In sub-Saharan Africa, the overall amount of mobile money transactions reached $19.9 billion in 2017, up by 14.4% from the volume of transactions in 2016. This is revealed in a report from the World Association of Mobile Operators (GSMA). However, the report titled “State of the Industry Report on Mobile Money”, indicated that this figure conceals large disparities between sub-regions....

Mali expects to produce 3.14 million tons of rice during the 2018-19 season, an increase by over 7.5% compared to the previous season’s figure (2.92 million tons). This was revealed by the minister of rural development. According to Commodafrica which reports the information, this growth is due to an increase in the output rather than the expansion of cultivable lands. It will also be spurred...

The prices of cocoa shipped from Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana have significantly increased on the European physical market, amid growing concerns about the West African region’s commodities supply. According to Reuters, the premium for Ghanaian bean reached 200 pounds per ton while the Ivorian one was 85 pounds. According to some sources, many traders scramble for beans on the market as the...

The Senegalese government will invest CFA30 billion in a program to foster youths and women entrepreneurship and employment, through a better access to land for women. This was stated by the President Macky Sall (photo), speaking yesterday March 08 on the sidelines of the international women’s day. “We will launch a CFA30 billion program at the end of March, with the objective to...

Botswana paid $45 million to the Russian company Norilsk Nickel to settle a disagreement concerning the cancellation of Nkomati mine transaction by the state-owned company BCL.  The information was confirmed today March 9, to Reuters, by the country’s mines minister Sadique Kebonang (photo), who said that the payment was approved by a presidential directive...

Air Côte d’Ivoire announced a fundraising campaign to mobilise $111.5 million for the second half of 2018. The resource will be used to complete the acquisition of 5 additional aircrafts. According to the tender notice published on its website, the company targets private banks and financial institutions with experience in aircraft acquisition financing. For the operation, Air Côte...

The Mutual Guarantee Risk/Credit Fund for Youth, a special Algerian fund that encourages banks to take risks by financing youth-run microenterprises, has compensated some banking institutions that have granted credit to youths with up to DA25 billion ($217.9 million). According to Samira Djaide, director of the National Agency for Youth Employment Support (ANSEJ) which gives this information,...

In Kenya, tea exports to Pakistan generated about KSh3.7 billion ($36.5 million) in January 2018. Compared to the volume exported during the same period last year, this represents a decrease by 50%. According to the Kenyan tea directorate, this downward trend is attributable to the stricter sanitary standards imposed by Pakistan. In particular, they included the obligation, for exporters, to...

Late 2017, the activities of Gabon’s alcoholic and soft beverages decreased. According to figures from Société des brasseries du Gabon (Sobraga) and Sovingab, the sector’s overall output fell by 6.3% to 2.7 million hectoliters against 2.8 million hectoliters in 2016, due to weak demand in local market. During this period, the country produced 1.6 million hectoliters of beer and...

In Moroccan rural areas, only 1% of the women own farmland. This was revealed by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)’s study on gender mainstreaming in agricultural and rural sectors, published on March 6, 2018, in Rabat. “Official activities rates don’t take into account women’s informal activities (7.5% in rural zones), yet public policies and training and mentoring...