Canadian jeweler Fair Trade Jewellery Co said it has imported 238 g of artisanal gold from the Ituri province in DR Congo. This is the first conflict-free and traceable artisanal gold export from the country to Canada. According to a press statement reported by APO, this was possible through the Just Gold project, which put in place a traceability system that makes Congolese gold legal, looking...

Volumes of cocoa that arrived at the ports of San Pedro and Abidjan soared 19% as compared to the year before standing at 1,689,000 tons on June 25. This was reported by Reuters citing estimates of cocoa exporters. It should be however noted that from June 19 and June 25 this year, the roads leading to the San Pedro port were blocked due to heavy rains. This, according to data, caused a slight...

Nigeria is looking to raise $ 5 billion from the World Bank to be channeled into the power sector in order to boost electricity availability in the country. This came after an official visit by a Nigerian delegation to Washington on April 25, 2017 to discuss possible assistance to the national energy sector, the bank said. At the end of the meeting, the Multilateral Investment Guarantee...

The World Bank has earmarked the sum of N32billion ($100.2 million) for a drainage project to tackle flood in Akwa Ibom, according to the state commissioner for Environment and Mineral Resources, Iniobong Essien. The project would be carried out in partnership with the Nigerian Erosion and Watershed Management Project (NEWMAP). “For the IBB Way flood control project, designs have been put in...

In Sierra Leone, NGO Action for Large Scale Land Acquisition Transparency (ALLAT), on June 27, called on the government to take land issues “seriously” in order to avoid conflicts. “Over 80% of rural Sierra Leoneans depend on land for their livelihood. It provides succor for very many of the constituents. These people and their livelihood have been challenged at the moment because we do...

In a statement released on Monday, the Central Bank of the Democratic Republic of Congo said it would raise its benchmark rate from 14% to 20% to stabilize local currency, Congolese franc, as it is too volatile. “In order to face the growing exchange rate and reduce increase of local prices, the Central Bank of Congo has once again reinforced its monetary policy,” the statement...

Dual-listed West African Resources inked a deal to raise C$15 million (about $11.3 million) to advance its Sanbrado gold project in Burkina Faso. The deal was signed with Sprott Capital Partners which will act as the lead underwriter for the purchase of 46.8 million ordinary shares at a $C0.32 per share. According to the terms of the agreement, the underwriters will have the option to...

As it plans to restart its operations at the end of the year, Air Senegal ordered at the Bourget Airshow, the first two planes of its fleet. These are two ATR 72-600 worth €50 million each. The money for the planes was secured through loan which the Senegalese government contracted from Coface and SACE, two insurance-credit firms respectively French and Italian. The planes which have a...

Two years after entering the Moroccan market, Bahreini firm Terra Solar exits the country, selling its local subsidiary, Terra Solar Morocco. In 2015, the group said it wished to develop in the Kingdom 16 PV solar plants, each having a production capacity of 25MW. A project which would have made the company one of Morocco’s main solar power providers. However, nothing was done since the...

The government of Zimbabwe and Sakunda Holdings signed a $478 million agreement with CBZ Bank, Barclays and Ecobank to finance agricultural activities during the 2017-18 summer season, Reuters reported. Maize and soya production are mainly concerned. To this end, the government plans to start distributing between July and September, seeds, fertilizers and chemical products to farmers ahead...