In Côte d’Ivoire, the GSM Association (GSMA), MTN, Orange, Moov, the union of telecom firms (Union nationale des entreprises de télécommunications-Unetel) and the telecom regulator (Autorité de régulation des télécommunications/TIC de Côte d’Ivoire-ARTCI) signed a collaborative protocol to fight counterfeited phones and the use of stolen ones.   On April 16, 2019, at the launch...

The International Finance Corporation (IFC) announces the launch of Finance2Equal Tanzania, a programme aimed at facilitating women’s access to financial services in Tanzania. In the framework of that programme, a learning platform will be created gathering local firms willing to increase the number of women in their staff and facilitate their access to financial products. "Studies show only...

Eyewa, a Dubai-based designer glasses online seller, raised $7.5 million during a funding round led by Wamda Capital. During the round, Wamda Capital, which invests in tech firms operating in the MENA region, collaborated with six investors. Eyewa will use the funds to increase its team and infrastructures as well as its expansion out of the UAE and Saudi Arabia. The platform plans to...

This week, Afreximbank announced that it would provide $500 million to South Sudan for energy transmissions, infrastructures and agriculture projects. In the past two years, the bank has provided $200 million to the country to boost its economy. After years of civil war, South Sudan is trying to find solutions to its economic and political crisis. In September 2018, the country’s...

The African Development Bank has organised a roadshow to drum up support from Angolan investors ahead of the second edition of the Africa Investment Forum (AIF) in November 2019. The Angola Country Office of the African Development Bank Group, in collaboration with Executive Director of the Export Promotion and Private Investment Agency (AIPEX) and the Ministry of Economy and Planning (MEP),...

Côte d’Ivoire seeks XOF1,658 billion ($2.8 billion) for its health investments in 2020-2024. For this purpose, it organized the national discussion for health financing (Dialogue National sur le financement de la Santé-DNFS) being held in Abidjan from April 15 to April 30, 2019. Organized by the health minister, this event is aimed at mobilizing resources (domestic notably) for increased and...

The Board of the African Development Bank has approved the Central Africa Regional Integration Strategy Paper 2019 – 2025, adopting the Bank’s multinational operations in Central Africa over the indicated period. The Central Africa Regional Integration Strategy Paper (RISP) for 2019 – 2025 builds on the lessons learned from the implementation of previous regional development initiatives....

In June 2018, Google announced the opening of an Artifical Intelligence (AI) research center in Accra, Ghana. On April 11, 2019, this IT infrastructure was officially inaugurated. Via this center, the American tech giant wants to collaborate with local universities and research centers, work with policymakers on future use of the AI in the health, agriculture and education sectors in...

The fourth mobile telephony operator in Angola is now known. Its name is Telstar, created on January 26, 2018. It won the international competitive call for proposals launched in 2017 by the national telecommunications board (DNT). The winner was announced on April 12, 2019, by Pedro Mendes de Carvalho, head of the DNT. According to the official, out of the 27 firms that expressed their...

World Bank will provide $1.7 billion to Tanzania, the country’s finance ministry indicated in a release published last weekend. Many sectors should be funded thanks to the new financing. $400 million will be dedicated to the education sector while $300 million will be used for a poverty reduction programme. According to the release relayed by Reuters, numerous infrastructure...