Author: The Editorial Staff

The Central Bank of Congo (BCC) announced on Monday, August 18, 2025, that it had sold 50 million US dollars to commercial banks at a rate of 2,776 CDF for 1 USD. This intervention, according to a statement from the BCC, aims to stabilize the national currency in a context marked by strong inflationary pressures...

The military in power in Ouagadougou made this decision on Monday, August 18, 2025, following the publication of a United Nations report pointing to “violations against children” related to the ongoing armed conflict in Burkina Faso. Appointed Resident Coordinator of the United Nations System (UNS) in Burkina in July 2024, Carol Flore-Smereczniak is now declared...

In a decree made public on August 18, 2025, the President of the Republic, Paul Biya, authorizes the Minister of Finance (Minfi), Louis Paul Motaze, to resort to domestic and external borrowing for a total amount of 930 billion CFA francs (1.7 billion USD). According to this document, these funds will be used to finance...

Takaful insurance premiums reached 94.9 million Moroccan dirhams (approximately 8.7 million euros) in 2024, representing a 44.1% increase compared to the previous year, according to the 12th annual report on financial stability. This growth is mainly driven by the life branch, with 80.8 million MAD (7.4 million euros; +38.3%), followed by the fire branch, which...

Ghana is preparing to introduce a regulatory framework dedicated to Islamic finance by the end of 2025, with the ambition of strengthening financial inclusion and attracting new capital. This structuring reform aims to consistently regulate banking, capital markets, and insurance through a robust Sharia governance framework. The Central Bank (BoG), the Securities and Exchange Commission,...

The ninth edition of the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD 9) opens this Wednesday, August 20, 2025 in Yokohama, Japan. Created in 1993, TICAD is a high-level forum bringing together heads of state, policymakers, experts, and technical partners around sustainable development issues. Organized by the Japanese government in partnership with the African Union,...

From August 13 to 15, 2025, Cape Town hosted the AU-AIP Africa Water Investment Summit, a strategic framework dedicated to financing and cooperation in the water sector. Leading the Ivorian delegation, Minister of Water and Forests, Laurent Tchagba, highlighted the national water strategy, combining economic diplomacy, institutional advocacy, and capital mobilization. The flagship intervention focused...

Nairobi is trying its hand at the liturgy of liability management, frontier market version: redeeming its domestic securities at the end of their life to refinance them with new long-term issues, in the hope of pushing back the deadline. A roll-over play worthy of emerging debt manuals, where toxic short-term debt is replaced by supposedly...

Ethiopia recorded $4 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI) during its fiscal year, marking a slight increase of 2.2% compared to the previous year. This trend is crucial as the country prepares to restructure its $1 billion Eurobond after a payment default. According to the Ethiopian Investment Commission, the $4 billion in FDI received until...

The Central African Securities Exchange (BVMAC) closed its session on August 19, 2025 with apparent stability: the All Share index remained unchanged at 997.30 points. But behind this immobility lies a deeper observation: a market where a single transaction is enough to gauge activity. In practice, the focus was on ten shares of the Société...

By Pr Amath Ndiaye – FASEG-UCAD The liquidity crisis currently shaking Guinean banks acts as a brutal revealer of the fragilities of the national financial system. Due to insufficient deposits, institutions struggle to meet withdrawals, leading to plummeting profitability and a risk of closure for many cash registers, including those of electronic money operators. This new turbulence highlights the chronic vulnerability of the Guinean franc, undermined by inflationary pressures and recurrent banking imbalances. A few hundred kilometers away, the example of Guinea-Bissau illustrates a diametrically opposed choice. In 1997, faced with repeated monetary crises, Bissau decided to join the West…

On July 31, 2025, three Irish entities related to Carlyle filed a lawsuit in New York to obtain $65.2 million. The amount covers unpaid rent, “redelivery” fees, and damages for obstructing the execution of a Senegalese decision. This legal action illustrates a loss of confidence by lessors in the local legal framework, which is supposed...

Swiss Re surpasses Munich Re, China Re joins, Allianz and Axa remain distant The latest ranking of the fifty largest reinsurers published by A.M. Best serves as a reminder of the harsh reality of a sector where Africa remains a spectator. No player from the continent is included in this elite group dominated by Europe,...

The total income of companies listed on the Tunis Stock Exchange (BVMT) increased by 6% in the first half of 2025 compared to the same period in 2024, according to data compiled by the leaders of this Exchange based in Tunis. This total income amounted to 12.8 billion dinars (4.489 billion dollars) compared to 12.1...

By Auguste DAGO, President of StratéNova. Diagnosis of a persistent situation In West Africa, industrial and infrastructure projects abound, but their realization faces a recurring obstacle: access to financing. According to several studies by the African Development Bank, over 70% of industrial projects initiated in the sub-region never reach the financing phase. The continent faces an annual infrastructure investment deficit of around $100 billion, a figure that illustrates the extent of the missed opportunities. This lack of financing has serious consequences: – Chronic delays in industrialization, – Increased dependence on imports, – Missed massive job opportunities for a youth population…

Tokyo, August 19, 2025 – On the sidelines of the ninth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD-9), the African Trade and Investment Development Insurance (ATIDI), in partnership with Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG) and Nippon Export and Investment Insurance (NEXI), organized a high-level meeting focused on increasing Japanese investments in Africa. Under the theme “Stimulating Japanese private sector investments in Africa”, the event brought together senior government officials, financing institutions, and major Japanese companies to explore concrete strategies for mobilizing sustainable capital to the continent. Discussions highlighted Japan’s growing interest in high value-added African sectors such as infrastructure, energy,…

Egypt recorded a historic primary surplus of 629 billion EGP (12.6 billion USD), representing 3.6% of GDP, an increase of 80% compared to the 2023/2024 fiscal year, which stood at 350 billion EGP (7 billion USD). This was revealed in a statement published on August 16, 2025 by the presidency, which also announced a meeting between President Abdel Fattah Al-Sissi, Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, and Finance Minister Ahmed Kajouk to review the preliminary budget indicators for the 2024/2025 fiscal year. This performance was achieved despite a significant decrease in revenues from the Suez Canal, with revenues dropping by 60% compared…

At the end of June 2025, Cameroon recorded an estimated inflation rate of 4.1% according to data from the National Institute of Statistics (INS). This rate is down 1.6 percentage points on an annual basis. The body responsible for statistics management in Cameroon notes, however, that this rate is still above the 3% tolerance threshold...

In a video posted on social media on Sunday, August 17, Marguerite Gnakadé, former Minister of Defense under Faure Gnassingbé, spoke out, among other things, calling for the resignation of the man she had married to, Ernest, the elder brother of Faure. “Remaining silent in the face of the abuses I witnessed when I was...

Bamako, Mali | August 15, 2025: The Malian Solidarity Bank (BMS S.A.), a leading bank in Mali, has partnered with SATGURU Travel to launch an innovative solution for travelers: the co-branded BARAKA GIM-Mastercard prepaid cards BMS/SATGURU, named SATGURU Traveler CLASSIC and SATGURU Traveler PLATINUM respectively. These cards represent a major milestone for financial services in the region, offering travelers in Mali and beyond a secure, seamless, and accessible way to make payments with ease. This collaboration brings together the expertise of Mastercard, GIM-UEMOA, BMS S.A., and SATGURU Travel to meet the evolving needs of today’s constantly moving consumers. The co-branded…

In the context of bringing the Société nationale de raffinage (Sonara) refinery back into operation by 2027, on August 13, 2025, the board of directors of this state-owned company adopted the Plan for Acceleration of Restructuring and Rehabilitation Measures for the resumption of refining within 24 months (PARRAS 24). The final communiqué of this meeting...

The South African telecommunications operator MTN revealed on August 14, 2025, the opening of an investigation by the Department of Justice (DoJ) into its activities through its participation in Irancell as well as those of its former subsidiary in Afghanistan. This investigation likely follows accusations from the Turkish operator Turkcell, which brought a corruption case...

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is financing the construction of a 60 MW solar power plant in Sakaï 2, in the south of Bangui, with an amount of 50 billion CFA francs (90 million USD). The construction works of what will be the country’s second solar field were launched by the President of the Central...

Kenyan bank KCB Group has indicated that it has managed to retain some of its clientele after the sale of the National Bank of Kenya (NBK) to Nigeria’s Access Bank. The acquisition, announced on June 2 and valued at approximately USD 100 million, transferred ownership of NBK to Access Bank, marking a major milestone in...

In its fight against climate change, Togo will benefit from a financing of 22.5 million euros (approximately 14.7 billion CFA francs) granted by Luxembourg, with the support of the European Union, as part of the Support Program for the Fight against Climate Change and Biodiversity Protection (PALCC+). The agreement to this effect was signed on August 12, 2025 in Lomé by the Minister of Environment, Katari Foli-Bazi, and a Luxembourgish delegation. According to both parties, this marks the continuation and expansion of efforts already initiated by the PALCC launched in 2017. This first phase, with 10.6 million euros from the…

The Bank Misr has received official approval from the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) to transform its subsidiary Misr Digital Innovation (MDI) into OneBank, the country’s first fully digital bank. Founded in 2020, MDI’s mission was to drive fintech innovation and prepare for the launch of the first digital bank. OneBank, scheduled to open in...

Uganda’s clearly stated ambition is to establish itself as a major player in the production and export of gold. The inauguration, on Saturday, August 16, of the Wagagai gold mining project by President Yoweri Museveni is in line with this perspective. This is the first large-scale mine covering nine square kilometers in the Busia district....

Aramco, a global energy and chemical giant, has signed an $11 billion lease and leaseback contract with an international consortium of investors led by Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), a subsidiary of BlackRock, around its Jafurah gas infrastructure. Located in eastern Saudi Arabia, Jafurah is the largest non-associated gas field in the Kingdom, with estimated reserves of 229 trillion standard cubic feet and 75 billion barrels equivalent. This project is at the heart of Aramco’s plan to increase its gas production capacity by 60% between 2021 and 2030 to meet growing demand. As part of the deal, a new entity, Jafurah…

The main economic indicators of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) showed an increase in June 2025 compared to the previous month, according to data from the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO) based in Dakar. These data indeed indicate that commercial activities continued to grow, with a 5.8% increase in June...

The Cadyst Group announced, in a press release published on its website, that it has definitively acquired two subsidiaries of the Somdia Group on August 6, 2025. These are the Grand Moulin du Cameroun (SGMC), based in Douala, and the Grand Moulin du Phare (SGMP), an industrial unit present in Congo since 2020, located within...