The Energy Access Relief Fund, recently established by a consortium of investors and development financing institutions, has raised a total of $68 million for its first closing. The vehicle, managed by Social Investment Managers and Advisors (SIMA), will provide short-term loans to nearly 90 companies active in the energy sector in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. EARF targets companies...

Nigeria’s Federal and State governments have expressed overwhelming support for an initiative to create Special Agro-industrial Processing Zones (SAPZ) - public-private partnerships aimed at developing priority value chains through developing infrastructure in rural areas, focused on finishing and transforming raw materials and commodities. At a high-level briefing session held on Monday,...

Côte d'Ivoire reported last August 14 a suspected case of Ebola virus; the first since 1994. In a swift response, the authorities initiated a vaccination campaign but the case finally proved to be a false alert. In a statement issued yesterday, the World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed that the 18-year-old Guinean girl who was initially declared infected by Ebola is not infected by the...

Sudan will get assistance from Smart Africa Alliance in achieving its digital migration strategy. The government signed, as part of this framework, several agreements with Lacina Koné, CEO of Smart Africa, during his working visit to the country last August 28-30. Hashem Hassab Al-Rasoul, the Minister of Communications and Digital Transformation, sees the move as an opportunity to boost the...

African Infrastructure Investment Managers AIIM announced it has acquired a 22% minority stake for an undisclosed amount in Sodigaz APC, a Burkinabe family-owned group that distributes gas cylinders. The seller is the Amethis group. AIIM manages and develops funds dedicated to infrastructure projects in 19 countries in East, West, and Southern Africa. The fund manager wants, through this...

The Fund for Export Development in Africa -FEDA- initiated in 2019 by Afreximbank is now allowed to operate in Rwanda. The country became this week the first country to sign and ratify the Fund’s establishment agreement. Four other countries have signed the agreement but are yet to ratify it. They are South Sudan, Togo, Mauritania, and Guinea. Welcoming this milestone, Afreximbank Chairman...

Authorities in Senegal are exploring ways to boost the cotton industry after the sector delivered poor performances in recent years. The Agricultural Research Institute (ISRA) unit based in Tambacounda announced it is currently developing new varieties to improve both the productivity and the quality of the fiber. Djibril Badiane, the Senior Research Fellow at ISRA, told Agence de presse...

After the first investment in Morocco’s irrigation sector in March, Amethis Mena Fund II plans new investments in North Africa. Amethis announced the first closing at $101 million of its fund that targets SMEs in MENA -Amethis Mena Fund II. The operation gathered several private investors and development financial institutions. “AMF II brings a real solution and a deeply...

As part of initiatives to help Africa catch up with the Covid-19 vaccination campaign, France and Germany announced they are giving the continent 80 million shots of vaccines.   German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who previously promised 30 million doses, said her country will now grant Africa 70 million doses. France will give 10 million doses of AstraZeneca and Pfizer vaccines. According to...

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) adopted yesterday August 29 new key performance indicators to measure the quality of telecom services provided by operators. “These standards define the lower and upper bounds of acceptability of such technical issues as transmission rates, error rates, call completion rates, etc., and commercial consumer issues such as access to customer care...