On June 2, the Federal Government of Nigeria finally classified telecommunications equipment as Critical National Infrastructure. This long-awaited decision is a relief for telecom operators. According to a statement by the ministry of digital economy, President Muhammadu Buhari has instructed various federal institutions to take practical measures to safeguard the telecom network deployed...

The Ivorian government announced an investment of CFA1 billion into scientific research, mainly to better the response plan against the current pandemic facing the world. According to Adama Diawara (pictured), the minister of higher education and scientific research, the resources will enable researchers to manufacture drugs against the coronavirus and “to provide clear scientific answers to...

South African Insurance group Sanlam becomes the only shareholder in the Nigerian life insurance company FBN Insurance and its subsidiary FBN General Insurance. The acquisition follows a deal signed between FBN Holding (parent company of FBN Insurance and FBN General Insurance) and Sanlam which grants the South African company the ownership over the 65% stake held by FBN Holding in the two...

The government of Uganda has valued the loss in tourism revenues due to the coronavirus at $1.6 billion a year. The bad news was reported by the President Yoweri Museveni (pictured) during an address on June 1. The Head of State provides no details on the number of years covered by these estimates. In recent years, Uganda has developed an economy strongly based on tourism thanks to its...

The decision of the Central Bank of Nigeria to lower its refinancing rates in favor of commercial banks came as a surprise. Analysts fear a worsening of inflation and further pressure on already declining foreign exchange reserves. The Central Bank surprised analysts and investors by lowering its key rates from 13.5% to 12.5%. Those expecting such an initiative were at best hoping for a cut to...

The Ethiopian Parliament has approved the measure proposed by the government of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (pictured) to adopt a supplementary budget worth 48.56 billion birr (about $1.4 billion) for the current fiscal year. The additional money will serve as a shield against the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. In Ethiopia, like in other countries, the pandemic has posed a triple threat...

In South Africa, the private equity firm Spear Capital announced an investment of R100 million (about $5.7 million) in the fashion e-tailer RunwaySale. The investment conditions were not disclosed. The financing will support the expansion of the company, founded in 2012 by Karl and Elmien Hammerschmidt, on a local fashion market that is expected to generate up to $1 billion in revenues...

The government of Niger has received CFA590 million (about $1 million) from China to improve the healthcare services given to children and mothers in the country. The support is a boost to the efforts of the government itself and UNICEF toward universal health coverage. It falls within the implementation of the Integrated Community Case Management (ICCM) of the childhood illness approach in...

The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank on Friday approved a loan of 88 million euros to Senegal, hit hard by the novel coronavirus pandemic,  in support of  the costs of its national COVID-19 Economic and Social Resilience Program. The financing, which falls under the Bank’s COVID-19 Rapid Response Facility, will provide the nation with an emergency budget support...

Rwanda signed on May 28 a new military agreement with the United States, the ministry of foreign affairs reports. The new deal comes to supplement the existing one, signed in 2005. According to Vincent Biruta (pictured), the minister of foreign affairs, the new convention “will cover U.S. Personnel and US contractors who may be temporarily present in the territory of the Republic of Rwanda in...