Mali expects to produce 750,000 tons of cotton during the 2018-19 season which should begin by May 2018, the agriculture minister announced. In the country which is already assured to be the African leading cotton producer with at least 725,000 tons produced in the 2017-2018 season, this new feat will be achieved by intensifying the mechanization and use of farm input. It will also be realized...

In 2017, Rwanda’s economy grew by 6.1% against 5.9% in 2016. This good performance is the result of an improvement in the agricultural sector, according to the National Institute of Statistics (NISR). Indeed, the latter indicated in a statement that during the period under review, the sector grew by 7% thanks to good food crop harvests.  The figures published by NISR also revealed that...

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) announced in a statement issued yesterday March 14 that it has granted Burkina Faso a 3-year Extended Credit Facility worth $157.6 million to support the economic reforms initiated by the country. This is to equilibrate the balance of payments to foster inclusive growth and reduce poverty by creating a fiscal space for priority investments spending...

To foster the development of Tabou department in Côte d’Ivoire, the prefect Yacouba Doumbia (photo) asked local people and dignitaries to facilitate land access to economic operators and other investors, Agence ivoirienne de presse (AIP) reports. “You need to soften the conditions for land access to attract many economic operators and investors who will use their money to build...

Rawbank, the first trading bank in DR Congo with 24% market shares and nearly 300,000 customers, will secure a $15 million loan from the African Development Bank (AfDB), an official statement reveals. A part of the resource obtained under this credit line will be used to finance the medium and long-term capital needs of about fifteen SMEs active in the industry, infrastructures,...

Central Bank of Sudan received $1.4 billion from the United Arab Emirates as deposit, the official Sudanese news agency SUNA reported, indicating that the amount will help consolidate the country's foreign exchange reserves. The deposit was provided to the Sudanese market regulator by the Abu Dhabi Development Fund, the source added. Sudan's foreign exchange reserves have...

Exim Bank China granted Guinea $1.3 billion to fund the construction of Souapiti hydropower dam (450 MW). “The signing of the loan agreement will take place very soon, which will allow to fast-track construction work at the plant,” Guinea's government said in a statement. This loan from Exim will be repaid by Guinea with revenues generated by the sale of the dam’s production as...

Société Ivoirienne de Banque (SIB), subsidiary of Moroccan group Attijariwafa bank, announced it has recorded a CFA22.5 million net profit during the 2017 budget year which ended last December. The feat is 25.2% higher than the forecasted net margin announced to investors in the briefing note released during its introduction in WAEMU’s Regional Stock Exchange (BRVM). SIB...

Yesterday March 13, Guinean opposition members protested and erected barricades in Conakry and in the mining cities Boké and Kamsar, thus disrupting bauxite shipments. This was revealed to Reuters by the sector’s officials. The demonstrators require authorities to publish the results of the local elections held last February that is said to have been won by the allies of President Alpha...

In 2017, Angola’s foreign exchange reserves dropped by 36.08% on a year-on-year basis. This was revealed in the Inflation Report on the fourth quarter of 2017 published by the Angolan national Bank. The report further reveals that on a quarter-on-quarter basis, the country’s forex reserves fell by 13.04% to stand at $13.29 billion at the end of 2017. “ This decline is a greater...