World Bank has decided to multiply the volume of its financial support to Mali by six this year. The country will thus be provided $250 million of which an important part will be dedicated to the energy sector’s restructuration. This was decided at the end of a meeting on the sidelines of the 2019 Spring Meetings of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund in...

The Republic of Guinea is the ideal mining investment location. Since 2011, the country has made enormous progress by building the foundation for a “rock solid” development of its mining sector. The new mining code, adopted in 2011 and revised in 2013, optimizes benefits for the country and its people, as well as reinforces attractiveness for investors. Willing to promote Guinea as an...

The African Development Bank will launch 17 new grant projects funded by the Agriculture Fast Track Fund (AFT) in support of agribusiness Small- and Medium-sized Enterprise (SMEs) in eight African countries – Ghana (4), Tanzania (4), Burkina Faso (2), Malawi (2), Mozambique (2), Ethiopia (1), Nigeria (1) and Senegal (1). The AFT Fund is managed by the Agriculture and Agro-Industry Department...

Norwegian minister of international development Dag-Inge Ulstein recently indicated that renewable energies and the digital sector would be the prime target of future interventions of the Norfund in Africa. According to the official, fintechs can greatly facilitate financial inclusion in some poor countries. He further revealed that it was important to keep eyes open for new opportunities in...

On April 14, 2019, International blockchain firm Belfrics Group signed a partnership agreement with Dar Es Salaam tech institute to train young talents in the blockchain technology. Belfrics Academy SDN BHD, Belfrics’ arm in charge of international training and development, will help the two parties meet the growing demand for blockchain experts. “We all know that the Internet is filled with...

In Côte d’Ivoire, the GSM Association (GSMA), MTN, Orange, Moov, the union of telecom firms (Union nationale des entreprises de télécommunications-Unetel) and the telecom regulator (Autorité de régulation des télécommunications/TIC de Côte d’Ivoire-ARTCI) signed a collaborative protocol to fight counterfeited phones and the use of stolen ones.   On April 16, 2019, at the launch...

The International Finance Corporation (IFC) announces the launch of Finance2Equal Tanzania, a programme aimed at facilitating women’s access to financial services in Tanzania. In the framework of that programme, a learning platform will be created gathering local firms willing to increase the number of women in their staff and facilitate their access to financial products. "Studies show only...

Eyewa, a Dubai-based designer glasses online seller, raised $7.5 million during a funding round led by Wamda Capital. During the round, Wamda Capital, which invests in tech firms operating in the MENA region, collaborated with six investors. Eyewa will use the funds to increase its team and infrastructures as well as its expansion out of the UAE and Saudi Arabia. The platform plans to...

This week, Afreximbank announced that it would provide $500 million to South Sudan for energy transmissions, infrastructures and agriculture projects. In the past two years, the bank has provided $200 million to the country to boost its economy. After years of civil war, South Sudan is trying to find solutions to its economic and political crisis. In September 2018, the country’s...

The African Development Bank has organised a roadshow to drum up support from Angolan investors ahead of the second edition of the Africa Investment Forum (AIF) in November 2019. The Angola Country Office of the African Development Bank Group, in collaboration with Executive Director of the Export Promotion and Private Investment Agency (AIPEX) and the Ministry of Economy and Planning (MEP),...