The first half-yearly earnings released by Nigerian banks listed on the Lagos Stock Exchange are promising. According to the result published by United Bank for Africa, Stanbic IBTC Bank, and Guaranty Trust Bank -three major players in the sector- provisions for credit risks have increased, like in many countries, but they have not penalized financial performance. For the three banking groups,...

Mauritania will receive $52 million in financing from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). This was announced by the institution in a press release issued on September 2. The new disbursement is part of an increase in the amount of the Extended Credit Facility (ECF) agreement concluded in December 2017 between the Bretton Woods institution and the Mauritanian government....

The Central African Republic (CAR) will benefit from a new cooperation framework with the World Bank over the next five years. This was announced by the institution in a press release issued on Tuesday, September 1, 2020. The new cooperation framework aims to strengthen investments in human capital, connectivity, economic management, and governance. It will also serve to consolidate...

More than 8,000 people have been affected in less than a month by chikungunya virus disease in Abéché and Adré, two major cities in eastern Chad, the Health Minister Dr. Abdoulaye Sabre Fadoul (pictured) announced. First diagnosed on August 14 in a 62-year-old patient, chikungunya continues to spread in the area. Following the deployment of a team of experts and infectious disease specialists...

Chinese tech giant Huawei announced an investment of more than $60 million in a technology park in Angola. The announcement was made by Chu Xiaoxin, MD of Huawei Angola, after a meeting with Angolan Vice President Bornito de Sousa on August 27. Huawei said the new facility will be dedicated to training and knowledge sharing in the areas of new technologies. It will be built in the Talatona...

The United Nations calls on African countries to speed up the digital transformation on the continent. This was during the virtual session of the African World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), which took place on August 31, on the theme “COVID-19: A Catalyst to Achieving WSIS Outcomes.” According to Andrew Rugege, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Regional Director for...

The United States announced the freezing of $130 million worth of aid to Ethiopia. The measure is to pressure the country as part of the negotiations for the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD). The Trump administration, which has so far acted as a mediator in this tripartite dispute, wants to pressure parties into showing more flexibility in talks. The frozen resources were initially...

African leaders on Tuesday reaffirmed their support for the African Development Bank Group and its leadership under Dr. Akinwumi Adesina as he begins his second five-year term with a renewed mandate to foster sustainable development on the continent. In goodwill messages to mark Adesina’s inauguration, Presidents Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria, Paul Kagame of Rwanda, Alpha Conde of Guinea, George...

The central bank of Kenya says it will have to approve commercial banks operating in the country before they can declare and distribute dividends for the fiscal year 2020. The strategy aims to ensure that the lenders have enough equity to deal with the fallouts of the coronavirus pandemic. CBK’s new move requires banks to assess the ability of their capital to adequately cover risk-weighted...

The government of Zimbabwe announced on Monday it is ready to give back to white farmers the lands they were deprived of under the regime of former president Robert Mugabe. In a joint statement, Mthuli Ncube (Minister of Finance) and Anxious Masuka (Agriculture) said white farmers whose lands were seized under Robert Mugabe now have the opportunity to claim it back, and may even be offered new...