In the first quarter of 2024, Africa's private equity landscape recorded $3.5 billion across 150 transactions, marking significant declines of 52.9% in total value and 54.7% in the number of transactions compared to the same period in 2023. This downturn represents the first notable decrease in performance since the end of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021, according to the latest data from...

The African Development Bank (AfDB) has underscored the success of its program aimed at bolstering job opportunities for young people in Cameroon. At a meeting convened in Yaoundé on April 9, 2024, chaired by Marie-Laure Akin-Olugbade, the Bank Group’s Vice-President for Regional Development, Integration, and Business Delivery, stakeholders across various sectors gathered to discuss the...

Platinum Group Metals and Amplats have been working on a technology harnessing platinum and palladium to enhance the efficiency of lithium-ion batteries. Their efforts have borne notable fruit, with the prospect of a maiden commercial rollout slated for this year. The year 2024 could herald a pivotal juncture for palladium and platinum, given recent strides in integrating these metals into a...

About 55 million people in Central and West Africa face the risk of hunger between June and August, according to a March 2024 analysis by the Harmonized Framework on food security, released by the Permanent Interstate Committee for Drought Control in the Sahel (CILSS). This forecast marks an increase of 4 million individuals compared to the organization's previous prediction made last November...

Trade between Côte d'Ivoire and China saw a 21% increase in 2023, reaching $5.28 billion, according to the Chinese ambassador to Côte d'Ivoire, Wu Jie. Speaking at a press conference in early April, the ambassador cited Chinese customs statistics which indicated that exports from China to Côte d'Ivoire totaled $4.21 billion last year, while imports from the West African nation...

The credit market in the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) is dominated by a handful of companies. According to BCEAO data, nearly 30% of this market was in the hands of 400 companies at the end of December 2023. Focusing on credits reported to the union’s banking risk central which are over CFA10 million, this group of 400 entities, representing less than 1% of the productive...

In a move that reaffirms its commitment to Central Africa’s development course, the African Development Bank (AfDB) has inaugurated an ultramodern regional office building in Yaoundé, Cameroon. Joseph Dion Ngute, Prime Minister of Cameroon, and Marie-Laure Akin-Olugbade, the Bank Group's Vice-President for the Regional Development, Integration and Business Delivery Complex, led the opening...

Digital sector stakeholders in Burkina Faso convened to discuss the challenges and opportunities of migrating from IPv4 to IPv6. The forum, organized by the Burkina Faso Internet Domains Association (ABDI) and held in Ouagadougou on April 12, was attended by Aminata Zerbo, Minister of Digital Transition, Posts, and Electronic Communications. "The development of the Internet has profoundly...

The African Development Bank has published a report clarifying the legal framework, processes and governance for a call on the callable capital by the institution. Callable capital refers to the portion of the Bank’s capital that is subscribed by shareholders but not immediately paid. It represents a commitment to make additional capital available to the institution in the very unlikely event...

Several multinational companies on the Lagos Stock Exchange are grappling with the adverse effects of the Nigerian naira's depreciation and are currently exploring coping strategies. For example, Nigerian Breweries, the subsidiary of the Dutch group Heineken, reported a loss of 106.3 billion nairas ($92.27 million) for 2023, marking its first loss in a decade. Despite an 8.9% increase in sales,...