Cöte d’Ivoire will soon launch a renovation programme for precarious neighbourhoods in Abidjan, Bruno Nabagné Koné (photo), minister of urbanisation, indicates. This programme whose cost has not been revealed yet should start with a pilot. "We will launch the pilot project for the development of restructured neighbourhoods in Abidjan (projet pilote d’Aménagement des Quartiers...

NamPower, Namibian national electricity firm, has decided to diversify its operations to contribute to the population's wellbeing. In that regard, the state-owned firm is going into the internet segment using its backbone initially conceived to monitor the power grid. Kauna Ndilula, president of NamPower’s administrative board, indicates that this move into the internet segment is necessary...

BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) is currently elaborating a single, common payment system, BRICS Pay. This payment system will facilitate financial transactions between member countries.   The member countries explain that BRICS Pay will not duplicate local payment systems but connects them in a special cloud platform. On this platform, credit and debit cards of...

The World Bank will provide $730.93 million to Benin, Kochikpa Olodo, operations analyst at the World Bank, indicated in an interview with Xinhua last week. The official indicates that apart from the $730.93 million, a $300 thousand trust fund will also be established in the coming five years to fund twelve projects in three key areas. These sectors are structural transformation...

In its analytical note published on March 8, 2019, Fitch Ratings once again insisted on the quality and level of equity of banks operating in Morocco.   The rating agency estimated that the average of 10% assigned to bad debts in the country is far from the truth and that a careful analysis would reveal a higher average. According to Fitch Ratings, the risks are bigger for banks in an...

For its fifth investment in Africa, private equity firm One Thousand One Voice (1K1V) targeted @Pay, a South Africa based fintech, which serves as a bridge between the unbanked and the sophisticated financial institutions in the continent. Thanks to "@Pay’s platform used by many firms, its clients can pay their bills at large retail centres using any payment method.   The financial...

Japan plans to boost its presence in Africa to counter the influence of Chinese and European countries, Nikkei Asian Review revealed yesterday citing official sources. According to the media, Japan will create a joint permanent council of the government and the Japanese private sector to promote the country’s investments in Africa. A new conference gathering officials and African business...

Omidyar Network announces the launch of a venture capital baptized Flourish Ventures.   The capital of this new venture is $300 million provided by Pierre Omidyar (photo), Omidyar Network’s founder and eBay co-founder.   The financial resources will be used to fund US and African fintechs in the coming five years. "At Flourish, we will continue to back bold ideas and new...

On March 6, 2019, Côte d’Ivoire adopted a draft bill requiring a minimum of 30% of women candidates for legislative, senatorial, regional and municipal elections.   According to the government, this draft bill was adopted in application of the constitution of the third republic adopted via a referendum on November 1, 2016. This is to boost women’s representativeness. In that regard,...

The Nigerian subsidiary of MTN group ended 2018 with growth in all its market segments. Yet, H2, 2018, which was full of clashes with the country’s authorities, augured a loss of confidence by investors. On the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, the group’s share lost about 20% after the announcement of a fine on August 30, 2018. In the group’s financial report, it appears that the crisis with...