The World Bank approved $140 million in favor of the rural transport support project in Madagascar. In addition to improving transport connectivity in rural areas, this project is also expected to boost community access to economic and social opportunities. For a first phase, the government is focusing on the agricultural regions of Alaotra Mangoro, Anosy, and Atsimo-Atsinanana where it...

Jumia Cameroon, Cameroonian subsidiary of online sales group Jumia, is in a liquidation process, Ecofin Agency learned from local media sources. This information was confirmed by persons close to Jumia who requested anonymity, ensuring that official information is being prepared on this subject. At this stage, it is not yet a question of activity cessation but rather a reduction of the size of...

Infrastructure financing in Africa reached all-time record of $100 billion last year, the Infrastructure Consortium for Africa (ICA) found in a recent report. The figure is 24% higher than that of 2017, and 38% up from the average amount invested between 2015 and 2017. ICA says the increase is driven by higher investments from African countries and their Chinese partners as well. Compared...

Angola Cables and its partner Nokia, the telecoms equipment manufacturer, announced they have successfully linked Africa to North America by optical fiber. The information was unveiled at the AfricaCom Summit, held in Cape Town, South Africa, from 12 to 14 November 2019. The two companies reported that the link was made between the cities of Sangano in Angola and Boca Raton in Florida (USA) by...

BluePeak, a private equity firm recently founded by former Gulf Capital executive Walid Cherif (pictured), has started mobilizing money for its very first credit fund. The company aims at raising $200 million. BluePeak indicates that it wants to support African SMEs which have trouble accessing credit. The fund is designed to seek debt financing opportunities in African SMEs, with an...

Zimbabwe's Finance Minister, Mthuli Ncube (pictured), announced last week that the government is seeking to launch its first satellite. Resources have been set aside for the project, he said during the national budget hearing November 14. Ncube says his country wants to engage more on research and development. “Research and development are critical for Zimbabwe’s socio-economic...

Egypt is joining the United Arab Emirates to pump about $20 billion in various social and economic projects, the crown prince of Abu Dhabi, Cheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, announced last week during a visit to the UAE by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. The new fund line will be used to implement strategic investment projects, specialized funds, and investment tools, in a...

The African Development Bank will pump $372 million in the economy of Benin next year, the institution’s country manager John Andrianarisata (pictured) announced last week. The manager said the money will be steered into eight projects in key sectors such as agriculture, transport, energy and sanitation. This aligns with AfDB’s new Country Strategy Paper (CSP) for Benin that aims to...

The African Development Bank will pump $372 million in the economy of Benin next year, the institution’s country manager John Andrianarisata (pictured) announced last week. The manager said the money will be steered into eight projects in key sectors such as agriculture, transport, energy and sanitation. This aligns with AfDB’s new Country Strategy Paper (CSP) for Benin that aims to...

Pay-Tv operator Orao Telecom is launching a pay-TV bouquet of 15 channels. The company has chosen Eutelsat CIRRUS, Eutelsat’s hybrid satellite/OTT solution which will enable it to launch both a pay-TV bouquet and a video-on-demand service. The two companies announced the signing of a collaboration agreement, in that regard, at the opening of the 2019 edition of AfricaCom. “We are delighted...