The Nigerian multimillionaire and businessman Jim Ovia (pictured) will receive in the coming days, a pre-tax income of about N12.64 billion (about $34.5 million). Less known abroad than his compatriots Aliko Dangote and Tony Elumelu, he owns 5.1 billion common shares in Zenith Bank, one of Nigeria's biggest banking groups, which he founded in 1990 and chairs. The Board of the bank has...

The French Development Agency (AFD) has disbursed €18.7 million (about CFA12.3 billion) to support the development of excellence centers in Côte d'Ivoire, as part of the African Centers of Excellence (CEA) project.The loan agreement was signed on March 10, 2020, between the Ivorian Minister of Economy and Finance, Adama Coulibaly and the French Ambassador to Côte d'Ivoire, Gilles...

Amid the current coronavirus outbreak, hand sanitizers have become a very sought-after product in all markets and the federal government of Nigeria announced plans to ban their importation to bolster the local production. The announcement was made on March 11 by Godwin Emefiele, Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). After the country confirmed the first covid-19 case in sub-Saharan...

For truck driver Joseph Turay, navigating the 120 km Matotoka-Sefadu road in northeastern Sierra Leone used to be a nightmare. On average, he spent between five hours to one day on the road, which was last properly repaired nearly half a century ago.Joseph and other drivers watched goods perish and vehicles destroyed before they reached their destination. The rainy season brought more hazards....

Kenya’s banking group, Co-operative Bank, the fourth-largest bank in the country by market share, has made an offer for an undisclosed amount to acquire the commercial bank Jamii Bora Bank. The bid is subject to approval from the country’s Central Bank. The bidder says it is seeking to strengthen its market foothold. As a reminder, about a year ago Commercial Bank of Africa (CBA) also...

Youverify, a Nigerian startup that eases the verification of the identity, background, learning process and the full address of employees for private and public companies, has raised $1.5 million from Orange Digital Ventures Africa (ODVA). The startup will use these resources to improve its technology and finance expansion across Nigeria and the rest of Africa. Co-founded in Lagos in 2018...

Coronavirus is now a pandemic, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (pictured), Director-General of the World Health Organization, declared yesterday March 11 during a conference in Geneva. He said the virus should now be considered so regarding the fast way it has spread into all continents and the alarming augmentation of cases. “Describing the situation as a pandemic does not change WHO’s...

Amid the gently swaying palm trees of the Indian Ocean island of Zanzibar sits a school with a difference. The Raha Leo Alternative Learning Centre provides training to young students who may have otherwise missed out on education altogether. Take 21-year-old Hadia Baruti Wimbi. She left her parents' home when she was only six. "An elderly member of my family came to see my parents, asking if...

Kenya is now officially connected to Djibouti via an optical fiber with the subsea cable Djibouti Africa Regional Express 1 (Dare1) landing on the Kenyan coast of Mombasa as expected. In May last year, the Kenyan government expressed its desire to connect to Dare1 for an investment of $59 million. With the more than 5,000 km-long cable completed, Kenya is expected to test the telecom...

In a statement issued March 10, the African Development Bank (AfDB) announced it is giving the Sudanese government $75 million to improve food security across the country. The operation is part of a deal signed between the pan-African body and DAL Group, Sudan’s largest food and agriculture business company. Under this agreement, DAL will provide financing for projects aiming at lowering...