Mobile phone operator Telekom Networks Malawi (TNM) Plc has partnered with the Government of Malawi to provide free wireless Internet across the country. On November 9, 2020, TNM signed an agreement in that regard with the Public-Private Partnership Commission (PPPC). Access points will be deployed throughout the country, including in schools, libraries, hospitals, and markets. Audrey Mwala,...

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari granted since July 2020, authorization to several Nigerian companies, including the Dangote Cement Group, allowing them to cross land borders to export their products to Niger and Togo. Nigeria closed its borders with its ECOWAS neighbors for more than a year, making sales outside the country difficult for Nigerian companies. This new decision by the Nigerian...

Exeo Capital, a pan-African alternative investment firm, and South African Stellenbosch Graduate Institute (SGI), which provides online educational content and learning programs for students and teachers, have jointly acquired the private higher education institution -Pearson Institute of Higher Education (Pihe). The sale amount was not disclosed. The seller is Pearson, a company specializing in...

The financial inclusion rate within the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) grew to 60.1% in 2019 with Côte d’Ivoire now being the best performer. The figures were provided by the Central Bank (BCEAO) in its 2019 report on financial inclusion in the region. This rate is 4.5 percentage points higher than in 2018 when the rate was 55.5%, according to the new report. BCEAO says the...

South Africa was the scene of clashes between two groups of black and white individuals in Cape Town on November 9. The battle erupted following a new episode of racism at a school in the region. Initial reports indicated that the protagonists were white parents of students and members of the leftist opposition party, Economic Freedom Fighters. The latter were protesting outside Brackenfell High...

US pharmaceutical company Pfizer announced it has developed a vaccine that is 90% effective against Covid-19. The announcement has revived investors’ hope in seeing activities get back to their pre-Covid-19 level and subsequently, bank shares grew on stock markets. However, technology stocks did not grow at the same pace. From Tokyo to Paris to emerging market stock exchanges, the main...

Datacenter developer Raxio Group announced the construction of ten to twelve data centers across Africa, including Mozambique and DR Congo. The company wants to meet the growing demand for data storage and hosting in East and Central Africa. Raxio Group, created in 2018 by US investor Roha Group, is accelerating its investments on the continent to also take advantage of the digital...

The government of Morocco said it will launch a vaccination campaign against Covid-19 as of November 15. According to local sources, the vaccine is developed by the Chinese pharmaceutical company Sinopharm. As a reminder, the two partners reached an agreement in late August for phase III clinical trials. According to a statement issued yesterday by the government, the vaccine will first be...

Australian company United Exports announced a 5-year investment of R1.3 billion ($84million) in South Africa’s agriculture sector. The money will mainly be put in the company's local supply chain, which includes several blueberries, grapes, pear, pome fruit, and citrus producers. United Exports says the operation is expected to create 8,400 new jobs, particularly in rural areas, in addition...

Investment fund manager BlueOrchard announced the launch of a $350 million fund called “BlueOrchard Covid-19 Emerging and Frontier Markets MSME fund” to help companies better recover from the pandemic. For this operation, the fund manager partnered with the UK’s development finance institute CDC, the US International Development Finance Corporation and Japan’s International...