Côte d'Ivoire plans to mobilize 55 billion CFA Francs (about $93.4 million) on the money market of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU). Through this first operation of 2020, which is taking place today January 14, the country will issue Treasury Bills with maturities of 3 and 12 months, set at 14 April 2020 and 12 January 2021, respectively. Each bill will have a unit value...

Senegal has great ambitions for its railway sector. During the technical validation workshop of the 2035 railway policy held last week in Dakar, Mayacine Camara, the Secretary of State for the Railway Network, said the government has plans to invest CFA50 billion a year in the sector. “We have a three-pronged strategic vision that should lead to 13 structuring projects aiming at linking the...

The Fund manager Ezdehar Management has acquired, through its first investment fund Ezdehar Egypt Mid-Cap Fund, an undisclosed majority stake in the capital of Rich Food Industries, a food delivery company. The money collected by Rich Food Industries will be used to increase its production capacity and broaden outlet network across the country. “We believe this investment brings together Rich...

The African Development Bank Group on Monday organized a workshop to share its approach to private sector funding through its new policy on Non-Sovereign Operations (NSO Policy). The policy provides the general framework and modalities required for Bank lending and investment without sovereign guarantee to private and public entities that meet specific eligibility requirements on...

The International Federation of Consulting Engineers (FIDIC) has secured a major agreement with the African Development Bank that will see the international funding organisation include the use of seven FIDIC standard contracts for the next five years. Under the terms of the agreement, FIDIC has granted the Bank a non-exclusive licence to refer to the seven major FIDIC contracts (see list in...

WeLight, the joint venture of Axian Group and Sagemcom dedicated to rural electrification, and the Norwegian investment fund Norfund specializing in the development of sustainable businesses, signed an investment partnership to equip more remote villages in sub-Saharan Africa and Madagascar. WeLight is thus benefiting from a major investment enabling the long-term establishment of autonomous...

Emerging Markets Property Group (EMPG) is investing $7 million to strengthen the staff within its Moroccan real estate advertising arm Mubawab, local media reported. With about 150 employees in Morocco, Mubawab plans to recruit 100 new workers by the end of 2020 in its Maghreb subsidiaries (Algeria and Tunisia) as well as in Morocco. The real estate advertising portal, which boasts a...

In Nigeria, the pan-African bank Ecobank has announced a plan to inject $193 million (70 billion naira) in agricultural businesses over the next two years. The project targets companies that have strong impact in the different value chains of the sector. This strategy aligns with the Agribusiness and Food Summit the bank is organizing in the country next month, in partnership with Vanguard...

Internet and social media shutdowns last year cost the global economy a total of $8.05 billion, and sub-Saharan Africa alone suffered a loss of $2.16 billion. According to Top10VPN.com, one of the leading VPN review websites, the region recorded 7,800 hours of shutdowns with Chad being the most unfortunate country in terms of hours (4,728 hours) and Sudan the most economically-impacted...

From an initial 3.1%, the World Bank finally sees economic growth in sub-Saharan Africa at 2.9% for the current year. In the related document published last week, the Bank says weak external demand coupled with increased global policy uncertainty, decline in commodity prices and internal fragilities in several countries in the region facilitated the global slowdown. Supported by improved...