The Board of the African Development Bank has approved a €12.5 million equity investment in Adiwale Fund 1, a first-generation private equity fund targeting high growth potential Small and Medium Sized Enterprises ( SMEs)  in Francophone West Africa. With a target fund size of €75 million, the Fund will take minority stakes in SMEs that are well established in their markets,...

The World Bank is ready to support Ghana in its ambition to digitalize its economic and social sectors according to Hafez Ghanem, the institution's vice president. During a meeting with the country’s vice-president Mahamudu Bawumia on March 25, 2019, the executive invited Ghanaian authorities to increase their infrastructure investments to extend their internet penetration rate, modernise the...

In Mauritius, 1,869 of the 2,760 learning tablets distributed in lower primary classes in the framework of the government’s project introducing the digital into primary schools, are unsuitable, an audit report reveals. According to the audit, the Mauritius Institute of Education (MIE) did not copy e-books onto the tablets as it was supposed to. Therefore they were useless because there were no...

By 2022, Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) will open a subsidiary in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Joshua Oigara, the bank’s managing director indicated. “It is going to be through an acquisition or a combination of businesses…in three years we should have made a conclusion to enter the country,” the official indicated. The bank also eyes Somalia however, for the management, this country...

Mozambique plans to set a sovereign fund to invest revenues derived from the large natural gas reserves discovered in the country, president Filipe Nyusi (photo) revealed on March 27 during a statement in Maputo, the country’s capital. According to the president, part of those oil resources will also be used to finance infrastructure projects, reduce poverty and diversify the economy....

Namibia’s economy should rise out of recession and reach 1%, the country’s minister of finance Calle Schlettwein (photo) indicated on March 27, 2019. Presenting the state budget to the parliament yesterday, the official also revealed that the budget deficit is expected to be NAD96.3 billion, equivalent to 4.1% of GDP against 4.4% the previous fiscal year. Let’s note that in the past two...

In 2018, the consolidated Management Expenses of Moroccan banking group BMCI and its various subsidiaries slightly rose by 1.7% to reach MAD1.61 billion ($166.8 million). In 2017, it was MAD1.58 billion.   The group, 66.74% owned by French BNP Paribas, explains that this was due to a MAD136 million investment in the IT system (52%) and in its real estate (48% of the investments) as well as...

SUDATCHAD will take care of the technical, commercial and financial management of the N’Djamena-Adré fiber optics network, Chad decided during its ministerial council on March 26, 2019. The draft decree signed on August 28, 2018, approving the concession agreement was presented by the minister of posts and ICT Idriss Saleh Bachar.  According to the government, this draft decree is in...

China will build a 97-km road in Uganda, the Daily Monitor indicated this week. According to the website, the new $134 million infrastructure includes three road axes namely Masindi-Biso, Kabaale-Kizirafumbi and Hohwa-Nyairongo-Kyarushesha-Butole road. It should be realized by the China Railway Seventh Group and completed within three years. It is part of a network of more than 700 km...

Tunisia has taken a syndicated loan of €356 million from a pool of twelve local banks to finance its budget. The loan agreement was signed on March 26, 2019, by the minister of finance Ridha Chalghoum (photo) and the managers of the said banks in the presence of Marouen Abassi, governor f the central bank of Tunisia.   The syndicated loans whose interest rates fluctuate between 2.25%...