Bobo Makunda Sefekese is the new Deputy Managing Director of Sofibanque, a leading bank in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The lender announced Sefekese’s appointment on March 4. He holds the same position as Louis-Odilon Alaguillaume, appointed in April 2022.  However, Sefekese will oversee the implementation of the bank’s business continuity plan, approved by its Board of...

Minister of Higher Education Jacques Fame Ndongo, on April 29 presented Professor Abdon Atangana with a congratulatory letter from President Paul Biya for his distinguished election to the esteemed World Academy of Sciences (TWAS). In the letter, dated March 25, Biya noted that the numerous honorary distinctions awarded to Atangana in the field of industrial and applied mathematics underscore the...

AstraZeneca, one of the world’s leading pharmaceutical brands, bought his company two weeks ago. Jean-Pierre Latere is his name, and his startup, EsoBiotec, was purchased by the British giant. Latere, a Congolese-born Belgian scientist, founded EsoBiotec in 2020 in Mont-Saint-Guibert, Belgium. The deal with AstraZeneca is valued at one billion dollars.  Under the deal, the behemoth will...

An entrepreneur active in various ventures across Southern Africa, he aims to enhance the quality of road transport services via his platform, myRunner. Zimbabwean entrepreneur Vusumuzi Mkhwananzi (pictured) is the co-founder and chief executive officer of myRunner, a tech firm focused on simplifying and enhancing the safety of bus travel. Established in 2017 by Mkhwananzi, Josiah Mahachi,...

Between 2023 and 2025, the Mboa Paris fair, in partnership with the JFN Center, trained thirty young Cameroonians in entrepreneurship, applied innovation, and digital transformation. The announcement was made on April 26, 2025, in Douala by Fatimatou Ousmanou, president of the Mboa Paris association, during a press conference ahead of the event’s third edition. Mboa Paris is not just a trade...

The University of Lomé (UL) plans to launch a business language centre and a business school to better connect university training with the private sector. UL President Adama Kpodar and Togo Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCIT) President José Syménouh discussed these projects on May 7, 2025. The Chamber of Commerce aims to align university skills with job market needs amid Togo’s...

The Togolese Ministry of Trade held a two-day training session on May 6- 7 for about 40 licensed customs agents on the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and its operational mechanisms. The event aimed to prepare key trade intermediaries to implement the agreement’s provisions effectively. Participants represented professional bodies including the Union professionnelle des...

Algeria's ENIE plans to produce 2 million tablets in 2025 to equip 8,800 educational institutions The initiative aims to reduce schoolbag weight and enhance education quality through digital tools. ENIE has not announced when production will start, raising concerns about meeting the September 2025 deadline. Algeria's National Electronic Industries Company (ENIE) aims to manufacture two...

Ghana’s Ministry of Communication, Digital Technology and Innovation will train 3,000 girls this year through its Girls-In-ICT Initiative, expanding in-person sessions to the Volta, Upper East, and Upper West regions, with 1,000 participants in each. Participants will receive training in coding, computer literacy, cybersecurity, and digital creativity, along with mentorship, career workshops,...

KoBold Metals, the U.S.-based mining company backed by heavyweight investors including Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos, is stepping up its campaign to secure rights to the Manono lithium deposit in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), a site widely seen as having “the potential to become a large-scale, long-life lithium mine.” According to a January 2024 estimate, Manono could hold 669...