US satellite internet startup OneWeb declared bankruptcy in a statement published on March 27. The company said it is lacking enough resources to pursue its investment ambitions, due to the impacts of the current coronavirus pandemic.OneWeb, which launched the Rwandan satellite "Icyerekezo" in February 2019 and which planned to provide telecom services in several African countries, including...

Almost a year after it suspended the use of foreign currencies, the government of Zimbabwe has now allowed citizens to carry out domestic transactions in US dollars to mitigate the impacts of the current covid-19 pandemic on the economy. Despite this decision of stopping the use of foreign currencies which the government thought would boost the country’s economy, things were not going as...

On March 27, the shares of Servair Abidjan, a company listed on the WAEMU’s stock market (BRVM), increased by 5.8%; putting an end to the continuous 11-day decline on the stock exchange. Although there are no specific triggers for this recovery, Servair Abidjan seems to attract investors engaged in the annuity strategy. With the net dividend of CFA164.9 paid to shareholders as of September...

The African Development Bank (AAA) has raised an exceptional $3 billion in a three-year bond to help alleviate the economic and social impact the Covid-19 pandemic will have on livelihoods and Africa’s economies. The Fight Covid-19 Social bond, with a three-year maturity, garnered interest from central banks and official institutions, bank treasuries, and asset managers including Socially...

Uganda lost USh130 billion (about $34 million) on the public securities market between February 21 and March 13 due to the novel coronavirus still spreading around the world. Figures were reported in a report published on March 24 by the country’s central bank. The Bank points to a fear sentiment among investors which led to a depreciation of the Uganda Shilling against the US dollar from...

From today 27 March 2020, Angola will enter a lockdown to prevent the spread of the coronavirus in the country. To this end, the Ministry of Telecommunications and Information Technology has set a sectorial emergency plan to guarantee a minimum provision of voice, messaging, Internet, postal and meteorological services to citizens, and public and private entities. This plan is part of the...

Private equity firms present or operating in Africa face the risk of a slowdown due to the current coronavirus pandemic. Many companies that partner with private equity funds are also exposed to the negative consequences of the lockdown measures taken by several countries in the region to deal with the pandemic. In South Africa, the Central Bank plans a quantitative easing strategy that will...

In a March 24 statement, the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) announced it will grant 2-year loans to tourism establishments with a grace period of 6 months. CBE wants to help them pay the salaries of employees and their obligations towards suppliers and maintenance works on tourist activities, amid the current covid-19 pandemic. “This measure will not cover sale, travel agency services,...

The government of South Africa announced plans to set R200 million ($11.3 million) fund to support tourism and hotel businesses negatively impacted by covid-19. The fund targets hotels, restaurants, travel agencies and related structures which have been operating for one year and have an annual turnover not exceeding R2.5 million. Beneficiaries will have to prove how they can make use of this...

South African telecom operator Mobax announced it has reached a deal with the global wireless broadband provider RADWIN to improve its wireless broadband solution across South Africa. “RADWIN has an exciting portfolio with unrivalled reliability and speeds that will enable us to implement fiber-like broadband connectivity to deliver high-value services to our extensive customer base,” said...