The Ivorian government adopted, on October 2, 2019, a draft budget of XOF8,061 billion (about $13.8 billion) for the year 2020, up 9.9% compared to XOF7,334.3 billion (about $11.6 billion) in 2019. According to authorities, while the government has so far adopted a means-based approach to budgeting, the FY2020 will be a program-based budget, in line with the reform objectives initiated...

Amethis Finance, a Luxembourg-based investment fund manager dedicated to the African continent, has divested the minority stake it holds in Compagnie de distribution de Côte d'Ivoire (CDCI). The stake was divested to Moroccan group Retail Holding (parent company of the Label-Vie group), the second-largest company in Morocco’s mass retail sector. With this operation, Retail Holding becomes...

A new tool to track the level of lending to women across the continent will be important for ensuring women get the critical financial help they need, African Development Bank president Akinwumi Adesina told attendees at a public event held on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. The Women’s Financing Index, currently under development, will rate banks and financial institutions who apply...

Adenia Partners, a private equity fund management company based in Mauritius, which targets companies with strong growth potential in Africa, has acquired a majority stake in Quick Mart Limited, a company which operates and manages supermarkets and stores in Kenya. The amount of the acquisition has not yet been disclosed but traditionally Adenia invests between 10 and 70 million euros in...

German investment firm Aton GmbH gave up on its $500 million bid for the total acquisition of South African construction group Murray & Roberts. The German company which already owns 44% of M&R submitted two bids to get the 56% remaining shares but neither M&R’s Board nor the South African Competition Commission gave their approval. On March 27, 2019, when Aton submitted the first offer,...

The Egyptian government announced it has restored food subsidies to 1.8 million people since February this year. The announcement came after President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi tweeted he understood the negative impact of subsidy cuts for some citizens. “I understand the stance of the citizens who have been negatively affected by the filtration of the subsidy cards and being removed from them,”...

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) announced it is satisfied with the Ivorian government’s efforts as part of the ongoing economic agenda with the country. Satisfaction was expressed during the working visit to Abidjan by an IMF mission from 18 September to 1 October 2019. The international body said the Ivorian economy shows resilience, and good performances are expected this year and the...

Tunisia-based microfinance company Enda Tamweel, which owns about 80% of the country’s microfinance sector market share, has signed a loan guarantee agreement with the local subsidiary of US bank Citibank for an amount of TND30 million ($10.4 million). The sum will support nearly 17,000 microenterprises, traditionally excluded from the commercial banking financial circuit and whose activities...

The African Development Bank (AfDB) has just approved €61.77 million to Benin to finance its Rural Electrification Project (PERU). The money will provide access to electricity for more than 48,000 households in 309 rural communities across the country.The project is expected to reduce by over 72% the amount that would have been normally used by the government to connect the rural...

Ridha Chalghoum (pictured), the Tunisian minister of finance announced Monday the government has set public spending at $16.4 billion for next year.This figure, which is 15.7% higher than the $14.1 billion adopted in 2019, should be part of the overall objective of reducing the budget deficit. The deficit gradually fell from 6.1% in 2016 and 2017 to almost 3.9% in 2019 mainly thanks to...