The banking group, which claims more than 6 million customers in South Africa and the Philippines, believes the Vietnamese market is a perfect fit for its all-digital banking business model. Tyme Group, the neo-bank majority-owned by South African billionaire Patrice Motsepe, plans to expand into Vietnam in 2024 after closing a $78 million fundraising round, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday,...

To meet the growing demand for high-speed connectivity on the continent, telecom operators are increasingly focusing their investments on 4G and 5G. Some are even planning to switch off inferior mobile technologies. Telecom operator MTN Nigeria has no plans to disable its 2G and 3G mobile networks "for now." This was revealed by Mohammed Rufai (photo), the operator’s CTO, last week at a press...

In partnership with the AfDB, Egypt is readying itself for the issuance of the first African Panda Bonds. This is the first step in the AfDB’s efforts to facilitate the mobilization of climate financing for African countries.   Thanks to the AfDB’s support, Egypt is about to become the first African country to issue Panda Bonds on the Chinese market. Last week, the AfDB validated...

Orange unveiled Djoliba, its West African backbone, in 2020. This backbone should help the telecom group to support the digital ecosystem and meet the growing connectivity needs in the region.  Fiber optic infrastructure operator Angola Cables will leverage Djoliba, Orange's backbone in West Africa, to strengthen its presence in Francophone markets in the sub-region. The two parties...

In March 2021, Madagascar secured a $312 million funding facility to support its economic reform program. In the framework of that agreement, an IMF team sojourned in the country from May 3 to 12, 2013, to review the progress of those reforms.  The IMF has approved a staff-level agreement for the disbursement of $32 million to Madagascar. The approval, announced on Friday, May 19,...

On May 16, 2023, the West African Development Bank (WADB)’s Press Club exchanged with journalists from WAEMU countries on climate finance in West Africa. UNECA’s Nassim Oulmane, the African Climate Foundation’s Faten Aggad, and Ibrahim Traore, a WADB climate finance expert addressed journalists during the press conference.   According to Nassim Oulmane, the current challenge for...

In the last twelve months, several African countries, including Kenya, Zimbabwe, Egypt, Uganda, and Angola have launched satellites into space. Other countries such as Côte d'Ivoire and Tanzania are finalizing plans for the launch.  Tanzania plans to build its satellite, local media outlet The Citizen reported, quoting President Samia Suluhu Hassan (photo). Details such as the type of...

With billions of dollars in agreements for hydrogen projects, Egypt needs a legal framework to facilitate the development of that segment, seen as a revolution in the energy industry.   Last Wednesday (May 17), during a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, the Egyptian cabinet approved a draft law to support green hydrogen projects and companies. The law provides...

Witness by Hon. Khalid S. Mohamed, the ministry of infrastructure communication and transport, Tony Stenning, Regional Director of Southern Africa at AGL (Africa Global Logistics), and Nahaat Mahfoud, CEO of Zanzibar Ports Corporation, signed the contract for the management of the Malindi Container Terminal at the Port of Malindi in Zanzibar on May 18, 2023. AGL will be responsible for cargo...

With the acquisition, the South African group reinforces its partnership with Khula, which specializes in the distribution of agricultural inputs and service provision. Absa hopes the deal will help improve its offers to SMEs in the agriculture value chain.  Absa Group, Africa's 5th largest bank by total assets ($105.47 billion as of December 31, 2022) announced on May 12, the acquisition...