Guinea-Bissau, which is one of the poorest and most fragile countries in the world (according to the World Bank) is facing several development and climate-related challenges. With the support of international partners, authorities are carrying out several initiatives to address the situation. Guinea-Bissau and the World Bank have signed agreements for the implementation of two projects, the...

From US$24 million in 2021, the funds secured by Central African start-ups reached US$51 million in 2022, with two start-ups attracting the largest share of those funds. In 2022, Central African startups raised US$51 million in equity financing. This is more than double the US$24 million they raised in 2021. The number of US$100k+ deals also rose from 12 in 2021 to 14 in 2022. However, only two...

After successfully hosting COP27 in November 2022, the Egyptian resort city of Sharm El Sheikh is preparing for the African Development Bank Group’s Annual Meetings in May. A preparatory mission to Cairo and Sharm El Sheikh led by the Bank’s Secretary General Vincent Nmehielle expressed satisfaction with the progress made to date towards the organization of the meetings, to be held...

African economies remain resilient despite experiencing multiple shocks, with 53 out of 54 African countries seen maintaining positive growth and a stable outlook for the 2023/24 period, the African Development Bank has projected. Prof. Kevin Urama, Acting Chief Economist and Vice President for Economic Governance and Knowledge Management at the bank, said that with Africa’s abundant natural...

Ireland and Austria have joined the African Development Bank’s Africa Climate Change Fund (ACCF) with contributions of €2 million and €1 million, respectively, to support the Fund’s work. The ACCF is a multi-donor trust fund that backs the African Development Bank Group’s target of tripling its climate financing and advancing Africa’s climate resilience. Harald Waiglein,...

The Société Nationale des Pétroles du Congo (SNPC) is thrilled to announce that its hydrogen project has been nominated for the Africa Investment Forum and Awards (AIFA) 2023's best energy project. This nomination is a testimonial of SNPC's solid commitment to the energy transition and the provision of clean energy solutions to the population of the Republic of Congo. SNPC's energy...

The CAB project aims to interconnect the countries of the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) with high-speed telecom infrastructure. The Central African Republic component provides for the connection of the Central African Republic with Cameroon and Congo. The Central African component of the Central African Backbone (CAB-RCA) project is finally entering its operational phase....

The guarantee agreement is signed two years after IFC granted a US$50 million local currency financing to EquityBCDC. It aims to boost the bank's loans to SMEs. Congolese bank Equity Banque Commerciale du Congo (EquityBCDC) announced, Monday (Feb 6), a US$12.5 million risk-sharing facility to support local small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Under that scheme, in addition to the...

The plan is part of a large privatization program launched by the government in 2019. It entails offering 5 to 10% of Endiama on the exchanges in the first phase. Angola is considering a dual listing of state diamond company Endiama on the local stock market and abroad, Reuters reported on Tuesday, February 7, citing Angolan Minister of Mineral Resources Diamantino Azevedo. On the sidelines of...

The acquisition plan is financially supported by Norfund, which accounts for close to 40 investments in South Africa over the past 40 years. Last week, South African food ingredients producer Synercore Holdings secured ZAR80 million (US$4.5 million) in convertible debt financing from Norwegian development finance institution Norfund. The funding will support Synercore's expansion and the...