South African artificial intelligence firm Cortex Group announces the launch of Cortex Ventures dedicated to the financing of African artificial intelligence start-ups in search of seed or growth funding.   Apart from financial support, those startups will also receive technical support from the group. According to  Jacques Ludik (photo), CEO of Cortex Group, artificial...

Orange Services Group (GOS) entrusted the exploitation and maintenance of its Côte d’Ivoire based data centre to energy company Engie. The 5-year agreement, which should come into effect in June 2019, includes preventive maintenance of multi-technique lots, the management of the centre and security.   Orange’s data centre was built in Grand-Bassam free zone, 40 kilometres away...

The $2.1 billion Eurobond recently issued by Kenya has been listed on the Euronext Dublin on May 22, 2019, according to a notice published by the stock exchange. Mid-May, Kenya raised $2.1 billion during a Eurobond issuance divided into two lots maturing in 7 and 12 years respectively. The interest rates are 7% and 8% respectively for the 7-year and 12-year bonds.   The...

On May 17, 2019, in Mali, Banque Nationale de développement Agricole (BNDA) confirmed its status of the leading financial partner in the agriculture sector.   Indeed, out of the XOF459 billion loans it granted to the economy, 53% or XOF245 billion were dedicated to the agriculture sector. The largest part of these loans was granted to agribusinesses and input suppliers. During the 2018...

For the first time since 2015, Zambia central bank has raised its benchmark rate by 50 basis points to 10.25%. This was revealed by the bank’s governor Denny Kalyalya (photo) during a press conference on  May 22, 2019. The new measure is aimed at supporting macroeconomic stability and controlling the inflation caused by the decrease in corn production, a rise of budget deficit (7.5% of...

The Tunisian chamber of deputies has finally approved the issuance of an $800 million Eurobond. This was announced by the deputy Rim Mahjoub on May 22, 2019. On May 2, 2019, the said institution’s finance committee rejected this Eurobond, asking the government to avoid a significant rise of foreign debt by limiting the size of the operation to $500 million. The issuance is aimed at...

Nigeria will ratify the Continental free trade zone agreement once the report of its impact on the national economy is approved by president Muhammadu Buhari. This was announced by the minister of trade and industry Okechukwu Enelamah (photo) on May 21, 2019. “I think the president has a sense of urgency about this because when he asked us to conduct an impact assessment study, we were given...

Bamboo Capital Partners signed a partnership agreement with Smart Africa Alliance for the mobilization of €100 million to support digital startups. The agreement was signed on May 16, 2019, during the Transform Africa Summit by the director general of Smart Africa Alliance Lacina Koné, and the managing partners of Bamboo, Jean-Philippe de Schrevel and Florian Kemmerich. According to...

Officials from the London Stock Exchange have initiated a roadshow in Africa to woo large local firms, Bloomberg reported on May 21, 2019. According to the Director of Emerging Markets and International Markets Ibukun Adebayo, these officials will visit Nairobi and Luanda, the capitals of Kenya and Angola respectively, after a similar visit to South Africa two months ago. They also plan future...

South African Echotel International Proprietary Limited has received the approval of the Competition Authority of Kenya (CAK), for the acquisition of 80% stake in the capital of iWayAfrica Kenya. The volume of the investment was not disclosed in the statement announcing the approval. iWayAfrica Kenya which offers internet and data storage services is a subsidiary of iWayAfrica. In the...