Saham Assurance Maroc, largely controlled by South African Sanlam, ended the year 2019 with a net profit of MAD405.7 million, up 0.96% compared to the MAD402.9 million in 2018. The company’s revenues also rose by 0.35% reaching MAD5.5 million. Saham says the increase is linked to an improvement by 0.72% to MAD31 million in the non-life segment. On March 11, 2020, the Board of Directors of...

Swiss company MGI Group was chosen to set up a telecom monitoring and control system in Niger, according to an official government statement published on March 6. The contract was awarded “by private treaty without competition.” The project has benefited from the CFA13.5 billion ($23.5 million), excluding taxes, provided by the National Agency for the Information Society (ANSI) and the...

The Assembly of the Representatives of the People of Tunisia (ARP) has refuted, for lack of quorum, to adopt a draft organic law relating to the founding convention of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). The adoption of this bill by Parliament was, however, necessary to complete the procedures for Tunisia's accession to the free trade zone, the convention of which was signed by the...

Africa is vulnerable to a massive capital flight due to the current covid-19 crisis and the bad level of oil price. Rating agency Fitch says this is because the continent is not resource-strong enough to deal with external shocks. “The souring sentiment does not only affect financing in international markets, but it could also lead to portfolio outflows where investors have invested in...

The Congolese Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (ARPTC) has granted fiber Internet connectivity provider Liquid Telecom a license to build a subsea cable landing station in the country. The news was revealed last week by the public body on its Twitter page. This new license will boost competition on a market so far monopolized by Société Congolaise des Postes et...

The Senegalese microfinance institution UM-ACEP (Union des Mutuelles Alliance de Crédit et d'Epargne pour la Production) is negotiating a five-year senior loan in local currency of up to $10 million from the International Finance Corporation (IFC). The IFC Board will provide a decision on March 25. UM-ACEP says it will use the resources to support microenterprises operating mainly in rural...

In Mali, the telecommunications and postal regulatory authority (AMRTP) is accused of financial irregularities that have cost the Treasury a total of CFA4,525,370,963 between 2016 and 2018. This information was reported by the Office of the Auditor General (BVG) of Mali. In a report on the compliance of collection of royalties and other income due to the State and the execution of agreements and...

The government of Ethiopia is seeking to drop the poverty rate in the country to 19% of the total population over the next ten years. The information was reported by Fitsum Assefa Adela (pictured), the Minister for Planning and Development. In an interview with the Ethiopian News Agency, the official said that poverty reduction is one of the main priorities of Ethiopia's first-ever 10-year...

The Board of Directors of WeLight is pleased to announce the appointment of Romain de Villeneuve as Chief Executive Officer of the Company, with immediate effect. WeLight, a company founded by our Axian Group, Norfund and Sagecom, provides access to clean, reliable and affordable renewable energy to un-electrified villages in sub-saharan Africa. Romain brings to the position 22 years of wide...

The current outbreak of coronavirus will have a huge impact on the global economy this year. According to the UN Conference on Trade and Development (Unctad), it may cut the inflow of Foreign Direct Investments worldwide by 15%, compared to estimates last January. In a report last week, the UN body indicated that “with scenarios of the spread of the epidemic ranging from short-term...