The UK, which in January this year authorized the Chinese company Huawei to deploy 5G in the country, has just announced it will gradually terminate the agreement with the company by 2023. Under this measure, British operators now have three years to replace Huawei’s equipment with those of Nokia or Ericsson. This decision should please Donald Trump and the English nationalists, who welcome...

The Ivorian army announced on May 24 they have joined the Burkinabe forces in the fight against terrorism at their border regions. Kicked off on May 11, the Comoé operation -the first of its kind jointly conducted by the two nations- mobilized 1,000 Ivorian soldiers, according to the army’s statement. In total, eight terrorists have been killed and 38 others arrested (24 in Burkina Faso and...

Morocco’s High Commission for Planning (HCP) published a study on the way households in the countries are living amid this pandemic. The study shows that 34% of families in the country have no source of income, with more than 31% - 54.2% of the middle class and qualified craftsmen being in the situation. People who claim to have a source of income (38%) say the money is just enough to handle...

The government of Rwanda announced on May 21 the disbursement of $152 million to support the national airline -Rwandair- in this pandemic. Up by $17 million from the initial plan, this financing should enable the company to sustain its cash flow, which has sharply declined since the suspension of scheduled flights on 19 March due to travel restrictions. The crisis has forced the...

A recent survey conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers revealed that 54% of Chief Financial officers of companies operating in Africa expect a 10-50% decline in turnovers. In detail, 38% of people interviewed forecast a decline by 10 to 24.9% while the rest see between 25 and 50%. Of the CFOs interviewed, 86% say their companies are setting up a response plan that seeks to reduce spending and 60%...

Apollo Agriculture, a Kenyan technology company that has been working with farmers since 2016 to provide financing, a market for their products, advice, and farm inputs, has raised $6 million in Series A funding. The transaction was led by Anthemis Exponential Ventures and involved a group of foreign investors. The start-up co-founded by American Eli Pollak and Kenyan Benjamin Njenga will...

Development Partners International (DPI), through its third fund, made a $56 million investment in Société industrielle des conserves alimentaires (Sicam). The transaction represents the second commitment of African Development Partners III (ADP III) and the first in the Tunisian agribusiness sector. Created in 1969, Sicam, which is wholly controlled by the Tunisian conglomerate Groupe...

The World Bank approved this week $500 million in low-interest loans and grants to battle locust swarms in Africa and the Middle East. In Africa, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Uganda will benefit directly in the first phase of a total of $160 million granted through the International Development Association (IDA). In detail, Ethiopia is expected to receive $63 million, partly for...

Rwanda is expecting a crash in its GDP growth this year mainly due to the current coronavirus crisis that affected key sectors. The minister of finance Uzziel Ndagijimana (pictured), says growth is forecasted to be 2% this year, far below the 9.4% achieved last year. Due to the restriction measures ordered to contain the propagation of the virus, Rwanda’s main income sources (tourism, hotel...

The military base of Bilabirim, located 36km northeast of Nguigni in the region of Diffa, was attacked during the night of May 18 to 19 by the Nigerian terrorist sect Boko Haram. The information was reported by the defense minister, Issoufou Katambe. The statement mentioned 12 soldiers killed and 10 soldiers wounded, as well as equipment destroyed or taken away during the attack. On the enemy...