Côte d'Ivoire will benefit from $133.9 million under its economic program with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the institution reports. IMF says the disbursement aims to sustain strong growth, ensure macroeconomic stability, reduce poverty and promote inclusiveness. The performance under this program is commendable, and all performance criteria, except one, were met.   The...

In Morocco, the mobile operator Inwi announced it is launching its Mobile Money service Wana Money by next September. Information was disclosed by Nicolas Levi who managed Wana Money, Inwi's subsidiary dedicated to the service, during the MPay Forum held last week in Casablanca, Morocco. Inwi says it looks forward to providing its customers, but also all mobile phone users, with a wide range of...

The government of the Democratic Republic of Congo has finally decided to revoke mobile operator Vodacom’s 2G license. According to the telecoms Minister, Emery Okundji, “the ARPTC (Telecoms Regulator, ed) is being asked to proceed within three months with the formalities for the withdrawal of frequencies from Vodacom and to put them on auction.” As a reminder, the Congolese government...

Moroccan Capital Market Authority -AMMC- announced June 14 it has approved the issue of a perpetual subordinated bond by Attijariwafa Bank group with a loss absorption and coupon payment cancellation mechanism. Through this bond issue, the bank is seeking MAD1 billion ($103 million); subscription period is June 24 to 26, 2019. The operation is split into two tranches, the first being subject to...

The government of Rwanda is planning to invest about $220 million to improve infrastructure and transport facilities in the country, The New Times reports. New projects cover, according to finance minister Uzziel Ndagijimana (photo), construction, rehabilitation and extension work on various roads in many regions. Particularly, projects target the construction of the Pindura-Bweyeye highway...

Mergence unlisted Investment Managers, an asset manager that focuses on infrastructure and development investments, announces it has acquired a majority stake in Momentous Solar One, a Namibia-implanted solar plant.Acquisition cost is not unveiled but the company reports it has bought 60% of shares from Canadian Solar, the company charged to provide solar energy solutions to the plant.This...

By September 2019, Ethiopia will launch a tender process for the attribution of telecom licences. This launch is the result of law approved on June 10, 2019, opening the telecommunications sector. According to the government, these licenses should be delivered by the end of 2019. Let’s note that the opening of this sector was one of the promises made by prime minister Abiy Ahmed to attract...

On June 12, 2019, Swedish IT innovation and entrepreneurship firm Norrsken announced the installation of a branch in Kigali, Rwanda. This branch, which is the second in the world, should help Rwanda reach its goal of becoming a regional hub for tech innovation and entrepreneurship.For Norrsken’s CEO  Erik Engellau-Nilsson, Rwanda is a natural gateway towards rapid growth markets in East...

British firm AgDevCo has signed a partnership with Root Capital, a financial institution that funds the agriculture sector in SubSahara Africa. Via this investment AgDevCo will invest $5 million in a consortium of four Kenyan firms specialised in macadamia nuts processing and exports.This is the first investment realised by AgDevCo in Kenya, which is the third largest macadamia producer in...

In a release published on June 13, 2019, Kenyan banking group Equity Bank announced that Ethiopia Central Bank has authorised it to open a representative office in the Horn of AfricaIn the release, Equity Bank’s managing director  James Mwangi (photo) indicated that by the end of 2019, his group would be present in ten African countries.  The bank already has subsidiaries in Uganda,...