Author: The Editorial Staff

Luanda, Angola – June 17, 2025 The African Trade & Investment Development Insurance (ATIDI) will hold its 25th Annual General Assembly (AGA) from June 18 to 21, 2025 in Luanda, Angola, under the theme: “Turning risk into opportunity, ensuring a sustainable future”. This milestone event marking a quarter century of activity is a key step for the continent’s multilateral insurer, a central player in financing trade and investment in Africa. The event will bring together high-level representatives from ATIDI’s 24 African member states, its 13 institutional shareholders, as well as strategic partners, funders, and development financial institutions. The agenda includes:…

In Gabon, President Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema inaugurated on Monday, June 16, in Libreville, the official opening of a clean water pumping station, in the presence of the President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Akinwumi Adesina. With a total cost of 117.4 million euros, this infrastructure is a key component of the Integrated Program for Drinking Water Supply and Sanitation in Libreville (PIEAPAL). Financed by a loan of 75.4 million euros from the AfDB, complemented by a second loan of 42 million euros from the Africa Growing Together Fund (co-managed with the Bank of China) as well as a…

Former French Prime Minister François Fillon was sentenced on Tuesday, June 17 to four years in prison with a suspended sentence, along with a fine of 375,000 euros and five years of ineligibility. The Paris Court of Appeal found him guilty of embezzlement of public funds in the case of the fictitious jobs of his wife Penelope, who held a position as a parliamentary assistant without justification for actual work. This decision comes after a third trial ordered by the Court of Cassation, which definitively confirmed Mr. Fillon’s guilt while overturning the one-year prison sentence handed down in May 2022.…

The pan-African financial services group United Capital reached a new milestone in its regional expansion strategy on Monday, June 16 in Abidjan. Through its subsidiary United Capital Asset Management West Africa Limited (UCAMWAL), the group officially launched two new investment funds approved by the Financial Markets Authority of the West African Economic and Monetary Union...

The African Development Bank (AfDB) has approved financing of 19.6 million euros for the second phase of the Cabeólica expansion project, a flagship initiative in the renewable energy sector in Cape Verde. This is the first national project on a large scale combining wind production and energy storage systems with batteries (BESS), according to a...

Fitch Ratings agency upgraded Ghana’s long-term foreign currency issuer default rating (IDR) from “Restricted Default” (RD) to “B-” on Monday, June 16, with a stable outlook. This decision, according to Fitch, reflects the normalization of relations between Ghana and a significant majority of its external commercial creditors. Additionally, the agency anticipates a gradual improvement in the country’s ability to meet its foreign currency obligations. The service of debt denominated in foreign currencies, including domestic dollar bonds, is expected to reach 1.2% of GDP (1.2 billion USD) in 2025, and then 1.4% (1.9 billion USD) in 2026. These forecasts are based…

The president of the Malian transition, Assimi Goita, officially launched the construction of a state-owned gold refinery in partnership with the Russian group Yadran. The infrastructure aims to strengthen local processing and reduce losses from exports in a crucial gold sector for the national economy. The joint venture, named SOROMA-SA, is 62% owned by the...

The British company Resolute Mining announced on Monday, June 16, the discovery of a significant gold deposit in the department of Doropo, in the northeast of Ivory Coast. This new deposit, with reserves estimated at over 100 tons of gold, represents a major advancement for the Ivorian mining sector. During a meeting with Prime Minister...

Ekuity Capital has entered the shareholding of the New Era Fund I, an Early Stage investment fund dedicated to innovative startups in Tunisia. This operation brings the amount of the first closing to 7 million euros, out of a target size of 15 million. Alongside Smart Capital and UGFS North Africa, already present in the...

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has issued a new strict directive aimed at strengthening the financial stability of the banking sector. In a circular dated June 13, 2025, it orders banks currently benefiting from regulatory tolerance to suspend the payment of dividends to shareholders as well as bonuses to directors and senior executives. According to the CBN, this measure is part of ongoing efforts over the past few months to consolidate the financial health of Nigerian banks. It is worth noting that earlier in 2025, the Central Bank had temporarily relaxed certain prudential rules, including credit risk exposure limits…

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…