The Government of Burkina Faso has announced an investment of about 1.9 billion CFA Francs to provide 10,013 undergraduate students with laptops, as part of the “one student, one computer” program initiated by the President. The equipment will be provided by the French company Horizon Informatique SA which sells ICT tools. Through the “one student, one computer” program, the Burkinabe...

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is giving the Tunisian microfinance institution Advans Tunisie the equivalent of $2.2 million in local currency to improve financing to SMEs. The loan deal was signed yesterday January 9 in Tunisia and also includes technical assistance that will enable Advans Tunisie to strengthen its capacity to manage credit and operational...

The International Monetary Fund approved yesterday, January 9, the disbursement of $27.67 million for Mali. This disbursement follows the first review of the Extended Credit Facility signed with the country in late August 2019. The resources will support Malian authorities’ continued commitment to implement policies and reforms to achieve the program’s objectives. According to Tao Zhang...

Avaya International, a company specializing in business communications, announced the opening of an international service center in Egypt. The infrastructure is being promoted as a technology environment that will contribute to the promotion and adoption of innovation in research and development (R&D) of intelligent cloud-based technologies, software, and solutions, as well as improving the...

France has updated its tax haven blacklist. The update brings good news for Botswana which was removed from the list since the diamond-producing country “has complied with the rules on the exchange of information on taxable entities,” the French authorities said. However, the archipelago Seychelles have been added to the list and Gérald Darmanin (pictured), the French Minister of Action and...

The Ivorian government has adopted new provisions in the Fiscal Annex 2020 to support private sector development. These include 29 measures of tax exemption, tax rate increases, tax suspension, and creation of new taxes; as well as the clarification and improvement of tax management modalities. With this new step, the government wants to speed up the objectives set in the National Development...

The development agency FMO made its first commitment of the year 2020 within the investment fund Acumen Resilient Agriculture Fund (ARAF) to provide financial and technical support to farmers in East and West Africa. In the two regions, ARAF will target agribusinesses and agricultural enterprises that develop innovative solutions to adapt to climate change. The fund set up by the impact...

Last year, the South African car industry sold a total 386,863 vehicles on the international market; 10.2% more than the 351,000 cars exported in 2018. According to the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa (NAAMSA), the increase was driven by the improved production at the country's main assembly plants. On the local market, however, sales dropped by 2.8% year-on-year...

Mozambique’s public telecom company Tmcel, which was created in January 2019 from the merger of Telecomunicações de Moçambique (TdM) and Mozambique Cellular (Mcel), needs $200 million to invest in several transformative projects in 2020. The information was given by Ana Coanai, president of the state asset management institute IGEPE, in an interview with Noticias. In 2016, when the new...

The Ghanaian technology company Celltel Networks has appointed Ed & Co Capital Limited, a local financial company, as financial advisor in its $500 million Ghana Smart Cities project. A memorandum of understanding was signed to this effect last week in Accra between the founder and executive chairman of Celltel Networks, Prince Kofi Kludjeson, and the managing director of Ed and Co, Emmanuel...