TELMA Madagascar has switched on their 5G commercial network to offer subscribers high-speed services enabled by the latest generation of mobile technology. Powered by Ericsson (NASDAQ : ERIC), the 5G network is already live in Antananarivo. TELMA Launches 5G In Madagascar, making it the First Country in Africa to Adopt The Next-Gen Mobile Network Commercially. TELMA, the Malagasy...

The Board of Directors of the African Development Fund (ADF) have approved grants totaling $9.52 million to strengthen responses to the COVID-19 pandemic in East Africa and the Horn, and in the Comoros. The grant, approved on 26 June, is part of the $10 billion COVID-19 Rapid Response Facility (CRF) approved by the Board of Directors in April 2020 and complements the Bank’s direct...

The government of Senegal announced it is reopening its air borders starting July 15. “The reopening of air borders will take place from July 15, and international flights will resume according to a defined health protocol,” President Macky Sall said yesterday, 29 June, during his address to the nation on the situation of the coronavirus pandemic. However, “land and sea borders remain...

Nigerian pension fund manager FCMB Pensions Limited engaged in talks with rival AIICO Pension Managers to acquire a 96% stake in the company for an undisclosed amount. The subsidiary of financial services group FCMB Group Plc first wants to acquire 70% of the shares of AIICO Pension Managers from its parent company, insurer AIICO Insurance, and a further 26% from minority shareholders of AIICO...

The battle for Ethiopia's two new telecommunications licenses is going to be tough. According to the Ministry of Finance and the Ethiopian Communications Authority (ECA), a total of 11 companies are in the running for the licenses. Bidders include Global Partnership for Ethiopia (a consortium of telecom operators consisting of Vodafone, Vodacom, and Safaricom), Etisalat, Axian, MTN, Orange,...

Since January 1, 2020, the cumulative market value of the world’s listed banks fell by $2,126.7 billion, according to data provided by Capital QI. In detail, a total of 1,601 banks experienced a decline in market value over the period under review while 192 saw an increase in their value and 50 others reported a stable value. The top 30 largest banks by market capitalization, with U.S. JP...

Hisham Tawfik (pictured), the Egyptian Minister of public business sector, announced during an interview with Bloomberg that the government has suspended the privatization of state-owned companies due to ‘unfavorable’ market conditions stemming from the coronavirus pandemic. Through its privatization program, the government wanted to reorganize an oversized and loss-making public sector to...

Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) has set up a special unit to track income generated through digital businesses with particular focus on companies such as Google, which do not have a physical presence in the country but still generate money on the market. According to Caxton Masudi (pictured), the deputy commissioner in charge of policy and domestic taxes, the move is to “ensure that the digital...

Three leading international financial institutions, the African Development Bank, the World Bank, and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), on Thursday pledged multi-pronged support to Sudan as it opens a new chapter to overcome political and economic challenges. At a high-level Sudan Partnership Conference held virtually and hosted in Berlin on 25 June, the three multilateral organizations and...

Ethiopia’s ‘One’ model, under which the government runs its Water, Sanitation and Hygiene ( WASH ) National Program, has steadily improved the well-being of the country’s rural and urban communities, top local officials say. “The ‘One’ here means we have one account, one budget and one report in one consolidated WASH Account,” says Tadesse Masresha, Coordinator for the Regional...