US President Donald Trump (pictured) announced on November 2 that he is extending sanctions against Sudan. This is a surprising announcement given recent progress in improving relations between the two nations.To justify its decision, the White House says the crisis triggered by the Sudanese government’s actions and policies that led to various sanctions since 1997 is still unresolved. In a...

The Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni inaugurated on October 31 the China-built Musita-Lumino-Busia-Majanji road, which links the Eastern part of the country to the border district of Busia in Kenya. Before 2015, this 104 km road was unpaved. The Ugandan government invested 207 billion shillings ($55 million) in the road construction. Work was entrusted to the China Railway 18th Bureau Group Co....

The European Union has pledged $116 million to support Mozambique in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic. The announcement was made yesterday by Antonio Sanchez-Benedito Gaspar (pictured, left), the EU envoy in the country. The financing will be injected into programs aimed at mitigating the social and economic impacts of the crisis. According to the EU envoy, the money will be...

The Ethiopian PM Abiy Ahmed (pictured) has given the green light for the finalization of the telecom market liberalization process. The decision was made last week at a meeting with the regulator ECA, the Ministry of Finance, Ethio Telecom, the ministerial macroeconomic reform team, and members of the Privatization Advisory Council. Speaking during this meeting, Balcha Reba, the Head Manager of...

Remittances to sub-Saharan Africa are forecasted to drop to $44 billion this year, down 9% compared to 2019. This prediction by the World Bank is attributed to the pandemic currently hitting global economic activity. This situation could, according to the World Bank, exacerbate food insecurity and poverty in this part of Africa where remittances play a crucial role in the economic and...

South African telecom operator MTN Group sold its 18.9% stake in pan-African e-commerce platform Jumia for R2.3 billion ($138 million, current rate), we learned. The company has always considered its participation in Jumia as non-core because even if it could generate value, it is not in line with its core business of telephony, internet, and now mobile financial services. The current sale price...

The African Natural Resources Centre (ECNR) of the African Development Bank will hold the Inception Workshop for the Financial Modeling Project in the Extractive Sector (FIMES) on 09 – 10 November 2020, from 09.00 - 12.00 GMT. The FIMES project is a multinational project funded by the African Development Bank Transitional Support Facility and implemented by the Bank’s African Natural...

Egypt signed on October 31 a total of 15 cooperation agreements with the Iraqi government. The deals target the areas of judicial training, oil and water resources, the stock market, and environmental protection. The sectors of health, maritime logistics, road and bridge development, housing and construction, exhibition organization, the fight against subsidies and dumping, industrial...

South African company Gijima (specializing in ICT services, including infrastructure development and systems integration) announced a plan to acquire T-Systems Africa (TSSA), a provider of ICT networks, applications, and systems. With this acquisition of the South African subsidiary of T-Systems International, Gijima wants to strengthen its local footprint. “The transaction will enable Gijima...

Between January and September this year, the consolidated net profit of insurer Axa Mansard reached N5.67 billion ($14.3 million), the company reported. The figure, which is up 170% compared to the same period in 2019, reflects a good resilience of the company despite the coronavirus context. Gross premiums paid by customers amounted to 39.4 billion naira over the period, higher than that over...