South Africa is the largest cloud market in Africa.  The rainbow nation is home to the facilities of some of the biggest companies in the industry, including Microsoft, Amazon, Oracle, Huawei, Acronis, and now Google. U.S. tech giant Google announced on Wednesday, Oct. 5, the launch of its first African cloud region in South Africa to provide cloud computing services to businesses. In South...

The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank Group has approved a $15 million trade finance line of credit and $10 million transaction guarantee for FSDH Merchant Bank in Nigeria. FSDH will use the line of credit to provide loans to local enterprises in Nigeria.  The $25 million package will help to reduce the trade finance gap in Nigeria by making financial...

Of the 39 Sub-Saharan African countries eligible for International Development Association (IDA) financing, Rwanda, Cape Verde, and Kenya have the best Country Policy and Institutional Assessment (CPIA) score,  according to a report recently released by the World Bank.  On October 3, 2022, the World Bank published the latest issue of its CPIA Africa report. The report assesses the...

The volume of financing raised by startups active in Africa slowed at the end of Q3-2022. For the first time in four quarters, the US$1 billion mark was not reached.   Startups active in Africa raised US$850 million via US$100,000+ deals in the three months ending on September 30, 2022, the platform Africa: the Big Deal reveals. This is the first time in four quarters that the US$1...

Safaricom is expected to launch commercial operations in Ethiopia in the coming days. For months now, Ethio Telecom, which is well aware of the competitive weight carried by the new market player, has been implementing actions to reinforce its market position and be a step ahead of the new entrant.  Ethiopian incumbent operator Ethio Telecom will launch a music and video streaming service...

Under the patronage of the President of the Republic H.E. Ismaïl Omar Guelleh, Djibouti will host, from October 23 to 25, 2022 an international summit entitled: " Climate Change and Research (2CR): The path toward adaptation and lasting resilience ". This high-level meeting, organized by the Ministry of Higher Education and Research, will be held at the Djibouti Palace Kempinski. It...

Ghana’s debt could rise by 26% to 104% of GDP this year -due notably to a strong depreciation of the Cedi, which is one of the worst performing currencies in the world currently. Also, there is news about a new economic program being negotiated with the IMF. In that light, the main fear now conveyed by Moody’s and similar rating agencies is the idea of a debt restructuring, which they...

In November 2015, Helios Investment Partners bought French group Orange's majority stake in Telkom Kenya for an undisclosed amount.   Kenya, through its National Treasury, acquired the 60% stake held by British private equity firm Helios Investment Partners in Telkom Kenya.  The Ksh6.09 billion (US$50.3 million) deal makes the state the sole owner of the telecom...

For nearly a decade now, local Peruvian communities and mining companies have been clashing over the distribution of proceeds from the exploitation of mineral resources. Local communities, which estimate that they are cheated, campaign for a fairer system.   The Peruvian government recently suggested a set of solutions to reduce the economic disparities in the distribution of mining...

The African Development Bank had several productive engagements around its strategic priorities at the just concluded 77th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) meetings in New York. Meeting highlights included an urgent call for increased financing to mitigate the effects of climate change and food insecurity. African Development Bank Group President Dr Akinwumi Adesina led the bank’s...