The Egyptian Islamic bank, Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB), announced it has increased the share capital of its consumer finance subsidiary from EGP10 million to EGP30 million (about $635,000 to $1.9 million). Daily News Egypt, which relayed the information, reported that Abu Dhabi Islamic Consumer Finance's (ADI-CF) capital strengthening deal was pre-approved by the bank's board last...

The Ivorian platform Afrikrea, which markets the creations of African fashion artists online, announced it has successfully raised $6.2 million from a group of foreign investors to strengthen its activity. As part of its development strategy, Afrikrea also announced it is changing its name to Anka. “Afrikrea will officially become Anka. The name is changing but we are staying the same. We...

Mali will benefit from $1.9 million, provided by the USAID’s West Africa Trade and Investment Hub (WATIH). The resource will be channeled through the local agribusiness Mali Shi SA and Yolélé, an African food company based in the U.S. that creates income opportunities for smallholders by connecting them with global markets for traditional climate-resilient ingredients like...

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) says it is satisfied with the economic performance of Senegal, despite the pandemic and the low vaccination rate in the country. “Recent indicators suggest that a strong recovery is underway, driven by industrial production, services, and retail activity. The number of cases of covid-19 remains relatively low, and about 14% of the adult population is...

Nigeria’s ThankUCash announced it has successfully raised $5.3 million to expand in its main market and beyond, mainly in Ghana and Kenya. Before this operation co-led by VCs 500 Global and Unicorn Growth Capital, the multi-merchant rewards platform secured pre-seed funding in February 2021. According to data published by Techcrunch, ThankUCash -a subsidiary of data analytics company...

After 3 consecutive years of decline, the assets of Tunisian funds recorded an increase of 2.7% in 2021, reaching TND4.8 billion (about $1.7 billion). The information was released in a report on the 2021 balance sheet of UCITS -undertakings for collective investment in securities- published on January 9 by investment firm Tera Finances. The document attributes the improvement to the...

West African regional blocs -WAEMU and ECOWAS- announced tightened measures against Bamako. They decided so to pressure the Malian Junta into holding elections next month. Gathered in Accra yesterday, the West African leaders announced, with immediate effect, the freezing of Malian state assets within the regional central bank and all the community’s commercial banks. ECOWAS will close both...

The Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (SEFA), managed by the African Development Bank, has approved a $1 million grant to facilitate Botswana’s transition to clean energy . The technical assistance project supports the Government of Botswana in closing critical gaps in policy, regulatory and legal frameworks, which were identified at the Africa Energy Market Place (AEMP 2019). These...

Congo Terminal, a subsidiary of Bolloré Ports, exceeded the volume of one million shipping containers handled in 2021, having managed 1,003,734 TEUs over the course of the year. This new level of performance reflects efforts Bolloré Ports has made to increase traffic from 200,000 to 1,000,000 TEUs, in line with its commitments made as part of the plan to modernise the Port of...

The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank Group has approved a $47.09 million grant for the first phase of Mozambique’s Pemba-Lichinga Integrated Development Corridor, a Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zone. The grant, from the African Development Fund, will help improve agricultural productivity and agribusiness development in the Niassa province by advancing...