To support the development of vaccines for African countries, IFC, the French development institution Proparco, DEG - the German development finance institution, and the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) today announced a joint financing package for Aspen Pharmacare Holdings Limited, a leading pharmaceutical company in South Africa that is playing a major role producing...

Sahel countries have been facing a major jihadist insurgency since the 2000s. The deployment of Barkhane, G5 Sahel, or more recently Takuba forces has still not succeeded in curbing this phenomenon, which is now spreading to the coastal countries of West Africa. A few weeks after Emmanuel Macron announced the end of the Barkhane operation, Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio announced on...

Private equity firm Tana Africa Capital, active in about 20 countries in Africa, announced it has acquired a minority stake in London-based brewer Kensington Distillers & Vintners (KDV) through Tana Africa Capital II (TAC II). The resources will enable the brewing company active in South Africa, Kenya, and Nigeria to further expand and enter new African markets. “Our investment in KDV will...

Telecom tower operator Eastcastle Infrastructure announced yesterday June 29 it will invest $130 million to strengthen its operations in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria, and Côte d’Ivoire. The resources were obtained through the sale of a majority stake to a consortium formed by African Infrastructure Investment Managers (AIIM)- the manager of infrastructure-focused private...

With an economy that experienced a historic decline in 2020, Uganda is seeking to mobilize external financing to boost growth, starting this year. As of May 2020, the country had already secured $491 million from the IMF in emergency assistance to address covid-119. Uganda will receive $1 billion in funding from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The information was reported in a...

The East African Community, during its East African Legislative Assembly in Tanzania this week, presented its estimated budget for the financial year 2021/22. According to the EAC council of ministers, the budget for this period which is $91.7 million will be raised in two folds - $54.1 million by partner States (Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, United Republic of Tanzania, and Uganda) or...

Mobile money has seen strong growth in Ghana over the past year and the trend is continuing. But it could slow down with the new tax imposed by the government. Denounced by mobile money agents, the new tax adds to the tax burden already applied to this segment of the telecom market. The Mobile Money Agents Association of Ghana (MMAG), announced on June 28 an increase in the mobile money...

In 2020, the Algerian president had instructed an improvement in the quality of Internet services. During the quarantine, consumers' complaints were never-ending. As a public company, Algérie Télécom was the focus of most of the complaints. The public company Algérie Télécom is currently preparing an increase in the minimum fixed-line Internet speed. For customers who experience a minimum...

Jacob Zuma had refused to testify in an investigation into corruption, in which he was allegedly involved. This prompted the Constitutional Court to issue a ruling forcing him to appear in court, but the former South African president ignored the order. The former South African president Jacob Zuma (pictured) is sentenced to 15 months in prison by the justice of his country. The decision was...

Rebels affiliated with the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) have taken over the region’s Capital, Mekele. According to initial media reports, the rebels, who had been advancing toward the city for several days, entered Mekele in the afternoon of Monday, June 28. "The region has no government," a member of the interim administration set up by the federal government to run current affairs...