Liwwa, a fintech that provides small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with short-term online loans of up to $100,000, has secured a $6 million equity investment led by Dutch development finance institution FMO. The latter participated in the fundraising through the FMO Ventures Program, an initiative that aims to make direct equity investments in innovative and start-up companies,...

Manufacturing activity in Zimbabwe will fall to 27% in 2020 from 36% in 2019, according to the Chief Executive Officer of the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI), Tafadzwa Bandama. This is the finding of the CZI’s 2019 Manufacturing Sector Survey. According to this survey, this situation is largely due to the currency problem faced by 88% of companies, of which 53% obtain less than 10%...

The Kigali green city project will receive €9.6 million from the German development agency KfW. The project will be launched in Kinyinya, a town located in the district of Gasabo. It will cover a total of 620 ha and includes 1,749 housing units that will be built over 18 ha.  The facilities will be powered by renewable resources such as solar energy. They will be connected to a...

US tech giant Google announced it has ditched its Google Station program aiming at providing free Wi-Fi services in isolated areas in South Africa. The announcement came three months after the project was launched in November 2019 in Cape Town.  Currently, the initiative covers 125 locations across Langa, Khayelitsha, Gugulethu, Delft, Elsies River, and Philippi.  Google says the...

The 44th General Assembly of the Federation of African National Insurance Companies (FANAF) opens today February 17, 2020, in Libreville, Gabon against the backdrop of multiple exchanges on the digitalization of the insurance sector.  Digital transformation is a great opportunity to modernize the insurance sector in Africa where nearly 600 million people now use mobile phones. However, the...

France-based DPD group which specializes in the delivery of parcels has participated in a $1.4 million Series A fundraising by Bosta, an Egyptian startup that operates in the same activity sector.  The operation was led by Fawry which has already invested in Bosta. The terms of this transaction were not disclosed. For DPD Group, which also operates in Egypt, building a local...

The Kingdom of Sweden confirms it will help Angola accelerate its economic growth through the use of information and communications technologies. On the sidelines of the Angola-Sweden workshop on "IT and digital economy sectors," Ewa Polano, the Swedish ambassador to Angola, said the two partners will mainly focus on education, finance, transports and the fight against corruption.  She...

The United Arab Emirates vows $500 million to support digital economy transformation in Africa. The good news was announced last week by Reem al Hashemy (pictured), the Emirati Minister of State for International Cooperation. The agreement aligns with the "UAE's consortium for Africa," an initiative that aims to improve human capital across the continent through the private sector....

The port of Maputo, the largest in Mozambique, continues to improve its operational performance. In 2019, the platform handled 21 million tons of cargo, setting a new record after the 19.5 million tons in 2018. According to the port's management, this 8% growth was mainly driven by the processing of higher volume of chromium, and the increase in the number of containers and volume of magnetite....

US satellite operator Viasat is exploring expansion opportunities in Nigeria. A delegation of the company was received in audience on 10 February 2020 by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) in Abuja. This is the second meeting, after the one held on 4 March 2019, that the company is holding in Nigeria as part of its plans to open up to the world market. Augustine Nwalunne, Head of...