With an investment estimated at approximately one (1) billion FCFA (approximately 1.5 million Euros), Africa Jutes Industries, a company specializing in the processing of agricultural products, is officially the 30th company to invest in GDIZ. Africa Jutes is one of the entities of the multinational Africa Negoce Industries, present in Benin and Niger. It has set foot in the GDIZ and will be...

Since joining the African Development Bank Group as its 81st shareholder in 2020, Ireland has shown steadily increasing interest in strengthening its economic ties with Africa. That mission received a strong boost last week at the 7th Africa Ireland Economic Forum in Dublin, as African Development Bank Group President Dr. Akinwumi Adesina enjoined the Irish business community to invest more...

The euro continues to decline against the U.S. dollar, dragging the pegged CFA franc in its fall. The situation has both good and bad points for the African countries using the pegged currency.  CFA franc, the currency used by the 14 WAEMU and CEMAC countries has depreciated by 9.18% against the U.S. dollar since January 2022, reference currency data platform xe.com shows.  The...

During the period, Kenya’s economic growth was mainly driven by a strong recovery in the accommodation and food services, transport, construction, and ICT sectors.  Kenya's economy grew by 6.8 percent in the first quarter of 2022 compared with 2.7 percent in the same period of 2021, according to data released on Friday, July 1, by the National Bureau of Statistics.  This...

Algeria’s ambition to own the operator dates back years ago. In 2014, the government acquired 51% of stakes in the operator for US$2.6 billion. In July 2021, VEON announced it would exit the stakeholding.  Algeria is now the majority owner of two telecom companies in the country. According to a release dated Friday, June 1, the national investment fund FNI bought all the shares previously...

In Mercer's 28th global ranking of the most expensive cities, Bangui, the capital of the Central African Republic, is ranked just ahead of Libreville (Gabon) and Victoria (Seychelles). In West Africa, the three most expensive cities are Lagos, Dakar, and Abidjan. U.S asset management firm Mercer recently published the 2022 issue of its global ranking of the most expensive cities; 209 cities...

In the DRC, demand for telecom services has been rising unabatedly since 2020. Operators are therefore upping investments to meet the demand and become more competitive.  Africell SA will need more frequency spectrum to improve its network coverage in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The issue was raised by Peter Pham, a member of Africell SA’s board of directors, during a meeting...

The IT equipment distributor plans to get listed on the Casablanca stock exchange.  Its shares will be admitted for listing on the alternative market, "Alternatif A", created for SMEs. Moroccan IT equipment distributor Disty Technologies currently plans to get listed on the local stock exchange. Its initial public offering is expected for Wednesday, July 20.  Overall, the company...

The DRC's economic growth has increased from 1.7% in 2020 to 5.7% in 2021. The expansion was driven by mining and the revival of non-extractive activities. To improve its economic resilience, the country is implementing a program supervised by the IMF.   The International Monetary Fund (IMF) recently approved the immediate disbursement of about US$203 million to the Democratic Republic...

The African mobile money market is growing rapidly, driven in part by the accelerating digital transformation across the continent. As of December 2021, Uganda had a dozen licensed non-bank payment entities in various categories. Online and mobile payment solutions aggregator Pesapal can now officially provide its mobile payment services in Uganda. The company recently received a payment system...