Norwegian Investment Fund for developing countries (Norfund) and private equity fund Zebu Investment Partners jointly invested in Terramar, a Mozambican company engaged in the importation and distribution of frozen foods and consumer products.  Norfund took a $6 million stake but Zebu committed $12 million through its second Africa Food Security Fund, which targets SMEs in the...

Currently, 99% of the vaccines used in Africa are imported, according to the World Bank.  African leaders are moving to reduce that proportion by a minimum of 60% over the next 20 years. In that regard, they are turning to partners to set up vaccine factories. The Pasteur Institute of Dakar (IPD) and the African Finance Corporation (IFC) will partner for the construction of a vaccine...

Like most African countries, the generalized rise in the prices of several basic commodities in recent months poses many challenges. To deal with this situation, the authorities are stepping up interventions on the domestic market.   The Beninese government decided, during its March 23 ministerial council, to exempt wheat flour and vegetable oils from value-added tax (VAT) for the next...

In Africa, the digitization of public services was accelerated in 2020, driven by the coronavirus pandemic.  However, the connectivity that allows access to them is not yet accessible to all. In Senegal, the government is moving to address that issue.  Macky Sall (photo), Senegal’s President, has instructed the improvement of network coverage. During the ministerial council on...

In December 2021, South Africa’s Ethos Private Equity announced it would divest from Neopak. This plan is being stymied by the national Competition Commission. Regulatory constraints are hindering the divestment of Ethos Private Equity, a South African private equity firm, from Neopak Holdings, another South African firm operating in the packaging industry. According to the local Competition...

The coronavirus pandemic has accelerated the digital transformation process in Africa. Since 2020, governments have been stepping up their investments to make sure citizens have access to internet connection, which is a pillar for this transformation.  The government of Botswana announced on Monday, March 21, its plans to connect a total of 500 villages to the Internet. Called SmartBots,...

Côte d'Ivoire is, according to the WHR 2022, the third African country where people feel happiest, after Mauritius and Libya. It is also the first in Francophone Africa. In 2021, the country became the country that prospered the most in the world in the last ten years.  Côte d'Ivoire is the happiest country in West Africa, according to the 2022 edition of the World Happiness Report (WHR)...

A group of venture capitalists led by industry specialists, including Century Oak Capital, invested an estimated US$750,000 seed capital into Chargel, an e-logistics firm based in Senegal.  Through this investment, the venture capitalists expressed confidence in the growth prospects of that firm specialized in networking freight companies with potential clients. They seem to have also...

UNAIDS reported that in 2020, nearly 4,200 girls aged 15-24 were infected with HIV every week in sub-Saharan Africa. Although preventive solutions exist, the International Solidarity Organization UNITAID believes that oral medicines are not so well accepted by the population. Only 1 million infected people have adopted the oral preventive drug, while the UN was targeting 3 million people by...

The National Bank of Egypt, Banque du Caire, and Banque Misr announced this week they have launched a joint fund -NClude- to support the fintech industry in Egypt. The public banks say they seek to raise $85 million under this initiative, which has already received approval from the Central Bank (CBE). NClude will be managed by Abu Dhabi-based Global Ventures. It will focus on fintech...