Author: Amadjiguéne Ndoye

Old Mutual, the South African insurance giant, released its financial results for the first half of 2025 on September 10, 2025, highlighting a mixed performance. The data shows that operating profits increased by 16%, reaching 4.94 billion rand (260 million USD), supported by the strong performance of Old Mutual Insure and favorable market conditions. However,...

Greenus Capital Limited, a financing company based in Lagos, has raised $23 million for Johnvents Industries Limited to accelerate its activities in agricultural transformation. The announcement was made on September 7, 2025. Structured as a loan, the financing was arranged by Greenus Capital, acting as a financial advisor, initiator, and arranger, with the participation of...

The deep-water port project in Ndayane has just reached a key milestone with the signing of an amendment between Dubai Port World (DP World), a global logistics and port terminal giant, and the State of Senegal. The objective is to strengthen the financing and development of this strategic infrastructure. The signing ceremony took place on...

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has launched the Nigeria Payments System Vision 2028 (PSV 2028), a strategic framework for the country’s digital payment ecosystem for the next three years. This new framework succeeds the PSV 2025, which is soon to expire, and will serve as a guiding model for digital payments in Nigeria. According...

Afreximbank and the Shelter Afrique Development Bank (ShafDB) have signed a framework agreement under the Joint Project Preparation Mechanism (JPPF) on the sidelines of the Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF 2025). The aim is to mobilize at least $1 billion to accelerate the development of housing, infrastructure, and special economic zones in Africa. The partnership targets...

Barrick Mining (ABX.V) announced on Wednesday, September 10, the sale of its last operating gold mine in Canada, Hemlo, to Carcetti Capital (CARTh.V) for an amount that could reach 1.09 billion USD. This transaction marks the end of its historical mining presence in Canada, while reaffirming its strategy of refocusing on Africa, where the company...

The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) has officially obtained the ISO/IEC 20000-1:2018 certification, an international standard for IT service management (ITSM). This certification ensures that its IT services are reliable, efficient, and secure, and serves as a guarantee of excellence and compliance with global standards. “This certification marks an important step in our journey towards...

Standard Bank South Africa has appointed David Hodnett as the new CEO, following the recent departure of Sim Tshabalala, a key figure at the bank since 2013. The newly promoted executive was previously the group’s Chief Risk Officer. Under Sim Tshabalala’s leadership, the bank solidified its position as a continental leader with a net profit...

Three major financial institutions will play a central role in achieving the Central Bank’s ambition to increase reserves from diaspora remittances to 1.5 trillion naira (1 billion USD) by 2026. These institutions include Zenith Bank, Access Bank, and Fidelity Bank, as mentioned by Governor Olayemi Cardoso, who stated that these banks are key players in...

The Japan Credit Rating Agency, Ltd. (JCR) has confirmed Afreximbank’s A- rating, with a stable outlook, highlighting the strength of its fundamentals despite an uncertain macroeconomic environment. This rating reflects market confidence in the Bank’s ability to maintain its financial resilience, profitability, and prudent risk management. According to JCR, the stable rating reflects a robust...

Nigeria has just reached a historic milestone in its cocoa exports, driven by soaring global prices. According to a report by Norrenberger, a financial services group based in Abuja, the country generated 1.23 trillion nairas (920 million USD) in the first quarter of 2025, a 220% increase compared to the 384 billion nairas (290 million...

Egypt is accelerating the reform of its capital markets with the appointment of Islam Abdel Aziz Azzam as the president of the Egyptian Exchange (EGX) for a one-year term. His appointment was announced on Tuesday, August 26, making him the successor to Ahmed Abdel Rahman el-Cheikh Ali, who has been in office since August 2023....

Nigerian President Bola Tinubu has announced the imminent return of Petrobras, the national oil company of Brazil, five years after its withdrawal from the country. This announcement, made during Tinubu’s state visit to Brasilia on August 24 and 25, 2025, marks a turning point for economic and energy relations between the two countries. “We have...

The South African giant Old Mutual announced that its Zimbabwean operations had suffered a loss of 2.2 billion rand (118.8 million USD) in the first half of 2025, as a result of the switch from the Zimbabwean dollar to the US dollar starting from July 1, 2024. In its half-yearly report for the period ending...

Moody’s Corporation announced on August 25, 2025, its intention to acquire a majority stake in the Egyptian national credit rating agency, Middle East Rating & Investors Service (MERIS). This operation is part of Moody’s strategy to strengthen its presence in African and Middle Eastern markets and to support the development of local capital markets. Founded...

In a move to strengthen the supervision of its reinsurance market, the Egyptian Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA) has issued new strict regulations. Decision No. 158 of 2025 establishes a rigorous framework for the registration of non-resident foreign reinsurance brokers, with increased solvency, transparency, and expertise requirements. It will now be prohibited for any insurance or...

Interpol conducted Operation Serengeti 2.0, a major offensive against cybercrime in Africa that led to the arrest of 1,209 individuals. The operation targeted various forms of cyberattacks affecting both organizations and individuals on the continent. According to a statement from the global police cooperation agency, from June to August 2025, investigators from 18 African countries...

The South African government will open up its rail freight network to private companies in order to improve efficiency. This decision comes as Transnet, the state-owned company in charge of rail and port freight, faces equipment shortages, maintenance delays, and acts of vandalism, including cable theft. Transport Minister Barbara Creecy announced on Friday, August 22...

DP World, a UAE-based group active in the maritime sector, announced a 20.4% increase in revenue for the first half of 2025, reaching 11.24 billion USD. Adjusted EBITDA increased by 21.4% year-on-year to 3.03 billion USD, while net profit more than doubled, reaching 532 million USD. Container traffic reached 45.4 million TEUs, up 6.7%, driven...

Stanbic Bank has appointed Joshua Oigara as the regional chief executive officer for East Africa. He is set to take up the role on September 1, 2025, subject to regulatory approval. This appointment marks a new chapter for the Kenyan banker, who will juggle this new role with his current position as the CEO of...

Senegal is facing an alarming deterioration of its financial situation, confirmed by the downgrade of its sovereign rating to “B-” by Standard & Poor’s, with a negative outlook. This decision, announced on July 14, comes in the context of a growing debt burden and adds to a series of warnings already issued by other rating...

Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI) has launched a private placement of $250 million in conditional convertible bonds over a period of ten days, with the support of Renaissance Capital Africa (RenCap) as transaction advisor, demonstrating its willingness to rely on high-level international financial expertise. This fundraising, approved by shareholders at the extraordinary general meeting on May 28, 2025 in Lomé, is part of a strategy aimed at strengthening the group’s financial strength, supporting its long-term growth, and increasing its competitiveness across its African markets. In a statement, ETI specified that the operation involves an issuance of Additional Tier 1 (AT1) capital…

Moody’s Investors Service has downgraded the long-term credit rating of the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) from Baa1 to Baa2, with a revised outlook from negative to stable. Moody’s justifies this decision by “weaker-than-expected asset performance, increasing exposure to distressed states, and a significant reduction in its sources of funding.” The agency specifically points to Afreximbank’s strategic shift away from its traditional trade financing mission to providing unsecured sovereign loans to countries like Ghana, Zambia, and Malawi, all facing debt distress or restructuring situations. “The recent shift by the bank towards unsecured loans to distressed states has introduced significant risks,” notes…

As AZA Finance prepares to join forces with the Uruguayan giant dLocal, its founder, Elizabeth Rossiello, discusses with Financial Afrik the strategic stakes of this acquisition, the expected synergies on the continent, and the future of the African fintech sector.

Microsoft has announced potential funding of $500 million in partnership with venture capitalists to support African startups. The instrument should make it possible to support 10,000 startups in Africa over the next five years. The initiative is planned to launch alongside the Microsoft Startups Founders Hub on the continent, along with new partnerships with accelerators...

Dangote Fertilizer Limited, an entity of the Dangote Group, on Wednesday (March 2) signed a gas delivery agreement with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited and its Joint Venture (JV) partners including Shell, Total and Eni. The agreement is for the delivery of 70 million standard cubic feet (Scuf) of gas per day. It...

Zenith Bank plc posted double-digit growth of 10% in gross profit for the year ended December 31, 2021 to N765.6 billion ($1.8 million) from N696.5 billion. naira ($1.6 million) the previous year. Profit after tax was 244.56 billion naira ($587 million). The bank’s audited financial results attribute the growth, deemed “impressive”, to the 23% year-on-year...

AgDevCo has raised USD 90 million from the UK Development Finance Institution (CDC), Norwegian fund Nordfund and the International Development Finance Corporation (DFC). The investment should enable AgDevCo, which specializes in investing in African agricultural start-ups, to consolidate investments in agribusiness. The fund is made up of a contribution of $50 million from CDC Group,...

Cameroonian journalist Michel Lobé Ewané has been appointed to the board of directors of Joseph Sassoon Group, an international financial services group based in New York. He will be in charge of promoting the company in Africa, the search for new investments and will serve as a relay between the group and the press. Former...

EFG Hermes, the largest investment bank in Egypt, announced on Monday February 21 that it had received the approval of its board of directors to entrust Goldman Sachs with the takeover offer presented by First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) . On February 9, the main Emirati bank presented, in fact, a non-binding offer to acquire...