The investment aims to reduce the critical funding gap faced by African climate tech startups. On October 3, 2024, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) announced its first investment in a venture capital fund focused on climate tech companies in sub-Saharan Africa. IFC has committed $5 million to the Equator Africa Fund I, which targets early-stage climate startups in energy,...

The Human Capital Protection Project in Burkina Faso, funded by the World Bank, aims to ensure access to essential health and education services, especially with the ongoing security crisis. Burkina Faso has moved forward with a plan to improve health and education services by ratifying a $102 million agreement with the International Development Association (IDA). The agreement, signed in...

Between 2019 and 2023, Senegal’s budget deficit averaged 10.4% of GDP, nearly double the initially reported 5.5%, while public debt exceeded 83% of GDP in 2023, according to the government. Moody's downgraded Senegal’s credit rating from "Ba3" to "B1" on Friday, October 4, 2024. The new rating indicates a "high credit risk." The downgrade is mainly due to Senegal’s worsening budget and...

The African Development Bank Group has appointed Dr. Emmanuel Pinto Moreira as Director of Special Operations in the President’s Cabinet Office, effective 1 July 2024. Dr. Pinto Moreira, a Beninise economist, brings to the role over three decades of experience in macro-fiscal, growth, poverty, economic governance, trade, and competitiveness-related work. His career spans middle-income and...

In Congo, 48.31% of consumers are unhappy with the mobile Internet services provided by telecom operators MTN and Airtel. This finding comes from the “Satisfaction Survey on Postal and Telecommunications Services” released last week by the Agency for the Regulation of Posts and Electronic Communications (ARPCE). The survey collected responses from around 12,000 consumers. The ARPCE report...

While raising funds remains essential to finance budget deficits and infrastructure spending, the ongoing high interest rates may significantly strain these countries' repayment capacities. Between Jan. and Sep. 2024, the member countries of the Sahel States Alliance (AES)—Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger—raised about CFA1,866.5 billion (around $3.12 billion) on the regional WAEMU market....

The IMF says Ghana has successfully met its quantitative targets for the end of June 2024. Last week, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) reached a staff-level agreement with Ghanaian authorities on the economic policies and reforms needed for the third review of the 3-year Extended Credit Facility (ECF). In an October 4 statement, the institution revealed that full approval of this agreement...

Guinea-Bissau is set to expand its blockchain-based payroll management platform to cover all government employees. By November 2024, this solution may track the information of approximately 26,600 public servants and 8,100 retirees in the country. Concha Verdugo Yepes, a senior economist at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Africa Department and head of the institution's Blockchain Solution...

BOA Mali’s net profit surged in the first half of 2024, reaching CFA4.8 billion, driven by a 44% drop in risk costs and a modest 4% increase in net banking income, despite inflation, rising resource costs, and economic pressures. Bank of Africa Mali (BOA Mali) posted strong results for H1 2024, driven by a sharp drop in risk costs. This boosted the bank’s net profit by 132% compared to...

Struggling to stay competitive, Tmcel is focused on boosting service quality to stand out in the national telecom market, where it faces competition from Vodacom and Movitel. Mozambique’s state-owned telecom company, Tmcel, has teamed up with Swedish tech giant Ericsson to upgrade its operational and business support systems. Announced on October 3, the partnership aims to enhance network...