On Thursday 30 June 2022, the Union of the Comoros and Moroni Terminal signed the amendment to the concession agreement for the Port of Moroni container terminal. The amendment was signed by Bianrifi Tarmidi, Minister of Maritime and Air Transport, Mzé Abdou Mohamed Chanfiou, Minister of Finance, Budget and Banking, and Ahmed Ali Bazi, Minister of Economy, Industry, Investments, and Economic...

Over the past two years, demand for broadband connectivity and data traffic has exploded in Africa, mainly due to the coronavirus pandemic. To meet that demand and keep up with accelerating digital transformation, Namibia wants to strengthen its broadband infrastructure.  Equiano, Google’s subsea cable, has landed in Swakopmund, Namibia. This was announced by pan-African broadband...

The Trade Access Program, jointly developed with the British International Investment, will be managed by Swiss-based Inoks Capital. It will target cash-strapped SMEs and trade intermediaries to reduce Africa's estimated US$81 billion trade deficit.  Last April, the British International Investment (BII) and Swiss asset manager Inoks Capital launched an initiative to finance small and...

In 2021, the revenues generated by the Suez Canal, one of Egypt’s main sources of income, dropped significantly when it was blocked by the container ship Ever Given. A year later, the revenues generated by that trade route rose significantly.  In Egypt, Suez Canal revenues reached US$7 billion in the 2021/2022 fiscal year, which ended last June 30. The figure was disclosed on Monday, July...

With an investment estimated at approximately one (1) billion FCFA (approximately 1.5 million Euros), Africa Jutes Industries, a company specializing in the processing of agricultural products, is officially the 30th company to invest in GDIZ. Africa Jutes is one of the entities of the multinational Africa Negoce Industries, present in Benin and Niger. It has set foot in the GDIZ and will be...

Since joining the African Development Bank Group as its 81st shareholder in 2020, Ireland has shown steadily increasing interest in strengthening its economic ties with Africa. That mission received a strong boost last week at the 7th Africa Ireland Economic Forum in Dublin, as African Development Bank Group President Dr. Akinwumi Adesina enjoined the Irish business community to invest more...

The euro continues to decline against the U.S. dollar, dragging the pegged CFA franc in its fall. The situation has both good and bad points for the African countries using the pegged currency.  CFA franc, the currency used by the 14 WAEMU and CEMAC countries has depreciated by 9.18% against the U.S. dollar since January 2022, reference currency data platform xe.com shows.  The...

During the period, Kenya’s economic growth was mainly driven by a strong recovery in the accommodation and food services, transport, construction, and ICT sectors.  Kenya's economy grew by 6.8 percent in the first quarter of 2022 compared with 2.7 percent in the same period of 2021, according to data released on Friday, July 1, by the National Bureau of Statistics.  This...

Algeria’s ambition to own the operator dates back years ago. In 2014, the government acquired 51% of stakes in the operator for US$2.6 billion. In July 2021, VEON announced it would exit the stakeholding.  Algeria is now the majority owner of two telecom companies in the country. According to a release dated Friday, June 1, the national investment fund FNI bought all the shares previously...

In Mercer's 28th global ranking of the most expensive cities, Bangui, the capital of the Central African Republic, is ranked just ahead of Libreville (Gabon) and Victoria (Seychelles). In West Africa, the three most expensive cities are Lagos, Dakar, and Abidjan. U.S asset management firm Mercer recently published the 2022 issue of its global ranking of the most expensive cities; 209 cities...