In March 2021, Madagascar secured a $312 million funding facility to support its economic reform program. In the framework of that agreement, an IMF team sojourned in the country from May 3 to 12, 2013, to review the progress of those reforms.  The IMF has approved a staff-level agreement for the disbursement of $32 million to Madagascar. The approval, announced on Friday, May 19,...

On May 16, 2023, the West African Development Bank (WADB)’s Press Club exchanged with journalists from WAEMU countries on climate finance in West Africa. UNECA’s Nassim Oulmane, the African Climate Foundation’s Faten Aggad, and Ibrahim Traore, a WADB climate finance expert addressed journalists during the press conference.   According to Nassim Oulmane, the current challenge for...

In the last twelve months, several African countries, including Kenya, Zimbabwe, Egypt, Uganda, and Angola have launched satellites into space. Other countries such as Côte d'Ivoire and Tanzania are finalizing plans for the launch.  Tanzania plans to build its satellite, local media outlet The Citizen reported, quoting President Samia Suluhu Hassan (photo). Details such as the type of...

With billions of dollars in agreements for hydrogen projects, Egypt needs a legal framework to facilitate the development of that segment, seen as a revolution in the energy industry.   Last Wednesday (May 17), during a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, the Egyptian cabinet approved a draft law to support green hydrogen projects and companies. The law provides...

Witness by Hon. Khalid S. Mohamed, the ministry of infrastructure communication and transport, Tony Stenning, Regional Director of Southern Africa at AGL (Africa Global Logistics), and Nahaat Mahfoud, CEO of Zanzibar Ports Corporation, signed the contract for the management of the Malindi Container Terminal at the Port of Malindi in Zanzibar on May 18, 2023. AGL will be responsible for cargo...

With the acquisition, the South African group reinforces its partnership with Khula, which specializes in the distribution of agricultural inputs and service provision. Absa hopes the deal will help improve its offers to SMEs in the agriculture value chain.  Absa Group, Africa's 5th largest bank by total assets ($105.47 billion as of December 31, 2022) announced on May 12, the acquisition...

Despite Beijing’s efforts to rebalance its trade relationship with Africa, China’s imports from Africa recorded a two-digit decrease in the first fourth months of this year.  Trade between China and Africa reached $94.4 billion in the first four months of 2023, up by 8.9% compared to the same period the year before. The data was published by China’s general customs office. From...

Less than 10% of DR Congo’s arable lands are cultivated, despite the country being among the African nations with the greatest agricultural potential. This is because the country strongly depends on imports to meet its food demand. In the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the Agricultural Sector Emergency Recovery Program will cost over $1 billion. This was disclosed by the country's...

The slight increase spurred by the rate is explained by the increase in food inflation. On the other hand, core inflation was down 0.38 percent to 1.46 percent in April 2023. In April 2023, Nigeria's headline inflation rose slightly to 22.22 percent month-to-month. According to the recent CPI index published by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), last Monday (May 15), this is up by 0.18...

The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank has approved a $15 million subordinated loan to Infrastructure Credit Guarantee Company Limited (InfraCredit) to strengthen its capital base and help close Nigeria’s infrastructure financing gap. The financing will enable InfraCredit to leverage domestic capital markets to bolster access to long-term local currency infrastructure...