Author: Amadjiguéne Ndoye

Safaricom has launched Ziidi Trader, a service integrated into the M-PESA app that allows users to buy and sell stocks listed on the Nairobi Stock Exchange (NSE) directly from their mobile phone, without the need for a separate brokerage account. Users can access Ziidi Trader through the Financial Services section of M-PESA. All transactions are executed by Kestrel Capital, Safaricom’s exclusive partner, and settled directly via M-PESA. The platform also allows users to track real-time stock prices and create personalized watchlists. Ziidi Trader was tested in a pilot phase in late 2025 and builds on the Ziidi Money Market Fund…

Partners Capital Investment Group, a global investment firm managing over 70 billion USD in assets, announced on Thursday, February 12th the closing of its private co-investment fund Merlin IV, with over one billion USD in commitments. The fund received subscriptions from family offices and institutional investors in North America, Europe, Asia, and Africa. Merlin IV is the fourth fund launched under the Merlin platform, created in 2019. Since its inception, the platform has invested over 2 billion USD in over 60 transactions. Merlin IV, the fourth fund of the co-investment platform Merlin launched in 2019, focuses on acquiring mid-sized and…

Absa Group has appointed Kenyan Sitoyo Lopokoiyit as the Chief Executive Officer of retail banking, with his start date set for April 1, 2026. This decision is part of a series of changes within the executive leadership aimed at strengthening governance and supporting the group’s growth strategy, according to a statement released on Wednesday, February 11. Previously the CEO of M-PESA Africa and Director of Financial Services at Safaricom, Sitoyo Lopokoiyit has held several leadership positions in the telecommunications company since joining in 2011, including Head of Strategy and Business Development for M-PESA. He is credited with major innovations such…

The South African group Bidvest has ended negotiations with the Nigerian Access Bank, after key conditions of the transaction were not met by the agreed deadline. In a statement released on Monday, February 9th, Bidvest confirmed the official cancellation of the agreement and stated that it is now exploring options with other potential buyers for its banking subsidiary. The group emphasized that Bidvest Bank remains strong and operationally stable, and that this decision is part of its strategy to gradually withdraw from financial services and focus on its core and more profitable activities. According to Bidvest, “despite efforts by both…

The Ugandan Central Bank has maintained its key rate at 9.75% on Monday, February 9, continuing a series of six consecutive stability decisions. This “prudent” decision comes as the country prepares to launch its commercial production of crude oil, a turning point that could transform the national economy. Governor Michael Atingi-Ego justified this status quo...

The National Bank of Egypt (NBE) is considering strengthening its presence in the Gulf region, beyond Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, announced Hesham Elsafty, NBE’s international banking director. The Riyadh branch will focus on financing large and medium-sized enterprises, foreign trade, and investments, the official said. The initiative is also expected to enhance trade between Saudi Arabia and Egypt. The bank has stated that it is among the first institutions to request the opening of an agency in the Kingdom from Saudi authorities. “This expansion builds customer confidence in the bank, both in the local market and in…

The Nigerian Bank of Industry Limited (BOI) has obtained approval from the national central bank (CBN) to launch an interest-free banking window, aiming to expand access to ethical financing and stimulate more inclusive industrial growth. The approval allows the bank to offer interest-free financial products, including financing for assets and raw materials, to underserved economic...

Moody’s Investors Service has confirmed that the outlook for the Kenyan banking system remains stable, reflecting resilient economic conditions and strong financial buffers, while also upgrading the ratings of several large banks in the country. “Our outlook for the Kenyan banking sector is stable and reflects our view of the evolution of banks’ solvency over...

Access Bank Plc has appointed Ifeyinwa Osime as the head of its board of directors, replacing Paul Usoro SAN, who retired on January 29, 2026 after completing his regulatory term. The announcement was made by the holding company on Monday, February 2. A member of Access Bank’s board since November 2019, Ifeyinwa Osime has chaired several key committees, including those in charge of human resources and sustainability, governance, and nomination and remuneration. She brings over two decades of experience in law, insurance, and corporate governance, having worked in institutions such as McPherson Legal Practitioners, NSIA Insurance, and Nigeria Reinsurance Corporation.…

Ethiopia plans to open its gold market to private banks and gradually eliminate the premium paid to artisanal miners, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said in its fourth review of the Extended Credit Facility, published on January 30, 2026. According to the fund, these reforms mark a major turning point, ending the predominant role of...

Nearly 11 billion transactions were processed through the NIBSS Instant Payments (NIP) platform in 2024, up from around five billion in 2022, positioning Nigeria as one of the top global adopters of real-time payments and leading in Africa, according to the first fintech report published on February 2, 2026 by the Central Bank of Nigeria...

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,...