The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank have approved a grant of $480,000 to Libya under the Special Relief Fund (SRF) for the procurement of much-needed personal protective equipment (PPE) intended for treatment of cases of infection of the novel Coronavirus. The Bank’s funding will contribute to supporting the country’s national Response Plan for COVID-19. The...

The Nigerian Access Bank Group is targeting a new acquisition in the banking sector in Zambia, according to a press release issued to investors. Its subsidiary in this country has entered into discussions with Cavmont Capital Holdings to buy its bank, Cavmont Bank.  This information is in line with the ambitions announced by the Nigerian group on 3 June to focus on expanding on the African...

The World Bank, in its economic update on Uganda, published on 8 July 2020, recommends that the country should invest more in digital technology to better address its economic and social challenges during the coronavirus crisis. According to the international financial body, the country should focus on the implementation of favorable policies and regulations, the review of taxation in the...

Rwanda will benefit from $160 million jointly granted by the World Bank and the European Union. The related deals were signed on Wednesday and target a skill development program in various activity sectors. $11 million will come from the EU, within the framework of a financing of $520 million agreed by the institution in favor of the East African country. The money will support the...

The Nigerian currency has been losing value for the past two days on the FMDQ OTC securities exchange, a privately owned alternative financial market platform on which currency and bond securities are traded in Nigeria. The naira ended the day of July 8, 2020, at 386.75 naira for one US dollar. At one point during the day, it even reached 391.3 for a dollar. This represents a loss of 8.6% on the...

Bolloré Logistics Madagascar announces the opening of a new office in the Ivato International Airport, Antananarivo, the capital of Madagascar. With a soft opening in February 2020, the new office is now home to 49 employees. The facility includes 300m2 of offices and 108m2 of customs warehouses and will provide logistics solutions with a tailor-made and secure service for transport from remote...

About 2,700 workers at South African Airways will lose their jobs under a voluntary severance package agreed with the workers’ unions. The information was recently reported by the South African public enterprises department, which stressed that the SAA Pilots Association did not give a clear stance about the deal. “In terms of today’s agreement, 1,000 SAA employees will be retained. Around...

“Empowering Women Entrepreneurs in the Fight Against COVID-19 – The Role of Government” The African Development Bank’s Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa (AFAWA) initiative, in collaboration with ImpactHER and UN Women, will host a virtual high-level panel discussion on empowering women entrepreneurs in the fight against COVID-19.   The webinar will take place on...

Christian Katende, head of the Congo's Post and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (ARPTC), announced on July 7 the government plans to launch an electronic system to combat counterfeit phones. The information was revealed during a working session with the Minister of Posts, Telecommunications and New Information and Communication Technologies, Augustin Kibassa Maliba (pictured). According...

Egypt announced a total of 22 projects to be carried out under the program to expand the Cairo metro. Until 2024, the government plans to disburse EGP512 billion ($32 billion), the minister of transport, Kamel El-Wazir (pictured), reported. Eight projects have already been implemented for an investment of EGP33.1 billion ($2.1 billion), six projects are being implemented for EGP228.5 billion...