The Ivorian and African football legend Didier Drogba is back in the spotlight but this time in the framework of the banking services digitalization in Africa. On March 14, 2018, he will be officially presented as the ambassador of the digitized retail banking services of Standard Chartered Bank. The former star of Olympique de Marseille and Chelsea will lend his voice and image rights to a...

The Kazakh debt-ridden company, Eurasian Resources Group (ERG), plans once again to sell its copper project Frontier in DRC, despite a drop to $400 million in the project’s estimated value. This was revealed to Bloomberg by some banking sources. The company had already tried to sell the project in 2014.  However, it failed due to a global slowdown and drop in commodities...

Dominique Renaud, the French ambassador to Gabon, wishes Gabon and Veolia could get over the verbal escalation. In this vein, he met Gabon’s Prime Minister Emmanuel Issoze Ngondet, on March 7, 2018. According to French authorities, only a “constructive and peaceful” dialogue can foster “fruitful partnerships” with business communities and let them support Gabon in...

Mali has launched a rural electrification project worth CFA10 billion (over $18.9 million) for Macina Cercle residents. The project, launched by Malick Alhousseini (photo), the water and energy minister, will connect a total of 24 villages in the area. It has two main objectives: build two solar power plants in Sarro and Saye and strengthen the capacities of Malian agency for the...

Côte d’Ivoire plans to disburse about CFA3, 750 billion ($7.09 billion) in the coming five years, to develop its infrastructures.  The funding falls in line with an infrastructures investment plan and should allow the country to build new projects to boost its strong and growing economy.  According to information relayed by RFI, this plan should help develop road and motorway...

In Morocco, the output of citrus in 2017-18, is forecasted to slightly increase by 3% compared to that of the previous season to stand at 2.3 million tons. The secretary-general of the Moroccan citrus producers association (ASPAM), Ahmed Derrab, revealed this and also said that this increase was due to the new farms launched. Though this meek performance confirms the sector’s dynamism...

ASX-listed AVZ Minerals announced today March 7 that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Chinese Guangzhou Tinci Materials Technology for a potential investment in its Manono lithium project in DR Congo. In return, Tinci, renowned as the world’s largest battery electrolyte manufacturer, could supply itself with the mine’s output. This MoU is subsequent to the...

Volcanic Gold concluded a binding MoU to acquire up to 100% of Jofema Mineral Resources, a private company registered in Côte d’Ivoire whose assets include Debo and Soubré gold licenses (over 600 km²). Volcanic would have to pay $8 million, half as cash and the remaining as shares in the company under the terms of the agreement. It will also finance exploration activities at the...

At the end of 2017, the exports of agricultural products generated a record figure of $10 billion. Compared to 2016’s figure ($8.6 billion), this represents an increase by about 16.3%. According to Wandile Sihlobo, an economist at the agricultural business chamber (Agbiz), this upward trade trend is attributable to the surge in exports of fruits, vegetables, cereals, liquors and...

Last March 5 in Rabat, the Moroccan minister of industry, investment, trade and digital economy Moulay Hafid Elalamy, the minister of economy and finances, Mohamed Boussaid and the representative of the country’s 12 professional chambers signed a series of conventions related to the development of the chambers of commerce, industry and services (CCIS) and their federation. These...