Banque centrale populaire (BCP), a Morrocan bank listed on Casablanca stock exchange, is about to acquire the majority stake in a Senegalese fintech. This was revealed by a Moroccan media citing Kamal Mokdad, director of BCP responsible for international operations. The latter provided no additional detail on the identity of the fintech company nor did he disclose the amount BCP would invest for...

This week in Poland, more than 20,000 delegates from 196 countries are participating in COP24, considered to be the most important climate conference, held this year in Katowice, heart of the coal industry in the country as well as Europe's worst air quality city mostly due to its continued reliance on coal for fuel. Ready to welcome the public, the African Development Bank has opened its...

Participants at the 13th African Economic Conference have called for African countries to leverage the full range of their strengths and resources to accelerate the region’s drive towards continental integration. The 2018 AEC on the theme, “Regional and Continental Integration for Africa’s Development” is jointly organized by the United Nations Development Programme, the United Nations...

Today December 3, 2018, World Bank announced new goals in the fight against climate change for 2021-2025 calling for an increase of its current investments by five to $200 billion. The aim of this investment is to help countries take measures against climate change. The institution announced this during the COP24 being held in Katowice, Poland. "Climate change is an existential threat to...

Senegal, represented by its ministry of communication and the telecommunications regulator signed a partnership agreement with the Internet Society (ISOC). The tripartite agreement signed on November 30, 2018, is for security of the Internet of Things (IoT) in Senegal, an indispensable pre-requisite to the development of this segment of the telecom market.   In a statement, the three...

On November 29, 2018, Orange Niger was required to close its offices in Niamey, just a few days after it was sent a tax adjustment notice for an amount that represents about half of its yearly turnover. "Since it launched activities in 2018 and to-date, Orange Niger has always fulfilled its fiscal obligations (taxes and duties) required by applicable rules and laws in Niger, as the tax...

The African Development Bank’s research director, Dr. Hanan Morsy, reacts to the charge that “there is no reliable research” on the continent. Speaking on the sidelines of the African Economic Conference (AEC) taking place in Kigali, Rwanda, 3-5 December 2018, Morsy agrees that the role of research in regional integration has not in the past been given the importance it deserves. She...

On December 3, 2018, Société Tunisienne de Banque (STB) announced the issuance of  TND50 million (about $17 million) bond to fund its development. Subscription for this bond divided into 500,000 bonds of TND100 each was opened on December 3, 2018, at STB Finance, the bank’s subsidiary for intermediation, and will be concluded on January 18, 2019. There are three bond categories:...

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved a $172.1 million extended credit facility for Sierra Leone, a release published by the Bretton Woods institution last Friday informed. According to the release, this credit facility is aimed at helping the country address the new economic challenges that appeared in June 2017 and, at the same time implement a favourable environment for...

The African Development Bank (through its Trade Finance operations) has signed a US$20 million facility to finance Meridian’s operations in Malawi, Mozambique and Zimbabwe. This Soft Commodity Finance Facility is designed to provide pre- and post-shipment finance along various stages of Meridian’s soft commodity value-chain operations in the three countries concerned, to help local farmers...