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Bringing together the most innovative tech thinkers and leaders from Africa to Kinshasa, Kinshasa Digital is announcing the 2nd edition of its annual gathering of technological innovation and decision-makers: Kinshasa Digital Week 2019. The event will be the biggest tech surprise of the year and will feature a full schedule of the conference program placed under the theme of Pan-African ambition. The first edition of Kinshasa Digital Week 2018, established itself as the showcase for leading innovators and decision-makers in Kinshasa. It gathered more than 30 international and national decision-makers, inspiring tech leaders and rising startups to share their experiences…

The Moroccan Authority of Control of the Insurance and the Social Providence (ACAPS), organizes on March 31st and April 1st, in partnership with the Association of the African Authorities of Control of the Insurance (3ACA), the 1st annual meeting of this association which brings together regulators and supervisors from the insurance sector in all African countries. 3ACA arose from the desire of the African insurance supervisory authorities to coordinate their actions and set up a partnership and cooperation framework aimed at strengthening the supervision of the insurance industry, the development of markets, the protection of the insured and the contribution…

The SMB-Winning Consortium, in the presence of its President and CEO Mr. Sun Xiushun, the President of the Republic of Guinea, His Excellency Professor Alpha Condé, and several members of the Guinean Government – represented by the Minister of Mines and Geology, Mr. Abdoulaye Magassouba, and the Minister of Investment and Public-Private Partnerships, Mr. Gabriel Curtis – together laid the foundation stone for a new railway this Friday. This event marks the beginning of the revival of the Guinean railway sector while the last construction of a railway line dates back to the 70s. With this new railway axis Dapilon-Santou…

The Africa Fintech Summit (AFTS) will take place at the U.S. Institute of Peace on April 11 in Washington during the week of the Spring Meetings of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund. The AFTS will gather tech and finance leaders, policy makers, and investors from across Africa and the United States to discuss the future of financial technology. Through a strategic partnership with Congo Business Network, the AFTS seeks to engage Congolese entrepreneurs who are working to revolutionize the financial and technology ecosystems. ACTUALITE.CD receives Noel K. Tshiani, founder of Congo Business Network, for today’s interview.…

The African Union Commission, and Africa 24 GROUP have signed an MoU that will see the two institutions partner to develop and disseminate content aimed at promoting Africa’s image and its development narrative. The partnership with Africa 24 reflects the various ongoing initiatives by the African Union to connect better with its citizens, as well as partner with African private sector enterprises as called for in the ongoing AU Institutional Reforms. The partnership with Africa 24 also reiterates the intent of the African Union to work with partners who share the common objective to popularise Agenda 2063, Africa’s strategic framework…

24 employees will spend four and a half weeks in Kenya to support 16 local entrepreneurs London: Citi has today launched Volunteer Africa 2019, a program that engages junior employees to help entrepreneurs grow their businesses. Now in the fourth year of the program, Citi volunteers are returning to Kenya where the program started in 2016. This year, 24 Junior Bankers will spend four and a half weeks working with local entrepreneurs based in Nakuru and Eldoret, using their skills and experience to help them to improve the overall business including growth, employment, and future investment opportunities. Citi is proud…

160 dead and looping images in social networks and TVs around the world. In the aftermath of a massacre coldly planned and executed without qualms, President Ibrahima Boubakar Keita alias IBK has finally emerged from his ivory tower. From the heights of Koulouba, the strong man of Mali, reelected in 2018 according to the principle of “1 KO tower”, seemed in disconnection with the real country. Nevertheless, his first decision after the tragedy of Ogossagou (Dogon term meaning “The will of the leader”), that of dismissing his chief of staff and eight senior military officials, pleads for his cause. It…

Subsidiary of the Moroccan banking group Banque Centrale Populaire (BCP) since October 2018, the Mascarene Bank has unveiled, this Thursday, March 28, 2019, its new name and its new visual identity. From now on, the Banque des Mascareignes becomes BCP Bank (Mauritius) Ltd and sports as a logo the horse, historical emblem of the BCP group, which symbolizes energy, strength and nobility. It is also accompanied by three dynamic traits that mark power and movement. The revelation of this new visual identity was formalized during a ceremony held at the Chateau Labourdonnais, in Mapou (Mauritius), in the presence of many…

By Abdoulaye Sow The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank has approved a € 12.5 million equity investment in the first-generation private equity fund Adiwale Fund 1. The fund, which aims to raise $ 75 million, targets small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with strong growth potential in Francophone West Africa through the acquisition of minority stakes in them. The fund manager, Adiwale Partners, which was launched in 2016, initially aims at Ivory Coast, Senegal, Burkina Faso and Mali, then will move towards Togo, Benin and Guinea with an average transaction volume of between 3 and 8 million euros.

Jean Ping’s presidential campaign in 2016, would it have been financed by a Chinese network active in the illegal timber trade? This is revealed by the British NGO Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) in a 70-page document that looks back on the ramifications of the Dejia group, the epicenter of the Middle Kingdom in the timber industry in the Basin. Congo, the second largest tropical forest in the world after the Amazon. At the end of its four-year investigation, EIA estimates that Xu Gong De’s group, a Chinese tycoon who has spent decades in the region, controls 1.5 million hectares of…

Ghana Cocoa Board, a Ghanaian government institution that oversees the cocoa sector, has successfully implemented its first syndicated loan with sustainable development objectives, amounting to US $ 300 million and a 3-year maturity. Societe Generale acted as bookrunner and E & S coordinator of the operation. Societe Generale’s E & S expertise, coupled with its consulting and structuring capabilities, was key to supporting Ghana Cocoa Board in setting up this inaugural operation. Emmanuel Chesneau, Head of Global Commodity Financing at Societe Generale commented: “We are proud to sign the first syndicated operation related to sustainability issues with an African company.…

The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has released its abridged audited financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2018, showing strong financial and operational performance, with total comprehensive income for the year amounting to $285.4 million. The total comprehensive income reflects a solid growth of 24 per cent compared to the prior year performance of $229.8 million and was achieved mainly due to higher net income in 2018 amounting to $ 275.9 million compared to $220.5 million in 2017. The results, released in Cairo, show that the Bank’s total assets grew by 13 per cent from $11.91 billion as at 31 December 2017 to…

2019 Ibrahim Governance Weekend highlights urgent need for robust data and informed policy to manage mobility and spur economic development Debating and discussing African migrations, youth and jobs, the 2019 Ibrahim Governance Weekend, held in Abidjan 5-7 April, heard that the global view of African migrations urgently needs to be reset since distorted data leads to inadequate policies. African migrations present an opportunity for both the continent and the world, and yet today this topic triggers an emotional reaction and is generally misunderstood. Driven by the need for jobs and economic opportunity, most African migrations begin and end on the…

The digital revolution is one of the keys to inclusive growth and job creation in Africa The latest edition of the Africa’s Pulse report, released today, is downgrading sub-Saharan Africa’s growth to 2.3% in 2018 from 2.5% in 2017. For the fourth year in a row, The economy is growing at a slower pace than population growth and, despite more favorable regional forecasts for 2019, which are forecast to rebound to 2.8%, growth has not been able to break the 3% mark since 2015. The semi-annual report of The World Bank’s African Economic Outlook also examines the impact of fragility…

Careem will continue to operate under its own brand while remaining under the leadership of its founders Careem and Uber to further develop the mobility platform in Morocco and the region and support the growth of the digital economy Transaction is the largest ever in the technology industry in Africa and the Middle East Careem and Uber have reached an agreement under which Uber will acquire Careem for $ 3.1 billion. With this agreement, Uber will take over all of Careem’s services in Morocco, the Middle East and Pakistan. Following completion of the transaction, which is expected to be completed…

Executive Director, Sahara Group, Wale Ajibade, has said collaboration between financial institutions, development agencies, trading companies, National Oil Companies and other stakeholders in Africa would enhance the contribution of intra-Africa led solutions to addressing the sector’s trade and project finance challenges on the continent. This was Ajibade’s submission as he gave a key note address on Challenges of Financing and Investing in the African Oil Industry at the ongoing African Petroleum Producers Organization (APPO) CAPE VII Congress and Exhibition in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea. “Our collective mandate and deliverable should be to prioritize African solutions for African challenges. Our businesses should…

Fitch Ratings has assigned Togo-based bank holding company Ecobank Transnational Incorporated’s (ETI) upcoming five-year senior unsecured notes issue of up to USD500 million due in 2024 an expected long-term rating of ‘B (EXP)’ with a Recovery Rating of ‘RR4’. The final rating is contingent upon the receipt of final documents conforming to information already received. KEY RATING DRIVERS  The expect rating is in line with ETI’s Long-Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) of ‘B’, as the notes will constitute the holding company’s direct, general, unconditional, unsubordinated and unsecured obligations and rank equally among themselves and with all of ETI’s other senior…

ECA’s Executive Secretary Vera Songwe met on Sunday 24 March with the Egyptian Minister of Planning, Monitoring and Administrative Reform Hala Helmy El Said and Deputy Minister for Planning Ahmed Kamaly, on the sidelines of ECA’s 52ndSession and Conference of African Ministers of Finance, Planning and Economic Development. Their discussions included possible cooperation opportunities on national accounts. They also focused on collaboration on employment issues, a topic the ECA Office in North Africa is currently specializing in. They agreed on the joint organization of a regional workshop on the mainstreaming of SDGs into national policies and strategies, to be held…

Afrobytes is partnering with Congo Business Network to organize the first-ever “Pitch My Country Congo” session to be held on May 15, 2019 in Paris at Station F, the world’s largest startup campus. The “Pitch My Country” sessions aim to literally “pitch” a country’s entrepreneurial potential to investors, large companies and major international media. During the 4th edition of Afrobytes, Congo Business Network will lead a delegation composed of the most promising tech start-ups from the Democratic Republic of Congo. The startups selected for the 2019 edition are: MaxiCash, maxicashapp.com (FinTech) MEDpay, medpay.io (HealthTech) Tinda, tinda.cd (Logistics) MOKO, themokoapp.com (Music)…

Number two of the global manufacturers in the smartphone market, Huawei continues to grow and is now one of the leading R & D leaders. The company ranks fifth in the R & D industrial investment scoreboard in 2018 and was ranked 12th this year on Brand Finance Global 500 with 63.7% growth in annual value. Published by the Joint Research Center of the European Commission, since 2004 this ranking has been a key reference in the field of innovation. Every year, this document lists the 2,500 European and international companies most invested in the field of R & D.…

The Boards of Directors of the insurance companies RAWSUR SA and RAWSUR LIFE SA officially announce that they have been approved as insurance companies operating in the Democratic Republic of Congo by the Autorité de Régulation et de Contrôle des Assurances (ARCA) on Thursday 28 March 2019. In addition to effectively liberalizing the insurance sector, this decision also heralds the beginning of a new economic era, given the important role that insurance companies are called upon to play in the economic and social development of the Democratic Republic of Congo. They will act as a catalyst for financial inclusion and…

USD 800,000,000 or more Dual Tranche Syndicated Term Loan Facility Tuesday, 2nd April 2019, on behalf of The Mauritius Commercial Bank Ltd (the “Borrower”, or “MCB”) (www.MCB.mu), Standard Chartered Bank (“SCB”) and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation Europe Limited (“SMBCE”), together the coordinators (“Coordinators”) and active bookrunners (“Active Bookrunners”), are pleased to announce the signing and successful closing of general syndication for MCB’s USD 800,000,000 Dual Tranche Syndicated Term Loan Facility (the “Facility”). Proceeds from the Facility will be used for general corporate purposes, including trade finance. Citi joined the Facility as Bookrunner prior to the launch of syndication. Mizuho Bank, Ltd…

The Chief Executive Officer of the Attijariwafa Bank Group addressed the closing ceremony of the Africa Development Forum on 15 March 2019. Summary. “It is now my honor to officially close this 6th edition of the International Africa Development Forum, under the patronage of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, which God is assisting. From the outset, I would like to thank you for the high content of the debates, and the wealth of meetings held in the framework of the B to B that augur significant achievements in terms of intra-African trade and investment. The energy, the voluntarism and the…

The 2019 Annual Adebayo Adedeji Lecture on the theme, “Digital Transformation of Africa: Hype or Reality”, was delivered by Dr. Omobola Johnson, Former Minister of Communication Technology, Federal Republic of Nigeria and Board Member of the Web Foundation. Although a lot has been written in the popular press about Africa’s digital transformation, not a great deal is known about how much of that is just hype and how much of it is reality. The objective of the 2019 Adebayo Adedeji Memorial Lecture was to raise issues that will help policymakers to disentangle the hype from reality for them to make…

Developing Africa’s ocean economy and investing in sustainable growth The second Africa Blue Economy Forum (ABEF) will take place on 25-26 June 2019 in Tunis, historic city for maritime trade and economic powerhouse at the crossroads between Europe and Africa. Once again, the annual event will bring together 150+ delegates from across the globe, including ocean experts and innovators, African political leaders and policy makers, international entrepreneurs and investors, as well as NGOs and multilaterals, to discuss the great potential of the blue economy to drive sustainable growth in Africa. Last year, during the forum’s inauguration, speakers and delegates at…

A partnership agreement was signed between OCP Group and Fraunhofer IMWS for the creation of the Fraunhofer-Mazagan lab, a world-class research center based in the Mazagan Urban Pole (PUMA), dedicated to the development of sustainable solutions – the first of its kind in Morocco. The ecosystem of research and innovation, initiated by Mohammed VI Polytechnic University, is reinforced by this partnership agreement. The objective is to capitalize on the University’s research works and evolve them into applied research and pilot programs, prior to large-scale industrialization. Innovation and sustainable development are priorities for OCP Group. On Wednesday March 6th in Rabat,…

A new Global Witness survey reveals that ten European companies could import Congolese illegal timber worth several million euros to the EU. For example, ten EU traders import timber from IFCO (Congo Forest Industry), a forest company in the Democratic Republic of Congo accused of ignoring forest laws and the labor code. In addition to representing a real danger for the humid forests that play a key role in climate regulation, such actions could constitute a direct attack on the EU Timber Regulation, a historical legislation that gives rise to the imposition of penalties. severe. These European companies, which have…

By Christine Holzbauer Notwithstanding her flawless academic career in Tunisia, Spain and the United States, Leila Bouamatou has the merit of being the first woman to run a banking establishment in Mauritania. Admittedly, the daughter of the famous opponent of President Aziz did not choose the facility by agreeing in 2018 to “return home” to take over the family bank. After having made her debut in 2009 as head of the Treasury of the General Bank of Mauritania (GBM), she is now director and general manager. A position at high risk that his solid experience in the field of international…

The Mining Challenge by OCP is an innovative concept that highlights the dynamics of open innovation, a model that the Group calls on as part of its digital transformation. This OCP initiative aims to strengthen the Group’s position as a key player in open innovation and support the development and promotion of the African and international entrepreneurial ecosystem. OCP Group launches the « Mining challenge by OCP », an open innovation program contributing to the Group’s digital transformation. Through this initiative, OCP Group seeks to identify local and african startups and those performed by the African diaspora, to co-develop with…

The Autonomous Port of Douala (PAD) and the Grand Maritime Port of Bordeaux (GPMB) in France signed a three-year cooperation agreement covering several areas of intervention. In initialing this document, the Deputy Director General of the GPMB, Renaud Picard, indicated that the CSA, which is in a restructuring phase, could benefit from the experience of this French port. As proof, “we can bring the history of the city of Bordeaux and its port. A story marked by several stages where the port was in the heart of town, but he turned his back on the city. Then, the city reconquered…