During his departmental budget presentation to parliament, South Africa’s Minister of trade and industry Ebrahim Patel revealed that the localization strategy for the country would result in up to R200 billion (about $14.2 billion) of additional production over the next five years. The plan is gaining momentum as it has received support from 30 local chief executives from companies...

The International Finance Corporation plans to support the growth strategy of Egyptian service provider Integrated Diagnostics Holding Plc with $45 million. According to Capital Ouest, which relayed the news, the Egyptian company seeks to grow locally and beyond borders. IDH is listed on the London Stock Exchange and also has a footprint in Jordan, Sudan, and Nigeria. The next step is to...

Homzmart, the Egyptian platform that connects furniture makers with potential buyers has closed a $15 million Series A financing to expand activities in the MENA region. The fundraising deal was led by MSA Capital and Nuwa Capital. "Market opportunity in the region is huge and our business model is perfectly set up for it. Homzmart provides a simple one-stop platform to transform the...

Sudan has just obtained the cancellation of $5.4 billion of its debt to France and Germany. The announcement was made on Monday, May 17, during the International Conference to Support the Sudanese Transition. In a speech delivered at the press conference closing the meeting, French President Emmanuel Macron said his country was willing to waive the money owed by Sudan. "We are in favor of a...

Kenyan authorities have reached a staff-level agreement with the International Monetary Fund under the Extended Credit Facility and Extended Fund Facility. In a May 17 statement, IMF said the deal will have to get validation from the Executive Board before being executed. Once the agreement is approved, Kenya will benefit from $410 million in financing. This disbursement is part of a...

Tunisia will receive $500 million in support from the United States under the cooperation deal between the two countries. Announcement was made by Tunisia’s finance minister, Ali Kooli (pictured), during an interview with Reuters yesterday May 17. The official said the funds will be channeled through the Millennium Challenge Corporation and be used in several projects mainly in the water...

Egyptian digital bank Telda, launched in April 2021 by Ahmed Sabbah, co-founder of transportation company Swvl, and Youssef Sholqamy, a former Uber engineer, has raised an initial $5 million in funding. Investors Global Founders Capital and Class 5 Global participated in this deal led by the US VC firm Sequoia Capital. The operation is Sequoia’s first investment in the Middle East and...

A recent survey by the Federal Reserve presented the Bitcoin (BTC) and the other cryptocurrencies as a threat to US financial stability in the same way as Covid-19 and the war with China. As part of its market intelligence gathering, the U.S. central bank surveyed a wide range of contacts between February and April about risks to the country's financial stability. Respondents include brokers,...

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), a multilateral bank that promotes the development of the private sector, signed an MoU with the African Development Bank to promote sustainable private sector development in Africa. The MoU requires both development finance institutions to help catalyze new sources of financing to bridge the $2.5 trillion annual financing gap...

The East African Community (EAC), through its Secretary-General, is set to create a hotline via which cross-border state traders will be provided with a platform to register their challenges and get instant feedback and follow-up on trade-related issues. “The hotline will enable us to register persistent trade barriers, provide feedback and make follow-ups,” said Dr. Peter Mathuki, the East...