The decision of the Central Bank of Nigeria to lower its refinancing rates in favor of commercial banks came as a surprise. Analysts fear a worsening of inflation and further pressure on already declining foreign exchange reserves. The Central Bank surprised analysts and investors by lowering its key rates from 13.5% to 12.5%. Those expecting such an initiative were at best hoping for a cut to...

The Ethiopian Parliament has approved the measure proposed by the government of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (pictured) to adopt a supplementary budget worth 48.56 billion birr (about $1.4 billion) for the current fiscal year. The additional money will serve as a shield against the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. In Ethiopia, like in other countries, the pandemic has posed a triple threat...

In South Africa, the private equity firm Spear Capital announced an investment of R100 million (about $5.7 million) in the fashion e-tailer RunwaySale. The investment conditions were not disclosed. The financing will support the expansion of the company, founded in 2012 by Karl and Elmien Hammerschmidt, on a local fashion market that is expected to generate up to $1 billion in revenues...

The government of Niger has received CFA590 million (about $1 million) from China to improve the healthcare services given to children and mothers in the country. The support is a boost to the efforts of the government itself and UNICEF toward universal health coverage. It falls within the implementation of the Integrated Community Case Management (ICCM) of the childhood illness approach in...

The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank on Friday approved a loan of 88 million euros to Senegal, hit hard by the novel coronavirus pandemic,  in support of  the costs of its national COVID-19 Economic and Social Resilience Program. The financing, which falls under the Bank’s COVID-19 Rapid Response Facility, will provide the nation with an emergency budget support...

Rwanda signed on May 28 a new military agreement with the United States, the ministry of foreign affairs reports. The new deal comes to supplement the existing one, signed in 2005. According to Vincent Biruta (pictured), the minister of foreign affairs, the new convention “will cover U.S. Personnel and US contractors who may be temporarily present in the territory of the Republic of Rwanda in...

Axa Mansard, the Nigerian arm of French Axa, which provides fire, accident, and miscellaneous risk insurance services, disposed of 4.37 billion naira ($11.3 million) of financial assets during the first quarter of 2020 to maintain a high level of cash flow amid the coronavirus pandemic. The insurer also sold 1.4 billion naira of rental investments. These transactions enabled it to limit cash...

After having completed a dozen transactions valued at $400 million in sub-Saharan Africa, private equity firm Carlyle Group has withdrawn from direct investments in sub-Saharan Africa. Analysts point to the fact that most of the businesses in the region are young and only seek to attract capital, while they offer few opportunities for profitable exits. In 2014, the American investment firm...

The Appeals Chamber of the International Criminal Court said on May 28 it has eased conditions for the release of former Ivorian president Laurent Gbagbo and former minister Charles Blé Goudé. Revoked conditions include: (1) a ban on movement outside the municipality where they reside in their host country unless otherwise agreed by the court; (2) surrender to the Registry all identity...

The government of Benin announced it is closing its embassy in Niger as of July 31, 2020. The information was reported on May 26 by Noël Koumba Koussey, the current ambassador. As part of a review of its diplomatic map, “the government of Benin has decided to reduce its number of representations across the world and the decision touches the embassy in Niamey,” the envoy said in an address...