Over the past twelve months, Africa’s smartphone imports have declined. However, according to U.S.-based IDC, the trend will change by the end of this year.   Africa imported about 18.1 million smartphones in Q2 2022, down by 7.9 percent compared with the 19.7 million smartphones imported the previous quarter. The figure is revealed by  U.S. firm International Data...

Zambia is faced with an economic crisis for years now. The government, which is struggling to pay its debt, is counting on the IMF to stabilize and revive its economy.  The Zambian government and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will implement a 38-month economic program to strengthen the country's macroeconomic stability. The program was announced in an IMF release dated August...

The transaction is completed three months after the initial agreement. It follows the obtention of regulatory approvals.  Nigerian financial services holding company, Access Holdings Plc, announced, Wednesday, that it has completed the sales of its Access Pension Fund Custodian Limited shares. The transaction, which received all the regulatory approvals, was carried out through Access Bank...

Backbase, the leading global Engagement Banking platform provider and Value Digital Services (VDS), a services company with headquarters in Tunis, that supports its clients in the implementation of their digital and data roadmaps, are pleased to announce they have entered a strategic partnership to strengthen their position in the North-African market. The collaboration further enables Backbase...

The yuan-denominated bond issuance plan is announced after the country postponed a Sukuk issuance and a USD-denominated Eurobond.  Egypt plans to issue US$500 million in Yuan-denominated bonds to diversify its financing sources, Finance Minister Mohamed Maait (photo) announced on Monday, August 29. "The Ministry of Finance has begun talks with Chinese authorities to issue more than US$500...

Zimbabwe’s weak economy affected the telecom market in 2021, BuddeComm informs in its recent annual report. Econet seems to be recovering from the woes.  Telecom operator Econet Wireless Zimbabwe (EWZ) added 1.7 million subscribers to its userbase in 2021, EWZ CEO Douglas Mboweni indicated while presenting the operator’s 2022 integrated annual report last week.  According to the...

The decision will mostly affect domestic investors since the majority shareholder can cushion its growing operating expenses with its consolidated results.  The board of TotalEnergies Kenya will not distribute interim dividends though the company ended the first half of 2022 with cash and cash equivalents estimated at Ksh10.5 billion (about US$88.16 million).   With a reported...

Amid a call for urgent action to safeguard the continent from climate change, Gabon’s President Ali Bongo Ondimba opened the 2022 Africa Climate Week by highlighting his country’s efforts to boost climate action and calling for continuous collective efforts. “For more than ten years, we have intensified our efforts to protect our remarkable forestry heritage and build a low-carbon...

Three months after announcing its proposed acquisition of Nigerian pension fund manager First Guarantee Pension Limited, financial holding company Access has obtained the necessary regulatory approvals that will make First Guarantee Pension its subsidiary. Nigerian financial services holding Access Holdings Plc has secured the regulatory approvals to complete its proposed acquisition of a...

Safaricom was awarded its telecom license in July 2021. However, the operator, which is expected to boost competition in a market previously dominated by incumbent operator Ethio Telecom,  was unable to launch commercial operations within the set deadline.   Last Monday, Safaricom, which holds Ethiopia's second global telecoms license, announced the launch of the test phase of its...