Liquid Telecom announced plans to enter the telecom market in Eritrea. The announcement was recently made on Facebook by Strive Masiyiwa (pictured), who heads Econet Global Ltd, the parent company of Liquid Telecom. In the Digital 2020 report, We Are Social and Hootsuite reveal that mobile penetration in this country is only 20%. Meaning, out of the 3.52 million inhabitants, only 711,000 people...

The African Development Bank and the Botswana Development Corporation (BDC) on Friday signed a Line of Credit (LOC) totaling $80 million to help scale up key investments in the southern African country. BDC will on-lend to specific target groups, focusing on industrialization including manufacturing, transport and service sectors that have significant development impact. Repayment will be...

Varroc Lighting Systems Morocco, local arm of Indian automotive lighting system manufacturer Varroc Engineering, will benefit from a new credit line of €15 million ($16.2 million) from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. This is the second loan granted by EBRD to the company after the €16 million provided in 2018. The new financing will allow Varroc to boost...

Last year in Morocco, the service sector generated a total of 267,000 new jobs, including 223,000 in the urban area and 44,000 in the rural zone. According to the High Commissioner of Planning, this figure is 5.7% higher than the 142,000 jobs created in 2018, making the sector the largest job generator over the period. In the construction segment, 24,000 new jobs were created (6,000 in the urban...

The government of Niger launched yesterday Feb 25 its 2020 Humanitarian Response Plan that aims to assist 1.8 million people in humanitarian need in the country. The scheme is valued at $400 million. Beneficiaries include internally displaced persons, returnees and refugees, vulnerable people living in host communities and other vulnerable populations. They will benefit from about 156...

In its latest note on short-term economic and monetary outlook, the Central Bank of Tunisia found that the country's foreign exchange reserves stood at $6.955 billion at the end of 2019, equivalent to 111 days of imports. This is the highest level in value over the past five years. In 2018, the amount was $4.667 billion (84 days of imports). This increase in forex reserves is linked to...

Nigeria-based digital currency company BitFxt Technology has raised $15 million from the British Payitup Clearinghouse Ltd to expand its activity. The agreement allows BitFxt to get a $125 million Revolving Margin Facility for all its traders to leverage their position for higher gains. Payitup Clearinghouse Ltd will act as a clearinghouse, a financial institution responsible for...

In a move to leverage the new law allowing private investors to get majority stake in public companies, Egyptian businessman Naguibi Sawiris (pictured) engaged in talks with the government to acquire 51% in the capital of gold mining company Shalateen Mineral Resources Company (SMRC). Last year, Naguib Sawiris expressed his desire to invest in the mining sector in Egypt and said he would wait...

The Executive Council of the African Union has supported Dr. Akinwumi Adesina’s candidacy for a second term as President of the African Development Bank. The decision was taken during the thirty-sixth Ordinary Session of the AU Executive Council, held during the AU Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 6-7 February 2020. Adesina was elected to his first term as President by the Bank’s Board of...

Rwanda's finance minister, Uzziel Ndagijimana (pictured), presented to parliament a draft bill aiming at increasing public spending by 4.8% for the financial year ending in June 2020. If the bill is passed, government spending for the year will rise to over 3 trillion francs (over $3.17 billion). The official said the extra money will be raised through tax and non-tax revenues and will be...