The Nigerian government will, starting next year, halve its wheat imports, Minister of Science and Technology, Ogbonnaya Onu, announced. In this framework, the government will support sweet potato farmers so they can produce the crops throughout the year. According to the Minister, the quantities of sweet potato and cassava produced in Nigeria represent a true alternative to wheat flour and are...

French women and girl (15-35 yrs) clothing brand Jennyfer has opened its first store in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. In a statement, the brand said “collections offered in the new store will be the same as those sold in every other Jennyfer store worldwide, at affordable prices”.    Mainly present in North Africa where it has more than ten stores, Jennyfer’s arrival in Ivory Coast falls...

On the sidelines of a symposium organized in Dakar, Prof. Samir Amin said land grabbing contributed in a great part to African nations’ slow development. Denouncing a type of globalization that disadvantages “small” economies, the French-Egyptian scholar said Africa’s growth lies in farming which must be backed by solid land reforms. “The general development trend of capitalism is...

The European Union announced it would provide the Niger government a €470 million facility to support in efforts to implement reforms and bolster its capacities in education, nutrition, food security, etc. Besides this financing, the emergency trust fund for Africa has approved this year the injection of €140 million in nine projects in Niger. The European Union in a statement...

De Beers Consolidated Mine, subsidiary of Anglo American, said it has generated $418 million in its tenth sales cycle for 2016, down from $470 million in the ninth. The firm has generated a total of $5.558 billion over its ten sale cycles. “We continued to see good demand for our rough diamonds in the latest sales cycle,” says De Beers CEO Bruce Cleaver. De Beers...

Luanda is the most expensive city in Africa for expatriates in 2016, according to a survey released on December 14 by ECA International. Worldwide, Angola’s capital moved from the fifth position in this ranking last year to the second this year. In Africa, Luanda is followed by Kinshasa, capital city of the Democratic Republic of Congo, which is 10th worldwide. Next comes Khartoum (Sudan’s...

South African financial group Sanlam which owns a 30% interest in Saham Finances will acquire an additional 16.6% in the Moroccan firm. It will for the interest spend $329 million, valuing Saham Finances at about $2 billion. In a statement published on December 14, Saham Finances said it was pleased by the turn of event, mentioning a stronger partnership between the two groups, which...

The African Development Bank (AfDB) has approved a $100 million fund to finance the Facility for Energy Inclusion (FEI). The financing comes in $50 million of own funds and $50 million in senior convertible loan. It should according to the institution help provide power to about 3 million people in Africa. FEI is an energy fund established by the AfDB under its New Deal on Energy...

Some Japanese car makers are about to open in Algeria assembly units for utility cars and trucks, Japan’s ambassador to Algeria told the press, during a business club meeting regrouping investors from both nations. “Japan is really interested in investing in Algeria, in several of its sectors of activities. We already have car manufacturers such as Nissan and Suzuki who project to build car...

The Nigerian government scaled down its growth forecast for the economy for 2017, to 2.5%, from 3.02% earlier, Minister of Budget and National Planning, Udo Udoma, announced on Dec. 14. “We realized that it is not achievable due to the current economic recession,” the official said The Nigerian economy plunged into recession for the first time in 25 years, after its GDP decreased by 2.06%...