Author: The Editorial Staff

Following the recent structuring of the first green project financing bond in Côte d’Ivoire and the UEMOA region, aimed at financing a 66 MW solar power plant in Korhogo, Financial Afrik interviewed Yezdan Akcacakir, Head of Energy at the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC), on the evolution of infrastructure financing models in Africa, the growing role...

By launching a competition for the design of its future headquarters at Casablanca Finance City, CIH Bank is taking a new step in its transformation. Beyond a simple real estate project, the bank is investing in a strategic asset to support its growth, strengthen its institutional image, and assert its position among the major financial...

Proparco announces the appointment of Emmanuelle Riedel Drouin as Deputy CEO. A member of the executive committee and director of the Financing department since 2022, she succeeds Djalal Khimdjee, and joins the general management of Proparco, alongside Françoise Lombard, CEO, and Jean-Baptiste Sabatié, Deputy CEO. A graduate of the University Paris-Dauphine and holder of an...

The World Bank has appointed Ivorian economist Sylvain Kakou as Senior Country Manager for Gabon, a position he officially assumed on July 1, 2026 in Libreville. In this role, he is tasked with overseeing the institution’s unified operations in the country, coordinating the actions of the group’s entities in the country. Prior to this appointment,...

At kick-off, the scoreboard clearly leans towards the Canadian side, as we await the first match of the round of 16 of the FIFA World Cup 2026. With populations that are fairly close – 41.65 million inhabitants for Canada against 38.43 million for Morocco in 2025 – the gap in economic power remains considerable. The World Bank estimates the Canadian GDP at 2,507 billion dollars in 2025, compared to 182.37 billion for Morocco. In other words, the Canadian economy weighs nearly thirteen times that of the kingdom, even though both countries have comparable demographic reservoirs. The real gap becomes even…

Sanlam Morocco and Allianz Morocco shareholders have approved the merger-absorption project between the two companies, following the extraordinary general meetings held on July 2, 2026 in Casablanca. This decision, announced in a joint statement by the two insurers, marks a new step in their integration, with the aim of creating a strengthened player in the...

At first glance, the match appears unbalanced. Colombia operates in a different category in terms of size: its GDP reached 457.4 billion dollars in 2025, compared to 114.2 billion for Ghana. The income per capita tells the same hierarchy, with 8,561 dollars on the Colombian side compared to 3,257 dollars on the Ghanaian side. Even in terms of population, Bogota maintains the advantage, with 53.4 million inhabitants compared to 35.1 million. In the group photo of aggregates, Colombia remains the heaviest, richest, and largest power. But an economic match is not only won by volume: it also plays out in…

The Burkinabe group Coris Bank International has taken a new step in its project to establish itself in Cameroon by officially creating its local subsidiary, Coris Bank International Cameroon (CBI CM). According to information published this week by the local press, the new entity was created in the form of a joint-stock company with a...

In anticipation of the opening this Monday, July 6, of the General States of Insurance in Cotonou, we present the message from Mamadou G.K. Koné, President of the African National Insurance Companies Federation (FANAF). Every morning, millions of African families wake up without a real safety net. An accident, an illness, a drought, a flood can, in a few hours, destroy years of efforts and change a life. This reality is no longer acceptable. Africa represents nearly 19% of the world’s population, but less than 1% of insurance premiums issued worldwide. Behind this contrast lie millions of women, men, young…

By Ismael Sy, Casablanca There were seven vice-presidents around Chakib Alj in 2023. Only two have survived the “CGEMRESET” operation launched by the new President Mehdi Tazi. Only one name spans the two terms: Ghita Lahlou, the general manager of the École Centrale Casablanca, maintained for a third term. The CGEM Board has been renewed...

On July 1, 2026, Mauritania and ACWA Power signed agreements for the construction of the country’s first gas power plant. This project represents a major step in utilizing the national gas resources and modernizing the Mauritanian electrical system. The agreements were signed in the presence of Mohamed Ould Khaled, Minister of Energy and Petroleum, Abdoulahi Ould Souleymane, Minister of Economy and Development, the Minister of Finance, Seyid Mouhamed Abou Neiyan, Chairman of the Board of ACWA Power, and the President of the Saudi Fund for Development. The project involves the construction of a 230 MW combined-cycle power plant in N’Diago,…

On the field, the match seems balanced between the 27th (Australia) and the 29th (Egypt) in the FIFA rankings. In national accounts, it is much less so. In terms of major aggregates, Australia operates in a different league than Egypt. The numbers. The World Bank shows, for Canberra, a gross domestic product of 1,800 billion dollars compared to 365.25 billion for Cairo. In other words, the Australian economy weighs nearly five times that of Egypt, even though the continent-country has only about 27.6 million inhabitants, compared to 118.4 million for the most populous country in the Arab world. The contrast…

The Togo wants to make cost reduction a major lever to transform its aviation sector. The Director General of the Togo National Civil Aviation Agency (ANAC Togo), Colonel Abdou Ahabou Idrissou, provided details on Thursday, July 2, on the sidelines of the launch of the ECOWAS Economic Oversight Committee for Air Transport. According to the...

The external position of the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa (CEMAC) remains under pressure. According to the Monetary Policy Report of June 2026 published on Thursday, July 2 by the Bank of Central African States (BEAC), foreign exchange reserves stood at 7,248 billion CFA francs (approximately 12.62 billion US dollars) at the end...

Coris Bank International Togo (CBI Togo) closed the 2025 financial year with increased financial indicators, according to data from the bank consulted by Financial Afrik. It reported total assets of 615.5 billion CFA francs (approximately 1.07 billion dollars at the exchange rate as of July 1, 2026) at the end of December 2025, compared to...

The Ethiopian bank Abay Bank was admitted on June 25, 2026 to the main market of the Ethiopian Securities Exchange (ESX), under the code ABAYB, becoming the fifth company listed on this still recent financial market. According to information published by the Exchange, this listing marks a new milestone in the development of the Ethiopian...

In the DRC, President Félix Tshisekedi has reappointed André Wameso as Governor of the Central Bank of Congo (BCC), by presidential decree made public on Tuesday, June 30. In the same text, Charlotte Mulengezi and Jean-Marcel Bikayembe were appointed deputy governors of the issuing institution. These appointments mark a choice of continuity at the helm...

Meeting in an ordinary general assembly on June 30, 2026, the shareholders of NSIA Bank Ivory Coast approved the accounts for the year ended December 31, 2025 and validated the distribution of a total envelope of 19 billion CFA francs (approximately 34 million dollars) as dividends. This decision marks a year of growth for one...

This Wednesday, July 1st, the Three Lions and the Leopards face off in the round of 16 of the North American World Cup. Before the showdown on the field, the match of numbers pits two economic universes and two currencies that are worlds apart; everything except, perhaps, ambition. Kick-off: David versus Goliath of GDP. On one side, the United Kingdom (of which England is a member with nearly 85% of the country’s total GDP), the fifth largest economy in the world with a GDP of 4.260 trillion dollars in 2026 and a per capita income of around 61,246 dollars. On…

Before facing each other on the field, Switzerland and Algeria are already engaged in a close duel in the columns of statistics. Size of the economy, wealth per capita, growth, inflation, employment: on the field of aggregates, the two nations come with very different weapons. On one side, the precise and prosperous Swiss machinery. On the other, the Algerian push, younger, wider, faster. As they enter this Round of 16, Switzerland presents itself with the thickness of an economic favorite. With a GDP of 1,040 billion USD in 2025, the Confederation operates in a different dimension than Algeria, credited with…

The Central African Banking Commission consulted the banking and financial profession on eight draft texts covering payment services, minimum banking services, indexing of bad payers, liquidity of EMFs, supervision of deposit and consignment funds, as well as the treatment of inactive accounts and unclaimed assets. The meeting took place from June 22 to 24, 2026,...

After the auction of the mansion on Avenue Foch, seized in the so-called “ill-gotten gains” case, Equatorial Guinean Vice President Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue is taking a tougher stance and denouncing “colonial” practices by France. A new diplomatic front is thus opening between Paris and Malabo. Three days after the sale by the Agency for...

The insurance sector in Algeria started 2026 at a nearly unchanged pace, according to data published on June 28, 2026 by the National Insurance Council (CNA). In the first quarter, the overall market turnover stood at 57.3 billion dinars (approximately 430 million USD), representing a very limited increase of 0.2% year-on-year. This apparent stability, however,...

The President of the Republic, Bassirou Diomaye Faye, continues to renew the decision-making centers of the State. At a meeting on July 2, 2026, the Council of Ministers approved a new wave of appointments marked by the replacement of the Directors General of the General Delegation for Rapid Entrepreneurship of Women and Youth (DER/FJ), the...

Nairobi – On the occasion of its 25th anniversary, the African Trade & Investment Development Insurance (ATIDI) released its 2025 Annual Report on July 2, 2026, a special edition that traces a quarter of a century of intervention in financing development, facilitating investments, and managing risks in Africa. Under the theme “Empowering Africa: Risk Managed, Growth Unlocked,” this publication highlights the evolution of ATIDI, from a regional agency providing political risk insurance to one of the leading African institutions mobilizing investments and mitigating risks. In twenty-five years of operation, ATIDI states that it has supported $93 billion in trade and…

Senegal will host the 7th meeting of the High-Level Committee on Peace and Security of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA) on July 10, 2026 in Dakar, under the presidency of the Senegalese head of state, Bassirou Diomaye Diakhar Faye, who is the current chair of this strategic body. This meeting takes place in a context marked by persistent security threats in West Africa, including terrorism, cross-border crime, and institutional fragilities. The discussions will focus on the evolving security situation in the eight member states of the Union, as well as the assessment of the implementation of decisions…

“Africa must produce its own science to conquer its technological sovereignty” In a context where Africa is accelerating its investments in infrastructure, but remains heavily dependent on technologies and knowledge produced abroad, Mohammed VI Polytechnic University aims to establish a new development model based on research, innovation, and entrepreneurship. In this interview with Financial Afrik, its president, Hicham El Habti, discusses the university’s ambition to build African scientific sovereignty, the challenges of artificial intelligence, the valorization of research, and the levers to transform knowledge into a driver of competitiveness and economic transformation for the continent. Africa is investing heavily in…

“The success of this securitization operation illustrates Ecobank’s ability to mobilize its pan-African network and regional financial markets to address a fundamental issue: enabling more families to access decent housing while strengthening real economy financing” In a context where housing needs continue to grow across West Africa, financial institutions are called upon to innovate to mobilize more resources for the real economy. It is in this dynamic that Ecobank is participating in the first multi-country mortgage securitization operation carried out in the UEMOA area, bringing together five of its subsidiaries around the same ambition: sustainably strengthening housing financing while contributing…

The Moroccan Association of Capital Investors (AMIC) is opening a new chapter in its history. Meeting at the General Assembly on June 29, 2026, the organization unanimously elected Omar Bekkali as its president, replacing Hassan Laaziri, at the end of a term marked by strengthening the institutional role of the association and consolidating the Moroccan...

The World Bank Group is scaling up its engagement in Guinea. The institution has approved a new Country Partnership Framework (CPF) covering the period 2027-2033, aimed at supporting the country’s economic transformation with a central goal: creating more quality jobs through better governance, more efficient infrastructure, and a more dynamic private sector. This new partnership foresees $2.1 billion in commitments from the World Bank, to which should be added almost a billion dollars in financing, investments, and guarantees mobilized by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA). In total, the envelope could exceed $3 billion,…