South Africa’s agriculture sector is well-positioned to benefit from the various opportunities offered by the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which came into effect on Jan. 1st, 2021. Unlike some other countries on the continent, S. Africa is currently well integrated into the intra-African agricultural trade landscape through direct exports, imports, and re-exports. According...

The International Finance Corporation announced the investment of $2 billion to support SMEs and boost trade activity in Africa. In detail, $1 billion will come in the form of mezzanine financing and risk-sharing instruments (guarantees) for SMEs while the second billion will go for essential goods’ import-export businesses, including food and medical products. "The total amount...

This year, Ecobank Côte d'Ivoire, one of the most profitable banks on the Regional Securities Exchange (BRVM), plans to pay its executive directors CFA250 million in compensation. This is one of the decisions taken during the Ordinary General Assembly of the pan-African group's Ivorian subsidiary, held in April. The bank, which is coming off another successful year with a record profit, is thus...

French President Emmanuel Macron (pictured) announced he will travel to Rwanda by the end of this month to “write a new page” of the diplomatic relations between his country and Kagame’s. He said that during the international summit on Africa’s financing held last May 18 in Paris. “I can confirm that I will be traveling to Rwanda at the end of May and that the focus will be on politics...

The Ivorian former rebel leader Guillaume Soro is being prosecuted along with 19 others for conspiracy and undermining the authority of the state, illegal possession of weapons, dissemination of fake news, and disturbing public order. In exile since 2019, Guillaume Soro should be tried in absentia. In Côte d'Ivoire, the trial of the former president of the National Assembly, Guillaume Soro...

Algeria decided in March 2020, due to Covid-19, to close all its borders. In a move to return to "normal", the government, later on, announced on May 16 the gradual reopening of land and air borders. Algeria’s Presidency said on May 18 that the plan to reopen land borders will not be executed. In the related statement, authorities said the land borders will remain "closed unless necessary,"...

The importation of technological devices does not benefit the South African economy. To gain more and boost the tech sector, the government wants to start making mobile phones and other devices locally. The goal is to make the ICT sector a key driver of the post-Covid-19 economic recovery. Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams (pictured), South Africa's Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies...

The Dutch brewing company Heineken is in talks with South African wine and spirits maker, Distell Group, for the potential acquisition of the majority of its business. This was announced in a statement released on May 18 by Distell Group’s brand owners: Amarula, Savanna, Hunter’s Dry, Durbanville Hills, and Nederburg. If completed, the acquisition of Distell with a market value of R31.8...

After a decade of fratricidal conflict following the fall of Muammar Gaddafi's regime in 2011, Libya is making progress toward a lasting peace. Sahelian leaders, however, fear that the guns that are silent in Libya will be heard more loudly in their lands. Indeed, in an address to the UN Security Council last May 18, the Chadian Deputy Foreign Minister Oumar Ibn Daoud (pictured) warned that...

Since Polisario Front leader Brahim Ghali traveled to Spain on April 18 for medical treatment, tensions between Rabat and Madrid have become tense. The situation escalated with the influx of thousands of migrants from Morocco at the Spanish border since May 17.  The government of Morocco has decided to recall its ambassador to Madrid amid the diplomatic tensions with Spain. According to...