Digital transformation is one of the main pillars of Burkina Faso’s development programs. The country wants to build a robust and reliable digital infrastructure to achieve that goal.  Burkina Faso has contracted  Bridge Fiber Solutions (BFS), a subsidiary of Telecel Faso SA, to operate and manage its national telecommunications backbone. The company launched its commercial...

The digital and interbank payment service was announced a few months ago. The service aims to reduce cash dependence and improve financial inclusion and bank interoperability. Today March 13, the South African Reserve Bank has officially launched PayShap, an instant interbank electronic payment method that allows individuals and companies residing in South Africa to make or receive payments...

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni is on an official visit to Algeria since Saturday, March 11. The visit comes at a time when Algeria and Uganda, two strategic African mining countries, want to strengthen their mutual investments in various sectors.   Uganda and Algeria recently strengthened their cooperation through seven new bilateral agreements signed during President Yoweri...

With that new service, Telkom wants to capitalize on the growing social media adoption to boost its revenues.  In South Africa, Telkom’s subscribers can now pay for services and products directly via Whatsapp. The new feature is based on the "Chat 2 Pay" solution from Clickatell, a mobile communications and chat-commerce company. With this innovation, Telkom's postpaid and prepaid...

The IPO, initially planned for December 2022, was scrapped due to market turbulences after the impeachment procedure against President Cyril Ramaphosa who was suspected of financial malpractice.  South African investment holding Brait announced today, the resumption of the process aimed at listing Premier Group, its food product manufacturing subsidiary, on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange....

The outlook for the Eswatini economy is positive in the near term but some of the Kingdom's vulnerabilities remain and could constrain economic growth. Therefore, the IMF believes that measures are needed to strengthen growth.  The IMF expects Eswatini's economic growth to reach 3.2% and its inflation to stabilize this year. According to an end-of-mission release published by the...

The African Development Bank Group, on 9 March 2023, announces a 15-month debarment of Ogon-Asu Company Ltd. and its Chief Executive Officer, Mr. William Tuku Ogon, with effect from 24 February 2023. Ogon-Asu Company Ltd. is a construction company registered in the Federal Republic of Nigeria. An investigation conducted by the Bank’s Office of Integrity and Anti-Corruption established that...

The African Development Bank, rated Aaa/AAA/AAA/AAA (Moody’s/S&P/Fitch/Japan Credit Rating, all stable), has launched and priced a USD 2 billion 5-year Global Benchmark bond due March 14, 2028, its first of the year. The bond was issued on 7 March. With this issue, the African Development Bank continues to carry out its funding strategy of issuing large liquid benchmark transactions and adds...

The African Development Bank Group's country office in Benin held a workshop on the challenges facing the country’s textile industry and how to build the capacity of stakeholders to develop value chains. The workshop drew fabric producers, dyers, stylists, designers, embroiderers, seamstresses, consumers, support function professionals, and value chain professionals, representatives of textile...

The African Development Bank and the Coalition for Dialogue on Africa (CoDA) have officially launched a three-year support project to improve regional coherent and coordinated response to illicit financial flows. The project will help African stakeholders actively engaged in stemming such flows to improve domestic revenue mobilization in African countries. The launch of the African Financial...