AUDA-NEPAD hosts the 3rd Africa CSA Alliance Forum. Following the success of the first two Africa Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) Alliance Forums in 2015 and 2016, AUDA-NEPAD and the African Union Commission, with support from GIZ and Norad, are convening the 3rd Africa CSA Alliance Forum from 27-28 March 2019 in Dakar, Senegal. Under the theme “Towards Vision 25x25 – Taking stock of CSA...

The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) has decided to set a EGP1 billion (55,757,452 USD) fund to support fintechs to transform the country into a regional hub for online financial services. The information was revealed on March 16, 2019, by Ayman Hussein (photo), CBE’s deputy governor in charge of payment systems, during the Arab African Forum launched last Saturday at Aswan, Egypt. To test the new...

Last week, in Côte d’Ivoire, the public treasury launched an online banking app named e-banktresor. According to the Treasury's central accounting agency (Agence comptable centrale des dépôts du Trésor-ACCD), it can offer secured banking services to its clients online. The general directorate indicates that this launch falls within the framework of the domestic resource mobilization and...

The African Development Bank, rated Aaa/AAA/AAA by Moody’s/S&P/Fitch, has successfully priced a EUR 1 billion 10-year Global Benchmark, due 21 March 2029, its first benchmark transaction of the year. This transaction, priced Thursday 14 March 2019, marks the Bank’s s positioning in the EUR market, in line with its strategy of building a reference curve. After its inaugural EUR benchmark...

This year, Ugandan nationals’ shares in MTN Uganda could rise to 20%. This was revealed by Rob Shuter (photo), CEO of MTN group, on NTV Uganda. The executive indicated that this year, the operator would increase the percentage of MTN Uganda’s equity owned by nationals from 4% to 20%.   “What we now need to do is really engage in the market and with the authorities as to what is the...

On March 14, 2019, Moroccan group Maroc Telecom signed an acquisition agreement with Millicom International Cellular (MIC) for full acquisition of Tigo Chad, which is currently the leader of the local market. This acquisition, subjected to the approval of Chadian authorities, falls within the framework of the Moroccan group’s expansion plan. The agreement is signed 23 days after the visit of...

Ghana will set ten new measures to improve its business environment, Mahamudu Bawumia (photo), the country’s vice-president announced this week. These new measures should come into effect around March-June 2019. They include measures for the obtention of building permits, the energy sector, trans-border trades, company creation and insolvency resolution process. In the framework of those...

Egypt has affirmed its strong support for the African Development Bank as a development partner and is committed to strengthening regional integration, the country’s Prime Minister, Mostafa Madbouly said during a meeting in Cairo with a Bank delegation. Madbouly affirmed Egypt‘s readiness to work with the African Development Bank. “We are working hard to strengthen our relationships with...

MTN Nigeria’s IPO will be organized in two phases, the operator’s CEO Ferdinand Moolman indicated during a press meeting in Lagos on March 13, 2019.   According to the executive, this is to guarantee the successful listing of MTN Nigeria on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) because investors’ appetite for this operation has been cooled down by a lengthy wait. Indeed, the operator...

Ethiopian Airlines initiated discussion with Airbus for new planes, sources close to the French presidency indicate according to various European media. The discussions are about the acquisition of Airbus A350 and A320 planes. According to Reuters, this new acquisition comes to add to another existing order of about ten Airbus A350 planes. For the time being, there is no indication either of...