Starting today, September 13, 2017, Guinean officials will no more be able to get US visas. Indeed, Washington went through with its threats to sanction Guinea which it blames of having not cooperated enough in the process to repatriate Guineans living in the United States illegally.  “Starting from September 13, 2017, the US embassy will no more issue B, F, J and M visas to Guinean...

After various media relayed that talks between the Nigerian government and Ethiopian airlines regarding the acquisition of Arik Air by the latter were ongoing, shareholders of the private Nigerian company have decided to sue the two parties mentioned by the media. Indeed, on September 6, 2017, Arik Air’s stakeholders filed a complaint to High Federal Court of Nigeria, in Lagos, against...

Quickchannel, Swedish audio and video communication specialist announced it has selected SkyGroup Communications as partner to distribute its products in South Africa. Through the new partnership, Quickchannel will be able to provide African companies technology integration services such as streaming and cloud. Though SkyGroup provides services similar to Quickchannel’s, it now has under the...

In Ivory Coast, cotton fiber exports by land have been banned for the 2017-18 marketing year. This was disclosed in a circular dated September 8, 2017, published by the customs general directorate. In parallel, the document states that exports of cottonseed by land with be subjected to the provision of an export authorization certificate signed by the Cashew and Cotton Council (CCA).  Let...

In the first half of 2017, mining in DR Congo has generated $295.3 million of revenues, up 9% compared to the year before, over the same period.  This was revealed by the minister of finances of the country cited by Reuters on Sept. 12, 2017. The official added that oil and gas revenues in the country soared 140% over the period. At the end of August, the Central Bank of the country...

On Monday, a two-day seminary regrouping around ten of Ivory Coast’s political party, members of the prospective platform for political parties (PPPP), began in Grand-Bassam, in the South Eastern part of the country. The goal of the meeting, AIP reports, was to “think on the rural land issue and its consequences in Ivory Coast”.  Present at the session was Thilo Shöne, resident...

The African Development Bank (AfDB) has decided to invest FCFA500 billion (about $910 million) in Burkina Faso, in two key sectors of activities, namely power and agriculture, over the next five years. This results from talks between the institution and the Burkinabe government, last September 8, to review their cooperation and define perspectives regarding strategic decisions which AfDB...

As bids increase and many companies are joining talks to acquire stakes in South Africa’s leading cement producer, Dangote Cement is supposedly getting ready to buy PPC Group, according to various South African media. The competition will be rude for the Nigerian tycoon considering that it will be facing giants like LafargeHolcim and Heidelberg, respectively number one and two of the sector...

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has granted a $10 million funding to Union Internationale de Banque (UIB), Tunisian subsidiary of French group Société Générale, so that it finances its external trade operations. Support from the London-based institution will cover guarantee issuances by the Tunisian lender, for a maturity of up to three years, as well as its...

LSE-listed Stella Diamonds with diamond mines in Sierra Leone, announced last Monday that it intends to raise £530,000 to finance its Tongo-Tonguma project in the country. The fundraising will take place in two steps. The first which will result in the mobilization of £330,000 will occur through the placement of 10.15 million new ordinary shares at a unit price of 3.25 pence, while in the...