Measures initiated by the Rwandan government to achieve an Economic digital transformation are bearing fruits. For the first time, the country records a growth of 10.9%, the Secretary-General of the Ministry of ICT and Innovation, Irere Claudette, reported this week.  According to the official, the country has undergone a 20-year process of digital transformation in order to impact the...

The Libyan national oil corporation (NOC) reports that losses induced by the shutdown of oil fields reached $502 million over a period of 10 days. NOC says the country’s oil production slid by more than a million barrels a day. “The total value of losses since the beginning of the blockades has reached $502,289,339 as of Monday, January 27, 2020.” Average daily loss is estimated...

Following a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari on January 28 in Abuja, Mcebisi Jonas, President of the MTN Group, announced plans to invest $1.6 billion to improve and strengthen the operations of the company’s Nigerian subsidiary.  Mcebisi presented the projects in which his company plans to invest in Nigeria in the long term. Welcoming the initiatives, President Buhari said:...

Vodafone Group engaged talks with Saudi Telecom Company (STC) to divest the 55% shares it holds in its Egyptian subsidiary. The information was announced by the CEO of Vodafone Group, Nicholas Read, following a meeting with the Egyptian Prime Minister and the Minister of Communications and Information Technology. Since 2013, STC has tried to enter the Capital of Vodafone Egypt. That year, the...

On December 19, 2019, the consortium composed of Bolloré Ports, Toyota Tsusho Corporation and Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha signed a concession agreement with the General Authority for the Suez Canal Economic Zone with a view to building, equipping and managing a ro-ro terminal at Port Said in Egypt. The consortium is committed to investing USD 150 million over the period to acquire the equipment...

Between January and June last year, a total of 41,894 cases of e-payment fraud valued at CFA578 million were recorded in the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU).  Orange finances mobiles Senegal (OFMS) alone was the victim of 41,893 cases, making 99.9% of total frauds. According to BCEAO’s monitoring report on e-money payment services, as at 30 June 2019, most of frauds in...

In 2020, nearly 5 million children will need humanitarian assistance in the Sahel region, the UN Children’s Fund said in a statement last week. Compared to the 4.3 million children in the same situation last year, the new estimate makes an increase by 16.2%. UNICEF linked the situation to the resurgence of violence in the region targeting civilians and children, as well as an upsurge in the...

The public debt in Congo could exceed the amount previously forecasted, NGO Global Witness found in a report published January 27.  The document reports a debt amounting to about $3.3 billion, so far undisclosed, contracted by the National Oil Corporation of Congo (SNPC) mainly from foreign oil companies including Total, ENI, and many banks.   This newly reported liability...

US company Honeywell has signed a memorandum of understanding with the mobile operator Etisalat Misr to deploy digital solutions in the new administrative capital of Egypt, currently under construction 45 kilometers east of Cairo. The agreement was initialed last week during the Intersec 2020 conference held in Dubai. Honeywell will provide innovative and connected technologies to improve the...

ARISE P&L, the company that manages ARISE's ports and logistics operations in Africa, announces it is selling 43% of its capital to A.P. Møller Capital P/S (APMC). The latter thus joins Olam International Ltd and Africa Finance Corporation, which hold 31% and 26% of ARISE P&L’s capital respectively. ARISE P&L's African operations currently include the New Owendo International Port (NOIP)...