Tanzania is giving Mozambique a helping hand in the fight against the Islamist insurgency in the northern part of the country. On November 20, Police chiefs from both countries met in the border town of Mtwara in southern Tanzania to discuss the issue and fight for ways to put an end to it. This announcement comes weeks after the attack on the Tanzanian village of Kitaya, led by 300 Islamist...

Kenya has undertaken negotiations with the International Monetary Fund to obtain a financial deal over 3 and a half years. The institution announced it in a statement issued last Nov. 20. The agreement will come in the form of an extended credit facility and will mainly serve to accelerate the country’s post-Covid-19 economic recovery. “The program would provide resources to protect...

As the AFRICA CEO FORUM is organizing webinars dedicated to business leaders operating in Africa in partnership with Huawei, the last webinar features “delivering a broadband Africa”, with the participation of Mr. Hou Tao, Global Vice President of Huawei, and Mr. Lu Libo, President of Network Marketing & Solution Sales of Huawei. The webinar featured a balanced presence of guests, coming...

Ethiopia’s national army accused the Head of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, of supporting the Tigray People’s Liberation Front. Speaking to reporters on Nov.8, the Chief of Staff, General Birhanu Jula (pictured) said Tedros uses his position to pressure foreign governments to support the rebels. According to him, the WHO chief has reportedly helped the TPLF obtain...

Africa has just surpassed the 2 million mark for covid-19, according to new figures published by the African Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This announcement comes at a time when the world is facing an upsurge in coronavirus cases. Across the planet, there are 55 million infections with 1.3 million deaths and 35.7 million recoveries. In Africa, the first confirmed case was reported...

The government of Madagascar has reduced the excise duty on telecommunications. The tax, which rose from 8% to 10% in the 2020 finance law, dropped again to 8% in the 2021 finance bill. According to Ranesa Firiana Rakotonjanahary, the Secretary-General of the Ministry of Posts, Telecommunications and Digital Development (MPTDN), the decision followed a study conducted by the Ministry which...

The Nigerian-based private equity firm African Capital Alliance (ACA), which focuses its operations in sub-Saharan Africa, has invested $20 million in Accelerex Holdings, a firm that finances and supports African fintech companies. The transaction was made through ACA's fourth investment fund- CAPE IV. It is a $570 million fund focused on West Africa and interested in many sectors such...

The Acting Deputy Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), John Barsa, announced on November 17, 2020, the launch of a new Africa-wide trade and investment program under the "Prosper Africa" initiative. Worth up to $500 million for over five years, depending on the availability of funds, "this flagship program will offer new and expanded support services to...

The Attorney General's office in Ethiopia has frozen the bank accounts of 34 companies identified as being part of the portfolio of an investment fund focused on the development of Tigray. The companies are accused of having participated in the financing of ethnic violence and acts of terrorism linked with the TPLF (Tigray People's Liberation Front), which seeks to overthrow the constitutional...

Without a clear identity, a citizen cannot access any service (education, health, competitions, etc.). In the rapidly emerging digital world, Tunde Fafunwa, Senior Advisor of the UNECA Digital Center of Excellence, fears that the lack of digital identity will further widen the digital divide in Africa. In an interview last week with covid19africawatch.org, an initiative of the economic think...