré Logistics Tanzania carried out the logistics for the Songo Songo  project by transporting 5,000 freight tons of pieces and equipment. Relying on its expertise in industrial  projects and energy logistics, the company was able to accomplish a historic feat being the first to send  a large land craft on the Songo Songo island.  A total of seven barge vessels were required to deliver the equipment to the island at different intervals.  Several specialised pieces of equipment were used including a 130-ton and a 60-ton crane, an  excavator, a modular hydraulic trailer and 2 semitrailers…

African entrepreneurs provide a service to a growing business niche.  Mwungano, which means alliance in Swahili has been created by two communication industry veterans, Sophie Masipa, CEO of Fikira Consulting, and Kwame Senou, Founder and Managing Director of Holding Opinion & Public (HOP). Today, the pair have joined forces to expand their offering, launching the first specialist pan-African environment, social and governance (ESG) communications agency. Mwungano ESG will serve companies that are prioritising ESG, to address the complex landscape of issues with an effective and clear communications strategy – and a team of senior specialists to implement it. The agency…

The objective of this challenge is to identify Moroccan, African, and international start-ups  able to co-develop innovative digital solutions in connection with the Group’s industrial  businesses.  4 major topics are concerned: Safe Operations, Smart Operations, Supply Chain, and  Sustainability.  The 4 finalist start-ups will benefit from access to experimental and acceleration  infrastructures of the OCP Group’s Innovation ecosystem to launch their Proof of Concept  (POC) and thus demonstrate the feasibility of their concept or idea.   The OCP Group, the world’s leading producer of phosphates and leader in the phosphate fertilizers market, is extending its Open Innovation program to industrial businesses…

CDC Group, the UK’s development finance institution, today  announced its anchor commitment of $30 million to AXIAN Telecom’s inaugural 5-year $420  million public bond offering.  The company is a fast-growing provider of telecoms services and infrastructure in Madagascar,  Togo, Tanzania, Senegal, Comoros, Mayotte, Reunion and Uganda.   The provision of new financing will allow AXIAN Telecom to expand its footprint through  increasing access to affordable mobile and data services by improving digital access and thus  pursuing its strategy of inclusion in the telecom value chain for customers, extending access  in rural regions and lower-income demographics. The expansion of AXIAN Telecom into …

The OCP Group wishes to strengthen its partnerships with innovation players (start-ups,  research centers, sponsors, etc.) to bring out new solutions that create added value. • The “The Next Seed” platform promotes collaboration opportunities between the Group and  the most innovative Moroccan, African, and international players on the market, who will  gain access to the challenges shared by the Group’s businesses and its ecosystem. • The Group’s ecosystem intends to address technological challenges related to agriculture,  mining, sustainable development, supply chain, and even smart cities.   The OCP Group, the world’s leading producer of phosphates and market leader in phosphate  fertilizers,…

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres re-appointed Ibrahim Thiaw of Mauritania to head the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) for another three-year term. Since February 2019, Mr. Thiaw has been the Convention’s Executive Secretary, and serves as Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations. Mr. Thiaw has over 40 years of experience in sustainable development, environmental governance and natural resource management. At UNCCD, Mr. Thiaw has raised global interest in the land agenda, increasing the trust vested by Parties and the international community in the UNCCD process to lead on critical issues, such as land tenure and drought mitigation. During his…

CEO Jaakko Kangasniemi: “Africa is the place to be for European development financiers” The Finnish development financier and impact investor Finnfund will open its first regional office in Nairobi, Kenya, in May 2022. Finnfund seeks to build a sustainable future and generate lasting impact by investing in businesses that solve global development challenges. The opening of the Nairobi office will strengthen the updated strategic goals. The newly released strategy places a strong emphasis on Africa, with half of Finnfund’s upcoming investments in Africa. Local presence is seen as a key factor for growing the volume of investments in the region. “Africa is the place…

Fenchurch Law, the leading UK legal firm working exclusively for policyholders and brokers on insurance coverage disputes, has launched a new practice group focused on Reinsurance & International Risks. The new group will focus on representing non-UK policyholders in complex and high value insurance disputes under policies placed either directly into the London Market, or placed locally and then reinsured, into the London Market. Led by the firm’s Managing Partner, David Pryce, the new practice group will also take instructions from captives, and from non-UK insurers which have coverage disputes with London Market insurers. Commenting on the launch of the…

Enko Capital Managers (“ECM”), managers of the Enko Africa Private Equity Fund (“EAPEF”), a private equity investor targeting mid-cap growth companies across Africa, is pleased to announce that it has successfully exited its investment in Law Union Rock Insurance (“LUR”), a Nigerian mid-size general insurance company listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (“NSE”). Lagos-based private equity fund, Verod Capital (“Verod”) bought the entire share capital of LUR through its investment vehicle Kanuri LUR after shareholders of LUR accepted their offer of N1.23 per share. The deal was approved by local regulators including the National Insurance Commission (“NAICOM”), the local Securities…

More than 4.5 billion Bacs payments are made in the UK every year, representing roughly 90% of all regular monthly payments via direct debit transactions. But until now, this vital payment system was not secured by Confirmation of Payee (CoP), a payment verification service that Pay.UK first rolled out in 2020. By the end of 2021, all the SD10 banks will offer CoP, which already protects CHAPS and Faster Payments. The addition of CoP to Bacs represents an important step in the industry’s battle against fraud and will provide more confidence during payment transactions. However, in its current form, CoP…

Following a successful listing on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX – formerly the Nigerian Stock Exchange), Ronchess Global Resources Plc. (RONCHESS) has officially restructured its board and notified the Nigerian Exchange Limited. Ronchess Board of Directors is now led by Adeolu Adeboye, a graduate of Software Engineering from the University of Hertfordshire, United Kingdom. He practiced in this field for ten years in the United Kingdom before moving back to Nigeria. A seasoned entrepreneur who has developed several businesses in various sectors, Adeboye’s areas of expertise include Insurance, Retail, Power, and Construction. The board is co-chaired by Flight Captain Niyi Ogunnowo…

The articles recently published by Financial Afrik on the issue of the scandal shaking Shelter Afrique are based on the facts and nothing but the facts that occurred at the level of this pan-African institution. Financial Afrik maintains the veracity of the elements reported and reaffirms the rigor of its strictly professional approach and its journalistic investigations cross-checked and verified in accordance with universal ethics in the matter. It is in this spirit that we would like to come back to the highlights of this scandal following the Shelter Afrique press release of January 4, 2022, co-signed by the newly…

By Maria Nadolu.  We are looking forward to having you with us at the 4FAA, making steps together towards a brighter Africa 2050! We are excited to share some information about our host country, and its beauty! MAURITANIA As you might know, Mauritania is where North Africa (Maghreb) meets West Africa. Logically, this positioning provides a natural predisposition to become a strategic hub for economic exchanges, but also drives cultural diversity. It is the eleventh biggest state on the continent. The 1,031,000 square kilometres are divided into 4 geographical sections: the Saharan, the Sahelian, the Senegal River Valley, and the…

The American company Holberton School, which recently raised $20 million, is establishing itself as a global player in the training of high-level computer engineers. In the current context of the arms race for new Tech talent, African economies can get ahead of the rest of the world. Interview with Julien Barbier, CEO of Holberton, which aims to train tomorrow’s African IT talent. Hello Julien Barbier, can you tell us more about Holberton School and the particularity of your universities? Julien Barbier: Holberton School is a network of in-person schools, which train high-level engineers for the IT industry. The group was…

As members of the MobiliseYourCity Global Partnership, Casablanca and Rabat-Salé have been invited to share the results of the ex-post evaluation to the Partnership’s global Community of Practice, constituted by mobility practitioners and decision-makers from 65 cities and 15 countries worldwide. Local representatives of the two implementing agencies will be joined by the French Development Agency (AFD) and further experts to reflect on the impacts of these technologies and their potential role as high level of service mass-transit solutions to cities in the Global South.  The two first lines of tramways have been in operation in the cities of Rabat-Salé…

With this appointment, Diebold Nixdorf confirms its ambitions for the EMEA and South regions Diebold Nixdorf (NYSE: DBD), a global leader in driving connected commerce across the financial and retail industries, announces the appointment of Roselyne Jauffret as Vice President, EMEA South. She is responsible for accelerating the group’s strategy for banking solutions and payment technology systems and overseeing the business and offerings in Africa, Southern Europe and Eastern Europe.  Roselyne Jauffret has 15 years of experience with major groups in the payment software industry, which has enabled her to build a solid network across Europe and Africa. She joins…

Trade finance deals to drive African SME growth The African Development Bank has laid out plans to support the growth of the continent’s free trade area by guaranteeing loans worth $7bn over the next five years to help companies sell their products across Africa. That follows Afreximbank’s pledge earlier this year to make available $40bn to boost intra-African trade over the same period. This type of financial support is much needed to spur economic growth within countries signed up to the African Continental Free Trade Area, in particular helping small and medium-sized companies as they seek to bounce back from…

ThebPresident of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Félix Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo, took part in Expo Dubai 2020 During the Global Forum Business Africa, one of the flagship events of the event, President Tshisekedi focused his intervention on the business opportunities offered by the Democratic Republic of the Congo. “Ladies and gentlemen, the Democratic Republic of the Congo is a country with semi-continental dimensions in the heart of Africa, which has all the potential to play a major role in international trade in general, and with developing countries in particular With an area of ​​2,345,000 km ², its access to…

Climate change must be our greatest priority in disaster risk reduction space Africa must build resilience proactively if it is to change the disaster risk architecture  With COP26 around the corner, our focus should be on the devastating impact of climate change as we mark International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction today, observed annually to raise awareness about disaster reduction risk. That’s the word from Lesley Ndlovu, CEO African Risk Capacity (ARC) Limited, a specialist insurance company that provides parametric coverage to African countries against extreme weather events and natural disasters. Alarm bells for humanity have been sounded around issues…

The Tunisian Dinar (DT) discovers the virtues of feminism, the Naira plays mountaineer, the Cedi still recovering, the Rand under pressure, the Egyptian Pound runs behind the Moderna vaccine, the Kenyan Shilling at the foot of Kilimanjaro. In this weekly column on African currencies, experts from AZA, the largest non-bank currency broker in Africa, with a transaction volume of more than $ 1 billion per year, analyze the evolution of currency fluctuations on the continent. Tunisia names first female PM  Tunisia’s President Kais Saied—who in July suspended parliament and seized executive powers—has named Najla Bouden Ramadhane as the country’s first…

The company estimated cost of USD15 million will produce low-cost construction materials to promote large scale social housing programs in Cameroon. Shelter Afrique Board has approved the establishment of a construction company in Cameroon at an estimated cost of USD15 million. The Industrial Housing Corporation (IHC) is a joint venture initiative which will be managed under a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV), with Shelter Afrique owning 51% of the Company and Government of Cameroon owning 49% (through the Housing Ministry and Urban Development). “The Company will be established based on Public and Private Partnership through which the Government of Cameroon will designate a location and provide…

African Development Bank President Dr Akinwumi A. Adesina has said that a concerted effort to change the narrative on Africa in the United States is necessary to attract increased investments into the continent. He said the need for advocacy in the United States made having an African Development Bank office in Washington a matter of importance, and that he would be pursuing approval with the Board of the African Development Bank Group. The Bank chief spoke during a meeting with African ambassadors at the chancery of the Embassy of the Republic of Congo in Washington last week. “It is very…