Axian Group, a Pan-African conglomerate, is launching AXIAN Investment to oversee two new investment activities: its Private Equity and Venture Capital funds and its direct investments in fledgling technology startups across the continent. A first for an African-focused company, consolidating this broad range of investment activities under one brand reinforces the group's position as a first-rate...

2Africa is the fourth international subsea cable Madagascar is being connected to. Up to now, the country was connected to the EASSY (Eastern Africa Submarine System), LION (Lower Indian Ocean Network), and METISS (MEltingpoT Indianoceanic Submarine System) systems. Malagasy operator Telma, a subsidiary of Pan-African conglomerate Axian, recently connected Madagascar to subsea cable 2Africa, in...

According to the OECD, in South Africa, MSMEs are underfunded despite facing several challenges. To improve the sector and foster its growth, the government plans to implement new measures.  The South African government will provide more than US$77 million in funding to entrepreneurs in 2023, President Cyril Ramaphosa (photo) announced in his State of the Nation address released Thursday,...

In December 2022, Credit du Maroc was acquired by the Moroccan group Holmarcom. Thanks to the loan, it will support local SMEs.  Moroccan bank Credit du Maroc recently secured a US$50 million loan from the International Finance Corporation (IFC) to support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and help them meet their working capital needs. The agreement marks the first IFC financing...

The funding comes after an undisclosed investment in June 2021. It will help expand both the team and its operations. Sendmarc, a South African cybersecurity startup that provides companies and individuals with tools to ensure email security and prevent identity theft, recently raised US$7 million in a Series A led by Atlantica Ventures and several participating investors. Thanks to the...

Participation at the Mining Indaba Forum in Cape Town highlights Rawbank’s role as the leading partner of the mining industry and its value chain in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The bank works with 95% of the businesses in the industry to provide solutions for their financing and operational needs and to optimise their cash management. Since it started operating in 2002, Rawbank has...

The partial privatization plan is part of the government's strategy to liberalize the Ethiopian telecom market. Initially, the government wanted to sell 40% of the state operator's stakes. The Ethiopian Ministry of Finance issued, Thursday (Feb 9), a request for proposals to privatize up to 45% of state operator Ethio Telecom. According to the request for proposals, the government seeks...

Ethiopia has, since 2017, been implementing a program aimed at reducing carbon emissions in Oromia. It recently joined the UN collaborative program REDD+, which entitles it to remunerations for its carbon emission reduction efforts. The Ethiopian Finance Ministry announced, Thursday (Feb 9), an Emission Reduction Purchase Framework Agreement (ERPA) with the World Bank. The agreement, which runs...

Global experts meeting during a panel session at the second international summit on food production in Dakar called for accelerated avenues to close the financial gap in agriculture and address barriers to the growing finance market for agricultural Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). The discussions come in the wake of supply chain disruptions as a result of COVID-19 pandemic, the war in...

With that data center, the operator, which was acquired by Digital Realty in 2019, is kickstarting its African expansion. Till now, it had only three data centers at its Mombasa and Nairobi campuses in Kenya.  Last Wednesday, data center operator iColo launched its first carrier-neutral data center in Maputo, Mozambique. The infrastructure, dubbed MPM1, is expected to expand the operator's...