The Tunisian Parliament validated on 2nd February, a bill approving a €150 million loan ($180 million) provided by Germany through the German Reconstruction Credit Institute (KfW) to support the reforms initiated by the government. Once available, the funds will be injected in projects aimed at improving the efficiency of the transport, energy and electronic payment services...

The job market in Morocco lost 432,000 positions last year due to the coronavirus pandemic and bad agricultural campaign. Figures were provided by the High Commission for Planning (HCP) in February 3 note. According to the public body, jobs were lost in all sectors both in rural and urban areas. The situation is characterized by "job destruction, a drop in the hourly volume of work, and an...

South African company Teraco Data Environments (Pty) Ltd, which specializes in the provision of neutral data centers and cloud services for operators, mobilized R2.5 billion ($167 million) to build its new data center based in Ekurhuleni, east of Johannesburg.  The money is a syndicated loan led by Absa Bank.  The total investment required for this project is $250 million and...

Tanzania will not acquire any Covid-19 vaccines, at least for the moment, the country’s health minister Dr. Dorothy Gwajima (pictured, left) said in a press conference on Feb. 1. “For now, Tanzania has no plans of buying any of the vaccines used in other countries. We will only do so if we are very sure they are clinically tested and without any dangers,” she said. The official called on...

Mauritius Commercial Bank (MCB), the oldest bank in Mauritius, is about to obtain a $65 million loan co-provided by Proparco, the French financial development institution dedicated to private sector financing, and the German bank DEG. Proparco is bringing $50 million to the table while DEG is in charge of the remaining. "This credit facility reflects the international recognition of...

In Kenya, mobile operators Airtel and Telkom could face sanctions from the telecom regulator (Communications Authority of Kenya, CA) over the poor quality of services. Both operators, currently undergoing testing, have been put on notice by the regulator for non-compliance with quality of service performance indicators in 33 of the 47 counties examined in 2020. “As Airtel and Telkom’s...

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has committed under a risk-sharing mechanism to guarantee up to 50% TND20 million loan ($7.3 million) granted by Attijari Bank Tunisia to the microfinance institution Enda Tamweel. This facility will cover the liquidity needs of Tunisian private sector companies affected by the coronavirus pandemic and seeking financial support to...

Sudan will set up a new sovereign wealth fund with the United Nations, the country’s finance department tweeted last week. Worth $300 million, the facility will support small investors across the territory. It will be established with the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), a specialized UN body that promotes industrial development for poverty reduction and...

The top 100 highest-paid managers in Africa-based companies earned a total compensation equivalent to $396.6 million, according to data collected on the Capital IQ platform. Out of this overall volume, gross salaries amounted to $261.4 million, and other compensation of all kinds reached $135.2 million. The highest-paid manager in this ranking is Mohamed Shameel Aziz Joosub...

The 20 banking institutions operating in Algeria as well as the 8 financial institutions licensed in the country have until June 30, 2021, to get a minimum capital of 20 billion dinars ($150 million) for banks and 6.5 billion dinars ($49 million) for financial institutions, as decided by the Central Bank of Algeria. Given the impact of covid-19 on economic activity and more directly on banks,...