Kenya Commercial Bank is close to concluding a loan for a maximum amount of $150 million to strengthen its capital and support SMEs that develop environment-friendly projects. Particular focus is on women-led businesses. $101.7 million of the money will come from the International Finance Corporation (IFC). The Belgian Investment Company for Developing Countries (BIO) will provide $22...

In an interview, last March 14 with Alger Chaîne 3, Brahim Boumzar (pictured), the Algerian Minister of Post and Telecommunications, said the deployment of 5G technology is not an immediate priority of his department. The official said his ministry is rather focused for the moment on providing a good 4G to Algerians. "We are working pragmatically. Our current facilities are 5G Ready. At the...

The African Development Bank has committed $530 million to finance the construction of a 343 km, 400 kV central-south transmission line that will connect the north and south transmission grids in Angola and allow for the distribution of clean energy between the two regions. The north of Angola has a surplus of more than 1,000 MW of mostly renewable power, whereas the south relies on...

Sierra Leone will receive $50.3 million in financing from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) under a rapid credit facility (RCF). This was announced by the institution in a statement issued on Monday, March 15, 2021. The money will be used to meet the country’s balance of payments and fiscal needs, which have sharply increased due to the covid-19 pandemic. To date, Sierra Leone has...

The new framework set up by the G20 to relieve the debt of poor countries, including about 40 from Africa, represents a risk for the international private creditors of the beneficiaries. According to U.S. rating agency Moody’s, “in contrast to the approach taken last year under the Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI), it is increasingly clear that official-sector lenders are intent on...

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has decided to postpone sine die, its vaccination campaign against the covid-19 pandemic. The announcement was made by the Minister of Health, Dr. Eteni Longondo in a statement issued on March 13, 2021. The country had initially set the start of its vaccination campaign for March 15, 2021, and had already obtained 1.7 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine....

Tunisia will benefit from the financing of $300 million granted by the World Bank to continue its fight against poverty. This was reported yesterday, March 15, by Ferid Belhaj, the World Bank’s Vice President for MENA, following a meeting with the Tunisian President Kaïs Saïed. According to figures provided by the Center for Economic and Social Studies and Research and relayed by the...

Mobile operator MTN Nigeria is seeking 200 billion naira ($489 million) on the local capital market. The company launched a new commercial paper program last week for this purpose. These are series 3 and 4, each worth 100 billion naira. The deal will close on March 19, 2021. According to MTN Nigeria, the issue is being arranged by Chapel Hill Denham Advisory Limited. The minimum subscription...

A group of companies controlled and majority-owned by Aldar Properties, has made an offer to acquire a majority stake of 51% in the capital of Sodic (Sixth of October for Development and Investment Company S.A.E.), an Egyptian company active in the high-end real estate market, media sources reported. The consortium is proposing an indicative purchase price of 18 to 19 Egyptian pounds for each...

Bank of Africa’s subsidiary in Burkina Faso ended FY2020 with a net profit of CFA17.6 billion (€26.8 million), down 4.8% compared to 2019. This poor performance contrasts with the resilience that the bank showed during the first three quarters of 2020. BOA Burkina Faso's net profit was up 22% at the end of the first six months of last year. At the end of September, it was still up by 5.7%....