The government of Burkina Faso announced it will dedicate a total of $144 million, or about 84.7 billion CFA Francs, for its water and sanitation sector over the period 2020 to 2022. The announcement was made this week by the water minister, Niouga Ambroise Ouédraogo (pictured), during the 2020-22 ministerial budget presentation. According to him, about 19.2 billion CFA Francs ($32.5...

“When the water was first released, we filled up our water containers, large and small, for the days ahead when the taps would go dry again. Surprisingly, the next day the taps were still flowing; they haven’t stopped since then” - Hauwa Sani, Housewife, Zaria City. For the first time in over 30 years, taps in 20,000 households in Zaria City in northern Nigeria are flowing with potable...

The Angolan Government has launched a study funded by the Bank through the KOAFEC trust fund to support the improvement of export diversification and the business environment. The launch event was attended by the Bank’s director for regional development and regional integration, Moono Mupotola, the Bank’s country manager for Angola, Joseph Ribeiro; the Angolan minister of commerce, Joffre...

Economic reforms, a burgeoning middle class and regional diversity against the background of the new African Continental Free Trade Area - are making Africa’s Portuguese-speaking countries a hotspot for investor interest. Additionally, new tools – such as the Development Finance Compact for Lusophone Africa – give investors and lenders more comfort to enter into these markets. The six...

Over the second quarter this year, the Ivorian telecoms sector generated a turnover of 220,075,665,644 CFA Francs (about $373 million), down 1.94% compared to revenues in Q2 2018, the sector regulator -ARTCI- announced. Investments made during this second quarter totaled 22,116,475,588 CFA Francs ($37.3 million), 33.25% less than the volume in the second quarter last year. Fixed...

Benin will receive 40.76 billion CFA francs ($69 million) from the Islamic Development Bank (IDB), local sources announced this week. The agreement was signed on 17 October, on the sidelines of the World Bank/IMF annual meetings held in Washington. The agreement includes a direct loan of $9.9 million and an installment sale financing of $59.2 million. It targets the construction of...

Egypt signed with Kuwait a deal worth $1.86 billion for the development of the Sinai region, MENA news agency reports citing official sources. During a visit by Kuwaiti Prime Minister Sheikh Gaber el-Sabah to his Egyptian counterpart Mostafa Madbouli, the two officials agreed on funding for the implementation of the second phase of the Sinai Development Program. This initiative aims to...

The government of Tanzania is planning to improve the performance of its national health insurance system by using information and communication technologies. On 16 October 2019, the country secured an investment of 20 billion Tanzanian shillings (€8 million) from Germany, for this purpose. The deal paper was signed between Dotto James, the Permanent Secretary of the Tanzanian Ministry of...

Speaking at a press briefing in Abidjan on the 2019 cashew marketing year, Gustave Kotchi, spokesman for the Group of Agricultural Exporters and Professionals (GIE-GEPPA), said Côte d’Ivoire sold its entire production during the campaign. “Prices, which were at their lowest level, immediately started to rise again with the sale of all national production,” he said. He explained that...

Dubai-based Dragon Oil, a subsidiary of Emirates national oil company (ENOC), said yesterday October 21, it is investing the equivalent of a billion-dollar in the Egyptian Gulf of Suez over the next five years. The announcement comes right after the company completed the acquisition of BP’s stake in the Gulf. The $1 bln investment will mainly go to the drilling of new pits to optimize...