In Chad, the economy is still vulnerable despite the recovery of the oil sector in 2018, the IMF indicated at the end of a mission carried out in the country last month. According to the institution, the economy is still exposed to numerous pressures despite the various reforms initiated by the government. For instance, despite a recovery in the oil sector in 2018, the non-oil sector rose by...

In a release published on April 2, 2019, Mauritius Commercial Bank Ltd (MCB) announced that it received an $800 million syndicated loan from a large number of Europe, Middle-East and Asia focused lenders. This loan was arranged by Standard Chartered Bank and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation Europe Limited. The initial target was $500 million “but, the offer was oversubscribed to...

Global Fire Power (GFP) recently published its 2019 index of powerful militaries in Africa. This year, 34 African countries were assessed to determine powerful militaries. As was the case in 2018, Egypt has the most powerful military in the continent and the twelfth globally (out of 137 countries) with a score of 0.2283. With more than 211 jet fighters, Egypt is the ninth world’s air...

The Boards of Directors of the insurance companies RAWSUR SA and RAWSUR LIFE SA officially announce that they have been approved as insurance companies operating in the Democratic Republic of Congo by the Autorité de Régulation et de Contrôle des Assurances (ARCA) on Thursday 28 March 2019. In addition to effectively liberalizing the insurance sector, this decision also heralds the beginning...

Moroccan real estate group Douja Prom Addoha indicates projected revenue estimated at MAD900 million (XOF54.4 billion) in West Africa in the next two years. This amount represents the pre-sales of 1,700 houses made in 2018. "In view of the success of the first sales, the group accelerated the rate of its investments in most of the countries where it is present. At end 2018, the land reserve was...

In 2020, Tunisian IT and telecommunications firm Telnet could launch its first satellite in space.   In that regard, Mohamed Frikha, its CEO, and Alexander V Serkin, CEO fo Russian group GK Launch Services, signed a launch contract on April 1, 2019, for the launch of space equipment "Challenge One." During the signature of "Challenge One" launch contract, Telnet also inked a...

The mobile number portability considered in the Botswanan telecom market since 2012 should be a reality this year. Before the parliament to defend her ministry’s 2019-2020 budget, transport and communications minister Dorcas Makgato (photo) announced that the portability should be introduced in the country during the new fiscal year that started on April 1, 2019.   This will boost...

Panafrican banking group Ecobank announced, on April 1, 2019, the injection of $64 million in its Nigerian subsidiary. This injection follows the decision to adopt a Naira exchange rate different from the official rate. Ecobank revealed that in November 2018, its administrative board decided to adopt the market rate of NGN364 per dollars while the official rate is NGN306.   In January...

In Mali, the ICT agency (Agence des technologies de l’information et de la communication-AGETIC) will help the Bamako regional development agency (ADR) transform the capital into a smart city. In that regard, the two parties have decided to elaborate an action plan for the various projects. During the signature of their agreements last week, it was also decided that AGETIC will support ADR in...

Creating space for more women in the African procurement market was at the heart of a technical workshop organised last Thursday and Friday by the African Development Bank. The Bank is spearheading gender mainstreaming actions in procurement on the African continent. It held a technical workshop in Johannesburg, South Africa, which agreed an action plan on implementing targets for the...