Author: The Editorial Staff

Wale Odutola has been appointed as the Managing Director of Nigerian group ARM, effective July 2025. He succeeds Jumoke Ogundare, who is stepping down after a decade at the helm of the company. The group has also announced the appointment of Osahon Ogiemudia as Executive Director. This major leadership transition within the group comes following...

The French construction group NGE has signed a new major contract in Senegal for the restoration of three major sites on Saint-Louis Island, classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The contract, entrusted by the National Agency for the Promotion of Investments and Major Works (APIX), is part of a vast program of urban requalification...

The National Telecommunications Office of Burkina Faso (ONATEL) S.A will pay its shareholders on July 21, 2025, for the year 2024, a net total dividend of 12.887 billion CFA francs (23.198 million dollars), announced the leaders of this company based in Ouagadougou. Compared to the 68 million shares that make up the company’s share capital,...

The Central Depository/Clearing Bank (DC/BR) of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) gathered economic press actors in Abidjan on Wednesday, June 25 for an exchange session. This meeting is part of an educational approach aimed at popularizing ongoing structural projects in the regional financial market. At the heart of the discussions: accelerating the...

A new lithium-ion battery materials production plant was inaugurated on Wednesday, June 25, 2025 in Jorf Lasfar, Morocco. This project, led by the joint venture COBCO, a partnership between the Moroccan pan-African fund Al Mada and the Chinese group CNGR Advanced Materials, represents an investment of around $1.8 billion. Covering an area of over 200...

Lomé, June 25, 2025 – The West African Development Bank (BOAD) continues its commitment to financing development in the UEMOA. Meeting via videoconference for its 146th ordinary session, the institution’s Board of Directors, chaired by Serge Ekue, approved 13 new operations for a total amount of 273.3 billion FCFA, bringing BOAD’s cumulative financing since 1976 to 9,774.5 billion FCFA. In addition to approving the minutes of the previous session held in Dakar, the directors praised the mid-term performance of the 2025 exercise and gave a favorable opinion on the status of debt recovery as of May 31. Diversified financing in…

Abuja, June 25, 2025 – One of the highlights of the first day of the Afreximbank Annual Meetings was the presentation of the joint economic report African Trade and Economic Outlook (ATEO) and African Trade Report (ATR) 2025, unveiled by Dr. Yemi Kale, Chief Economist and Managing Director in charge of research and international cooperation. This report provides a candid assessment, yet full of opportunities, of the African economy in an increasingly fragmented international context. According to economists at the African Export-Import Bank, the continent recorded a growth of 3.3% in 2024, below pre-COVID levels but higher than forecasts. For…

Abuja, June 25, 2025 – The Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS), a flagship initiative of Afreximbank in partnership with the African Union Commission and the AfCFTA Secretariat, has reached a major milestone with the official launch of the African Currency Marketplace, a unique platform designed to streamline cross-border payments in local currencies across Africa. Named African Currency Marketplace, this new feature aims to eliminate reliance on strong currencies (such as the dollar or euro) in trade between African countries. The principle: allow a transaction to initiate in a local currency and end in another, without intermediate conversion into a…

Abuja, June 25, 2025 – The Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS), a flagship initiative of Afreximbank in partnership with the African Union Commission and the AfCFTA Secretariat, has reached a major milestone with the official launch of the African Currency Marketplace, a groundbreaking platform designed to streamline cross-border payments in local currencies across Africa. Named the African Currency Marketplace, this new feature aims to eliminate dependence on strong currencies (such as the dollar or euro) in commercial exchanges between African countries. The principle: allow a transaction to initiate in a local currency and conclude in another, without intermediate conversion…

The World Bank has approved a concessional financing of $115 million for Senegal, aimed at supporting its budget reform efforts, improving public financial management, and strengthening domestic resource mobilization. The announcement was made in a statement released on Tuesday, June 24. This financing, provided by the International Development Association (IDA), consists of two components, including...

Egypt has relaunched its sovereign sukuk issuance program on international markets with a new $1 billion operation, the Ministry of Finance announced in a statement released on Wednesday, June 25. This second issuance, compliant with sharia law, offers an annual yield of 7.875% and matures in three years. It was carried out as a private...

The Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) announced on Tuesday, June 24, the official entry of the Republic of Angola into its capital as a sovereign shareholder, through a strategic investment of $184.8 million. This operation will strengthen the partnership between Angola and the pan-African institution specializing in infrastructure financing and demonstrates the country’s confidence in the AFC’s mission: to catalyze sustainable development and regional integration through structuring projects. Already a member of the AFC since 2022, Angola is thus taking a new step in its collaboration with the Company. This new capital contribution is part of a continental dynamic aimed at…

The Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS) has awarded six new natural gas exploration blocks to several international companies, with a total estimated investment of $245 million. The announcement was made on Wednesday, June 25 by the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, following the international bidding campaign launched through the Egypt Upstream Gateway (EUG)...

Burundi has officially commissioned the Jiji hydroelectric power plant, located in the province of Bururi. With a capacity of 49.5 megawatts once fully completed with the twin Mulembwe plant, this strategic project marks a major step towards the country’s energy self-sufficiency. The project is co-financed to the tune of $320 million by the African Development...

During its second quarterly meeting of the year 2025, held on Tuesday, June 24, the Council of Bank Al-Maghrib (BAM) decided to keep its key rate unchanged at 2.25%. This decision comes in an international context marked by high uncertainty related to geopolitical tensions and the new trade policies of the United States, which continue...

The Shelter Afrique Development Bank (ShafDB) has signed a $15 million loan agreement with the Mauritanian Investment Bank (BMI) to support the construction of affordable housing in Mauritania. This agreement, signed in Nouakchott, is intended to co-finance the construction of 1,000 housing units in the mining town of Zouératt in northern Mauritania, as well as...

Nigeria and Brazil signed a one billion dollar agreement on Tuesday, June 24, aimed at strengthening their cooperation in several strategic sectors, including agriculture, food security, energy, and defense. The announcement was made at the opening of the second Nigeria-Brazil Strategic Dialogue Mechanism in Abuja by Nigerian Vice President Kashim Shettima. At the heart of...

Uganda has dethroned Ethiopia to become the top coffee exporter in Africa, according to an announcement from the Ugandan Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries published on Tuesday, June 24. In May 2025, the country shipped 793,445 bags of 60 kg coffee, totaling 47,606.7 tons, generating record revenues of $243 million. This performance marks...

TIB Development Bank, a government-owned development bank in Tanzania, has secured a concessional loan of 30 billion Tanzanian shillings (11 million USD) from the East African Development Bank (EADB) to support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). This financing is intended to provide preferential loans, with repayment periods of up to 15 years. This loan is...

Abuja, June 25, 2025 – The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) opened its 32nd Annual Meetings (AAM2025) in the Nigerian capital Abuja on Wednesday, June 25. A major event, focused on African trade integration, bringing together over 6,000 participants, including heads of state, ministers, leaders of financial institutions, businessmen, billionaires, and hundreds of journalists from across the continent. The historical role of the institution in developing the continent’s financial infrastructure and promoting intra-African trade was highlighted by various speakers. Speaking, Olayemi Cardoso, Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), recalled Afreximbank’s spectacular rise: “Established in 1993 with an initial capital…

The revenue and donations of the general budget mobilized by the State of Senegal as of March 31, 2025 amounted to 1,027.82 billion CFA francs (1.85 billion dollars), representing an execution rate of 21.44% of the initial Budget Law (LFI) forecasts, according to the budget execution report for the first quarter of 2025 released by...

The State of Ivory Coast, through its Public Treasury, raised on June 24, 2025 on the financial market of the West African Monetary Union (UMOA) an amount of 71.499 billion CFA francs (128.698 million dollars) through a simultaneous auction of Treasury assimilable bonds (BAT) with a maturity of 364 days and Treasury assimilable bonds (OAT)...

During the third edition of the Finance Week organized in Douala by EcoMatin, the Cameroonian group Prometal was praised for its exceptional trajectory in the industrial landscape of Central Africa. Two awards were presented to them: the Industrial Investment Leadership Award in the CEMAC zone for the year 2024, and the Industrial Leadership Award in Cameroon, given to its CEO, Hayssam El Jammal. A double recognition for a group that has made Cameroon a regional pillar in the steel transformation. An industrial strategy on a regional scale The first award crowns an ambitious industrial expansion strategy. In 2024, Prometal strengthened…

Coris Bank International (CBI) shareholders will receive a net global dividend of 17.76 billion FCFA (32 million dollars) on July 7, 2025, for the 2024 financial year, announced the leaders of this bank based in Ouagadougou. With 32 million shares making up the Bank’s share capital, the net dividend per share amounts to 555 FCFA compared to 790 FCFA in 2023, representing a decrease of 235 FCFA. Compared to its price of 10,290 FCFA on Tuesday, June 24, 2025, on the Regional Stock Exchange (BRVM) where CBI is listed, CBI’s stock has a yield of 5.39%. At the end of…

In a context where more than 400 million Africans remain outside formal financial services, despite the rise of fintechs and mobile phone usage, the AfricaNenda Foundation and the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS, the technical arm of the payment infrastructure in Nigeria jointly owned by commercial banks and the Central Bank) have made a strong...

In a joint statement released on June 24, 2025, the BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, as well as the new expanded members) strongly condemned the recent military attacks against the Islamic Republic of Iran. The statement, issued by the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, considers these strikes a violation of international law...

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a branch of the World Bank Group dedicated to the private sector, has granted a loan of 3.7 billion dirhams (approximately 370 million euros) to the Maroc Telecom group. This long-term financing aims to improve mobile connectivity and internet quality in the operator’s subsidiaries in Chad and Mali, according to...

Cotonou, June 24, 2025 – The Institute for Inclusive Digital Africa (IIDIA) and the Agency for Information Systems and Digital (ASIN) today launched the Regional Laboratory of Innovation and Digital Technologies in Cotonou, with a groundbreaking inaugural project: the development of the first voice-to-voice artificial intelligence model in the Fon language. Conceived as a true turning point in terms of digital sovereignty, this innovation aims to remove a massive barrier to digital inclusion: the language barrier. In West Africa, where more than 1,000 languages coexist, digital services are mainly aimed at French or English speakers. The Fon language, spoken by…

Nigerian group Access Bank PLC has completed the acquisition of Standard Chartered Bank’s retail banking and wealth management operations in Tanzania. This transaction, formalized on June 20, 2025, is part of a broader strategic repositioning of the British bank, initiated in 2022, aimed at exiting certain non-priority markets. The divestiture is part of the disinvestment...

Mali and Russia have taken a new step in strengthening their bilateral relations by signing several economic and commercial cooperation agreements in Moscow on Monday, June 23, during a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Malian transitional president, Colonel Assimi Goïta. According to a statement from the Kremlin, the two heads of state had in-depth discussions that led to the conclusion of several strategic partnerships, including a cooperation agreement in the field of nuclear energy. This initiative demonstrates a common desire to expand cooperation in key and sensitive sectors. Among other commitments is the creation of an intergovernmental…