The 2019 Africa Investment Forum opened on Monday living up to its promise to move from commitment to action.A $500 million equity deal presented by the Africa Infrastructure Investment Fund last year, to speed up investments in agriculture, and a $175 million equity transaction from the Africa Guarantee Fund for investors to support Small and Medium Size Enterprises, are among the...

The Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development (KFAED) granted $32.9 million to Mauritania for the construction of the Néma-Nbeiguit Lahwach road. The related agreement was signed on November 8, in Nouakchott between the Minister of Economy and Industry, Sheikh El Kebir Moulay Taher, and the Deputy Director of Operations within the fund, Merwane Abdallah El Ghanem. According to the...

Tizeti, a Nigerian startup that provides solar-powered wireless internet, announced it is launching its first 4G Long Term Evolution network in the country. The company said the move aligns with its ambition to increase access to broadband internet across Nigeria. “Access to affordable and reliable unlimited internet connectivity has been an intractable problem for a lot of Nigerian businesses...

American e-commerce company Amazon announced it is establishing a unit of its cloud computing arm, Amazon Web Services, in Kenya next year. The company said it is seeking to offer businesses the full range of Internet benefits, including computer, networking and cybersecurity services. Following a meeting with the Kenyan President, Uhuru Kenyatta, on November 8, 2019, Teresa Carlson, AWS Vice...

Nigeria, Niger, and Benin are meeting on November 14 in Abuja to discuss an exit solution regarding the border closure case. This was announced by the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas) in the final communiqué of its last Summit held on November 8. According to the statement, the Heads of State encouraged further consultations with a view to reaching a solution acceptable to all...

Branch Nigeria, a fintech company that grants loans between 1,000 Naira and 200,000 Naira repayable over a period of 4 weeks to 15 months, will receive an equity investment from TLG Capital, a London-based private equity firm. The operation will be carried out via a Credit Opportunities Fund owned by TLG and focused on companies established in its main operating markets. Maria Rotilu, CEO of...

Magdi Ghazi (pictured), chairman of Egypt's Industrial Development Authority (IDA), announced the construction of nine industrial complexes in eight Upper Egypt governorates to create jobs for young entrepreneurs. The announcement was made following the first training program on the management and running of industrial zones. Initiated in collaboration with the German Corporation for...

The International Coffee Organization (ICO) found in its latest monthly market report that the global coffee production will slightly fall by about 0.9% to 167.4 million bags in 2019/20, compared to the previous season. The lower performance, the report reads, is mainly due to “the decline in Brazil’s Arabica output in its off-year of the biennial crop cycle.” For the season, Arabica...

The Africa Investment Forum will be short on talk and heavy on deals, the South African Government, the African Development Bank and key partners affirmed at a press conference ahead of the 2019 edition of the event. Organized by the African Development Bank and its partners, the second edition of the Forum, will take place from place from 11 to13 November 2019 in Johannesburg, South...

Over the first six months this year, the local subsidiary of French Total in Senegal saw its revenues increase by 17.2%, driven by an 18.7% increase in overall sales. Revenues generated from export sales and sales to rival companies increased by 92% motivated by the acquisition of new export contracts and the sale of certain activities. Profit on ordinary activities before taxation grew by 12.5%...