The Rwandan government announced an investment of $7 million to promote locally manufactured products over the period 2020-21. The spending is mentioned in the 2020-21 state budget presented to the parliament last June 23. As part of this project, the government wants to support the local production sector and help businesses to guarantee the security standards of their products. The new...

The subsidiary of U.S. company Alphabet -Loon- has officially launched its balloon-powered internet service in Kenya. This is good news for the populations living in rural areas where access to internet services can be very difficult. The service is offered under a partnership signed in July 2018 with the local telecom operator Telkom. “In Kenya, our initial service region spans nearly 50,000...

Africa’s economic growth could rebound in 2021, provided that governments manage the COVID-19 infection rate well, according to updated forecasts from the African Development Bank, released on Tuesday. In a comprehensive socio-economic assessment of the pandemic’s impact, the Bank said growth was now projected to rebound to 3% in 2021 from -3.4% in the worst-case scenario for 2020. The...

An African Development Bank project to enhance market infrastructure, value addition and rural finance (MIVARF) in Tanzania produced highly satisfactory results, according to a report released by the project team. The project, rolled out in the country between 2012 and 2017 increased the incomes of rural producers and traders threefold. With $56.8 million in funding from the African...

This year, the budget gap in Ghana is expected to reach 10%, local media reported quoting the Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta (pictured). “We had expected 6.8% GDP growth and now we realize there is going to be a steep drop. The deficit, which we had jealously guarded and kept under 5%, is now expected to widen north of 10%,” the official said. This could make the country miss one of the...

The central bank of Angola will release new banknotes starting July 30, the Chinese news agency Xinhua reported quoting José de Lima Massano (pictured) the bank’s governor. According to the official, the new issues will concern notes of 200, 500, 1,000, 2,000, and 5,000 kwanzas. They will be made of polymer, a recyclable material that makes the new banknotes more environmentally friendly, the...

Helios Investment Partners has just secured an additional $100 million for its fourth Africa-focused fund Helios Investors IV. The money is provided by the UK’s development finance institution CDC. The British institution views the investment as an instrument to accelerate job creation, facilitate sustainable employment, and support recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic by boosting economic...

The Chadian Ministry of Posts, New Information and Communication Technologies, and the Ministry of Economy and Development Planning will officially launch the national project to modernize infrastructure and electronic communications on 7 July 2020 in N'Djamena. The initiative, which aims to improve access to ICT services and speed up the country’s digital migration, has three main components....

The World Bank agreed to disburse $157 million to support the Malawi Watershed Services Improvement Project (MWASIP), which aims to increase sustainable landscape management in watersheds and improve rural livelihoods. The financing is composed equally of a loan and a grant ($78.5 million for each) from the International Development Association (IDA), the World Bank said in a July 6...

Companies operating in Africa raised a total of $337.7 million in private equity investments in June 2020, we learned. This does not include the asset management subsidiary of Investec (Ninety One) and the $597 million fund launched by the South African Ethos Private Equity. The largest fundraising over the period was the 131.7 million made by Sanlam for its three funds targeting South...