Akinwumi Adesina, President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), announced the postponement of the Africa Investment Forum, initially scheduled for December 1-3. The decision stemmed from the international travel restrictions imposed due to the new Covid-19 variant known as Omicron. "The emergence of the Omicron variant has changed everything. Travel has been cancelled, travel restrictions...

Following consultations with the Government of Côte d’Ivoire and the Board of Directors of the African Development Bank Group, the 2021Africa Investment Forum scheduled for December 1-3, 2021, in Abidjan, is postponed until further notice. The President of the African Development Bank Group, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina said: “The Africa Investment Forum is the premier investment marketplace for...

In a report issued yesterday November 28, the UN World Tourism Organization revealed that tourist arrivals in Africa fell by 74% in the third quarter of 2021, compared to 2019. The continent is one of the regions where the decline is alarming. Asia and the Pacific suffered a 95% decline while the Middle East recorded -81%. In the Americas, tourist arrivals dropped by 60% and 53% in...

The value of merger-acquisition deals in Africa has already reached $58.2 billion this year, we learned from market data. This is the highest value recorded since 2017. The value of closed M&A deals reached $7.35 billion in North Africa and $50.8 billion in sub-Saharan Africa.  For SSA, this volume is above the $34.4 billion achieved for the entire period from 2018 to...

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved the disbursement of $6.97 million to support The Gambia’s recovery.  The funding is part of the Extended Credit Facility (ECF) signed with the country. In a Nov 24 statement, IMF says the program aims to “address the challenges from the pandemic, support inclusive growth, reduce debt vulnerabilities, and advance structural reforms,...

Mali announced that it has successfully raised CFA25 billion ($42.6 million) on the regional financial market, through a 5-year bond issue that was almost twice oversubscribed. Since Colonel Assimi Goïta (pictured) took power, the country has multiplied such operations to support its recovery. Under pressure from the international community, with the security and health crises that are eating...

After an Extended Credit Facility (ECF) agreement that ended in May 2020, Benin is negotiating a new financing program with the IMF. As part of these negotiations, the institution has sent a mission to the country to discuss recent economic developments. The IMF Mission found that Benin's economy has proven resilient to the covid-19 pandemic, thanks to its solid macroeconomic fundamentals....

Ecobank secured Wednesday a €100 million ($112 million) credit facility from the European Investment Bank (EIB). The long-term financing, with a 9-year tenor, will be on-lent through the group's subsidiaries to SMEs in sub-Saharan Africa. The cooperation with Ecobank “will help companies to better tackle challenges triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic, unlock economic and social...

Côte d’Ivoire has jumped 24 places higher in the ranking of prosperous countries worldwide between 2011 and 2021. This is the greatest improvement in prosperity worldwide over the past decade, according to the Prosperity Index 2021 published by the British think tank Legatum Institute. The study ranks 167 countries based on their performance in three areas: inclusive societies, open economies...

Israel initiated last year, under the leadership of former U.S. President Donald Trump, a strategy to normalize its relations with Arab countries. As part of this process, the Hebrew state had inaugurated, a few months ago, a first commercial flight with Morocco. Israel reached a security cooperation agreement with Morocco. The document was signed this week between Benny Gantz, Israeli Minister...