Author: Albert Savana

NSIA Banque Côte d’Ivoire has taken over the Ivorian assets of NSIA Banque Bénin (formerly Diamond Bank SA) by increasing in its share capital. This decision, adopted unanimously by shareholders at the Special General Meeting held in Abidjan on Friday October 18th 2019, is strictly subject to obtaining prior approval from the UMOA Banking Commission. This operation attests to NSIA Group’s solid growth, which strengthens its projection on the entire African continent. To conclude the Partial Transfer of Assets concerning the Ivorian branch of NSIA Banque Bénin to NSIA Banque Côte d’Ivoire, an increase in share capital was needed within…

Droughts are causing damage at an unprecedented scale and pace all over the world. In Africa this year, more than 45 million people have struggled to find enough food due to prolonged droughts. Such impacts are compounded by the increasing competition for access to water and productive land, conflicts and civil unrest, forced migration and food insecurity. The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) and Africa Risk Capacity (ARC) are establishing a new partnership to support African countries to become more resilient and take pro-active measures in effectively managing droughts in the face of climate change. The collaborating agencies…

Presidents of Liberia and Seychelles, 17 African ministers and an array of high-ranking officials among confirmed attendees for fifth edition of forum Heads of state, 17 ministers, high-ranking government officials and prominent business leaders from Africa have confirmed their participation for the fifth edition of the Global Business Forum Africa (GBF Africa), which takes place November 18-19, 2019 in Dubai. Among the high-level dignitaries attending GBF Africa 2019 are H.E. George Weah, President of Liberia; H.E. Danny Faure, President of Seychelles; and 17 ministers from Sierra Leone, Ghana, Namibia, Kenya, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Angola, Senegal, Uganda, Malawi, Congo, Tanzania, Niger and…

“We expect average emerging market growth in 2019 to be the lowest in the last decade since the global financial crisis.” This is immediately apparent in the report issued on October 17, 2019 by Standard and Poor’s. Emerging markets are at their worst since the 2009 financial crisis. S & P Global Ratings predicts that emerging markets growth in 2019 will be the lowest in the last decade since the global financial crisis and that the recovery activity expected for 2020 is not spectacular, subject to the prevailing downside risks. Current trade tensions between the United States and China and…

In an energetic letter of 9 October 2019 addressed to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the American president, all claws out, draws: “Do not play hard! Do not be fooled! ” And Donald Trump, adept in the announcement effect whose Twitter feed is the most appropriate channel, to clarify his thinking in these terms, catapulting the good old diplomacy in the ropes: “You do not want to be responsible for the massacre of thousands of people, and I do not want to be responsible for the destruction of the Turkish economy – which I would do (if necessary),” says Trump…

The West African Development Bank (BOAD) has just completed, on October 16, 2019, its third eurobond with an amount of $ 830 million at the rate of 4.7% for a maturity of twelve years. The amount raised was hedged into euros. The international financial community has just trusted BOAD’s signature under the leadership of its management and its strategic orientations. “This is a satisfaction for our bank whose investment grade has been confirmed from year to year for five years,” commented Christian Adovelande, president of the BOAD.

Network International, a leader in payment solutions for digital commerce in Africa and the Middle East, has renewed its long-standing agreement with Orabank, one of the largest banking networks in West and Central Africa, with headquarters is in Togo. Network International’s relationship with Orabank began in 2013 when the bank made the strategic decision to outsource its card issuing and ATM acceptance activities to Network International. Network currently offers the bank a full range of electronic payment and card acceptance solutions in 12 African countries Strengthening their current relationships, the bank has again signed a seven-year deal with Network International,…

On September 12, 2019, the Burkinabe Financial Intermediation Company (SBIF) launched, as arranger and leader, a public bond, called “TPBF 6.5% 2019-2027”. This loan was intended to mobilize an amount of 75 billion FCFA in favor of Burkina’s Public Treasury for the financing of the National Economic and Social Development Plan (PNDES). At the closing of the operation, the total amount mobilized amounts to CFAF One hundred forty-eight billion one hundred and twenty-five million (148,125,000,000), ie a coverage rate of 197.50%. debt strategy, The State of Burkina has decided to retain FCFA One hundred and twenty-five billion (125,000,000,000), on the…

Banking and financial institutions in Niger are gray mines at the beginning of the last quarter of 2019. The reason, interest as sudden and keen and very urgent tax administration for them. Niger has pledged to international donors to “significantly reduce its budget deficit through, inter alia, better mobilization of domestic resources,” his tax administration seems determined to recipe any business! As a result, controlled almost all of the second half of 2018 for the 2016, 2017 and mid-2018 fiscal years, Niger’s banking and financial institutions were prescribed, at the end of the transaction, tax adjustments, the amounts of which…

Togo is actively working towards strengthening its institutional mechanisms to ensure a successful implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), as outlined in its national AfCFTA implementation strategy. The strategy was presented for discussion and validation on 17 and 18 October in Lomé to public and private sector representatives. The validation workshop was part of a broader awareness raising program, which included consultations on the AfCFTA initiated by the Togolese government with the support of the ECA and the African Union. It provided an opportunity for approximately 100 key economic actors to discuss the actions to be taken…

To ensure effective implementation of the African continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Agreement, African countries must address corruption and abuse of power in the security sector as they could impede and raise the cost of trade, Gen. William Ward, former Commander of the United States Africa Command (AFRICOM), said in Washington D.C. today. Delivering the third Babacar Ndiaye Lecture, which was organised by the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) on the sidelines of the Annual Meetings of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund, Gen. Ward said that corruption and abuse of power in the security sector could become significant non-tariff barriers…

The Phosboucraa Foundation is organizing the 1st International Urban Forum on “City of Challenges” on October 18 and 19, 2019, at the Palais des Congrès in Laayoune, on the theme of Eco-Technological Innovation. The rapid transformation of cities and the resulting challenges require the attention of decision-makers, professionals, academics, and representatives of the business world in order to identify the issues facing tomorrow’s cities along with potential sustainable solutions. Through this international forum, the Foundation aims to provide the Southern Provinces with a high-level platform to discuss new regional revitalization measures to meet the challenges cities face while combining technological…

Afreximbank President Prof. Benedict Oramah (left), joined by Angela Alsobrooks, Prince Georges County Executive (centre), and AbdulRasheed Abubakar, Publisher of Diaspora Today Magazine, displaying his award plaque in Washington, D.C.  Prof. Benedict Oramah, President of the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), today in Washington, D.C., received the 2019 2019 Man of the Year Award from Diaspora Today magazine and the African Diaspora Distinguished Leadership Award of Prince Georges County of Maryland, United States. Presenting the two awards, Angela Alsobrooks, Prince Georges County Executive, said that they were in celebration of Prof. Oramah’s achievements and contributions toward the development of the African continent.…

African countries are expected to continue strengthening their civil registration and vital statistics (CRVS) systems as a foundation for robust and sustainable legal identity systems on the continent following the ongoing fifth conference of African ministers responsible for civil registration. This was said Tuesday by Zambia’s Home Affairs Minister, Stephen Kampyongo, during a ministerial media briefing on the conference that opened in Lusaka, Zambia, Monday. The conference is a standing regional forum of the African Union which was set up to provide policy directions for the transformation and accelerated improvement of civil registration and vital statistics systems in Africa. The…

The Attijariwafa Bank Group’s Africa Development Club has joined the Trade Club Alliance, officially launched on October 1 in London by the banking group Banco Santander. Created at the initiative of Banco Santander, this international network brings together 14 partner banks from Europe, Africa, Asia and America, supporting companies in their international business activities. This digital platform, gathering more than 16,000 member companies to date, covers 65% of international trade corridors and 46 countries with the prospect of reaching 90% and one million members at the interface of banking network platforms by 2022. Attijariwafa bank, a founding member of this…

Award-Winning Team to Focus on African Region’s Developmental Potential An award-winning team of communications specialists has officially launched Djembe Consultants, a global consultancy that advises local, regional and multinational organizations on how to achieve their full potential both within the African region and on the international stage. Rooted in Africa and with a network of fully operational offices in high growth countries, Djembe Consultants brings together the very highest international standards of a communications consultancy with the history, traditions and values of a dynamic business that understands Africa. With an existing wholly integrated network of full-time professionals in Africa, Asia, Europe, North…

Global broking business Brokerslink continues to strengthen its presence in Africa with the announcement of a new strategic partnership with African insurer SUNU Group. Brokerslink’s brokers and their clients will have access to exclusive wordings and health insurance plans with management delegation, and to SUNU’s specialist knowledge of local markets, multiple regulatory regimes and business cultures. The partnership will build on SUNU’s and Brokerslink’s strong mutual presence in a number of the Francophone countries in Africa and enable SUNU to expand its distribution relationships into more countries across Africa. Anne Collette, Director of Business Development for Brokerslink explained the importance…

The credit profile of Cameroon (B2, stable outlook) is constrained by the weak institutional environment and rising public and external debt, Moody’s Investors Service said in an annual report this week. Credit strengths include the economy’s relative diversification and the development of natural gas reserves, which offers the potential to compensate for gradually declining oil production. “Cameroon’s public and external debt has increased significantly on the back of the mostly externally financed public investment programme,” said Kelvin Dalrymple, a Moody’s Vice President – Senior Credit Officer and the report’s co-author. “This has exacerbated by the country’s below median revenue-generation capacity,…

Challenge Bank Al-Maghrib and Paris EUROPLACE, in partnership with HPS and Talan, are launching the Africa Blockchain Challenge for startups, particularly in Africa, with a view to implement innovative solutions using Blockchain or any other disruptive digital technology. This callfor projectsis being held underthe theme «Blockchain at the service of Financial Inclusion». The proposed solutions should cover one of the themes of financial inclusion, preferably one of the following topics: 1. Monitoring financial inclusion; 2. Funding very small business; 3. Strengthening financial education. Registrationsto this program are open on the website www.africablockchainchallenge.com until October 13th 2019. The selection criteria include…

Senegal has prioritised the development of renewable energy as it aims for universal access to electricity by 2025. Led by President Macky Sall, increased renewable energy generation is now core to the country’s power generation strategy. Senegal has huge potential for solar and wind energy, with photovoltaic (PV) technology now being introduced, while various wind power projects are already helping with rural electrification. Senegal has traditionally relied on imported liquid fuels for its oil and diesel-fired plants, but recent oil and gas discoveries could see the country become an oil exporter in the near future. The country will feature at…

Sawari Ventures, Egypt’s leading venture capital firm today announced that it has led a $4.5 million Series A investment round for e-learning platform, almentor.net with participation from Egypt Ventures, Endure Capital and angel investor Mohamed El Amin. This brings the total funding raised by the company to USD $8 million to date. almentor.net was launched in 2016 with a mission to address the lack of online personal development content for Arabic-speakers. The platform offers a catalogue of exclusive training videos and expert talks, introducing unique knowledge development solutions for the region in areas including health, technology, humanities, entrepreneurship and business management. “We are very pleased to have led this latest round.…

The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and the African Union Commission (AUC) on Wednesday assured Zimbabwe of continued technical support in assisting the country in its efforts to develop a national strategy to benefit from the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). In remarks during the opening session of a two-day validation workshop of Zimbabwe’s national AfCFTA strategy, Mr. Batanai Chikwene, a Programme Management Officer with the ECA, said the organization was willing and prepared to support the government and people of Zimbabwe in their economic development process. “The ECA through the UN system in Zimbabwe will continue…

L-R: UN-ASG Mohamed Beavogui, Director-General, African Risk Capacity, and Dr. Stergomena L. Tax, Executive Secretary, Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) exchanging copies of the MoU at the SADC Secretariat, Gaborone, Botswana. “The partnership will enable us to systematically work with SADC to better profile disaster risks facing the region, strengthen existing response capacities and contingency plans, and offer sovereign insurance options to enable rapid action when natural catastrophes occur” – ASG Mohamed Beavogui, DG, ARC The African Risk Capacity (ARC) and the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) Secretariat today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen resilience in the…

To benefit from the African Continental Free Trade Area, Zimbabwe must deploy deliberate strategies towards ensuring the private sector, a key stakeholder in production and trade, is strategically positioned to exploit larger market opportunities offered by the AfCFTA, with reduced tariff and non-tariff barriers, says Batanai Chikwene, an Economic Affairs Officer at the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA). Speaking at a workshop organised by the Zimbabwe government, the African Union Commission (AUC) and the ECA in Harare today, Mr. Chikwene said it was imperative for Zimbabwe to address supply-side constraints limiting the productive capacity of its industry to stimulate competitiveness…

This week global business and research pioneer, Dalberg, partnered with The Africa Center and the African Leadership Institute to Launch (AFLI) the “Future Forum” initiative in New York City. This future-forward project brings together leaders and innovators from across Africa, and the world, to create a shared vision around today’s challenges and tomorrow’s opportunities – especially those related to African youth and employment. The event, structured around Africa @ Work, created a platform promoting curated conversations between Africans and Diaspora. “Africa@Work is a conversation between Africans and the Diaspora that aims deepen our shared understanding of African labor market complexities,…

Three Middle Eastern countries rank in the Standard Chartered Trade20 Index, which identifies the markets with the greatest potential for future trade growth Oman and the UAE feature in the top 10 markets that have most rapidly improved their trade growth potential over the past decade, according to new research from Standard Chartered (www.SC.com). The Trade20 Index, which identifies the 20 rising stars of global trade, also features Bahrain among the nations that have shown the most progression. The Trade20 Index determined each market’s potential for trade growth over the past 10 years by analysing economic dynamism, trade readiness and…

On the margins of the United Nations Climate Action Summit convened by the Secretary-General, H.E. Mr Antonio Guterres to drum up support for climate action, a group of like-minded countries, financiers, project developers and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) launched on Monday an initiative to energize climate resilient development in Africa faster, better and cleaner with deployment of 10,000 MW by 2025 The SDG7 Initiative for Africa is aimed at crowding in private sector finance for accelerated clean energy deployment to address Africa’s increasing need for energy, while contributing to climate action through more ambitious nationally determined contributions…

Afreximbank President Prof. Benedict Oramah displays the 2019 African Renaissance and Diaspora Network Private Sector Development Award he received at the United Nations Headquarters. With him were Dr. Djibril Diallo, CEO of ARDN (left) and Constance Newman, Chairman of ARDN. Prof. Benedict Oramah, President of the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), yesterday at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, received the 2019 African Renaissance and Diaspora Network Private Sector Development Award.      The award, presented by the African Renaissance and Diaspora Network (ARDN) during the “Africa: Open for Business Summit” on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, celebrates leadership…

Major building blocks to catalyse the entry of Central African countries into the fourth industrial revolution, induced by digital transformations, have been laid at an intergovernmental conference extended to the private sector and academia, taking place in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea. On the second day of this annual subregional meeting convened by both the UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and the Government of Equatorial Guinea, experts weaved outlines to a framework that could blitz a transition to a subregional digital economy pronged on: public-private partnerships (PPP’s), e-commerce and technological innovations. Public private partnerships According to a first group of the…

African Youth Climate Hub aims to mobilize youth’s voices from the Global South A major new climate change initiative focused on promoting ideas and solutions from young Africans has been launched during the 2019 Climate Action Summit of the Secretary-General of the United Nations, on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, by Her Royal Highness Princess Lalla Hasnaa, President of the Mohammed VI Foundation for Environmental Protection. As a committed global leader, Her Royal Highness has, for several decades, consistently and concretely put Youth and the Public at the center of the activities of the Foundation, with a…