The African Development Bank is the driving force behind one of the world's most ambitious energy projects: the Desert to Power initiative aims to bring energy to one of the least developed and most marginal parts of the continent. This transformative and bold effort aims to turn Africa’s vast, sun-drenched Sahel region – one of the most vulnerable regions in the world - into a powerhouse of...

Standard & Poor’s Global Ratings expects increased exports of raw materials over the next 24 months to significantly reduce Côte d'Ivoire's external and budgetary imbalances. Côte d'Ivoire has overtaken South Africa to become the second-best-rated country in Sub-Saharan Africa for sovereign risk concerning external debt. On May 17, Standard & Poor’s Global Ratings affirmed Côte...

The Nigerian government has issued domestic bonds to refinance a debt of 4,900 billion nairas (equivalent to $3.4 billion) owed to the Central Bank. The information was relayed yesterday by Bloomberg, which cited Patience Oniha, the Director of the Debt Management Office. According to Mrs. Oniha, these bonds were issued between February and April to spread out the repayment burden of the...

The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank Group approved a loan of $240 million to Mauritius in Abidjan on 22 May 2024 to implement the second phase of the Economic Competitiveness and Resilience Support Program. “Following the approval and implementation of the first phase of the Program in 2023, the aim of this second phase is to continue to support improvements in economic...

The African Development Bank has invested $1.44 billion to support the development of energy and power, transport, water, and sanitation infrastructure in Nigeria. The Bank’s Nigeria Country Department, Director General Lamin Barrow disclosed this at the Nasarawa Investment Summit 2024, held from 15 – 16 May in Lafia, the Nasarawa State capital. The event was attended by local and...

At the end of 2023, BGFIBank surpassed 5,000 billion CFA francs in total assets and nearly reached 100 billion CFA francs in net profit, solidifying its position as the leading banking group in Central Africa. In an interview with Business in Cameroon (IC) and EcoMatin (EM), the CEO of this Libreville-based institution, Henri-Claude Oyima, revealed the secrets behind this success, explained the...

Sonatel, the leading telecom company in Senegal, announced it will launch commercial 5G mobile services on June 1. The announcement was made by CEO Sékou Dramé on May 21, during the commercial launch event of Orange's ultra-high-speed internet services in Senegal. Dramé assured customers with compatible devices that they could expect download speeds up to 10 times faster than 4G, promising a...

The Board of Directors of the African Development Fund – the African Development Bank Group’s concessional financing window – approved a grant of $42.86 million to Ethiopia on 22 May 2024 to fund the implementation of the Agri-MSMEs development for jobs Program.   Aimed at boosting the growth and productivity of youth and women-led MSMEs in Ethiopia, the program focuses on...

Huawei Cloud becomes world's first company to open a public cloud in Egypt, Industry AI accelerates digitization in Egypt and in Northern Africa region.   Huawei launched a Cloud Region in Egypt on Tuesday, May 21, making it the first company to establish a public Cloud in Northern Africa region. The Cairo Region will bring Huawei Cloud’s intelligent and innovative capabilities and...

The long-awaited Open Skies agreement between the United States and Nigeria is finally becoming a reality, 24 years after its initial signing. This landmark deal aims to boost bilateral air travel and economic ties between the two nations. The US Embassy in Nigeria announced over the weekend that the agreement originally signed nearly a quarter of a century ago, is now entering its...