The European Investment Bank is exploring opportunities to strengthen collaboration with Congo in the digital field. A mission led by the EU ambassador to the country, Raul Mateus Paula, met with PM Clément Mouamba this week for that purpose. “The European Union has set a new committee for our major plans for the coming years. We plan to focus on the environment and the fight against climate...

Canada approved CFA2 billion ($3 million) to support the “for every girl, the right to education” program initiated by the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in Cote d’Ivoire. The project targets more than 32,000 girls aged between 10 and 18, over a 2-year period. It will be implemented in the district of Abidjan and the region of Tonkpi (in the country’s western part).   According to...

The Ethiopian Civil Aviation Authority (ECAA) successfully passed a recent Universal Safety Oversight Audit Program (USOAP) initiated by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). During a press conference last week, ECAA’s Deputy Director-General, Shimeles Kebreab, announced the country scored a record grade of 91.78% for the audit. “This is the highest score that we attained and...

While the 33rd African Union Summit is held in Addis Ababa, the Republic of Djibouti reaffirms its ambition, already announced at the end of 2016, to sit as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council for the 2021 -2022 period. Five of the ten non-permanent members of the Security Council will be elected at the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly to be held in...

Banque Internationale Arabe de Tunisie -BIAT- is poised to get a majority stake in the capital of the asset manager Tunisie Valeurs. The bank has sent an intention letter to the company’s major shareholders in that regard. BIAT’s offer is a response to the decision made in November 2019 by Tunisie Valeurs to open its capital to a strategic partner by the first quarter of 2020, in order to...

The government of Ghana has mobilized this week a total of $3 billion in Eurobond issuance, we learned. The bonds were issued in three tranches with different rates and maturities. According to official data, the country collected $1.25 billion issuing 6-year bonds at a rate of 6.375% and $1 billion in 14-year bonds at a rate of 8%. For the third operation, Ghana raised $750...

The amount injected in sub-Saharan Africa by the European Investment Bank (EIB) has dropped by 28% between 2013 and 2019, data collected by Ecofin Agency showed. Last year, EIB granted the region a total of $1.15 billion for 29 projects, and despite the decline observed, this figure is the third-largest annual resource committed in the region by the institution. The bank granted $1.6...

The Zambian telecom operator -Zamtel- says it will strengthen security measures to prevent SIM card fraud and boost security. The company launched a program to collect facial biometric data from its subscribers.According to Reuben Kamanga, Zamtel’s Head of Corporate Affairs and Government Relations, the new measure consists of an update of existing data, against the backdrop of growing online...

Egypt and Switzerland signed yesterday three memoranda of understanding aimed at strengthening investment, improving higher education and developing the textile sector. The deals were inked during the Egyptian-Swiss Investment Forum in Cairo. With this new step, Egypt is seeking to boost support to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), develop training programs for youth and create more...

The World Food Program has approved the 2020-24 Country Strategic Plan in Niger, the institution’s Country Director, Sory Ouane, announced February 3, during the signing of a financial and technical deal in Niamey. Valued at $1 billion (CFA626.6 billion), the Plan is the fruit of a collaboration between WFP, the government of Niger and development partners. It was designed to help the...