Nigeria's mining sector contributes less than 1% to the country’s GDP, a paradox considering the country's mineral resources are valued at $700 billion. Speculation around mining permits is one reason for this, which the government aims to address.  Minister of Mines, Dele Alake, announced the revocation of 924 dormant mining licenses. These licenses will be redistributed to new...

Egypt's financial difficulties have eased in recent months, following the acquisition of $57 billion in funding from international financial institutions and regional allies. Egypt's external debt stock reached $168.03 billion as of December 2023, up from $164.52 billion at the end of September 2023, according to data released by the central bank on April 22. According to the...

The call termination rate refers to the amount a telecom operator charges another operator to end a call or SMS on its network. In Ethiopia, it has been set at 0.31 birr per minute for fixed and mobile calls since 2022. The Ethiopian Communications Authority (ECA) has established new termination rates for mobile and fixed calls, as well as SMS. The decision aims to enhance competition in the...

Société africaine des plantations d'hévéas de Côte d'Ivoire (SAPH-CI), the Ivorian branch of the partnership between the Billon family and French company Michelin, saw a significant rise in debt in 2023. Their net debt climbed to CFA45 billion ($73.5 million), a 34% increase from the previous year's CFA34 billion. SAPH-CI, mostly owned by Société internationale des plantations d'hévéas,...

The Board of Directors of the African Development Fund, the concessional lending arm of the African Development Bank Group, has approved a partial credit guarantee to support Rwanda’s mobilisation of financing to implement green and social initiatives. The Partial credit guarantee for mobilisation of sustainable financing for Rwanda project will enable the country to raise up to €200...

Perseus Mining operates the Yaouré and Sissingué gold mines in Côte d'Ivoire. While the initial lifespan of Sissingué was set to end in 2022, the company has identified satellite deposits that could extend the mine's operation until 2026. In Côte d'Ivoire, the National Environmental Agency has approved the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) submitted by Perseus for the Bagoé...

Gemfields, a leading producer of rubies in Mozambique and emeralds in Zambia, introduced a calculation method in 2021 to assess its contribution to public revenues in both countries. This method considers mining royalties and dividends. On April 24th, Gemfields announced it paid Zambia and Mozambique respectively $28.3 million and $53.2 million. These represent 31% and 35% of the...

Citibank's forecast suggests copper prices could soar to $15,000 per ton by 2025. Meanwhile, production at Zjinn’s copper mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo was halted amidst concerns over supply meeting demand. The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has paused the mining license for the COMMUS copper and cobalt project, operated by Zijin Mining. The decision was driven by reports...

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has estimated that Côte d'Ivoire's financing needs to combat the impacts of climate change amount to $22 billion over eight years starting from 2022. This information stems from a report released by the institution on April 22. According to the IMF, these requirements are divided into two categories: $12 billion for implementing adaptation...

Mobile financial services have emerged as a vital tool for enhancing financial inclusion in Africa, especially among populations with limited access to traditional banking. In DRC, the mobile money market is operated by major telecom operators like Vodacom, Orange, Africell, and Airtel. Subscriptions to mobile financial services in DR Congo surged from 6.59 million in the third quarter of 2020...