African Development Partners III (ADP III), the third African fund of the British Development Partners International has received financial support of $26 million from the Finnish development finance institution, Finnfund. “Through this investment, we aim to foster growth and development of African businesses currently facing the consequences of the COVID-19 crisis. We are particularly...

Turkey and Egypt could soon restore their broken diplomatic relations after 8 years. According to the Turkish Foreign Minister, Ankara is ready to bury the hatchet with Cairo. Speaking in a TV interview, Mevlüt Cavusoglu (pictured) said a meeting should be held in May between delegations of senior Turkish and Egyptian diplomats at the invitation of Cairo. The announcement comes after...

South African cyber-security platform Sendmarc announced it will receive non-disclosed financial support from Venture Capital firm Kalon Venture Partners to strengthen its footprint in its main market and pursue its international expansion. The information was reported this week by CEO Sam Hutchinson (pictured). “We welcome the support and continued commitment of Clive Butkow (CEO of Kalon...

Three civilians were found dead as Eritrean troops shot at them in Tigray. The act was denounced by Amnesty International in a report published yesterday April 14. “Amnesty International can confirm that Eritrean troops killed three people and injured at least 19 in an unprovoked attack on civilians in the center of Adwa town on 12 April. Witnesses told Amnesty International that Eritrean...

On March 26, 2021, microfinance institution  La Régionale concluded its IPO operation on the Douala-based exchange BVMAC. Although the microfinance institution shied away from giving too much information about the outcomes of the concluded operation, on April 14, 2021, specialized media Ecomatin revealed that La Régionale raised only XAF2.5 billion out of the XAF8.2 billion...

The agriculture segment on the Abidjan-based regional stock exchange BRVM showed mixed performances on Friday 9 April 2021. The observation was made based on market data consulted by Ecofin Agency. The department’s overall dividend yield, which measures what investors would earn for each CFA franc invested on the shares of its constituent companies, is 0.9%. This level of return per share is...

Kigali-based electric motorcycle company Ampersand obtained funding of $3.5 million from Ecosystem Integrity Fund (EIF). This is the largest investment in electric mobility in the East African region. “We’re thrilled to have EIF on board for this historic investment. We now have the momentum to scale our operations to electrify all of East Africa’s five million taxi motorcycles by...

Nigeria will now cooperate with Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Oman, Pakistan, Kuwait, and Bahrain in the digital area. On Monday, April 12, the country joined the Digital Cooperation Organization (DCO) - created in November 2020 by these five Middle Eastern countries - as a new founding member. According to the Organization, the axes of cooperation between the various member states will focus on, among...

Rwanda will benefit from 90 billion Rwandan francs (about $93 million) to deploy several programs aiming at bettering the country’s development level. The financing is the fruit of a deal signed last April 12 between the Rwandan finance Minister, Uzziel Ndagijimana, and Dr. Thomas Kurz, the German Ambassador to Rwanda. Decentralization, good governance, export promotion, and vocational...

Kribi Conteneurs Terminal (KCT) took delivery on 13th April 2021 of a new mobile crane intended for ship handling operations. The new equipment boosts the dock-handling capacity of the concessionary of the Port of Kribi container terminal. With a 100-tonne lifting capacity, the wheel-mounted Gottwald 8412 crane is able to handle two 20‑feet containers at the same time. The crane’s...