Kenya will issue 10-year and 20-year treasury bonds in April 2019 to raise Ksh50 billion ($497 million), the central bank announces. According to the bank, the funds raised during the operations will finance the budget deficit. Late January 2019, the government indicated that it initiated discussions with some international banks for the organization of a $2.5 billion Eurobond to fund the...

On March 20, 2019, Telecom firm Mobilis, the mobile branch of Algérie Telecom group was commissioned to provide universal access in 750 areas with low population density and on 178 roads axis in Algeria. The firm was chosen after the bids submitted during the tender process launched on February 18, 2019, by the telecom regulator to select operator(s) that would provide this access. According...

The future of the African fintech sector will be discussed during the Africa Fintech Summit to be held on April 11, 2019, at the US Institute of Peace in Washington. The main subjects to be discussed during the summit will be the future of banks and venture capital in the digital era, regulations, blockchain, digital identity, fund transfers and financial inclusion. During the summit, African...

In Africa, 32.9 million jobs will be created thanks to the tourism and travel industry in the ten coming years, World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) indicates in its 2019 report on the economic impacts of the tourism sector. This forecast confirms the rising figures of the performances of the African tourism industry. According to the report, there was about 24.3 million employees in the...

The African Development Bank and the Tony Elumelu Foundation have signed a Letter of Intent to accelerate youth entrepreneurship across Africa. The partnership will bring about future collaboration focused on strengthening small to medium sized enterprises, talent and skills development and optimisation initiatives for Africa’s youth. A total of 3,050, young entrepreneurs across 54 African...

Africa could raise $99 billion yearly by adopting better tax policies, the UNECA indicated in a report published last week. In the 2019 edition of its Economic report on Africa, the UNECA stated that in Africa, taxation policies can increase the GDP by 4.6% thus relieving public financing amid increased investments. Indeed, while there is an increased volume of development projects in the...

Mauritius-based private equity Kibo Capital Partners structures a new investment via its second fund Kibo Funds II. The investment was made in Saviu Ventures, a venture capital fund based in France with operations in Kenya and in Côte d'Ivoire.  The financial details of this transaction have not been disclosed but, it should be noted that this is the tenth investment structured through the...

The United States of America’s decision to postpone the increase of its prime rate was poorly broadcasted by African media yet two African countries are directly affected by this decision. They are namely South Africa and Egypt that are among the relatively important investors in the US bonds. Data compiled by Ecofin Agency indicate that the two countries invested differently in 2018. During...

The public sector cannot provide enough finance to make African countries resilient to climate change impacts, and funding from the private sector is hard to come by. At the same time, many grassroot adaptation initiatives are being developed and some of these are making a big difference. The Adaptation Benefits Mechanism (ABM) is an innovative mechanism for mobilising new and additional public...

Energy industry stakeholders attending the 5th Energy Access Investment Forum have called for a restructuring of the financing mechanisms enabling the development of off-grid and mini-grid connectivity in Africa. “Meeting the universal electricity access objective within the next decade will require the roll-out of off-grid and mini-grid solutions at scale,” said Daniel Schroth (photo),...