The African Development Bank Group has concluded the investment of R2 billion (around $116 million) in Sustainable Development Goals-linked bonds (SDG bonds) issued by Nedbank South Africa. This investment, which is listed on the green bonds segment of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, will strengthen Nedbank’s capital base and enable it to generate R12 billion ($696 million) in new loans...

Malawi's financial market recovered in the second quarter of 2020, after the fall in March. In this wake, Malawi All Share Index, the composite index of all companies listed on the stock exchange, rose by 2.1%, while the Domestic share index, which includes companies based solely in Malawi, rose by 4%. Although this positive performance is welcomed in this period of uncertainty caused by...

France agreed to provide a total of $156 million in financing to support Senegal. This follows the signing of ten agreements on June 30 between the African country and the French Development Agency (AFD). The new deals mainly target the health, public finance, local development, education, water, electricity, and transport sectors. Part of the money will also be used to support small and...

The East African Regional Office of the African Development Bank will launch the 2020 Regional Economic Outlook virtually on Wednesday, 8 July 2020, at 14:30 East Africa Time. The report is part of the Bank’s flagship African Economic Outlook publication. The theme of the East Africa Regional Economic Outlook 2020 is Developing East Africa’s Workforce for the Future, which aligns with the...

The African Development Bank Group has joined the World Trade Organisation and other multilateral development banks to reduce trade finance gaps that emerge as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. In a joint press release issued 1 July 2020, the institutions said they would prioritize their support to areas in the world where such support is needed most, particularly the poorest countries. Since...

Zimbabwe will borrow $250 million from the African export-import bank -Afreximbank- over three years to meet the State’s urgent needs. According to Bloomberg, which cited sources familiar with the matter, $150 million will be used to buy fuel while the rest of the money will serve for other essential services. This transaction is a boost for an economy that has not only been in...

Mobile operator Etisalat Misr announced on July 1 it has partnered with real estate developer Misr Italia Properties to provide a portfolio of advanced telecom and internet services and smart solutions for the Cairo Business Park, the first integrated administrative complex of the New Cairo project. The collaboration is aligned with Etisalat Misr's ambition to offer a distinctive communication...

The Central Bank of Comoros reported the country received a total of €74 million in remittances between January and May 2020, up 32% compared to the €56 million in the same period last year. This rise in funds transferred by the diaspora, which occurred during the coronavirus pandemic, reflects “the traditional solidarity” of Comorians, according to the governor of the central...

Felicidade Machava, 60, likes to recount the story about how, one year, she filled a small truck with maize from her harvest.   Machava, is a farmer in Guija district in Mozambique. The country has been experiencing weather volatility in the form of longer and more frequent cyclones and droughts. Extreme climate events affect the agriculture sector, a source of employment for 70%...

Mobile operators Mauritel (local arm of Maroc Telecom), Mattel (a subsidiary of Tunisie Telecom), and Chinguitel (a subsidiary of Sudatel) were again sanctioned by the Mauritanian Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (ARE) for the poor quality of services in many cities, localities, agglomerations and road axis. This time, they are fined more than 95 million ouguiyas (about $2.5...