On Monday, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) welcomed efforts made by the Senegalese government in implementing reforms planned under its 2015-18 financial and economic programme. This was reported in a statement from the ministry of finance. Backed by the Policy Support Instrument (PSI), the programme which has no financial support from IMF, aims at sustaining a solid growth of Senegal’s...

By 2030, child marriage could cost developing economies trillions of US dollars, thus hampering efforts by the international community to end poverty in these countries. This was revealed by the World Bank in a report made public on Tuesday. Entitled “Economic Impacts of Child Marriage”, the report notes that despite the fact that the number of early marriages (under 18) in many developing...

The World Bank just granted Benin a loan of $60 million (FCFA34.6 billion) to improve its power performances. The loan was provided under a development aid fund put in place the international development association (IDA), an arm of the institution, which gives loans to the poorest nations at a very low rates or none. The present loan will help boost the performances of the national power...

In Rwanda, local and international tourism companies wishing to operate across the country can from now on obtain a license online. Interested firms can apply for one on www.tourismregulation.rw. After testing this new mode of licence-awarding process in November 2016, Rwanda’s development board has decided to officially launch the project. During the test, applicants, a group of firms...

Pan-African internet provider, Liquid Telecom, said it plans to launch a $700 million bond and a long term financing package. The two fundraising processes will help the group reduce its debt and support its growth strategy. It is Liquid Telecom’s finance arm, Liquid Telecommunications Financing Plc, which will carry out the operations. Since last June 23, firms selected by Liquid Telecom...

Canadian jeweler Fair Trade Jewellery Co said it has imported 238 g of artisanal gold from the Ituri province in DR Congo. This is the first conflict-free and traceable artisanal gold export from the country to Canada. According to a press statement reported by APO, this was possible through the Just Gold project, which put in place a traceability system that makes Congolese gold legal, looking...

Volumes of cocoa that arrived at the ports of San Pedro and Abidjan soared 19% as compared to the year before standing at 1,689,000 tons on June 25. This was reported by Reuters citing estimates of cocoa exporters. It should be however noted that from June 19 and June 25 this year, the roads leading to the San Pedro port were blocked due to heavy rains. This, according to data, caused a slight...

Nigeria is looking to raise $ 5 billion from the World Bank to be channeled into the power sector in order to boost electricity availability in the country. This came after an official visit by a Nigerian delegation to Washington on April 25, 2017 to discuss possible assistance to the national energy sector, the bank said. At the end of the meeting, the Multilateral Investment Guarantee...

The World Bank has earmarked the sum of N32billion ($100.2 million) for a drainage project to tackle flood in Akwa Ibom, according to the state commissioner for Environment and Mineral Resources, Iniobong Essien. The project would be carried out in partnership with the Nigerian Erosion and Watershed Management Project (NEWMAP). “For the IBB Way flood control project, designs have been put in...

In Sierra Leone, NGO Action for Large Scale Land Acquisition Transparency (ALLAT), on June 27, called on the government to take land issues “seriously” in order to avoid conflicts. “Over 80% of rural Sierra Leoneans depend on land for their livelihood. It provides succor for very many of the constituents. These people and their livelihood have been challenged at the moment because we do...