Momentum Africa Real Estate Fund (MAREF), a joint-venture between London-based Global Investment Management and South African real estate group Eris Property, annonced the final closing of a $170 million fund which will focus on real estate assets across Africa. The investment fund whose two main stakeholders are subsidiaries of MMI Holdings, Africa’s third largest insurer listed on the...

Meeting with authorities in charge of arable land, Algeria’s minister of agriculture, rural development and fishery, Abdesselam Chelghoum, announced that the State has recovered more than 100,000 hectares of non-used arable lands across the nation over the past six months. These lands were distributed in the framework of a programme to boost access to land (APFA) and in respect to an...

Nigeria President has formally launched the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) which contains measures expected to help plug the country out of recession. Speaking in Abuja at a brief ceremony set up after a meeting of the Federal Executive Council (Cabinet), Muhammadu Buhari (photo) said his administration is determined to transform Nigeria from a consumer nation to a net producer. “The...

In Togo, all riparians expropriated 30 years ago due to the development of the Nangbeto hydropower dam have come up to shout their anger. Indeed, the people accuse the State of not providing the houses, schools, health centres, markets, roads and other infrastructures it promised at the time. “In the framework of the construction of the Nangbeto dam, people living on the site had to leave. At...

Popular Farms and Mills Limited, a division of Stallion Conglomerate, plans to increase its production of locally farmed rice from 450,000 metric tonnes to 1.5 million tonnes annually. The company intends to achieve this by using integrated rice value chain and enhancing milling activities. “Popular Farms and Mills Limited will leverage the impulse provided by the Federal Government through...

Six states in Nigeria could benefit from a new $500 million loan from the World Bank for the construction of rural roads. “The rural roads construction project is expected to increase farmers’ access to farm inputs and markets, thus reducing post-harvest losses, and the loan is such that participating state governments will pay 5% counterpart funding while the federal government is to...

The government of Japan has donated $3.5 million to the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), for the provision of food assistance to internally displaced people in the Northeastern part of Nigeria. This fund will allow WFP deliver food to over 160,000 people in Borno and Yobe States. “We commend the Government and people of Japan for their continued contributions to WFP’s...

Nigeria’s crude oil and condensate production dropped by more than 200,000 bpd to 1.676 million bpd last month against 1.9 million bpd in February, according to the Ministry of Petroleum. Although the Ministry which disclosed this on Tuesday did not provide the reason behind the monthly drop, sources with knowledge of the issue attribute the fall to the ongoing maintenance at the Bonga oil...

Nigeria has been offered a $4.5 billion loan by China for agricultural machinery and infrastructure, according to Zamfara State Governor, Abdulaziz Yari (photo). “China is giving us a credit line of $4.5 billion for the procurement of strategic machinery for rural development and agriculture,” Yari said after a meeting with the President and the Minister of Agriculture. The state...

Foreign direct investments (FDI) in Mauritius stood at 13.64 billion rupees ($388.8 million) in 2016, up 41% compared to 2015, according to a statement published on April 4th by the central bank. The surge is mainly due FDIs’ increase in the real estate and finance sectors. In the first, FDIs stood at 9.93 billion rupees whereas in the finance sector they reached 2.15 billion rupees. “About...