Author: Amadjiguéne Ndoye

Far from being spared from the COVD-19 pandemic which continues to wreak havoc on economies around the world, African countries have suffered significant damage to their economies due to lockdowns as part of a containment strategy. Through this interview with the editorial staff of Financial Afrik, Matthew Winkler, Editor-in-Chief Emeritus and co-founder of Bloomberg News, outlines the means at Africa’s disposal to reorganize its economy and forecast its prospects in relation to the global economy With the smallest number of detected coronavirus cases in the world, how is Africa economically affected by the Covid-19 pandemic? As a region of 54…

AM Best confirmed the excellent “A” financial strength rating and long-term credit rating of the issuer “A” of the reinsurance company African Reinsurance Corporation (ARC) (Nigeria). The outlook for these credit ratings is stable. The ratings reflect the strength of ARC’s balance sheet, which AM Best ranks as the strongest, as well as its strong operational performance, favorable business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management (ERM). The agency believes that “ARC’s balance sheet strength is based on its highest risk-adjusted capitalization, as measured by Best’s capital adequacy ratio (BCAR).” ARC’s capital position is expected to remain stable thanks to strong…

Solar energy start-up, Oolu Solar, raised $ 8.5 million in Series B capital. The transaction was led by independent renewable energy developer RP Global. Other additional investors also participated in the funding round, including Persistent Energy Capital (PEC), Shell’s impact investor, All On, Gaia Impact Fund and DPI Energy Ventures. The startup specializes in providing affordable energy to rural and peri-urban areas in West Africa. With this investment, Oolu plans to expand its commodity offering to meet the needs of its customers and further develop its operations. The company operates in Nigeria, Senegal, Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger. The operation…

Egypt has just approved the construction of the country’s first dry port. The facility, announced in the city in the city of October 6 (urban area of ​​Cairo), will be Africa’s largest dry port. The implementation of the project is entrusted to a consortium comprising: DB Schenker, a division of the German rail operator Deutsche Bahn AG which focuses on logistics and supply chain management; Elsewedy Electric Co S.A.E, formerly known as El Sewedy Cables, an Egypt-based limited company engaged in the manufacture of integrated cables and electrical products; and 3A International. The project requested the participation of the European…

Guinea Bissau will receive funding of $ 12 million from the African Development Bank (AfDB) intended to support the economic recovery in Guinea-Bissau within the framework of covid-19. Since the start of the pandemic, the country has recorded 2,444 positive cases since the start of the pandemic, according to data from the High Commission for Covid-19. The Covid-19 has severely impacted the cashew nut marketing campaign, the country’s main export product, a sector that employs more than 80% of Guineans directly or indirectly. For the year 2020, Guinea-Bissau will record negative economic growth of -2.9% in 2020 and internal state…

Pan-African group Liquid Telecom has appointed Wole Abu as CEO of Liquid Telecom Nigeria. He will also be in charge of the Data Center for Africa (ADC) in Nigeria, effective January 2021. Former CEO of Pan African Towers (PAT) before joining Liquid Telecom, Wole Abu held the position of Vice President of Sales at Airtel Nigeria, where he also held several managerial positions in the human resources departments, engineering, operations, finance, legal and marketing respectively. He has, during his rich career, also managed startups and mature companies. He holds a Bachelor of Engineering with Honors from the University of Benin…

The French Development Agency (AFD) has granted 715.6 million euros ($ 866.6 million) in funding to Egypt, the Egyptian Ministry of International Cooperation announced on Wednesday (December 9th). The aim is to strengthen the transition to a green recovery and to invest in human capital. The agreements, signed on the sidelines of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s visit to France, are part of the 2019-2023 strategic partnership for social and economic development between Egypt and France, worth 1 billion euros ($ 1.2 billion). “Part of the funds will finance the energy sector support program worth $ 181.5 million, and a…

Pan-African reinsurer Continental Re has announced the appointment of Ogadi Onwuaduegbo as regional director, Anglophone West Africa. His appointment will be effective in January 2021. Ogadi has over ten years of business development and brokerage experience gained in Nigeria and the UK. A licensed insurer, Ogadi holds an MSc in Management from Robert Gordon University, UK and a BSc Actuarial Science and Insurance from the University of Lagos, Nigeria. He has worked for reputable organizations such as Marsh Limited, London and Afro-Asian Insurance Services, London where, until recently, he served as Senior Broker and Commercial Producer for Nigeria. “We have…

Egyptian bank Banque Misr (BM) has been assigned a “B +” rating from Fitch Ratings due to the Egyptian authorities’ limited capacity to support when needed. The outlook remains stable and is backed by the country’s sovereign rating. Egyptian banks will come under further pressure from risks to their operating environment, Fitch said, leading the agency to put down a negative outlook. On the other hand, the short-term risks weighing on the credit profiles of Egyptian banks, and in particular on their financing and their liquidity in foreign currency (FC) due to the fallout from the coronavirus crisis, are diminishing.…

After downgrading South Africa’s sovereign rating from “BB” to “BB-” on November 20, Fitch has just downgraded the long-term issuer default ratings (IDRs) of five South African banks. These are Absa Bank Limited, FirstRand Bank Limited, Investec Bank Limited, Nedbank Limited and The Standard Bank of South Africa Limited which also saw their ratings slide to “BB-” from a “BB” previously. The outlook remains negative. The rating actions also affected four South African bank holding companies – Absa Group Limited, Investec Limited, Nedbank Group Limited and Standard Bank Group Limited. All international debt ratings have also been downgraded. For the…

Africa’s largest economy, Nigeria, has been hit hard by falling oil prices on the world market. The country officially entered recession for the second time since 2016 after its gross domestic product (GDP) contracted for the second quarter in a row, according to new data released by the National Statistics Office on Saturday (November 21). This is the worst downturn in its economy in almost four decades. The report calls into question the prolonged period of low prices that the global oil market is going through, exacerbated by the dire economic situation resulting from the coronavirus pandemic. For Africa’s largest…

Access Bank Plc achieved 16% growth in profit after tax (PAT) to 102.3 billion naira ($ 270 million) for the nine months ended September 30, 2020, from 88.4 billion naira ($ 232 million) recorded during the same period in 2019. A solid result despite the current economic context marked by the Covid-19 pandemic and the resulting drop in the price of oil. The bank’s pre-tax profit also jumped 16% to 116.6 billion naira ($ 306 million) as results released Thursday, November 19 on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE). According to the latest information from the bank, gross income rose 15%…

In DR Congo, the new price of the biometric passport is set at the Congolese franc equivalent of USD 99, broken down as follows: USD 50 for the contracting authority and USD 40 for the holder. As for the validity, it is fixed at 5 years. Under the terms of an interministerial decree signed on November 10, 2020 by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Marie Tumba Nzenza, and the Minister of Finance, Sele Yalaghuli. The waiting period for the delivery of the biometric passport is set at 7 days for applicants located in Kinshasa, 14 days for those from the…

Tunisian banks will face a sharp rise in credit losses over the next 12 months as borrowers’ debt service capacity weakens due to the recent end of support measures put in place amid the pandemic coronavirus, announced the rating agency Fitch Ratings in its report “Large Tunisian Banks: 1H20 Results” published on November 9, 2020. Fitch says a drop in profitability will negatively impact already limited capital buffers, especially in banks with lower core profitability. Ratings could be lowered for banks whose financial parameters are deteriorating beyond the agency’s basic expectations. “Most major banks recorded modest increases in loan and…

Multinational mining company Endeavor Mining has announced merger talks with West African rival Teranga Gold as safe-haven gold prices have risen thanks to the global stimulus to protect savings from the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic. Through a so-called “equal style” merger, the Canadian miner is considering an all-equity purchase and may offer a low premium for Toronto-listed Teranga. Endeavor, which is 24.12% owned by the Egyptian Sawiris family, is on the trail of acquisitions this year as gold prices have risen on the global stimulus. Last March, Endeavor Mining acquired Semafo to become Burkina Faso’s largest gold producer, one…

African e-commerce platform Jumia announced an almost 18% drop in revenue in the third quarter, from 49.9 million euros ($ 58.8 million) in 2019 to 32 , 4 million euros ($ 38.3 million) currently. The firm has refocused its strategy on cheaper items; a reduction in costs which enabled Jumia to reduce its adjusted loss of earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization for the period. According to figures in the latest quarterly report, Jumia’s gross profit after execution costs reached 6.6 million euros ($ 7.7 million), compared to a loss of 1.7 million euros (2 million dollars) in the…

Nigerian fintech start-up Kuda has closed a $ 10 million seed funding round to accelerate its growth and meet customer demand. Kuda joins the list of startups that have crossed the $ 1 billion valuation threshold, including Paystack and Interswitch. The tour de table is led by Target Global with participation from Entry Capital and SBI Investment, and also involving leading fintech founders and angel investors such as Raffael Johnen, Johan Lorenzen, Brandon Krieg, Ed Robinson and Oliver and Lish Jung. The funds will be used for key recruitments, product development and expansion of operations across Africa. This is a…

Allianz announced on Friday, November 6 that its total revenue reached 31.4 billion euros ($ 37.2 billion) in the third quarter (Q3) of 2020, after falling 6.1% from the corresponding period of the previous year. In the same period, the group achieved operating profit of 2.9 billion euros ($ 3.4 billion), down 2.6% compared to the same period in 2019. Operating profit came to 7.8 billion euros, rising to 9.1 billion euros excluding the impact of COVID-19. Net income attributable to shareholders for the quarter was up 5.9% to 2.1 billion euros due to higher non-operating investment income, partially offset…

The African Import-Export Bank, Afreximbank, announced the establishment of a $ 1.5 billion mechanism in response to the COVID-19 pandemic (COPREFA) to finance African countries to fight against economic impact of the pandemic. In addition to Afreximbank, the facility is co-financed by the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC) – the trade finance arm of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) – and the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA). The funds will be made available to African central banks and trade organizations and will finance the equipment needed to meet the challenges of food security. Funding will be…

The second annual retreat of the African Permanent Representatives and the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) ended in Mahe, Seychelles, late Tuesday following two days of intense dialogue on key development priorities that can lead to accelerated development in Africa. Debate on climate change took centre stage as Ambassadors and ECA experts discussed how the continent, in particular small island developing States (SIDS), can leverage new technologies and research to mitigate the impact and vulnerabilities they face due to their remoteness, frontline exposure and levels of development. Africa has six SIDS namely Cabo Verde, the Comoros, Guinea-Bissau, Mauritius, Sao Tome…

The Egyptian Central Bank on Thursday (November 14th) announced the upcoming creation of a $ 600 million company to guarantee export credits to Africa. The company in creation will have as main mission to support the industrial exports and services towards Africa. In addition, it will provide support to Egyptian construction companies to win important projects from African governments. It should be noted that the African Export-Import Bank acted as technical adviser to the project. “Egypt, which assumes the presidency of the African Union this year, aims to become a business gateway for business with Africa and strengthen its trade…

Rwanda is expected to grow by 8.5 percent, according to a new forecast by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Wednesday (November 13th). The IMF had previously forecast 7.8% growth for the country. Also, according to the IMF, growth in real gross domestic product (GDP) exceeded expectations, averaging 10.3% in the first half of 2019. “Rwanda has grown above 10 percent in the first half of 2019. All major indications show continued growth,” said Laure Redifer, head of the IMF’s Rwanda mission in Kigali. Justifying this growth, Laure Refugee cited major construction projects undertaken by the Rwandan government, an increase…

South African insurer and financial services group Sanlam has announced the completion of the acquisition process of the Rwandan insurance company Soras Insurance General Ltd., which will now operate under the Sanlam brand. The complete merger was announced Wednesday, November 13 in Kigali by officials of both companies. The acquisition process began in 2014, when Sanlam acquired 63% of the capital of Soras before becoming a full owner in 2018. “We now have all the shares and passed the acquisition phase. We are now entering the organic phase to ensure that our presence in Rwanda corresponds to a pan-African vision…

Media, Technology, Business and Senior Government Leaders from All Over Africa and Beyond Debated 10-12 November in Dakar, Senegal on “Business Strategies for the Media” African “. On the Bloomberg initiative, the fifth annual Bloomberg Africa Business Media Innovators Forum (ABMI) focused more on some very promising approaches to foster a vibrant and competitive media sector on the continent. Justin B. Smith, CEO of Bloomberg Media Group, answers Financial Afrik’s questions. Does digitalization force African media to reinvent itself? The digitization of the media should not be debated, it is a reality. You know everything is destined to become digital,…

Published on the theme of the 2063 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the 2019 Africa Governance Report is based on data from the Mo Ibrahim Index of Governance in Africa. The report focuses on the need for African states to improve the availability of data to achieve development goals. Ms. Aïcha Bah Diallo, spokesperson for the Mo Ibrahim Foundation, former Minister of Education of Guinea, adviser to the NGO / UNESCO Liaison Committee for Girls’ Education in Africa, answers Financial Afrik’s questions. Why have this report focused on achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the African Union…

Morocco’s Banque Centrale Populaire (BCP) announced on Wednesday, September 18, a net profit of 1.64 billion dirhams (170 million dollars) in the first half of 2019, an increase of 5.5%. The bank recorded during the same period, a growth of 4.8% of its net banking income to reach 8.78 billion dirhams (907 million dollars). In a statement issued to that effect, the Moroccan bank indicates that total deposits reached 286 billion dirhams (29.5 billion dollars) in June 2019, including 4 billion dirhams (413 million dollars) additional collected from Moroccan individuals and the diaspora. At the same time loans granted by…

Insurance companies in Kenya saw their profits plummet to less than 61.5% in 2018 to reach $ 33 million, marking their worst year of growth. On this same decreasing slope, the sector recorded a cumulative profit after tax of $ 33.7 million in 2018 compared to $ 87.7 million in 2017. Note that the largest loss in the sector is recorded in the non-life business, which posted a loss of $ 26.6 million against $ 9.5 million a year earlier. In addition, commissions and expenses grew almost steadily with figures increasing from $ 652.7 million to $ 660.3 million. Growth…

The National Insurance Commission of Nigeria (NAICOM) has authorized the insurance companies Cornerstone Takaful Insurance Company Limited and Salam Takaful Insurance Company Ltd. to operate in the Nigerian market. It should be noted that the two companies, which have just obtained the agreement in principle from the regulatory body, have been approved as Takaful composite operators for the family and general commercial transactions of Takaful in Nigeria. “The approval in principle granted to the two new companies is in line with our desire for inclusion to increase the penetration of insurance in the country,” said NAICOM in a statement released…

The Kenya Mortgage Refinance Company (KMRC) announces that it has raised 1.2 billion shillings ($ 11.5 million) in equity from eight Kenyan commercial banks. The Kenya Commercial Bank Group (KCB) led the banks involved in this fundraising. The bank committed itself to 600 million shillings ($ 5.7 million) in equity for a stake of 25.3%. The remaining funds are Co-operative Bank 200 million shillings ($ 1.9 million), representing 8.4%; NIC Group, HF Group, Barclays Bank of Kenya and Diamond Trust Bank Kenya each paid 50 million Shillings ($ 481,000) of equity for a 2.1% interest. Stanbic Bank and Credit Bank…

The international rating agency Standard & Poor’s believes that the credit quality of the assets held by the monetary fund FCP Capital Monetary, managed by BMCE Capital Gestion, management company of the BMCE Bank of Africa group, is strong and comparable to other ratings issued by S & P internationally. Standard and Poor’s has just attributed the double rating of credit quality and volatility ‘Af / S1 +’ to the fund. The ‘S1 +’ rating means that the fund has very low volatility in returns comparable to that of a portfolio of short-duration Treasury Bonds with the highest credit quality…