Author: Amadjiguéne Ndoye

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has authorized an immediate disbursement of 65.88 million Special Drawing Rights (SDRs), equivalent to $91 million, to Mauritania following the fifth review of the Extended Credit Facility (ECF) and Extended Fund Facility (EFF) arrangement, as well as the fourth review of the Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF). The amount includes 6.44 million SDRs under the ECF/EFF and 59.44 million SDRs under the RSF, bringing total disbursements to 191.8 million SDRs ($258 million), according to a statement released on Wednesday, January 28. Economic growth, which reached 6.3% in 2024, is expected to slow to 4.2% in…

Fitch Ratings downgraded Afreximbank’s long-term credit rating to BB+ on January 28, 2026, moving it into the non-investment grade category, before withdrawing all its ratings on the pan-African bank. This decision comes shortly after Afreximbank announced on January 23 that it was ending its collaboration with the American rating agency. In a statement on its...

The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) kept its repo rate unchanged on Thursday, January 29, stating that inflation remains firmly anchored within its target range, while the rand continues to strengthen thanks to a favorable external environment and rising commodity prices. This decision by the Monetary Policy Committee comes after a 25 basis point cut announced in November, following the lowering of the inflation target to 3%. Since then, consumer prices have been at levels rarely seen before: average inflation stood at 3.2% in 2025, the lowest in over twenty years, despite a slight increase to 3.6% in December. The…

S&P Global Ratings has assigned long and short-term credit ratings of “A/A-1” to Africa Finance Corp (AFC), the pan-African infrastructure financing institution, with a positive outlook. In its report published on Tuesday, January 28, the agency cited AFC’s strong balance sheet, high asset quality, and robust liquidity buffers, while emphasizing the strategic importance of the...

Adenia Partners, a private equity firm, and the development financing institution Proparco will sell the activities of the OCS group in Morocco and Senegal to a consortium led by the Moroccan group Retail Holding, alongside the pan-African fund Amethis. The transaction, announced on Thursday, January 29, concerns the catering and facility management activities of OCS. The financial terms have not been disclosed. The completion of the operation is subject to regulatory approvals and usual closing conditions. “OCS illustrates our active investor approach in Africa. We have supported its structuring, refocusing, and expansion, making the Group a leading service provider with…

Kenya is considering entering the Chinese financial markets through the issuance of a panda bond, as part of a strategy to diversify infrastructure financing and mobilize private capital for priority development projects, said Korir Sing’oei, Kenyan Principal Secretary for Foreign Affairs. The operation is expected to support investments in water, energy, and road infrastructure, while...

Egyptian fintech group Valu has secured a short-term credit line of 3 billion Egyptian pounds ($63.6 million) from the National Bank of Egypt, the company announced on Tuesday, in an effort to strengthen its financing capacity as it expands its operations in the region. Founded in 2017, the platform offers customizable financing plans of up to 60 months, usable at over 8,000 physical and online merchants. Valu has experienced strong growth in recent years. According to internal data, the company has processed over 9.2 million transactions, with an average of around 16,000 transactions per day in the first quarter of…

Ralph Mupita, CEO of the MTN Group, has been appointed to the board of Dangote Fertiliser, a subsidiary of the Nigerian conglomerate Dangote Industries, as the company prepares for an upcoming IPO on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) this year. With an engineering background, Mupita began his career at the South African group Old Mutual, where he held various leadership positions in finance and asset management. He joined MTN in 2017 as Chief Financial Officer, before becoming CEO of the group, the largest telecommunications operator in Africa by number of subscribers. He is known for leading the historic IPO of MTN…

Standard Bank has structured a $250 million financing for Aradel Energy, strengthening its leading role in financing the Nigerian oil and gas sector, in a context of increasing presence of local producers in the face of the gradual withdrawal of international majors. The transaction was arranged by Stanbic IBTC Capital, Stanbic IBTC Bank, and Standard...

Bank of Africa (BOA) launched its “SME Invest by BOA” offer on Monday, January 26, aimed at supporting the investment projects of very small, small, and medium-sized enterprises (VSMEs). The program combines bank financing, co-financing with Tamwilcom, access to investment incentives through Regional Investment Centers (CRI), and operational support. VSMEs, as BOA points out in...

Angola aims to raise USD 1.7 billion in international financial markets during the year 2026, according to the annual debt plan published by the government on Tuesday, January 27. The country, heavily dependent on oil revenues, is seeking to diversify its sources of financing to support economic development and social projects. Out of the total...

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has upgraded the regulatory status of several major FinTechs and microfinance banks, a decision that expands their scope of operations nationwide while subjecting them to stricter supervision requirements. Opay, Moniepoint Microfinance Bank, Kuda Bank, Palmpay, and Paga are among the institutions affected, according to a CBN official. These companies,...

The official opening ceremony of the 7th edition of the Financial Afrik Awards (#7FAA), a now well-established event in the African economic agenda, took place on Friday, January 23 in Banjul, the Gambian capital. Chaired by the Head of State, Adama Barrow, highlighting the strategic importance of the event initiated in 2018. Becoming a reference platform on development financing issues over the editions, the meeting brings together public decision-makers, investors, leaders of financial institutions, and major players in the private sector. This edition takes place in a macroeconomic context that is constraining for many African countries. The tightening of international…

Terra Industries, a Nigerian start-up specializing in the manufacturing of drones and other autonomous defense systems, announced on Monday, January 12 that it has raised $11.75 million to develop its critical infrastructure protection systems in Africa. The funding was led by the California-based venture capital fund 8VC, founded by American billionaire Joe Lonsdale. The operation...

Mauritania and Senegal have reaffirmed their commitment to consolidate their economic and strategic partnership during the official visit to Dakar on January 8 and 9 by Mauritanian Prime Minister El Moctar Ould Djay. This meeting marks a key step in the closer relationship between the two countries and the follow-up of structuring projects with a strong impact on regional economic development. Discussions with Senegalese Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko, punctuated by a one-on-one meeting and a press conference, focused on energy, infrastructure, trade, mobility, and security. “This visit illustrates our common desire to turn our political commitments into concrete projects that…

Flutterwave, Africa’s largest fintech, has acquired Nigerian open banking startup Mono in an all-stock transaction valued between $25 and $40 million, strengthening its fintech infrastructure on the continent. The deal brings together two major fintech infrastructure providers on the continent. Flutterwave offers local and cross-border payment services in over 30 African countries, while Mono develops application programming interfaces (APIs) that enable businesses to access banking data, verify customers, and initiate payments. Founded in 2020, Mono has raised approximately $17.5 million from investors including Tiger Global, General Catalyst, and Target Global. Sources indicate that the acquisition allows all investors to at…

The Bank of Ghana (BoG) has announced its intention to sell up to USD 1 billion on the market and to businesses in January, under its Foreign Exchange (FX) Intermediation Programme, aimed at reducing volatility in the cedi and supporting foreign-exchange reserves. The auctions will be conducted under the new FX operations framework adopted in...

Egypt has signed a preliminary agreement to supply natural gas to Lebanon, consolidating its role as a regional energy hub in the Eastern Mediterranean despite a decline in its national production and increasing investment needs in the sector. The agreement, announced on Monday, December 29, involves exports of Egyptian gas to Lebanon for electricity production....

Egypt has launched a new sovereign sukuk issuance of 5 billion Egyptian pounds ($105 million), as the country begins to ease its monetary policy. The operation is part of its Islamic financing program. According to data from the Central Bank of Egypt, the auction of these local currency-denominated securities, with a maturity of three years,...

Bauxite producer Axis International has initiated a 29 billion USD arbitration procedure against Guinea. The mining group accuses the government of illegally revoking its mining license, in a context of tightening mining policies in several resource-rich African countries. Emirati Axis has stated that it has taken its case to the International Centre for Settlement of...

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) raised 15,300 billion Naira ($10.5 billion) on the Treasury bills (NTB) market in 2025 to contribute to the financing of the federal government’s budget deficit, according to data from the institution. This amount represents an increase of 14.8% compared to the 13,300 billion Naira ($9.2 billion) collected in 2024....

Ghana and the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) announced on Thursday, December 25th that they have settled their dispute over a $750 million loan taken out in 2022, ending a dispute that was part of the country’s debt restructuring. The joint statement did not specify the terms of the agreement, only stating that the issues have...

The Arab Tunisian Bank (ATB) has successfully completed its capital increase, carried out through the issuance of investment certificates reserved for Arab Bank, in accordance with the decision of the extraordinary general assembly of November 28, 2025. This operation raises the ATB’s share capital from 128 million Tunisian dinars (43.7 million USD) to 150 million...

The Central Bank of Liberia (CBL) unveiled a new real-time digital payment system on Tuesday, December 16, aimed at modernizing the country’s financial sector and reducing reliance on cash. Dubbed “Inclusive Instant Payment System” (IIPS), the platform connects for the first time the two main Mobile Money operators in the country, Lone Star Cell MTN...

The South African Treasury raised 11.795 billion rand (695 million USD) in its first bond issuance dedicated to financing infrastructure and development, with bids exceeding 26 billion rand (1.53 billion USD), representing a subscription rate of 2.2 times. The proceeds from the issuance will be used exclusively to finance projects under the Budget Facility for...

Bank of America Global Research stated in a note published on Thursday, December 4th, that the restructuring of Senegal’s external debt is becoming “increasingly likely” as the second semester of 2026 approaches. The document also highlights that ongoing negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a new financing program do not guarantee the country’s...

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) announced on Wednesday, November 24, that 16 banks have already met the new capital requirements set for their various licenses, about four months before the deadline of March 31, 2026. According to CBN Governor Olayemi Cardoso, 27 other institutions have raised funds through various means as part of one...

Bank of Africa (BOA) recorded a Group Net Profit (GNP) of 3 billion dirhams (300 million USD) as of September 30, 2025, up 12% year-on-year, while consolidated net profit increased by 26% to 2 billion dirhams (200 million USD). In the first half, GNP had already increased by 16% to 2.3 billion dirhams (230 million...

American activist fund Elliott Investment Management has acquired a significant stake in Barrick Mining Corporation, according to sources cited on November 18, 2025 by the Financial Times and Reuters. The operation is estimated to be worth at least 700 million USD, placing Elliott among the top ten largest shareholders of the Canadian gold giant. For...

The Helicopter Company (THC), owned by the Public Investment Fund (PIF) of Saudi Arabia, has acquired 76% of the capital of Heliconia, an aviation services operator in Africa. The amount of the transaction has not been disclosed. Founded in Morocco, Heliconia has a strong presence in North and West Africa, especially in offshore services. The...