Bad news for power thieves. The Electricity Company of Ghana is making moves to acquire AI tools that will be used to fight power theft. This was announced February 18 by Vice-President Mahamudu Bawumia at the launch of a mobile application for ECG customers. The official said the measure will help overcome major challenges including the difficulties in collecting payment for power supply that...

In Nigeria, the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) is planning to deploy ICT centers in all state secretariats. The information was announced by the Agency’s Managing Director Kashifu Abdullahi, in response to Shu’aibu Ibrahim, head of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), who asked NITDA to replicate the ICT center it established at the Federal Capital Territory...

In Nigeria, the Consumer Price Index (CPI), which measures inflation, increased by 12.1 pct YoY in January this year, its highest level in 21 months, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) revealed. This figure is higher by 0.15 pct compared to December 2019 when the index increased by 11.9 pct. NBS linked the situation to the closure of the border with Benin which was a gateway for foodstuffs,...

The 2020 edition of the Financial Secrecy Index (FSI) recently published by the Tax Justice Network reveals that Africa continues to bear the heaviest consequences of financial secrecy and capital flights, a system that gives elites and criminals a place to hide and launder money. The sad thing is the continent is the most hit while all the 17 African countries featured in the report account for...

Between January and November 2019, trade between Egypt and the rest of Africa slightly increased by 2.03%, reaching $131.35 million against $128.74 million the same period in 2018. Data were provided by the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (Capmas). On the continent, Kenya was Egypt’s leading trade partner with a trade volume of about $17.69 million at the...

Dutch development bank FMO invested $2.8 million into US Acumen’s Pioneer Energy Investment Initiative (PEII) that seeks to bridge the energy funding gap in developing countries. The investment was made through Access to Energy Fund (AEF), a fund managed by FMO on behalf of the Dutch government, which finances private sector projects focusing on improving access to sustainable energy in...

Khaled Talhouni (pictured), former director of the sub-Saharan Africa-focused venture capital firm Wamda Capital, has resigned from his position to focus on his plans to set up an investment fund called Nuwa Capital. The newly formed entity aims to raise $100 million in commitments from investors. Saudi-based Al Faisaliah group, which is active in the food and beverage, electronics,...

Provisional estimates by the Ivorian Ministry of Tourism show that the sector contributed about 7.3% to the country's GDP in 2019, against 6.25% in 2018. Figures were reported by the Minister of Tourism Siandou Fofana (pictured), on February 17, during a press briefing on the launch of the first UNWTO forum on tourism investment in Africa, which Abidjan will host from 20 to 22 February 2020. The...

The Director of Macroeconomic Policy, Forecasting and Research at the African Development Bank, Dr Hanan Morsy, has been named one of Egypt’s 50 most influential women. Dr Hala El Said, Egypt’s Minister of Planning and Economic Development, gave the award on 5 February in a ceremony organized under auspices of the Egyptian Prime Minister.  “I am honored to be named among the...

The Ethiopian government adopted, on Monday 17 February 2020, a draft amending the finance law allowing an increase by 27.9 billion birrs (about $870 million) in the state budget for the current fiscal year (2019-20). Of the additional amount, up to 18 billion birrs (about $563 million) will go for the implementation of the country's economic reform program while 2 billion birrs...