The Emerging Africa Infrastructure Fund (EAIF), managed by asset manager Ninety One, has committed to purchase $50 million of bonds issued on Feb. 22 by Liquid Telecommunications Financing as part of a bond and term loan valued at $820 million. “EAIF has supported the growth of Africa’s digital and telecommunications sector since 2003. We have given support to projects including...

Hlayisani Capital, a manager of private equity and venture capital funds targeting high-growth opportunities in South Africa and the rest of sub-Saharan Africa, announces the first closing at 350 million rand ($24 million) of its first Hlayisani Growth Fund vehicle. The fund focuses on companies with the potential to generate sustainable returns and socio-economic impact. The priority sectors...

The unemployment rate in South Africa rose from 30.8% in Q3 2020 to 32.5% the following quarter, making an increase of 10.7% over the period. In its quarterly labor force survey released yesterday, the department of statistics (Stats SA) found that the number of jobless people rose from 6.5 million in Q3 2020 to 7.2 million by the end of the fourth quarter. A situation exacerbated by...

Sitarail, the operator of the railway between Côte d’Ivoire and Burkina Faso, has since 2019 rolled out a large-scale programme of investments to modernise its maintenance workshops in order to improve the quality of rail traffic. In 2019-2020, the company invested over two billion CFA francs in the acquisition of modern equipment for its locomotive and wagon maintenance workshops in Abidjan...

US lawmakers will review the federal rescue package of $1.9 trillion proposed by the new US president Joe Biden (pictured) this week. The project received support from senators and congressmen and there is no doubt that it will be validated and implemented. Investors from different financial markets are already positioning themselves, and this will surely have consequences for...

Mali has secured $57.6 million in financing from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). In a Feb. 22 statement, the institution said the disbursement follows the completion of the second and third performance reviews of the Malian government, as part of the economic reform program supported by a $191.9 million Extended Credit Facility (ECF). Approved in 2019, the program was designed...

The European Union announced last week an additional support of €500 million in favor of the WHO-led Covax initiative. This brings to €1 billion EU’s total commitment to the scheme. The amount consists of €300 million in EU grant and €200 million in guarantees from the European Fund for Sustainable Development plus (EFSD+) that will back a loan by the European...

The OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID) approved last week the disbursement of $50 million to support the Tanzanian government in the fight against poverty. This financing deal will back the country's fourth poverty reduction project, which aims to boost opportunities for more than 900,000 people through the improvement of access to clean water, education, and healthcare. The...

The World Bank announced new support for Ethiopia's digital transformation. The institution is currently working on a new project called Digital Ethiopia Foundations, under which it plans to invest about $200 million to support the country’s digital economy. The announcement was recently made by Ousmane Dione, the World Bank's Country Director for Eritrea, Ethiopia, Southern Sudan, and...

Terminal 3 of MPS (Meridian Port Services Limited) in Ghana is the backbone of the maritime service between Africa and South America. The container terminal at the port of Tema enables the CMA CGM and MSC ship owners to connect Africa with the South American market. MSC benefits from a berthing window on the MPS docks for its connections between Africa and South America. Meanwhile, CMA CGM...