Member countries of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) have agreed on nearly 90% of the rules of origin set to enter into force as part of the initiative. These rules will help determine which products can be subject to duties and tariffs. According to Silver Ojakol (Head of Staff at the AfCFTA), who reported the news this week, negotiations with member countries have accelerated...

Bradford Lee Smith, Head of Microsoft Corporation, announced on January 7 his company is ready to help Nigeria revive its economy after the Covid-19 pandemic. This was during a virtual meeting with Yemi Osinbajo (pictured). Developed and approved in June 2020, Nigeria's Economic Recovery Plan is the government's response to the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic in the country. In its...

Daystar Power, which specializes in solar energy supply in West Africa, has raised $38 million in a Series B round to boost its activity. The operation was led by the Danish development bank (IFU) and saw the participation of three foreign investors: French STOA and Proparco, and American Morgan Stanley. Several factors motivated this investment, including "the customer base, technologies,...

The announcement by the Ivorian President, Alassane Ouattara, of plans to asphalt 1,331 km of roads in his country in 2021 is prompting interest from investors who hold the 16.5% shares of the Multinational Bitumen Company (SMB) on the Abidjan-based WAEMU Regional Stock Exchange (BRVM). With these projects to come, investors forecast an increase in SMB's revenues if the company reaches a deal...

South Africa continues to tighten anti-Covid-19 restriction measures as the number of cases surged recently. On January 11, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the closure of 20 land border crossings until February 15. This decision, the Head of State said, aims at reducing new arrivals in the country, mainly arrivals of people who don’t follow the required anti-Covid-19 measures. In recent...

Kenya will benefit from a six-month holiday for the repayment of $300 million in debt to the Paris Club. The announcement was made on January 11 by the National Treasury. An official statement from the finance minister Ukur Yatani (pictured) revealed that the suspension, which will last until June 2021 covers the debt contracted with 10 bilateral partners. The strategy is part of the...

2020 has been a tough year for large US banks active in the investment segment in sub-Saharan Africa, Refinitiv reported. Over the period reviewed, Morgan Stanley posted $18.1 million in revenue, down 21.5% YoY despite a 100% increase in the number of transactions the company arranged, while Citigroup’s profit dropped by 44.4% YoY and the number of transactions it arranged fell by...

Equity Bank Kenya will obtain a loan portfolio guarantee of $50 million from the Dutch Development Finance Fund (FMO) to support SMEs in Kenya. This risk-sharing facility will be provided under the Nasira program, launched by the Dutch agency with the support of the European Union. Commenting on the deal, Linda Broekhuizen, Interim CEO of FMO, said financing micro, small and medium...

Ivorian banker Tidjane Thiam (pictured) is reportedly launching a special investment vehicle worth $250 million. According to comments relayed by Bloomberg Television, the facility will specialize in the acquisition of financial companies in developed and developing markets. The information is however yet to be confirmed by the former CEO of Credit Suisse. JP Morgan, presented as the main...

Last week, the South African communication minister Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams (pictured) condemned the destruction of telecom towers operated by MTN and Vodacom in the province of KwaZulu-Natal. The infrastructures were burnt by anti-5G activists. According to the official, the incident occurred after the spread of alleged conspiracies linking Covid-19 and 5G technology. As at January 7, 2021,...