Kenya’s banking group, Co-operative Bank, the fourth-largest bank in the country by market share, has made an offer for an undisclosed amount to acquire the commercial bank Jamii Bora Bank. The bid is subject to approval from the country’s Central Bank. The bidder says it is seeking to strengthen its market foothold. As a reminder, about a year ago Commercial Bank of Africa (CBA) also...

Youverify, a Nigerian startup that eases the verification of the identity, background, learning process and the full address of employees for private and public companies, has raised $1.5 million from Orange Digital Ventures Africa (ODVA). The startup will use these resources to improve its technology and finance expansion across Nigeria and the rest of Africa. Co-founded in Lagos in 2018...

Coronavirus is now a pandemic, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (pictured), Director-General of the World Health Organization, declared yesterday March 11 during a conference in Geneva. He said the virus should now be considered so regarding the fast way it has spread into all continents and the alarming augmentation of cases. “Describing the situation as a pandemic does not change WHO’s...

Amid the gently swaying palm trees of the Indian Ocean island of Zanzibar sits a school with a difference. The Raha Leo Alternative Learning Centre provides training to young students who may have otherwise missed out on education altogether. Take 21-year-old Hadia Baruti Wimbi. She left her parents' home when she was only six. "An elderly member of my family came to see my parents, asking if...

Kenya is now officially connected to Djibouti via an optical fiber with the subsea cable Djibouti Africa Regional Express 1 (Dare1) landing on the Kenyan coast of Mombasa as expected. In May last year, the Kenyan government expressed its desire to connect to Dare1 for an investment of $59 million. With the more than 5,000 km-long cable completed, Kenya is expected to test the telecom...

In a statement issued March 10, the African Development Bank (AfDB) announced it is giving the Sudanese government $75 million to improve food security across the country. The operation is part of a deal signed between the pan-African body and DAL Group, Sudan’s largest food and agriculture business company. Under this agreement, DAL will provide financing for projects aiming at lowering...

Saham Assurance Maroc, largely controlled by South African Sanlam, ended the year 2019 with a net profit of MAD405.7 million, up 0.96% compared to the MAD402.9 million in 2018. The company’s revenues also rose by 0.35% reaching MAD5.5 million. Saham says the increase is linked to an improvement by 0.72% to MAD31 million in the non-life segment. On March 11, 2020, the Board of Directors of...

Swiss company MGI Group was chosen to set up a telecom monitoring and control system in Niger, according to an official government statement published on March 6. The contract was awarded “by private treaty without competition.” The project has benefited from the CFA13.5 billion ($23.5 million), excluding taxes, provided by the National Agency for the Information Society (ANSI) and the...

The Assembly of the Representatives of the People of Tunisia (ARP) has refuted, for lack of quorum, to adopt a draft organic law relating to the founding convention of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). The adoption of this bill by Parliament was, however, necessary to complete the procedures for Tunisia's accession to the free trade zone, the convention of which was signed by the...

Africa is vulnerable to a massive capital flight due to the current covid-19 crisis and the bad level of oil price. Rating agency Fitch says this is because the continent is not resource-strong enough to deal with external shocks. “The souring sentiment does not only affect financing in international markets, but it could also lead to portfolio outflows where investors have invested in...