Author: Albert Savana

Wema Bank Plc wants to help thousands of Nigerian households as well as real estate players access housing. With this in mind, the Shelter-Afrique Board of Directors approved on Friday, June 11, a line of credit worth USD 9 million for a home loan to the Lagos-based bank. This credit facility (7-year maturity) will be used for subsequent loans to developers and home buyers who wish to purchase individual units on the basis of an owner-occupant and mortgage program assisted by employees. It will also be used to create mortgage loans for the purchase of affordable housing valued between 16…

The Autonomous Port of Douala (PAD) continues to manage the container terminal of the port of Douala regardless of court decisions which rather recognize the legitimacy of this activity in the AMPT-Bolloré consortium. Despite these legal setbacks, of which it is the seventh in a row, the PAD “intends to exercise legal remedies against this decision and wishes to reassure public opinion that it has no consequences for the peaceful operation of the Terminal. containers and the pursuit of Régie activities, which is now a national source of pride, ”we say. However, the decision rendered on June 3, 2021 by…

The managing director of Nsia Bank, Léonce Yacé, affirms that the envelope devoted by his bank to real estate developers amounted to 223 billion CFA francs for 22 real estate developers. In this lot, four promoters were downgraded for bad debts valued at 23 billion CFA francs. It was during a seminar on the theme “Housing issues in Côte d’Ivoire: role of the CDC-CI”, organized on June 10, 2021 by the Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations de Côte d’Ivoire (Cdc- THIS). Despite the 20,000 housing units built by the government, the housing deficit in stock stood at 600,000 two years…

Built on an area of ​​1,100 hectares, the International Academy for the fight against terrorism (Ailct), located in Ababri, in Jacqueville (on the Ivorian coast), was inaugurated this Thursday, June 10 by the Ivorian authorities in the presence of the French minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs, Jean-Yves Le Drian. Defeating terrorism by all means and allowing a life of peace, security, progress and freedom, is the wish expressed by the Ivorian government in common agreement with France, which hailed this infrastructure, a showcase of Africa in strengthening human capital, particularly in the security sector. “The Academy is an essential…

French President Emmanuel Macron announced that his country would undergo a “profound transformation” of its military presence in the Sahel. As well as the end of Operation Barkhane launched in 2014 and which aims to fight against armed Salafist jihadist groups throughout the region. Announced this Thursday evening on the sidelines of a press conference for the next G7 by Emmanuel Macron, France is opting for “the end of Operation Barkhane” in the Sahel. Indeed, explained the French president, the disengagement of the French army will be gradual, and the soldiers will remain for many years on the spot to…

A few days apart, two immediate contexts point to France’s loss of influence in Africa, which is more in its former “precinct”. In the Central African Republic, the rise in power of Russia noticeable since 2016 has just pushed Paris to freeze its military cooperation. A rare decision usually taken as a consequence of highly...

Guinea-Bissau and Togo present a high risk of external debt distress for total debt, indicates their common central bank (BCEAO) in its 2020 annual report. Which specifies that the latest debt sustainability analyzes show that the risks of debt distress of this type are moderate for all other WAEMU member states. According to the institution, the ratio of outstanding external debt to GDP is estimated at 29% in 2019 for all 8 countries in the region, against 26.5% a year earlier. It “stood at 24.0% in 2019 against 19.4% in 2018 in Benin, 22.8% against 21.4% in Burkina Faso, 25.9%…

The State of Burkina Faso, through its General Directorate of the Treasury and Public Accounts, raised on June 9, 2021 on the financial market of the West African Monetary Union (UMOA) an amount of 32.240 billion FCFA (48.360 million d ‘euros) at the end of its issue of assimilable treasury bonds (BAT) with a maturity of 364 days, organized in partnership with the UMOA-Titre agency based in Dakar. This fundraising is part of the Burkinabé government’s strategy to cover the financing needs of the state budget. For the second quarter of 2021, the intentions of issuing public securities expressed by…

Absa Bank Limited (Absa), with several subsidiaries in Africa, is committed to providing financing solutions to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and households in sub-Saharan Africa. This through microfinance institutions and non-bank financial institutions (MFIs and NBFI). With this in mind, CDC Group, the UK’s development finance institution (DFI) and impact investor, announced earlier this week a new USD 50 million risk-sharing facility with Absa Bank Limited ( Absa). This MFI and NBFI risk-sharing facility is the first of its kind for CDC – supporting lending to these institutions (through credit risk mitigation) and enabling them to better serve…

Kingdom Bank announced on Thursday (June 10th) that it expects to post a pre-tax profit of at least 300 million shilling (2.7 million USD) for this fiscal year 2021. This performance will be mainly driven by a resumption of confidence after its acquisition by Co-operative Bank. In August 2020, the Co-operative Bank of Kenya acquired a 90% stake in Jamii Bora at 1 billion shillings (9.2 million USD). Subsequently, the bank set up a new team. management and renamed the Level III lender to Kingdom Bank. If the performance is achieved, it will be the first profit – also the…

The 2020 financial year of Air Liquide Côte d’Ivoire, a subsidiary of the French multinational Air Liquide International and specializing in the supply of industrial and medical gases, was marked by a record loss of 2.462 billion FCFA (3.694 million euros), announced the leaders of this Abidjan-based company. For three years, Air Liquide Côte d’Ivoire’s accounts have been in a zone of turbulence with successive losses of -990.908 million FCFA in 2017, -81.836 million FCFA in 2018 and -26.523 million FCFA in 2019. Yet , observers who follow the evolution of this company expected, in the absence of a return…

It has just canceled the shorlist of companies pre-qualified for the PPP feasibility study of the drinking water supply project in northern Mauritania. With a budget of 3 billion euros, this project, the summary of which was carried out by the British giant Mott Macdonald, is the largest project in the Nouadhibou Free Zone (ZFN). The companies preselected in July 2020 must take their troubles patiently. This is Ernst & Young; PwC (both members of the Big Four); Artelia recruited in 2019 for the consulting component of the mega electrical project of the Mauritanian Electricity Company (Somelec) for an amount…

To make the major development poles in Côte d’Ivoire more autonomous, President Alassane Ouattara announced this Wednesday, June 9, the appointment of 14 new governors with the rank of minister in order to allow the implementation of state projects. in all localities of the country, through increased surveillance and supervision. “The Prime Minister and I will be carrying out the consultations in the coming days and, hopefully, we will be able to appoint the minister-governors at the end of this month of June … Mr. Prime Minister, I am counting on you to make proposals to me in the future.…

The outstanding loans granted by decentralized financial systems (DFS) in Senegal to their customers stood at CFAF 477.271 billion (€ 715.907 million) in the first quarter of 2021, according to data established by the Regulatory Directorate. and the monitoring of SFDs (DRS / SFD). Compared to the same period of 2020 when it amounted to CFAF 429.089 billion, this outstanding loan has increased by 11.2%. Regarding the outstanding deposits made at the level of DFIs by customers, they increased by 8.89% to 395.364 billion FCFA against 363.081 billion FCFA at the end of March 2020. Regarding the quality of the…

The State of Côte d’Ivoire, through its e Public Treasury, raised on June 8, 2021, an amount of 66 billion FCFA (107.250 million euros) at the end of its simultaneous issue of bonds and 91-day, 5-year and 10-year Treasury stimulus bonds (ORD), organized in partnership with the UMOA-Titres Agency based in Dakar. Launched by the UMOA-Titres agency in collaboration with the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO), the issuance of ODRs aims to allow the issuer to mobilize the savings of individuals and moral standards in order to ensure the financing needs of the Ivorian state budget are covered…

Despite the difficult economic environment, oil and gas exports are on the rise at the end of the first four months of the year, according to figures compiled by the National Hydrocarbons Company (SNH). These exports represent 13.25 million barrels of oil equivalent produced, an increase of 4 million barrels of tonnes compared to last year when oil production in April was 9.34 million barrels. With more than 809,352 m3 of LNG, gas production is also on the rise, compared to 745.96 million cubic meters produced at the end of April last year. The cumulative sales of crude oil and…

We did not go so far as to sever diplomatic relations or to recall ambassadors. But relations between Gabon and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have been strained to say the least recently, with at the center of the disagreement, the occupation of the seat of a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council representing the Community. of Central African States (ECCAS). The two countries which coveted the post for the period 2022-2023 have engaged in a standoff that has started to rub off on diplomatic relations. It took some talks at the initiative of the leaders…

Orange Middle East and Africa and the AXA CIMA entities led by AXA Assurance Maroc announce the signing of an agreement for the joint acquisition of a majority stake in the capital of DabaDoc, alongside the founders of the company. DabaDoc, founded by Zineb Drissi-Kaitouni and Driss Drissi-Kaitouni in 2014, is a platform that digitalizes access to health in Africa. DabaDoc has developed solutions adopted today by thousands of healthcare professionals in Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria. Orange and AXA’s investment will accelerate this development and extend DabaDoc’s services to other geographies, particularly in sub-Saharan African countries. The closing of the…

The Mauritanian authorities are trying to relaunch the project of the sugar complex in Foum Gleita, a locality located in the south of the country. They are looking for a consultant (firm) for the PPP feasibility study of the project. The idea of ​​creating a sugar complex – which includes an industrial perimeter of sugar cane cultivation with an area of ​​8,000 hectares irrigated from the Foum Gleita dam, a factory capable of producing 110,000 tonnes of sugar per year, one unit of electric power generation and two units of feed and fertilizer production – amounting to USD 335 million…

The country’s second largest agricultural export product after cocoa, rubber, which achieves a turnover of 917 million dollars for a workforce of 165,000 planters, is, it seems, also affected by the Covid-19. On the occasion of the first edition of the virtual World Summit on rubber opened this Tuesday, June 8, in Abidjan, around the theme “Facing the future: inclusiveness, sustainability and growth for the new normal”, Ivorian Prime Minister Patrick Achi reassured of the government’s contribution to relaunch the sector. “The government has chosen to provide decisive support to the rubber sector and to amplify the support we owe…

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed have spared no effort to join telecommunications players in their respective countries in awarding a telecommunications license to Safaricom of Kenya. The Ethiopia Global Partnership consortium, led by Safaricom, will invest more than 864 billion shillings (approximately 8 billion USD) over 10 years, making it the largest foreign direct investment (FDI) in the economy of over 112 million people. Ethiopia granted a license a month ago to a consortium led by Kenyan Safaricom, a decision that ends the government’s monopoly on the strategic telecommunications sector, one of the last in…

The African Development Bank (AfDB) approved on June 3, 2021, a financial envelope of more than USD 430,000 to deal with the resurgence of the Ebola epidemic which is on the way to being defeated. A donation that is part of the AfDB’s humanitarian aid project. According to our information, the Guinea National Health Security Agency (ANSS) has already started a countdown before the imminent declaration of the end of the resurgence of the Ebola virus disease (EVD) epidemic. According to an AfDB press release, this support will make it possible to implement the Guinean government’s priorities in its response…

Kenya Airways (KQ) announced Tuesday, June 8, that it had chosen a British consulting firm, Steer Group, to develop its recovery plans. This decision follows the situation of an airline which is suffering the full brunt of the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. The disease resulted in considerable financial losses as well as a drop in the number of passengers. Allan Kilavuka, CEO of KQ, said Kenya Airways has developed short, medium and long term strategies to help achieve two main goals. It’s about surviving today’s depressed market, and implementing strategies that will make the business more sustainable in the…

The cumulative net money transfers (difference between transfers received and those made) received by credit institutions in Senegal reached CFAF 330.4 billion (€ 495.600 million) at the end of the first quarter of 2021, according to data from the Department of Currency and Credit (DMC) of the Ministry of Finance and Budget based in Dakar. Compared to the first quarter of 2020 when they amounted to CFAF 254.2 billion, these net money transfers have increased by 30.0%. During the period under review, rapid money transfers received by Senegalese credit institutions amounted to CFAF 374.4 billion against CFAF 298.3 billion in…

Inaugurated on June 6 by the Togolese head of state, Faure Gnassingbé, the Adétikopé industrial platform (PIA) is a major milestone in the country’s development policy, which it aims to transform into an industrial hub. Close-up on this PPP model which, after having proved its worth in Gabon, has already been replicated in Benin under the leadership of ARISE IIP, developer of special economic zones in Africa. Eleven years after developing its first SEZ in Nkok (1,126 ha 27km from Libreville), Gabon, ARISE IIP inaugurated two other industrial zones four months apart, in West Africa this time: first in Benin…

As part of the strategic redeployment of the “Securities” activity of the BCP group, Médiafinance is changing its name and is now called BCP Securities Services (BCP2S). The new name notably reinforces its backing to the BCP group and marks its specialization in all securities-related services (“Securities Services”). This change comes in the continuity of the evolution operated by the BCP group in terms of its brand identity with the aim of supporting its in-depth transformation, initiated in Morocco and internationally. BCP Securities Services is thus sporting a new logo, incorporating the emblem of the circled horse, marking its membership…

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and Gabon are in negotiations to complete a new program supported by the Extended Credit Facility (ECF). These talks are slated to end on June 7, before the board of directors of the Bretton Woods institution decides “on the agreement to a new program before July 15,” a source tells us in Washington. The IMF preparatory mission has decided, according to the information in our possession, to extend the credit period to a new extended credit facility program for 2021-2023. Indeed, the mission of the Washington administrators was to agree on the budgetary framework for…

For the protection of its cyberspace, Côte d’Ivoire has just adopted a National Cyber ​​Security Strategy 2020 – 2025, revealed the Ivorian Minister of the Digital Economy, Telecommunications and Innovation, Roger Adom, at the opening of the Cyber ​​Africa Forum held this Monday, June 7 in Abidjan. According to Roger Adom, this new ambition of the government can be explained by the new impetus set in motion at the level of the policy to protect its cyberspace. “The vision of the State of Côte d’Ivoire in defining its strategy is to support the growth of the national economy by providing…

The Paris Court of Appeal dampened the hopes of the Congolese President, Denis Sassou Nguesso, of flying one day on his luxurious Falcon 7X acquired in 2014. In a judgment of June 3, the court did not grant the request of Brazzaville to release the plane seized, in June 2020, at Bordeaux-Mérignac airport, in the...

As part of the response to the Covid-19 pandemic, donations received by member countries of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA) increased sharply by 60.4% at the end of 2020 compared to 2019, according to data from the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO) based in Dakar. These donations, which mainly come...