Zimbabwe’s weak economy affected the telecom market in 2021, BuddeComm informs in its recent annual report. Econet seems to be recovering from the woes.  Telecom operator Econet Wireless Zimbabwe (EWZ) added 1.7 million subscribers to its userbase in 2021, EWZ CEO Douglas Mboweni indicated while presenting the operator’s 2022 integrated annual report last week.  According to the...

The decision will mostly affect domestic investors since the majority shareholder can cushion its growing operating expenses with its consolidated results.  The board of TotalEnergies Kenya will not distribute interim dividends though the company ended the first half of 2022 with cash and cash equivalents estimated at Ksh10.5 billion (about US$88.16 million).   With a reported...

Amid a call for urgent action to safeguard the continent from climate change, Gabon’s President Ali Bongo Ondimba opened the 2022 Africa Climate Week by highlighting his country’s efforts to boost climate action and calling for continuous collective efforts. “For more than ten years, we have intensified our efforts to protect our remarkable forestry heritage and build a low-carbon...

Three months after announcing its proposed acquisition of Nigerian pension fund manager First Guarantee Pension Limited, financial holding company Access has obtained the necessary regulatory approvals that will make First Guarantee Pension its subsidiary. Nigerian financial services holding Access Holdings Plc has secured the regulatory approvals to complete its proposed acquisition of a...

Safaricom was awarded its telecom license in July 2021. However, the operator, which is expected to boost competition in a market previously dominated by incumbent operator Ethio Telecom,  was unable to launch commercial operations within the set deadline.   Last Monday, Safaricom, which holds Ethiopia's second global telecoms license, announced the launch of the test phase of its...

A few years ago, Nigeria initiated an about 40-year energy transition program to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. To implement that program, it is supported by several partners.    France, through the French Development Agency (AFD),  announced Friday (August 26),  a more than US$101.8 million financing package to support Nigeria’s climate...

Several investigations show that in Eastern DRC, the proceeds of illegal sales of strategic minerals (coltan, tin, tantalum, tungsten) finance armed groups. Therefore, to put an end to the phenomenon, buyers (tech giants notably) need to get more involved.  During the TICAD 8, held on August 27-28 in Tunisia,  the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Prime Minister, Jean-Michel Sama...

Once approved by shareholders, Walmart's bid is expected to give new impetus to the restructuring plan of loss-making retailer Massmart. U.S. retail giant Walmart recently offered ZAR6.4 billion (US$377.6 million) to increase its capital ownership to 100 percent in South African retailer Massmart.   Walmart offered ZAR62 per outstanding share to acquire a 47% stake currently...

With the recent acceleration of digital transformation, the contribution of digital sectors to national economies is growing in Africa. In Nigeria, the various policies and initiatives deployed have accelerated the development of the ICT sector to complement declining oil revenues. The information and communication technology (ICT) sector contributed 18.44 percent to Nigeria's real gross...

Banks operating in the WAEMU region posted record performance for their 2021 operations. However, the IMF reminds that there are unaccounted-for risks that could re-emerge at any time.  In 2021, banks operating in the WAEMU region recorded a 68% year-on-year growth in their net earnings, to a record XOF799 (US$1.21 billion). Despite this performance, they must urgently increase their...