Airtel Mobile Commerce BV, the mobile money arm of Airtel Africa, is welcoming a new shareholder. The parent company announced last July 5 it has divested minority shares in its mobile money business to Qatar Holding LLC, a subsidiary of the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), for $200 million. The transaction, which is subject to regulatory approvals, will value Airtel Africa's mobile money...

Nigeria’s Federal Executive Council (FEC) yesterday approved the acquisition of 20% equity stakes in Dangote Refinery – an integrated refinery project under construction in the Lekki Free Zone near Lagos, Nigeria - by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) for a cash consideration of $2.76 billion. The NNPC had earlier announced in May 2021 its intention to acquire an equity...

Since July 2021, Ahmat Abdelkerim is the Managing Director of the Bolloré Transport & Logistics Horn of Africa cluster. He will be managing the business activities in three countries: Djibouti, Ethiopia and Eritrea. He has taken over from Patrick Gerenthon, who has moved on to perform other duties within Bolloré Transport & Logistics. Ahmat Abdelkerim, originally from Chad, graduated from...

The Ivorian Head of State, Alassane Ouattara (pictured), went into quarantine yesterday August 3 after having been in contact with a person who tested positive for covid-19. The information was revealed in an official statement issued by the presidency. For now, no details have been provided about the infected person he was in contact with or the circumstances of their meeting. As a reminder,...

In 2020, banks operating in WAEMU showed relative resilience with higher profitability thanks to lower losses for the loss-making ones. The banking sector performed well over the period despite the Covid-19 pandemic. The sector's overall net profit represented 23.5% of consolidated net banking income (equivalent to turnover), according to estimates by the Central Bank - BCEAO. In 2018 and 2019,...

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, today announced a partnership with Microsoft's 4Afrika initiative to make digital tools and training resources more accessible to small-scale farmers and agriculture-linked small businesses. The partnership will include Microsoft's KuzaBot mobile chat platform which will be piloted among farmers in Kenya, Nigeria,...

The consequences of Covid-19 have put all countries around the world in big troubles. The fallouts are harsher on the poorest especially in Africa where some countries were already facing challenges due to political unrest and climate change. The United Nations believes that the current picture, which combines the pandemic, conflicts and climate change, could push at least 17 African countries...

After the 2020 trade agreement, London and Nairobi want to strengthen their private investments. On a three-day visit to the United Kingdom, President Uhuru Kenyatta validated the launch of the new Nairobi International Financial Center and secured a new investment of £132 million. British foreign secretary Dominic Raab (pictured, right) announced on July 27 his country will invest £132...

The Ivoire Hydro Energy (IHE) received €25 million financing from The Emerging Africa Infrastructure Fund (EAIF) - a public-private partnership that provides long-term debt on commercial terms to infrastructure projects in Africa - to build a 44MW hydro electric plant on the Bandama river, near a village in Singrobo, Côte d’Ivoire. The loan provided by the Private Infrastructure...

Acumen Resilient Agriculture Fund (ARAF), managed by Acumen Capital Partners, announced its final closing last month at $58 million. The impact fund is the world’s first equity fund designed to build an ecosystem of agribusinesses that improves farmers’ livelihoods and builds their resilience to climate change. Acumen has raised a total of $83.8 million across four funds, their...