The third General Assembly of the African Public Procurement Network (APPN), which wrapped up in Abidjan on Thursday, adopted around ten recommendations for an effective contribution to sustainable development in Africa. This followed an earlier decision by participants from around 40 African countries to host the 2024 APPN General Assembly in Rwanda. Among the resolutions adopted were the...

Mobile operator Africell Angola has announced ambitious plans to double its communication towers and extend its services to four additional provinces in the country by 2024. This plan was made public by Jorge Vasquez, the newly appointed CEO of the company, during a media briefing on Wednesday, November 15. The expansion initiative aligns with Africell's gradual network extension strategy in...

Canadian telecom infrastructure provider NuRAN Wireless is seeking to bolster its presence in Africa, aiming to have 10,000 telecom sites under contract in the coming years. Having recently secured an operating license in Cameroon, the company is now in the process of acquiring a similar license in Madagascar. On Thursday, November 16, NuRAN Wireless announced that its local subsidiary has...

The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank Group approved a loan of USD 33 million to Seychelles on 17 November 2023 to implement Phase III of the Governance and Economic Reforms Support Program. Following Phases I and II, the results of which were considered satisfactory, the third phase will focus on consolidating and deepening the reforms to strengthen the country’s economic...

The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank Group granted a loan of 92 million euros to the Republic of Congo in Abidjan on 17 November 2023 to implement the first phase of the Economic Diversification Support Program. The aim of the program is to strengthen the resilience of the Congolese economy and reduce its dependence on the oil sector with the aim of reconciling the need for...

Nigerian billionaire Tony Elumelu's UBA strengthens trade financing operations In a significant move to bolster its support for local small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), the Nigerian United Bank for Africa (UBA) has inked a trade finance agreement worth $150 million with the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank). The agreement was formalized on November 11 during the third...

Camco, a specialized impact fund manager focusing on sustainable energy and climate finance, is planning to raise $1.6 billion for electrification projects in Africa through its Renewable Energy Performance Platform 2 (REPP 2) debt fund. According to information relayed by Bloomberg on Thursday, November 16, citing Benjamin Hugues, the Investment Director at Camco, REPP 2 will devote 50% of...

African countries need to show stronger political will to advance industrialisation, including the adoption of new policies to promote improved productivity and harness the potential of a growing youth population, delegates attending the 2023 African Economic Conference heard. The three-day conference opened in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, on Wednesday under the theme "Imperatives for...

In a proactive move responding to the significant price pressures in the local market, the Ivorian government temporarily suspended the export of local rice and sugar until the end of the year. The decision was announced in September when the overall annual inflation rate reached 4.9%. The Commission for Economic and Financial Affairs (CAEF) in Côte d'Ivoire recently announced the exemption of...

More than thirty African countries benefit from India's duty-free tariff preference (DFTP) scheme for least-developed countries. Trade between India and Africa reached $98 billion in FY2022/2023 (April 1-March 31), registering an increase of 9.3% over fiscal year 2021/2022, Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar announced on Tuesday, November 14. "Trade with the African...