The Central African Forest Commission (COMIFAC), an organization specific to the ten countries in the subregion of Central Africa responsible for standardizing forest and environmental policies and coordinating conservation and sustainable forest ecosystem management efforts, welcomes the promised $1.5B in funding to preserve Central African forest ecosystems. COMIFAC expresses its warmest...

The Ivorian government announced yesterday it has revised its 2021 state budget upward. From $14.8 billion, the budget is now $16 billion. According to authorities, this decision was necessary given “the impacts that Covid-19 has had and continues to have on the economy, and the need to improve the living environment and well-being of the population.” While the poverty rate in...

Senegal will launch its very first satellite into space in 2023. The project is the result of an MoU signed two years ago with the National Center for Space Studies of France and Ariane Group. In a recent interview with Le Quotidien, Gayane Faye (pictured) said three students from local engineering schools were sent last year to the Montpellier Space Center for training in space science, as part...

The Central Bank of Morocco expects the country’s economy to recover at 6.2% this year after a recession in 2020. Many sectors have started recovering, including the job market.   Over the third quarter this year, the unemployment rate in the country fell to 11.8% from 12.7% in Q3 2020. The figures were reported in a statement issued yesterday by the High Commission for Planning...

Private Equity firm AfricInvest made a new investment in Morocco’s education sector. The investor has acquired jointly with the Tunisian businessman Tawhid Chtioui, 80% of the Moroccan Higher Institute of Applied Engineering (ISGA). Shares were acquired from the Diouri family which was until now the majority shareholder of the ISGA group. The operation was announced by several local media in...

Like other African countries, Nigeria is stepping up initiatives to fight global warming. The largest oil producer in Africa says it wants to hit net-zero by 2060. The announcement was made last November 2 by President Muhammadu Buhari (pictured) at the UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, Scotland. Achieving this objective will require an investment of about $400 billion, Buhari said....

Senegalese President Macky Sall (pictured) announced his government is investing an additional $3.5 million to strengthen response against HIV/AIDS. He said this on November 2 during the West and Central Africa HIV summit. “Let us mobilize for funding, research, and immunization. I pledge to work with you to advocate with the African Union and partners for increased funding for the fight...

The Ivorian General State Pension Fund (IPS-CGRAE) announced it has launched a supplementary pension scheme by capitalization to improve the purchasing power of the retired public worker. The launching ceremony was held yesterday November 2 in Abidjan and presided over by the Ministry of Employment. The new mechanism -La Complémentaire- is designed to enable retired civil servants and...

Mobile operator Telkom Kenya, a joint venture between Helios Investment and the Kenyan government, signed a partnership agreement today November 2 with Swedish tech company Ericsson and the ICT systems integrator NEC XON to expand its 4G mobile network. Under this project, Telkom will invest nearly $100 million to deploy 2,000 telecom sites across the country by 2023. Mugo Kibati...

The 26th UN Climate Change conference COP 26, which began on Sunday, October 31, is already delivering its first results. Yesterday, several countries announced the creation of a $1.5 billion fund to protect the Congo River basin. According to an official statement from the UK government, 12 donors will finance the fund between 2021 and 2025. London announced a commitment of $409...