Author: The Editorial Staff

The International Finance Corporation (IFC) has approved an equity investment of up to $10 million in Kera Health Platforms, a Senegalese start-up specializing in e-health. This investment, with final approval expected on June 20, 2025, marks a turning point for healthcare technology financing in Francophone Africa. IFC’s investment will support Kera’s regional expansion within the UEMOA space, as well as the development of inclusive health insurance products. The institution, a branch of the World Bank’s investment arm, will support the young company in adopting international standards in governance, social compliance, and environmental matters. Prior to this new round, Kera had…

Ecobank Togo recorded a net profit of 15.8 billion CFA francs (around 28 million USD) at the end of the 2024 financial year, according to data released at a general meeting held on June 13, 2025 in Lomé. This indicator represents a 47% increase compared to the 10.8 billion CFA francs in 2023. Meanwhile, the total balance sheet has increased to over 690.7 billion CFA francs, a 6% year-on-year increase. Loan portfolios also grew by 13.8% to reach 319.3 billion CFA francs. As for the equity of the Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI) subsidiary, it increased by 18% to nearly 69.9…

The Ugandan government aims to collect $10.33 billion in taxes during the financial year starting in July, Finance Minister Matia Kasaija said. The finance minister explained that the $20.07 billion budget will be primarily funded by Ugandans through taxes. “The government plans to collect $10.33 billion (37,200 billion UGX) in domestic revenue for the 2025-2026 fiscal year. This will finance about 60% of the national budget. The rest of the budget will be financed through borrowing and grants,” said the minister, speaking about the budget on June 12, 2025, in front of parliament. This will be achieved, he specified, by…

Visa, the global payments giant, has appointed Senegalese Aminata Kane as Senior Vice President and Head of West and Central Africa, effective September 4, 2025. From Ivory Coast, she will lead a new sub-regional team covering 23 markets from strategic offices in Abidjan, Accra, Kinshasa, and Lagos. With experience in digital financial services and telecommunications,...

At the end of the 2024 fiscal year, the after-tax profit of the Société de Caoutchouc de Grand Béréby (SOGB), a subsidiary of SFCA (Société Immobilière et Financière de la Côte Africaine), an Ivorian agro-industrial group operating in oilseeds, sugar, and rubber, recorded a significant increase of 149% compared to 2023, announced the leaders of...

As tensions between Iran and Israel reach a critical level, the consequences will not be limited to the battlefield. Four scenarios are emerging, each carrying major geopolitical and financial upheavals. Each trajectory corresponds to a shockwave on energy markets, precious metals, currencies, and global stock exchanges. 1. Fall of the Iranian regime and chaotic drift In this scenario, the intensity of Israeli strikes leads to the rapid disintegration of Iranian power. The military and political command structure is neutralized. This power vacuum favors the emergence of radical Shiite militias in the Shiite corridor from Lebanon to Afghanistan. A Shiite-colored “Daesh…

At the helm of Accor’s operations in a rapidly expanding region, Daniel Karbownik, Vice President of Operations for Sub-Saharan Africa, rigorously and visionarily leads the development of an ambitious hotel portfolio across the continent. In this interview, he shares his insights on the dynamics shaping the sector, decrypts the specifics of the African market, and outlines the growth prospects of the hospitality industry in a territory that has become strategic for the Accor group. Accor’s Current Presence in Côte d’Ivoire: Daniel Karbownik: Today, Côte d’Ivoire is one of our most strategic markets in Sub-Saharan Africa. The country currently has nine…

On June 11 and 12, 2025, Abidjan hosted a regional meeting dedicated to sustainable soil management and rural development, organized as part of the Soil Values program, with financial support from the Kingdom of the Netherlands amounting to 100 million euros over ten years. The main objective was to validate a consultation strategy for soil...

As of May 31, 2025, Morocco’s budget deficit stands at 22.85 billion dirhams (approximately 2.08 billion euros), compared to 11.23 billion dirhams at the same period a year earlier, according to data published by the General Treasury of the Kingdom (TGR). Treasury’s ordinary revenues have increased to 171 billion dirhams, surpassing current expenditures which amount...

It is a decisive turning point in the industrial history of Cameroon. The country inaugurated its very first clinker production plant on June 12, 2025, marking a major strategic advancement in the cement sector. Led by Cimencam (Cimenteries du Cameroun), a subsidiary of the giant Lafarge-Holcim, this new facility located in Figuil, in the Northern...

The Organization for the Development of the Gambia River Basin (OMVG) is launching, on June 16 in Dakar, the first edition of its Investors Forum, dedicated to financing its new Integrated Development Master Plan (PDDI). This strategic program, part of a regional cooperation dynamic, sets the path towards shared prosperity by 2040. The event aims to mobilize the commitment of technical and financial partners around 26 priority projects out of the 179 identified in the PDDI. These projects mainly focus on the development of hydroelectric, agricultural, and environmental resources, as well as on the development of infrastructure to connect the…

On the peaceful shores of the Ebrié lagoon in Abidjan, Dr. Monique Nsanzabaganwa granted us an exclusive interview on the occasion of the publication of her book Seed. A meeting that reflects her work: lucid, dense, and driven by a quiet conviction. In this essay with biographical undertones, the former Vice President of the African Union Commission, who has also served as a minister in Rwanda and as the former Deputy Governor of its central bank, reflects on the major challenges facing the African continent while outlining the contours of a possible future. The title, Seed, encapsulates the author’s project:…

By declaring last Friday, on the sidelines of a government seminar, that he will not seek a third term, Patrice Talon did much more than unveil his political future. He reaffirmed a posture: that of a statesman rather than a providential man. “I believe that I will not have the opportunity to have such a meeting before handing over. I would like my words to be perceived in their sincerity, in their solemnity,” he said, without emphasis, without staging. A controlled exit, far from the ambiguity of a Macky Sall or the contortions of an Alassane Ouattara. In this, Talon…

On the sidelines of the official launch of the African Center for Medical Excellence (AMCE) on June 5, 2025 in Abuja, Nigeria, the President of the Central African Development Bank (BDEAC), Dieudonné Evou Mekou, and the President of Afreximbank, Pr. Benedict Oramah, signed an agreement to provide BDEAC with a financing facility of 65 billion...

In Morocco, a wave of retreat is blowing over what was supposed to be a turning point: the opening of the capital of OCP Nutricrops. Initially conceived as the spearhead of a new phase of development through market appeal, this flagship subsidiary of the giant phosphate company will ultimately not undergo the expected privatization. The project was quietly buried, without an official announcement, but with a series of signals that, taken together, outline a strategic retreat under pressure. Mostafa Terrab caught up in conservatism Originally, the idea was ambitious, almost daring in the Moroccan landscape: injecting nearly 30 billion dirhams…

After securing a financing of $184.1 million from the African Development Bank (AfDB) last week, Egypt now benefits from two new major supports, those of British International Investment (BII) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), for the development of the Obelisk photovoltaic solar project in the Qena governorate. These contributions bring the...

Since May 27, 2025, Cameroon has made the payment of the 3rd tranche of its 2022-2029 bond loan. This information was revealed in a press release issued on June 11, 2025 by the Director General of the Central African Securities Exchange (BVMAC), based in Douala, the economic capital of Cameroon. Louis Banga-Ntolo stated in the...

In what has been described as a historic event, the President of the Republic of Guinea-Bissau, Umaro Sissoco Embaló, inaugurated the country’s first highway on Monday, June 16, 2025. The 14-kilometer stretch connects Osvaldo Vieira International Airport to the city of Safim. This modern infrastructure, unprecedented since the country’s independence in 1973, marks a major...

The first edition of the Investors Forum of the Organization for the Development of the Gambia River (OMVG) opened on Monday, June 16 in Dakar (Senegal), with the ambition of rallying technical and financial partners around its new 2040 Integrated Development Master Plan (PDDI). This plan includes the implementation of 179 projects, 26 of which are considered a priority, with a total estimated cost of $7.95 billion. This forum marks a strategic step for the OMVG, which aims to demonstrate that its PDDI goes beyond simple planning: it is presented as a “true catalyst for regional cooperation and sustainable transformation.”…

By Nadia Hamilton CTA, Partner and tax expert at M&H Consulting Africa. At the end of March, the world of finance and consulting was shaken by a resounding announcement: PwC decided to withdraw its brand from its French-speaking subsidiaries, established notably in Ivory Coast, Cameroon, and several other countries in the region. This withdrawal marks a real earthquake in the audit and consulting sector. Indeed, it is the leading French-speaking firm in terms of market share, both in audit and consulting, and the oldest in terms of establishment in the region. PwC had established itself as an essential reference, author…

The Togolese government plans to mobilize 3 billion dollars, including 1.68 billion from the private sector, to finance a National Energy Pact whose signature is scheduled for next September. In detail, we learn that these resources will be mainly directed towards energy production in order to reduce the energy deficit. The initiative is announced in a context of crisis in the sector, which has led the government to carry out a series of reforms including the revision of electricity tariff rates. Lomé’s objective is to achieve universal access to electricity by 2030. This has been a goal of the authorities…

By Me Jemal M. Taleb. After economy and social issues, diplomacy I have received calls from all over to congratulate me on Mauritania’s diplomatic success following the election of Dr. Sidi Ould Tah as head of the African Development Bank. Here is one message from Cameroon that summarizes the tone of all:”Good evening dear brother Jemal, I congratulate you on Mauritania’s high diplomacy regarding the election of the Mauritanian brother as head of the African Development Bank. I know it was a major mobilization of your diplomacy… to achieve this significant political result.” One thing leading to another, I thought…

Former Ecobank group CEO, Arnold Ekpe, makes a notable comeback to the economic scene. He takes over as chairman of the board of Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc, succeeding conglomerate founder Aliko Dangote, who is stepping down after nearly two decades at the helm of the company. The announcement was made on June 11, 2025 through an official company communication. Mr. Ekpe’s assumption of office is effective from June 16, 2025. His selection follows a rigorous selection process aimed at ensuring strategic continuity at the helm of this Nigerian agro-industry flagship. With an engineering background and an MBA from Manchester Business…

During the first quarter of 2025, the state budget recorded a surplus of around 2 billion dinars (approximately 591.4 million euros), an increase of 74% compared to the same period in 2024 (1.2 billion dinars), according to the provisional results of the budget execution published by the Ministry of Finance. This performance is mainly due to a 3.9% increase in revenues, which reached 12.5 billion dinars, including: tax revenues +7.7% (11.2 billion dinars), non-tax revenues +2% (nearly 1.2 billion dinars). Expenses remained relatively stable at 10.3 billion dinars (-0.6%). However, certain categories saw changes, including: salaries +3% (increasing from 53.1…