President Adesina of the African Development Bank today, 27th July 2019, delivered a clarion call to global investors, political leaders and the business community “to put capital at risk for the young people of Africa”. He added that it was time for African governments to begin to shift from youth empowerment to youth investment. He was speaking during a panel discussion at the Tony Elumelu...

Kenya joined South Africa last week showing its support to China’s telecom company Huawei regardless of the US-China trade war. This was revealed by the telecom minister, Joseph Mucheru. “Our policies are not driven by US policies as far as technology is concerned […]. We pick what is best for us. We are not going to be tied to what other people say, but we are going to make sure we get...

Recent indicators from the Washington-based Institute of International Finance (IIF) and other sources show the worrying rise in debt in the financial sectors and government in South Africa. Among emerging countries, South Africa is the only country where financial sector debt reached 25.6% of gross domestic product at the end of the first quarter of 2019, compared to 22.5% at the same time in...

The World Bank will mobilize $300 million to fight Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the institution announced in a statement issued on Wednesday. The new funding, in the form of grants and credits, will be largely provided by the World Bank's International Development Association (IDA) and its Crisis Response Mechanism, designed to help countries face severe crises and...

During the first quarter this year, Côte d'Ivoire invested XOF13.51 billion ($23 million) in the Senegalese economy, the largest foreign investment over the period according to the Senegalese National Agency for Statistics and Demography (ANSD). Other foreign investors are Switzerland, which invested XOF9.08 billion ($15.4 million), Sweden with XOF8.8 billion ($15 million) and China, which...

Liberian President George Weah has supported calls for agriculture to play a larger role in his country’s economy. Speaking on 25th July 2019 at a donor meeting with African Development Bank President, Akinwumi Adesina, Weah said his government was contemplating the establishment of an agricultural bank. Adesina was quick to advise that such a bank should be called an “agribusiness” bank...

Mobile operator MTN said on 23 July 2019 it is considering renovation of its telecoms sites across South Africa to operate the NarrowBand – Internet of Things, a Low Power Wide Area Network (LPWAN) radio technology for connecting devices. This announcement which comes a few days after Vodacom officially launched its IoT products range, reflects MTN’s ambition to enter this high-potential...

The African Development Bank, the Association for the Development of Education in Africa and the African Union are recommending the establishment of the African Education Fund as the unique African mechanism to address the challenges of education and skills development in Africa. A  joint declaration in support of the African Education Fund was produced after a workshop organised in Abidjan...

Mining company BHP announced this week, it is investing $400 million over the coming five years to combat climate change. The funds will be used to develop technologies to reduce gas emissions. According to CEO Andrew Mackenzie (photo), the commercial success of these investments will stimulate willingness and create more innovative partnerships to collectively address climate challenge. He...

General Oumarou Namata Gazama, Deputy Chief of Niger’s Army, became on July 23 the new Commander-in-Chief of the G5 Sahel Joint Force which fights terrorism in member countries (Niger, Mali, Chad, Burkina Faso, and Mauritania).The 56-year-old officer, promoted to General position in January 2017, replaces Mauritanian General Hanena Ould Sidi, who has been the Force’s Head since July 2018.The...