Capitec Bank, South Africa's third-largest bank by stock market valuation, reported that its net profit for the first half of FY2020 will be down 82% YoY. The group attributes the contraction to the increase in provisions for bad debts and a weak dynamism on financial transactions. For FY2019, which ended in February, the group's managers decided not to distribute any dividends claiming that...

South Africa’s economy has entered a new recession with GDP sliding by 51% over the second quarter this year. This is the fourth consecutive quarterly recession and the worst ever recorded by the country, according to national statistics published on September 8. Authorities said the situation is the result of the drastic measures deployed to control the coronavirus pandemic. All the key...

Giant rapper Akon (pictured) broke the ground on the construction of the green city ‘Akon City’ in Senegal. Construction works are expected to begin in the first quarter of next year. The Wakanda-like city is valued at $6 million, or about 80% of Senegal’s state budget for 2020. Akon said 20% of the required investment is already available. The project is being implemented by US...

WeLight, a specialist in the deployment of sustainable and accessible solutions for rural electrification in Africa, has announced the recruitment of Alexandre Castel as Sales Director to support the company's development in Madagascar and sub-Saharan Africa. Alexandre will also be responsible for forging strategic partnerships with local companies, NGOs and microfinance institutions to create...

In line with its digital transformation ambitions, the government of Burkina Faso has invested CFA 3.105 billion in the construction of an Internet exchange point (IXP) and a virtual landing point (VLP) in the city of Bobo-Dioulasso. The two infrastructures, housed in the premises of the Transmitting Center in Sarfalao, were officially inaugurated on September 4, 2020, by Prime Minister...

The World Bank has just approved the appointment of the American Keith Hansen (pictured) as the new country director for Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, and Somalia. The announcement was made by the institution in a press release issued on Monday, September 7. Succeeding Colombia's Carlos Felipe Jaramillo, Keith Hansen will lead an active portfolio of more than 100 projects with a total investment of...

The Japanese conglomerate SoftBank is suspected to be the “whale” behind the surge in the share value of big companies listed on the US tech stock exchange Nasdaq. The information was first reported by Financial Times (FT) which cited anonymous sources close to the stock exchange operations. For the moment, no tangible data confirm this hypothesis, but the information is taken seriously. On...

European companies rated and monitored by S&P Global Ratings will have to repay a debt estimated at €4 trillion by 2025, according to an analysis published by the American rating agency. The peak repayment will be reached in 2022, with an amount of €807 billion. Several debt issuances carried out in the first half of 2020 have contributed to a 5% increase in the amount of European...

High-speed connectivity provider Paratus Group announced it has completed the Maputo-Johannesburg optical fiber link via Eswatini. The 750 km link, which will serve as additional redundancy to its pan-African fiber network, will not only connect to the Trans-Kalahari Fiber (TKF) route that already extends across various countries in southern Africa but will also be the second east-west route...

The African Development Bank returns as a top-tier partner of the African Green Revolution Forum (AGRF) – Africa’s largest agriculture conference – to be held online for the first time from 8-11 September 2020, in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. The tenth annual AGRF will be headlined by African Heads of State and Government, and will bring together delegates from governments, civil...