Beninese Serge Ekué (pictured) was appointed the new president of the West African Development Bank (BOAD) for the next 6 years, to replace his compatriot Christian Adovelande. The decision was announced today August 18 by the Council of Ministers of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU). Under Christian Adovelande's chairmanship, between 2011 and 2019, the Bank approved more...

G7 Finance Ministers urged all official bilateral creditors to fully implement their G20 Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI) for low-income countries and agreed to consider additional options, including extending the initiative to 2021. This followed a meeting by videoconference on Monday 17 August hosted by US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, according to Reuters. The meeting was also...

Nigeria has reached a space cooperation agreement with India. The document was signed on August 13 between Francis Chizea, Director General of the National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA) of Nigeria, and K. Sivan, of Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO). Ogbonnaya Onu, the Nigerian Minister of Science and Technology, and V. Muraleedharan the Indian Minister of State for...

At a ceremony on Monday to commission the permanent secretariat of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), Ghana’s President Nana Akufo-Addo and Moussa Faki Mahamat, chairperson of the AU Commission, reiterated the importance of the body to the continent’s economic transformation agenda. “The economic integration of Africa will lay strong foundations for an Africa beyond aid....

Over the first half of this year, Kenya Commercial Bank set aside KSh11 billion ($101.5 million) as a provision to meet the risks of loan defaults. The amount is 263.8% higher than that of the same period last year. According to the new international standards for the accounting presentation of banks' financial results, when banks foresee a high risk that loans granted to their clients will not...

Etisalat Misr, a subsidiary of Emirati group Etisalat, says it will pump a total of EGP4.5 billion ($283 million) into the Egyptian telecom market throughout this year. According to CEO Hazem Metwally, the new investment will contribute to upgrading networks, improving service quality, and broadening the company’s activities in the data segment through support to the internet of things (IoT)...

Kenya has lifted the ban on the importation of second-hand clothes and shoes. The information was reported yesterday August 16 by Bernard Njiraini, Head of the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS). In March this year, the Kenyan authorities introduced this restriction to control the propagation of coronavirus on their territory where at least 30,120 people have been affected and 474 died. And five...

Last week, the Central Bank of DR Congo more than doubled its key interest rate from 7.5% to 18.5% to keep inflation in check and cushion the depreciation of the local currency (the Congolese franc) against the US dollar. According to Deogratias Mutombo (pictured), the bank governor, the slide of the currency has led to a hike in prices, thus further lowering consumers’ purchase power. As a...

Mobile operator Free Senegal sold more than 1,200 telecom sites in its passive infrastructure to UK-based telco Helios Towers. The transaction was agreed on at €160 million. “This agreement is aligned perfectly with our 2025 strategic ambitions, broadening our footprint within the African towers infrastructure market. We are acquiring a market-leading independent position in Senegal...

Charles Owiredu (pictured), the deputy minister of foreign affairs and regional integration, announced the government will evacuate 1,500 citizens stranded in Lebanon. The decision was taken following the deadly explosions that occurred in Beirut on August 4. According to the authorities, the measure is essentially aimed at assisting Ghanaian nationals residing in Lebanon, whose living...