Author: Albert Savana

The Creative Africa Exchange Weekend (CAX WKND), Africa’s first continental event dedicated to promoting exchange within the creative and cultural industry, kicked off in Kigali today with Prof. Benedict Oramah, President of the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) announcing a $500-million envelope to support the production and trade of African cultural and creative products over the next two years. Prof. Benedict Oramah told guests at the opening that the funds, which would build on what the Bank was already doing, would be accessible as lines of credit to banks, direct financing to operators and as guarantees. He said that the creative…

The Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and the Zimbabwe government on Wednesday signed an agreement in preparation for the forthcoming Sixth Africa Regional Forum on Sustainable Development (ARFSD) which Harare is hosting in Victoria Falls from 24-27 February, 2020. Mr. Oliver Chinganya, Director of the African Centre for Statistics, signed on behalf of the ECA, while Mr. Simon Masanga, Permanent Secretary of the Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare Ministry, signed for Zimbabwe. “Signing the agreement adds impetus to preparations for this very important forum that will see Zimbabwe flying the flag for the African continent in terms of the…

9th annual survey on top business risks attracts record participation of 2,700+ experts from over 100 countries Cyber incidents have become more damaging and expensive for companies – and often result in lawsuits and litigation after the event Business interruption ranks second, but remains a key challenge with digitalization and civil unrest creating new causes of disruption and loss of income Climate change rises to its highest-ever position – companies are most concerned about physical losses from extreme weather events but also fear consumer criticism and increasing regulatory and legal action.  Cyber incidents (46% of responses) ranks as the most important business risk in…

 The first bootcamp for IMPULSE, a startup acceleration program, kicked off this week at Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P) in Benguerir, Morocco. From January 13 to 17, sixteen startups, selected following an international call for applications, will receive sustained support and get to network with the OCP Group and UM6P innovation ecosystem. The IMPULSE integration bootcamp is the first in a series of bootcamps that will take place in Morocco, Switzerland and the United States, in collaboration with IMPULSE’s partner MassChallenge, an international startup accelerator. During the bootcamp, members of the 16 startups selected for this program as well as…

The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has received the certificate of occupancy for a five-hectare plot of land granted to it by the government of Imo State of Nigeria for the development of an internationally accredited quality assurance centre in the state. Afreximbank is supporting the establishment of such internationally accredited African Quality Assurance Centres (AQACs) across Africa to support the continent’s industrialisation by ensuring that African products are manufactured to international standards and are able to trade in international market. The project seeks to raise the confidence of importers in African products and to enhance the competitiveness and attractiveness of…

Support from the Bank’s African Development Fund will bolster ongoing reforms being undertaken by the government of Tanzania The African Development Bank (AfDB.org) has approved a $55 million facility to strengthen implementation of reforms to enhance Tanzania’s economic competitiveness and private sector participation in the country’s growth. These critical reforms will lead to a more vibrant economy, which will improve the living conditions of Tanzanians, particularly the poor and vulnerable, and including women and youth. “Tanzania’s private sector is dominated by small enterprises mostly in smallholder agriculture and small informal non-farm businesses,” said Abdoulaye Coulibaly, the Bank’s Director of Governance…

Africa50 partners with Actis, the majority shareholder in Azura Power, to invest in Azura Edo in Nigeria. Africa50, the pan-African investment platform, announced today that is has invested in the 461MW Azura Edo IPP in Nigeria. Africa50, brings significant power generation experience having invested in several key infrastructure projects across the continent representing over 1,000MW of capacity. Raza Hasnani, Head of Infrastructure Investments at Africa50 said “We are excited to invest in a mission-critical asset within the Nigerian power market. We have a strong institutional commitment to mobilizing capital for key African infrastructure assets, and look forward to creating value…

The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank has approved a €109 million facility for the development of sewage disposal and wastewater treatment plants for rural areas in Luxor Governorate in Egypt’s Upper Nile region. The Integrated Rural Sanitation in Upper Egypt – Luxor (IRSUE-Luxor) project is set to boost sewage coverage in the region from 6 percent to 55 percent, improving the quality of life of citizens, including women and children, who are most affected by poor sanitation. The facility consists of a €108 million loan from the Bank, and a grant of € 1 million from the Rural Water Supply and…

The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) and the Government of Cameroon have signed the two principal documents finalising the protocol toward the take-off of Afreximbank’s Central Africa Branch Office to be located in Yaounde. At a ceremony witnessed by the Prime Minister of Cameroon, Dr. Joseph Dion Ngute, in Yaounde on Friday, Afreximbank President Prof. Benedict Oramah and Mbella Mbella, Minister of External Affairs of Cameroon, signed the Branch Office Agreement and the Memorandum of Understanding Concerning the Temporary and Permanent Premises of the Central Africa Branch Office in Yaounde. In an address preceding the signing, Dr. Ngute said that the creation…

The Committee on Private Sector, Regional Integration, Trade, Infrastructure, Industry and Technology (CPRTIIT), comprising senior officials and experts from member states, which meets biennially opened today in Addis Ababa on the theme: Private Sector Development and the Digital Economy in support of Regional integration in Africa. According to the organizing team, the Committee, which has been in place since 1999 has been reconstituted by the Economic Commission for Africa under a broader mandate, that gives prominence to the private sector, to harness its full potential for job creation as well as its capacity to finance development and make regional integration functional. Speaking…

The new branch office being opened by the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) in Yaounde will serve as the Bank’s gateway to the Central African region, Amr Kamel, Afreximbank’s Executive Vice President for Business Development and Corporate Banking, has said. Speaking during a roadshow organised in Yaounde to present the Bank’s products, programmes and facilities to the business community, Mr. Kamel said that the office would bring the Bank closer to local businesses in the region. “We are in the final stages of discussions with the Government authorities to open the branch office,” he told the audience of more that 250 business leaders from…

The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) is in the process of identifying projects in the key sectors of Cameroon to assist the country to achieve a rapid transformation of the economy through trade, Rene Awambeng, Global Head of Client Relations of the Bank, has said. Mr. Awambeng, who was speaking yesterday during a roadshow organised in Douala, Cameroon, to present the Bank’s products, programmes and facilities to the business community, told the audience that Afreximbank was committed to assisting the country to execute priority trade enabling infrastructure. It would also support the country to expand its manufacturing capacity through the development of logistics, industrial…

Denmark’s Investment Fund for Developing Countries (IFU) signed today a shareholder agreement with TDB, acquiring 1,750 of its Class B shares. With an investment of USD 20 million in TDB’s capital stock, IFU becomes TDB’s newest institutional shareholder. A Cooperation Agreement was also signed during the same occasion between both institutions, whereby these agreed to collaborate on various new initiatives such as the Bank’s SME programme, special purpose funds and technical assistance. With this agreement, TDB and IFU will also explore co-financing opportunities via various financing structures and information sharing, in key sectors including agriculture, healthcare, education, energy, hospitality and…

Green finance was on the agenda of the international conference organized in Dakar on December 3, 2019 by African Guarantee Fund (AGF) and the Nordic Development Fund (NDF). In front of all the local financial ecosystem represented by the banks, the guarantee funds, the institutions of development and the State in its different dismembrements including the Ministry of the Economy, that of the Environment, the National Fund of the sovereign investments ( FONSIS) and the Guarantee Fund for Priority Investments, Félix Bikpo, Managing Director of the AGF fund, recalled the huge funding gap for African SMEs: “150 billion dollars with…

The business climate in Senegal improved slightly by 1.1 points at the end of the third quarter of 2019 to the second quarter of 2019, according to the opinion poll carried out during this period by the Direction of the forecast and the economic studies (DPEE ). The synthetic indicator of this business climate, calculated by the DPEE, based on balances of opinion of business leaders, stood at 99.9 points against 98.8 points in the second quarter of 2019. According to the DPEE, “this situation reflects the favorable orientations of the opinions of building and public works contractors (BTP), services…

Organizers of the 14th African Economic Conference (AEC2019) – African Development Bank (AfDB), Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), and the United Nations Development Programme(UNDP) – have reaffirmed their commitment to engage Africa’s youth as an integral part of the continent’s development initiatives. “We must stop assuming that we can solve their problems in their absence,” said Adam Elhiraika, Director of Macroeconomics and Governance at the ECA, in his AEC2019 closing remarks on 4 December in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt. “They have made us understand over the past three days that all they want is to be part of the decisions…

“By 2030, revenues generated by big data in Africa will reach 10 billion dollars, but how much of this will stay in Africa, how many of our youths will play a leading role in the creation of this wealth as a function of their skills and to what extent will the big data economy transform our private sectors and productivity” quizzed Cameroon’s Minister of Posts and Telecommunications Minette Libom Li Likeng today as she opened a two-day continental meeting on these issues, convened in Yaounde, by the UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA). The Minister’s reference to that statistic from BearingPoint (itself…

Africa50 and Power Grid Corporation of India Limited (POWERGRID) signed a Cooperation Agreement to partner towards the development, finance, construction and operation of power transmission lines in Kenya. This partnership will catalyze project development for the initial set of pilot projects based on a bankable public private partnership (PPP) model in line with the Government of Kenya’s vision to meet the demands for electricity access in the country. The Agreement was signed at the Africa50 headquarters in Casablanca, Morocco by the two heads of institutions. Mr. Shri K. Sreekant, Chairman and Managing Director of Powergrid Corporation of India, said that:…

Last Thursday, as a side event of the Global Gender Summit which took place in Kigali from 25 to 27 November 2019 – Entreprenarium Foundation welcomed 300 distinguished guests and beneficiaries to its quinquennial celebration. An occasion to recall the achievements realized by the organization on the continent. The 2019 Global Gender Summit organized for the first time in Africa by the AfDB and co-hosted by the government of Rwanda, gathered more than 1,200 global and general leaders from the private and public sector, civil society and development institutions to provide innovative ideas that address challenges and opportunities for gender…

The Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) recently signed an agreement for a grant package worth over USD $9 million to fund the design and construction of a water distribution network, a judicial courthouse and infrastructure projects in Dijbouti, marking the latest in a series of the SFD’s development projects in the country. The Vice-Chairman of the SFD, Dr. Khaled bin Sulaiman Al Khudairy, signed the agreement with Mr. Elias Moussa Douala, the Minister of Economy and Finance, in the presence Djibouti’s Prime Minister Abdoulkader Kamil Mohamed and other government officials, while leading a delegation from the Fund on a visit to…

This agreement was signed on November 27 at the -Universidad Empresa- Meeting. Térvalis Group, which already has two chairs in Spain, with the Universities of Zaragoza and Polytechnic of Valencia, now crosses borders with its agreement with Mohammed VI Polytechnic University and OCP Group, focused on R&D solutions for Sustainable Agriculture Mohammed VI Polytechnic University is an institution dedicated to research and innovation for Africa, and is positioning itself among world-renowned universities in these domains. Fertinagro Biotech, a company of the Térvalis Group (Spain), signed an agreement with Mohammed VI Polytechnic University – UM6P (Morocco) and OCP Group to develop,…

According to Adesina the financial sector had a responsibility to the women of Africa African Development Bank (AfDB.org) President Akinwumi Adesina has called for greater access to finance for African women when he addressed the inaugural session of the Global Gender Summit. “When women borrow, they always repay. And 90% of them repay their loans without the least problem. So, where is the risk? The problem is prejudice and the banks’ lack of flexibility. We must leave this behind to allow women access to financing,” President Adesina urged. The session headed “Unlocking women’s access to finance in Africa” had a…

The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has already disbursed $15 billion of the $25 billion it committed in support of intra-African trade under its current five-year strategic plan, Bank President Prof. Benedict Oramah has said. Confirming that the Bank was delivering on the commitments it made in support of the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement,  Prof. Oramah told the attendees at the opening of the Africa 2019: Investment for Africa Forum in Egypt’s New Capital City on Friday that the funding was helping bridge the trade finance gap in Africa. He added that Afreximbank would soon commence the…

The International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC) yesterday in Egypt’s New Capital City signed an agreement to provide a $100-million credit facility to the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) to promote Arab-Africa trade and investments. The signing ceremony took place at the Africa 2019: Investment in Africa Forum, with Afreximbank President Prof. Benedict Oramah and ITFC CEO Hani Sombol signing on behalf of their two organisations in the presence of Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly and Minister of Investment and International Cooperation Dr. Sahar Nasr. The agreement states that the facility will help finance and derisk trade flows between the Arab…

The current result before tax of the company Filatures, weavings, bags, Ivory Coast (Filtisac) SA saw a decrease of 26% at the end of the third quarter of 2019 compared to the same period of the year 2018, announced the leaders of this company based in Abidjan. This result stood at CFAF 242 million as of September 30, 2019, compared to CFAF 329 million as at September 30, 2018, a decrease of CFAF 87 million in absolute terms. As for the net turnover excluding taxes of the company, it recorded a decrease of 9% amounting to 24,111 billion FCFA against…

At the end of 2018, the decentralized financial systems (SFD) of the West African Monetary Union (WAMU), which fall under article 44 of the uniform law regulating MFIs, posted a total balance sheet of 1 974.4 billion FCFA (2.961 billion euros), according to data from the Banking Commission based in Abidjan. According to this Community body, these financial data concern 148 SFDs, ie 93.7% of Article 44 institutions which regulate the control of any SFD whose level of activity reaches a threshold of two billion FCFA of outstanding deposits. or credits at the end of two consecutive years. The balance…

The banking system of the West African Monetary Union (WAMU) achieved an overall profit of 456.9 billion CFA francs (685,350 million euros) as of December 31, 2018, according to data from the Banking Commission based in Abidjan. This profit is up 24.0% compared to fiscal 2017, when it stood at 368.5 billion FCFA. According to the Banking Commission, all the banking centers in the WAMU zone have contributed to this favorable trend. Côte d’Ivoire and Senegal recorded more than 100 billion CFA francs of profits with respectively 154.4 billion and 113.0 billion. These two countries are followed from very far…

The net result of Coris Bank International increased by 7.31% at the end of the third quarter of 2019 compared to the same period of the year 2018, announced the leaders of this banking institution based in Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso. This net result increased from CFAF 19.164 billion at September 30, 2018 to CFAF 20.564 billion at September 30, 2019, an increase of CFAF 1.4 billion. Regarding net banking income (GNP), a slight increase of 0.97% is noted with an increase from 41.327 billion FCFA in the third quarter of 2018 to 41.729 billion FCFA a year later. It…

UCLG Africa held its statutory meetings on November 9th, 2019 at Onomo Hotel in Durban, South Africa. The statutory meetings of UCLG Africa included the 22nd session of Executive committee and the meeting of the Pan-African Council. These meetings were held as a prelude to the UCLG World Congress that takes place from November 11th-15th, 2019 in the city of Durban. The two meetings were officially opened by General Mahmoud Shaarawy, Minister of Local Development of Egypt, in the presence of General Khaled Abdel Aal, Governor of Cairo; Mr. Léandre Nzué, Mayor of Libreville (Gabon), President of UCLG Africa; Rev. Mpho Moruakgomo, President of…

The African -Export Import Bank (Afreximbank) and South Africa-based Thelo DB Proprietary Limited today in Johannesburg, South Africa, signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to develop, finance and operate railway projects in Africa. Under the terms of the MoU, signed on the sidelines of the ongoing Africa Investment Forum, Afreximbank and Thelo DB will collaborate to support the modernisation of the continent’s railways as a catalyst to promoting trade, investment and economic skills development, recognising the urgent need for implementation of efficient and effective transportation and logistics solution in Africa, with particular emphasis on the freight railway sector. Speaking during the signing…