The Central Bank of Nigeria ordered commercial banks to stop processing new requests related to corn importation with immediate effect. The institution said the measure aligns with efforts to boost the local production, safeguard rural livelihoods, and increase job creation; efforts that were disrupted due to the coronavirus pandemic. Moreover, CBN says the new measure will help conserve foreign...

Egyptian president Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi was awarded the Babacar Ndiaye Great Road Builder Award it was announced Monday, a distinction for heads of state whose countries initiate outstanding projects or achievements in relation to the development of roads, transportation and mobility. Al Sisi was recognized for his “personal leadership” in the development and construction of projects in...

Guinea will benefit from $38 million to support its education sector over the period 2020-24. An angreement was signed in that regard with the French Development Agency (AFD). The funding aims to facilitate the implementation of the first phase of the Ten-Year Education Program in Guinea (ProDEG). Planned for the decade 2020-2029, it aims to improve access to quality education and training...

China's ZTE Corporation, which specializes in providing telecommunications solutions, enterprise and consumer technologies for mobile Internet, has just launched its first 5G wireless router. The technology was introduced to the South African market in collaboration with the telecom operator MTN. “We are confident that we have built a strong foundation to grow and support our 5G ecosystem....

According to the UN’s 2019 State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World, hunger is on the rise in almost all African sub-regions, making the continent the region with the highest prevalence of undernourishment, at nearly 20%. The continent is still not able to feed itself, and there is an urgent need to improve agricultural productivity. Although fertilizer is one of the most needed inputs...

FirstRand plans to replicate in Ghana its successful economic model implemented in South Africa. The company’s Ghanaian subsidiary -FirstRand Bank Ghana- was strengthened at the end of 2019 through the acquisition of Ghana Home Loans (GHL Bank) and the new entity founded through this merger will offer diversified banking services, mainly focusing on car and home loans, according to information...

The North African Bureau of the African Development Bank will launch the 2020 edition of the North Africa Economic Outlook Report virtually on Tuesday, 14 July 2020 at 15:00 (Tunis). This third edition of the report is one of the Bank’s flagship publications and provides an overview of North African economies, based on a regional approach to development. The theme for the 2020 launch is...

WeLight has surpassed the threshold of powering 2,000 households across the 22 villages it operates in. The ultimate goal: to give over 50,000 people access to reliable and affordable electricity in rural areas across Madagascar and the rest of Africa. WeLight ́s innovative and inclusive energy solutions have allowed it to give over 2,000 households across Madagascar access to clean and...

Commercial banks operating in Uganda announced they will lower their interest rates on loans to businesses and individuals in the coming days. The announcement comes after Emmanuel Tumusiime-Mutebile (pictured), the governor of the Bank of Uganda (BOU), threatened to cap on the banks’ rates. A few days ago, he denounced the discrepancy between the monetary decisions of the Central Bank and the...

The Chadian government announced a new strategy to accelerate digital migration in the country over the period from 2020 to 2030. With this new step, the government wants to better integrate the use of digital technologies in all the key socioeconomic activities. The plan will be discussed during the national validation workshop to be held from 15 to 16 July 2020 in N'Djamena. The meeting will...