Women-led Solar Sister partners with US energy company Palmetto to connect 10 million people in Africa over the next five years, the company announced this week. According to Katherine Lucey (pictured), MD of Solar Sister, this partnership with a company with similar goals in terms of access to clean energy, will democratize sustainable energy among grassroots populations. “I am particularly...

The government of Benin adopted this week its Finance Act for 2020. The new budget of 1,986.9 billion CFA Francs ($3.3 billion) is 5.8% higher than the 1,877 billion CFA Francs ($3.1 billion) adopted in 2019.Budget deficit is expected to be 1.8% of GDP next year, 0.4% down the deficit in 2019. According to authorities, welfare spending estimated at $776 million in 2019, should further...

The trade deficit Africa recorded in exchanges with the European Union (EU) dropped by 95.2 % between 2015 and 2018, according to data provided by the European Commission.While Africa suffered a €21 billion deficit in exchanges with the EU in 2015, the figure significantly shrunk to only €1 billion in 2018. This is way below the $14 billion deficit recorded with Russia and...

The Sierra Leonean microfinance institution A Call to Business Savings and Loans (ACTB) will receive $1.5 million from the Dutch Development Finance Fund (FMO) as the Fund’s first commitment to the West African country’s financial sector. The 3-year credit line will be used to finance micro-entrepreneurs and small businesses in Sierra Leone. It will be provided via Massif Fund, an...

The investment fund dedicated to renewable energies in Africa, Empower New Energy, announced it has mobilized a Series A financing of $8 million to fund small renewable energy projects on the continent. Targeted projects are plants of 1 to 10 MW that struggle to get financing through traditional mechanisms. Under this strategy, Empower has already spotted a number of solar, hydroelectric...

“Energy, passion and a lot of young people who care about nutrition” will underpin the Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) Movement’s newest phase, alongside stronger private sector engagement, members of the Lead Group heard on Tuesday. The meeting of the group’s leaders took place at the UNICEF headquarters in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. The participants met to decide...

Côte d’Ivoire is expecting between 1.65 million and 1.7 million tons of cocoa during the 2019/20 cocoa main season. While this volume is roughly the same as the 1.66 million yielded during the previous campaign, it is way higher than expectations. In July, farmers said production could significantly decline due to spread of tree diseases. “Our first forecast was not so good but it gradually...

Senegal is expected to achieve a 6% growth this year, the International Monetary Fund announced this week stressing that the figure should accelerate from 2022 thanks to the start of commercial production of hydrocarbons. Between 2020 and 2021, the West African country’s GDP is expected to grow by 7% driven by private investment, and inflation is forecasted to remain low in the mid-term....

Côte d’Ivoire gets World Bank’s approval to join the Donor Funded Staffing Program, becoming the first African country to join the program. The membership allows Ivorian public officials to benefit from professional training sessions in various development areas either at World Bank headquarters or in their country offices. Participation fee for this 2-year training is a bit more than one...

Niger's President Mahamadou Issoufou called on Sunday for a "global response" to the problems of land degradation that threaten the arid Sahel belt. Addressing a meeting of the Climate Commission for the Sahel Region at the United Nations, Mahamadou said the region's 250 million people are struggling with drought, desertification and other impacts of climate change. "The situation in the Sahel...