WeLight has reached the benchmark of 1,000 households having access to electricity across 18 villages thanks to ongoing projects by the company. Their goal: to give 50,000 people in isolated rural areas access to reliable and affordable electricity within the next two years. 1,000 HOUSEHOLDS ELECTRIFIED THANKS TO WELIGHT By creating case-specific energy solutions for every project, WeLight...

During a joint session yesterday March 17, the two Houses of the Ivorian Parliament approved the draft revision of the constitution. This first revision of the new constitution voted through a referendum in 2016 involves three major changes in the executive, legislative and judicial powers. Concerning the executive power, this revision abolishes the slate vote for the election of the President...

The Republic of Benin has signed a deal with the Japanese telecommunications equipment supplier NEC-XON for the dematerialization of its administrative services. The paper was inked between Aurélie Adam Soulé Zoumarou, Benin’s Minister of the Digital, and Johan Slabber, Director of Africa at NEC-XON. According to the government’s official, NEC-XON will support the State of Benin in...

RMB Corvest and Iron Bridge Capital, two private equity firms operating in South Africa, have invested an undisclosed amount in the capital of fast-food chain Roos Foods. The new resources will finance the food business’ long-term growth plans. Geoff Wilmot, a member of the RMB Corvest management team, says the company favors long-term partnerships to generate both stability and profit. RMB...

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, called all citizens to use the e-payment method for their transactions to help curb the spread of coronavirus across the country. Speaking to his fellows on March 14, the President announced that the country has recorded two new cases. Kenyatta asked telecom operators and banks to cut tariffs on e-payment operations to attract more users. Complying with this...

Breadfast, an Egyptian company that delivers fresh breakfast products, has raised funds from a consortium of investors to finance its expansion over the next three years. The company wants to launch its activity in the cities of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, and Jeddah and Riyad in Saudi Arabia. This expansion project will be followed by the opening of Breadfast Now, a supermarket dedicated...

Sierra Leone will look to the African Development Bank to stimulate agribusiness development in the country with a focus on rice production, its president Maada Bio told a visiting delegation led by its president Akinwumi Adesina. Adesina began a two-day visit to Sierra Leone on Wednesday, during which he will hold meetings to discuss curbing malnutrition, creating skills and jobs for young...

The Making Finance Work for Africa Partnership (MFW4A) invites researchers and students enrolled in an academic institution to submit an essay on the African financial sector. The call for essays aims to foster a better understanding of the issues challenging financial sector development in Africa and to gather thoughts, opinions and innovative ideas on how to develop the sector. Topics selected...

Egyptian President, Abdel Fattah al-Sissi (pictured), on Sunday 15 March 2020, issued a resolution approving the financing agreement signed on 18 February 2019, between his country and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) for the desert development project. The agreement will see Egypt obtain a loan of €53.2 million and a grant of €860,000 from IFAD. According...

Chinese billionaire Jack Ma (pictured), founder of Alibaba, announced on March 15 he will donate 20,000 testing kits and 100,000 face masks to each African country to help in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic. The donor said this during a meeting with the Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, stressing that the packages will be delivered to Addis Ababa, where Mr. Abiy will oversee their...