The President of the Republic of Sierra Leone, Julius Maada Bio (pictured), inaugurated last week, Africa's first-ever national digital identification system based on blockchain technology. This system developed by the National Civil Registry Authority (NCRA) guarantees every Sierra Leonean a forgery-proof identity. It is the result of a partnership signed last year between the country, the...

Nigeria’s Dangote Cement announced a $322 million deal in Niger. The project concerns the construction of a clinker production unit, a gas-fired power plant and cement plant which is expected to deliver 4,500 tons per day. Through this complex, scheduled to be completed by 2021, Dangote wants to close the cement production gap in this emerging country. Indeed, Niger is betting on the...

Mutuelle Agricole Marocaine d’Asssurance launches (MAMDA) is considering setting up an investment fund of MAD500 million ($52.2 million) for agriculture and agribusiness development. The mutual group, which offers agricultural insurance coverage, plans to provide capital support to mid-cap companies through investments the amount of which are not yet specified. MAMDA does not provide...

Mozambique and Indonesia signed a new preferential trade agreement (PTA) to lower their tariff barriers, the Indonesian Ministry of Trade announced this week. They want to boost their trade relations by reducing tariffs on many products traded between the two economies. For example, Mozambique is expected to lower import tariffs on 217 Indonesian products including palm oil, margarine, rubber...

Egypt’s investment bank and assets manager HC Securities said, following decision by the Central Bank to further cut interest rates approaching level in November 2017, the net interest margins realized by banks will drop. HC Securities “expects the CBE to accelerate its planned rate cuts, with a possible 100–200 bps cut in the second half (H2) of 2019, before another 200–300 cut bps in...

Japan will host from August 28 to 30, the seventh edition of the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD). The 3-day workshop will be held in the city of Yokohama and will gather African Heads of State around a common goal: explore partnership opportunities with Japan to boost development on the continent. Japan, like the United States and Russia, wants to improve its...

SA’s FundingsHub, a company which provides tailored financing solutions to SMEs, sold a minority stake in its capital to Fincheck, a startup that allows consumers to compare financial services products. This operation whose amount is not disclosed is expected to support the acquirer’s footprint in the country. Fincheck co-founded in 2016 by entrepreneurs Bowren and Chris Ball, works with 71...

Maroc Telecom announced on August 26 it has signed an investment deal with the government for MAD10 billion (about a billion dollars). Funds, disbursed by the incumbent operator, will be pumped into the development and strengthening of telecommunications infrastructure, broadband and very high speed (mobile and fixed) deployment across the country. The investment, the sixth of its kind signed...

In Sudan, the Transitional Council declared a state of emergency last weekend in the eastern Red Sea State after deadly clashes that killed more than a dozen people in Port Sudan, the state capital and main port on the Red Sea. The clashes, the reasons for which are still unknown, broke out between the Bani Amer and Nuba tribes, which, according to the government's statement, had “used weapons...

Silicon Waha - a company specializing in the creation of technology parks, - signed on August 25 a service contract with Egyptian Silicon Industries Company (SICO) to expand its smartphone and smart tablet production plant in the Assiout technology park. The paper was inked between Mohamed Salem, President of SICO, and Sameh Al Mallah, President and CEO of Silicon Waha, according to whom this...