The government of Nigeria is keeping its land borders closed until the end of January 2020, official sources said.   In a statement published on November 1, the government announced that this measure adopted a few months ago was bearing good fruits, and this motivated the extension decision. “I am directed to inform you that it is observed that despite the overwhelming success of the...

FMO, the Dutch development finance institution, plans to commit €4.40 million ($4.9 million) to Cathay AfricInvest Innovation, an investment fund that targets innovative companies with strong growth in Africa and international exposure. Cathay AfricInvest Innovation Fund is a joint initiative of the Tunisian private equity firm AfricInvest and the venture capital firm Cathay Innovation....

At an extraordinary shareholders’ meeting today in Abidjan, Governors of the African Development Bank, representing shareholders from 80 countries, approved a landmark $115 billion increase in capital for the continent’s foremost financial institution. The capital increase, the largest in the history of the African Development Bank since its establishment in 1964, is a remarkable...

The African Development Bank will host Singapore’s Senior Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam as the Special Guest Speaker of the Kofi A. Annan Eminent Speakers’ Lecture Series taking place on Tuesday, 05 November 2019. Mr. Tharman Shanmugaratnam will speak on the topic: “Economic Development.” The lecture, the third in the Kofi A. Annan Eminent Speakers’ Lecture series, will begin at...

ASX-listed TerraCom has acquired a 19.9% stake in the share capital of Universal Coal, a South African coal company, from Coal Development Holding. TerraCom is spending a total of A$34.6 million in cash and shares for this transaction.The acquisition provides the company with indirect interests in major coal assets in South Africa. Assets include the Kangala, New Clydesdale, North Block Complex,...

Australia’s FAR announced on Oct 29 that the investment planned to develop the SNE oil field in Senegalese waters increased by 40% to $4.2 billion, as the project partners have decided to buy rather than lease a Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel for the project. As a result, a large part of the field's development will be financed by debt, the company explains. The...

Angola will benefit from $165 million provided by the African Development Bank (AfDB), the institution announced in a statement issued on Wednesday. This new loan will support the economic diversification efforts of President Joao Lourenço's government to wean the country off oil dependence. It aims to prioritize the production and export of non-oil products while gradually replacing...

U.S. investment firm Texas Pacific Group (TPG) Capital indirectly acquired 33.9% stake in the capital of Maziwa, a Kenyan company that processes dairy products and byproducts. The acquisition, whose amount was not disclosed, was approved by the Competition Authority of Kenya (CAK) and carried out through Pledge Holdco Limited, the 100% subsidiary of TPG Capital. The dairy market in Kenya is...

Umar Danbatta (pictured), Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC), announced on 28 October 2019 the launch of the 5G trial phase by telecom operators. Speaking on the sidelines of the 2019 Mobile and Disruptive Technology (MoDITECH) Forum held in Lagos, he said the operation will last three months. “Today, Nigeria has started a test run of 5G, the latest...

Liberia inked an economic and financial deal with the International Monetary Fund -IMF- to implement reforms that will help address the challenges facing the country, the institution announced October 28. The agreement aims to support and strengthen the initiatives put in place by the Liberian authorities to fight poverty and reduce inflation, in order to restore macroeconomic stability and...