Burkinabe telecom users staged a protest in April against operators and their services, which were deemed too expensive. Despite commitments made by telecom companies, consumers have seen little improvement three months later. Starting August 8, telecommunication consumers will start a fresh protest campaign against Burkinabe mobile operators Moov Africa, Orange, and Telecel. The announcement...

During its 113th Monetary policy committee (MPC), the central bank of Ghana raised its MPC rates by 50 basis points to 30%, after about six months of stability at 29.5%. The hike came as no surprise as inflation has been going up since May 2023, although in a subdued manner (42.2% Yoy in May and 42.5% YoY in June). At the press briefing announcing the rate hike, Dr. Ernest Kwamina Yedu Addison,...

Egypt aims to increase the mining sector's contribution to GDP from less than 1% in the last decade to 5% by 2030. To attract investors, the government introduced new regulations in 2020 and subsequently granted new exploration permits. Centamin, a mining company in Egypt, revealed on July 20 that it has signed a preliminary agreement with the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources and the...

Portugal maintains collaborations with African Lusophone countries on various themes, including telecommunications. This year, it has engaged in cooperation projects with Mozambique, Guinea-Bissau, and São Tomé and Príncipe. The Portuguese National Communications Authority (ANACOM) announced its partnership with Cape Verde's Multisectoral Regulation Agency for the Economy (ARME) to improve...

MTN is taking multiple initiatives to boost its market share in Rwanda, where mobile penetration stands at 87.4% according to official statistics. In November 2022, the company launched a mobile device financing program in partnership with the Bank of Kigali. Mobile operator MTN Rwandacell PLC (MTN Rwanda) recently signed a cooperation agreement with data platform Bboxx to accelerate smartphone...

The Crowne Plaza hotel, acquired by Kasada in July 2022, will undergo renovation and modernization with joint financing from the International Finance Corporation (IFC), Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), and Proparco. Kasada, a private equity platform focused on hospitality in Sub-Saharan Africa, secured $49.5 million in funding on July 19. The financing includes an $11...

The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank has approved a $1 billion exposure exchange with the Asian Development Bank. The transaction will support its efforts to unlock additional sovereign lending headroom. It will also bolster continued efforts to create buffers within the African Development Bank’s capital adequacy metrics. This new exposure exchange agreement is the...

The need for new platforms allowing for effective dialogue between stakeholders in the mining sector on the continent has been highlighted. The 6th edition of the Annual African Mining Summit (MOTA) ended today. MOTA is a key event for the African mining industry. Experts have raised new ideas to strengthen mining operations in Africa while making them both profitable and fair, to the benefit of...

In an exciting move to unleash the business potential of young Liberians, the Board of Directors of the African Development Fund (ADF) has given the green light for the creation of a Youth Entrepreneurship Investment Bank (YEIB) in the West African country. Approximately $16 million has been allocated to finance this strategic initiative, which targets youth-led micro, small, and medium...

MCB has been mandated to act as lead arranger for the structuring of a leveraged financing, enabling the acquisition of Nouvelle Mici Embaci (NME) by a consortium of investors formed by Advanced Finance and Investment Group ("AFIG Funds") and Norfund, the Norwegian investment fund for developing countries. Owned by the Carré d'Or Group for over fifteen years, NME is one of the leading...