Author: Amadjiguéne Ndoye

The European Investment Bank plans to grant a new long-term facility of 30 million euros to the Development Bank of Rwanda (BRD) for Rwandan companies, through its rapid response mechanism to the Covid-19 crisis in East Africa, and by the BRD’s own funds. The EIB financing was concluded on 23 November 2021 in Kigali as part of a financing agreement signed between Uzziel Ndagijimana, Rwandan Minister of Finance, Thomas Ostros, EIB Vice-President, and Kampeta Sayinzoga, Managing Director of BRD. “We are honored to receive this investment from the European Investment Bank to facilitate the development of the private sector, especially…

Greek gas importer Depa could soon source LNG from Egypt. Energy ministers of the two countries signed a memorandum of understanding on November 25 in Cairo, aimed at expanding bilateral cooperation between Greece and Egypt. In a statement issued on Monday (November 29th), the Greek state-owned gas group said that “the strategic cooperation between Greece and Egypt creates opportunities for specialized agreements between Depa Trading and Egas, the Egyptian state gas company”. Such an agreement contributes “to Greece’s ambition to become an energy center for the south-eastern Mediterranean”. Greece has an operating LNG import terminal at Revithoussa, which began operations…

The Senegalese National Groundnut Company (Sonacos) has secured 40 million euros in funding from the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC) as part of the post-Covid revival of the Senegalese agricultural sector. The facility, dedicated to financing part of the 2021-2022 peanut campaign, will cover Sonacos’s financing needs to ensure the acquisition of 150,000 tonnes of peanuts from the current harvest from farmers. It brings the total ITFC-approved funding to Senegal to more than $ 1.1 billion in 19 operations since ITFC’s inception in 2008. A vital sector of the Senegalese economy, agriculture contributes around 16% of the country’s GDP…

Morocco and Israel on Wednesday (November 24th) signed a memorandum of understanding on security allowing the two countries to benefit from increased cooperation in the fields of intelligence, industrial cooperation and military training. The deal has been called a “pioneer.” The agreement was signed by Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz during his visit to Morocco and his Moroccan counterpart Abdellatif Loudiyi. Gantz arrived in Morocco on Tuesday evening for a two-day official visit According to a statement from the Israeli Defense Ministry, “the agreement provides a solid framework which formalizes the defense relations between the two countries and lays the…

Attijariwafa Bank’s results are up with net income group share (RNPG) up 44.5% over the first nine months of 2021. The RNPG thus rose to 3.8 billion dirhams ($ 411 million), compared to the same period of 2020. According to the financial results of the Moroccan banking group at September 30, 2021, the consolidated net income increased by 42.1% to reach 4.6 billion dirhams (498 million dollars) during the period under review. Operating income increased by 36.1% to 7.1 billion dirhams (769 million dollars), thanks to increased cost control (+ 1.4%) and gradual normalization the cost of risk (-38.1%). Net…

West African gold explorer Tietto Minerals said on Monday (November 22nd) that its 3.35 million ounce Abujar gold project in Côte d’Ivoire is now fully funded through production. The company has received binding commitments for a two-tranche equity offering to raise A $ 85 million (US $ 61.693 million) on the Australian stock exchange ASX to complete funding for its flagship project. Petra Capital acted as sole lead manager and sole bookrunner, as well as the partners Jett Capital Advisors, LLC, who acted as co-managers of the investment. “With the support of this AU $ 85 million placement, we now…

GuarantCo Management Company (GMC) has appointed Layth Al-Falaki as Chairman and CEO of GuarantCo, managed by GMC, as part of an internal move within PIDG. The appointment will be effective from mid-January 2022. Until then, Layth served as Chief Risk Officer (CRO) at PIDG since April 2018. He is also a non-executive board member of PIDG, Emerging Africa Infrastructure Fund and GuarantCo. In his career, Layth Al-Falaki was CRO at the British Arab Commercial Bank, formerly part of the HSBC group. With a rich career in banking and extensive experience in emerging market transactions, Layth holds a bachelor’s degree in…

The African Import-Export Bank (Afreximbank) has signed a memorandum of understanding with the African Risk Capacity (ARC) group, a specialized agency of the African Union (AU), with the aim of jointly strengthening resilience initiatives and financing of disaster risk in Africa. The ultimate goal is to provide adequate disaster and resilience responses using available banking and insurance products tailored to localized challenges. Through the protocol, Afreximbank will provide a financing mechanism for food emergencies (FECONTRAF) to joint member countries participating in the African Risk Capacity sovereign / macro-disaster risk transfer program, national capacity building and development of food security policies,…

The United Nations (UN) has announced the creation of a $ 40 million fund to support life-saving humanitarian aid and the protection of civilians in Ethiopia. United Nations Chief of Humanitarian Operations Martin Griffiths said in a statement on Monday (November 16th) that “millions of people in northern Ethiopia live on a razor’s edge as humanitarian crisis worsens and extends ”. According to Martin Griffiths, $ 25 million of the total fund was raised from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), while the remaining 15 million was allocated by the Ethiopia Humanitarian Fund (EHF), based in the country. This new…

The International Finance Corporation (IFC) has provided a $ 250 million credit facility to Absa Bank, a subsidiary of Absa Group Limited (Absa Group), to strengthen access to trade finance in sub-Saharan Africa. The financing falls under the IFC’s Global Trade Liquidity Program (GTLP). Under the GTLP risk-sharing model, the international institution will guarantee a pool of eligible business transactions issued by Absa Bank up to 50%, with the remaining amount guaranteed by Absa Bank. The facility should support Absa’s commitment to increasing the accessibility of trade finance, with around 80% of financing to go to low-income and fragile countries.…

Airtel Africa Plc announced on November 16, 2021 that it reached $ 125 million at the second close of Airtel money’s minority investment transactions with Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), TPG, a U.S. private equity firm, and Mastercard. The group announced on Monday that it had received approval in principle from the Central Bank of Nigeria to operate as a super agent in Nigeria, barely a week after receiving a similar agreement from the oversight body of Nigeria. industry to create a payment service bank. “With the conditions for the second close now being met, TPG and QIA have each invested…

Casablanca-based Hamzi Law Firm (HLF) has joined the DS lawyers group. It will henceforth take the name DS HLF. In a statement released Monday, November 15, the French cabinet said this alliance will allow it to strengthen its presence on the African continent and open up to the Middle East. A leading multidisciplinary Moroccan firm, founded in 1999, providing advice as well as litigation, HLF is led by Zineb Hamzi, founding partner and co-chaired with Patrice Mouchon, lawyer at the Paris Bar. The firm operates in Morocco, West Africa and the Middle East. “This alliance will allow us to pool…

Heineken NV has announced its intention to acquire South African companies Distell Group Holdings and Namibia Breweries Ltd to form a Southern African beverage group. The new entity majority-owned by the Dutch brewer will have a total valuation of around 4 billion euros (4.6 billion dollars). In a statement issued on Monday, November 15, Heineken said the purchase is expected to boost the group’s profits in the first year. “We are very pleased to bring together three strong companies to create a regional beverage champion, perfectly positioned to seize important growth opportunities in Southern Africa,” Van den Brink, CEO of…

The European Investment Bank (EIB) and Allianz Global Investors will launch a EUR 500 million fundraising operation to strengthen climate change mitigation and adaptation in developing countries. The fund, called Emerging Market Climate Action Fund (EMCAF), was announced during COP26 climate talks in Scotland to bring together public and private investors – increasingly seen as a key way to help the world achieve its climate goals. The initiative will also see the participation of the German and Luxembourg governments, the Nordic Development Fund, AllianzGI’s parent company, Allianz, and Swedish insurer Folksam, as other investors. For the initiators, the fund, which…

The telecom group Airtel Africa PLC announced on Wednesday 3 November that it has finalized the sale of its Madagascar-based telecommunications tower company to Helios Towers Plc. The cost of the transaction is estimated at $ 51.7 million. Airtel Africa indicates that the proceeds of the transaction will be used to reduce the group’s external debt and to invest in network and sales infrastructure in Madagascar. Under the terms of the transaction, Airtel Africa group subsidiaries will continue to develop, maintain and operate their equipment on the towers under separate lease agreements, largely in local currencies, with the Buyer. The…

The financial rating agency Bloomfield Investment Corporation has assigned a rating of “A-” to Fidelis Finance-Burkina Faso, a leasing specialist based in Burkina Faso and Côte d’Ivoire. The rating carries a stable outlook. According to Bloomfield, this first rating is based on a good ability to deploy its strategies, a satisfactory evolution of production, an increase in overall performance, good portfolio quality, good financing flexibility, and a solid shareholder base. Based in Ouagadougou, Fidelis Finance specializes in leasing and develops related products adapted to the financing needs of SMEs / SMIs in the UEMOA zone. It is 29.14% owned by…

Mali has announced new rules to better control artisanal gold mining. The country plans to require permits for small miners and establish 200 cooperatives with help from the World Bank as part of an initiative to formalize trade through intermediaries. These advances will allow Mali to increase its total production by 15%, according to the Minister of Mines, Lamine Traoré. The country has a desire to overtake South Africa as the continent’s second largest producer. “We can go from being the third largest gold producer to the second in Africa,” said Lamine Traoré. It should be noted that Bamako had…

Opibus has just completed a fundraising in equity and grants amounting to 7.5 million dollars. The biggest financing ever for an electric mobility company in sub-Saharan Africa, according to the African electric mobility company. Announced on Tuesday, November 2, the funding was led by At One Ventures of Silicon Valley and backed by funding from former Google and Uber executives at other venture capital firms. It is made up of $ 5 million in equity and $ 2.5 million in additional grants. This fundraising, which follows a previous operation of $ 4 million, will be used to finance the development…

With a solid performance in the second quarter (+ 20.3%), Airtel Africa Plc, a subsidiary of the Indian group Bharti Airtel, recorded strong growth in the first half with a turnover of $ 2,272 million, an increase of by 25.2%. Double-digit growth noted in all the countries where the group is present. “Our financial performance in the first half was solid. The first half of last year, and in particular the first quarter, was impacted by the onset of the Covid, but even after adjusting for these effects, our revenue growth rates for the half year for the group and…

The African Import-Export Bank (Afreximbank) will launch a general capital increase operation (GCI) of $ 6.5 billion to finance some of its strategic activities. The capitalization operation was approved by African Union finance ministers, the AU Executive Council and the 34th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of AU Heads of State. The Cairo-based institution (Egypt) plans to support the purchase of vaccines against Covid-19 for the continent, support post-pandemic recovery efforts for the economies of African countries, and stimulate the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), among others. According to a bank statement from October 28, 2021,…

Boubacar Camara, former Director General of Senegalese Customs, has been appointed Deputy Director General of Customs in Benin. His appointment was announced on October 27, 2021 in the Council of Ministers. Of Senegalese nationality, Boubacar Camara was appointed Director General of Customs in May 2000. At the head of the institution, he had undertaken far-reaching reforms for modernization and a commitment to promote ethics. In 2006, he obtained availability and began consulting in customs and international trade. He travels to many African countries to share his experience. He is also a doctor of law, State Inspector General on early retirement…

Following a $ 600 million loan to Ghana last July for infrastructure projects, the African Development Bank (AfDB) agreed to a new $ 75 million commercial loan for the Ghana infrastructure (GIIF), owned by the State. This new funding falls within the framework of the Coordinated Program of Economic and Social Development Policies 2017-2024 and the National Medium-Term Development Policy Framework (MTDF 2018-2021) of Ghana, as well as the Ten-Year Strategy and the strategic priorities of Ghana. AfDB Summit 5. It should enable GIIF to finance several critical infrastructure projects in Ghana, and reduce the infrastructure financing gap estimated at…

The African Import-Export Bank (Afreximbank) will provide funding of $ 500,000 to the African Technology Policy Studies Network (ATPS), in order to invest in operational costs and finance ongoing activities on a three-year period ending in 2023. For Afreximbank, this partnership is in line with its strategy of promoting “the coherent expansion and diversification of African trade in order to increase Africa’s share in world trade.” Strengthening and collaborating with African institutions based on indigenous knowledge is part of the Bank’s strategy “. According to Benedict Oramah, president of the bank, “The African Technology and Policy Studies Network has demonstrated,…

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) forecasts a growth rate of 10.8 for Senegal in 2023, making the country the most dynamic economy in terms of growth. In its recent report entitled “Regional Economic Perspectives Sub-Saharan Africa: One Planet, Two Worlds, Three Realities” published in October, the institution indicates that Senegal is one of the countries that recorded the largest jump in terms of points since for 2022 , this rate is expected at 5.5%. A dynamism which should result, according to the IMF, by a gain of 5.3 points, in only two years, for the country. On the continent, Senegal…

The Radisson hotel group has announced that it has achieved a record year in Africa and the Middle East, with 21 signings and seven hotel openings completed to date. On the continent, the group carried out an expansion campaign, notably with the announcement of eight hotels in Morocco, the entry into Thakher Makkah with nearly 1,000 rooms, as well as the introduction of the Radisson Individuals brand in Africa. , and Africa’s second Radisson RED in South Africa. “For the remainder of the year, we will continue to build on the success and momentum we have had so far, focusing…

Foreign direct investment (FDI) flows to Africa grew 16% to $ 23 billion. Sub-Saharan Africa’s share is estimated at $ 18 billion, and North Africa has a total of $ 5 billion in inflows. According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) investment trend monitoring report, global FDI flows reached about $ 852 billion in the first half of 2021. Figures that indicate a rebound momentum stronger than expected by 78%. “The rapid recovery in FDI and the optimistic outlook mask the growing divergence in FDI flows between developed and developing economies, as well as the delay…

Members of the Africa Investment Forum team announced two projects with a joint value of around $ 140 million. The announcement was made at a virtual investor roundtable, held on October 21, which is part of a series of events hosted by the Africa Investment Forum. The first project, costing $ 96 million, involves the development of a 250-bed specialized hospital providing world-class health services in West Africa. The country to host the infrastructure, however, has not been disclosed. The second concerns the construction of a $ 45 million WHO prequalified vaccine production plant in East Africa that will be…

US technology services giant Google plans to invest $ 1 billion in Africa to support “digital transformation” on the continent. The investment will be made under the “Google for Africa” ​​program, according to Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google. The program will include landing an undersea cable on the continent to accelerate internet speeds for small businesses, providing low interest loans to small businesses, investing in African start-ups , the provision of vocational training, etc. “We have made tremendous progress together over the past decade – but there is still work to be done to make the internet accessible, affordable and…

Senegalese Abdoulaye Elimane Dia, CEO of Holding Fortunes Capital, died on Thursday August 5th of an illness at Aristide le Dantec hospital in Dakar. Very involved in development issues, the mayor of Demette was political leader of the Alliance for the Republic (APR) and led a movement called Alliance for the Development and Emergence of Podor (ADEP). A successful political actor and businessman, Kaladio, as his relatives affectionately called him, began his schooling in Ndembat Kane in the Matam department. Abdoulaye Elimane Dia is a Master in Business Law and also holds a PHD in Portfolio Management, an MBA in…

Trade between Egypt and Nigeria experienced remarkable growth during the year 2020. This significant growth translated into a total of $ 181 million, including 1 million imports from Nigeria to Egypt, an increase of 45%. According to the head of Nigeria’s trade office, Amr Tantawy, in a statement made Tuesday at a seminar on “Opportunities for Developing Egyptian Furniture Exports to Nigeria”, there is a boom in most items of goods. Egyptian exports to Nigeria, to save about $ 180 million. “Nigeria has a local furniture industry which covers between 50-60% of the market needs, but there is still an…