The agreement comes after a deal with the UK and talks with the USA. The EU, the other signing party, is Kenya’s main export market. In 2022, trade between the two parties reached $3.6 billion.  Kenya and the European Union (EU) recently signed a free trade agreement to boost their exchanges. The ceremony took place in Nairobi, earlier today, June 19, in the presence of Kenyan...

As Africa's leading telecom market, Nigeria is concerned about protecting its citizens' data in an increasingly digitized world. The country recently asked the Netherlands for support in realizing its ambitions in this area. Bola Ahmed Tinubu (photo), President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, has just validated the Nigeria Data Protection Act, 2023. The text guarantees a formal legal...

MTN Cameroon's bank accounts were frozen by Cameroonian courts in September 2022. The telecom operator strongly contests this measure, which it considers abusive, fraudulent, and unacceptable. MTN Cameroon, a subsidiary of the South African multinational MTN Group, believes that its activities are threatened by the seizure of its bank accounts, in the framework of the "Bestinver affair". In a...

The Senegalese B2B marketplace, operating since 2021, wants to use the funds to finance its growth projects.  Maad, a Senegalese marketplace that connects small merchants with FMCG brands, secured €200,000 ($219,000) in financing from Proparco on Friday, June 16. The resource will help the young company, founded in 2021, to anchor its activity in Senegal, its main operating market...

In the South African health system, there is an access problem and a huge disparity between the quality of care provided in the public and the private sectors. As a result, the government wants to introduce a national health insurance fund to establish equity. South Africa's National Assembly has passed the National Health Insurance (NHI) Bill, the parliament announced on Monday, June...

Life is now seemingly back to normal in the streets of Dakar, with thousands of vehicles transporting their passengers to various locations and occupations. Behind that normalized activity, there are concerns, however. Meanwhile, President Macky Sall has chosen a strategic moment to speak out.  After the historically violent protests of early June, life has returned to normal in Dakar,...

Africa Specialty Risks (“ASR”), the pan-African focused reinsurance group, was a co-sponsor of the East African Tea Trade Association (“EATTA”) Breakfast held in Mombasa this morning. The event was jointly supported by Abimar Brokers (part of the Tea Insurance Africa Consortium) and MIC Global Risks (Insurance Brokers) Limited, Kenya. The EATTA is a non-profit organisation dedicated to...

The African Development Bank Group has released its 2022 Annual Report. The report shows solid performance over the year, recording a significant increase in lending to the Bank Group’s regional member countries in the face of a challenging global environment for Africa. “Amid multiple global shocks, the [African Development] Bank once again demonstrated its unwavering commitment to African...

Less than two months after his inauguration, Nigeria's new president is stepping up his efforts to revive the economy and consolidate his power. After the cancelation of fuel subsidies and the suspension of the governor of the central bank, he is now suspending the head of the Economic and financial crimes commission.  Nigerian President Bola Tinubu has suspended the head of the country's...

The brief points out that the boom in artisanal gold mining is due in particular to the country's economic crisis, the opening up of the mining sector to "all competent people" and the rising price of the precious metal.  Artisanal small-scale mining (ASM) accounts for 62% of Zimbabwe's gold production, according to a policy published on June 8 by Megatrends Afrika, a research platform...