Mergence unlisted Investment Managers, an asset manager that focuses on infrastructure and development investments, announces it has acquired a majority stake in Momentous Solar One, a Namibia-implanted solar plant.Acquisition cost is not unveiled but the company reports it has bought 60% of shares from Canadian Solar, the company charged to provide solar energy solutions to the plant.This...

By September 2019, Ethiopia will launch a tender process for the attribution of telecom licences. This launch is the result of law approved on June 10, 2019, opening the telecommunications sector. According to the government, these licenses should be delivered by the end of 2019. Let’s note that the opening of this sector was one of the promises made by prime minister Abiy Ahmed to attract...

On June 12, 2019, Swedish IT innovation and entrepreneurship firm Norrsken announced the installation of a branch in Kigali, Rwanda. This branch, which is the second in the world, should help Rwanda reach its goal of becoming a regional hub for tech innovation and entrepreneurship.For Norrsken’s CEO  Erik Engellau-Nilsson, Rwanda is a natural gateway towards rapid growth markets in East...

British firm AgDevCo has signed a partnership with Root Capital, a financial institution that funds the agriculture sector in SubSahara Africa. Via this investment AgDevCo will invest $5 million in a consortium of four Kenyan firms specialised in macadamia nuts processing and exports.This is the first investment realised by AgDevCo in Kenya, which is the third largest macadamia producer in...

In a release published on June 13, 2019, Kenyan banking group Equity Bank announced that Ethiopia Central Bank has authorised it to open a representative office in the Horn of AfricaIn the release, Equity Bank’s managing director  James Mwangi (photo) indicated that by the end of 2019, his group would be present in ten African countries.  The bank already has subsidiaries in Uganda,...

Kenya will increase taxes to fund the 2019/2020 budget, finance minister Henry Rotich (photo), announced on June 13, 2019.   According to the official, the government wants to raise about $364 million of fiscal revenues for its budget in the coming fiscal year. For this purpose, it plans to increase capital gain taxes from 5% to about 12.5%. In addition, vehicle excise duty should be...

The Democratic Republic of Congo has submitted an application to become a member of the East African Community (ECA), president Félix Tshisekedi announced on June 13, 2019. "This membership will break down customs barriers and boost exchanges between our respective countries," M. Tshisekedi said in the first day of his visit in Tanzania.   According to the official, those countries must...

International Business Machines (IBM) has launched its quantum computer program in 16 African universities. This is the result of a partnership with Wits University in South Africa. This university will manage the remaining fifteen universities’ access to the program. Also known as IBM Q, the program is based on IBM’s quantum supercomputer. This computer was presented during the Consumer...

Kenya is the most prepared country for artificial intelligence in Africa, According to the 2019 Government AI Readiness Index published by the  International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and Oxford Insights.   Out of the 194 countries ranked in the world, 12 African countries are in the top100. Kenya is the 52nd globally followed by Tunisia (54th), Mauritius (60th), South...

Kenya is the undisputed leader of mobile banking in Africa, according to a research published early June 2019 by Egyptian investment bank EFG Hermes. Named "The Mobile: Deepening Financial Inclusion But at a High Cost," this study reveals that in Kenya, 72% of banking clients use their mobile phones to access services such as savings and credit. This is about thrice the world average...