Member countries of the East African community issued a call to development partners for the elaboration of an E-health strategic plan. The plan that will span over 2019-2028 is aimed at transforming health services by capitalizing on IT to improve the population’s health access and quality of health services within the community. On December 5, 2018, the member countries of the community,...

Sweden, via its development financing fund Swedfund that supports firms in emerging markets in Africa, Asia and Latin America, invested in Snapper Hill Clinic (SHC), a health services provider in Liberia.   Operational since 1983, Snapper Hill Clinic (SHC) received this financing, whose amount has not been disclosed, from TLG Credit Opportunities Fund. This investment vehicle that belongs...

Eight pilots have successfully passed their drone flight training in Tunisia following a two-week intensive training period organized by the Ministry of Agriculture of Tunisia, the African Development Bank and Busan Techno Park. The training which focused on handling, maintenance and the security aspects of flying drones, took place in Tunis from 19-30 November 2018. The eight were the first...

The Board of the African Development Bank has approved the institution’s 2019 borrowing program to the tune of US$7.24 billion to be raised from the capital markets. The AfDB accesses a wide array of capital markets with the majority of its borrowing in US dollars and Euros as well as issuances in other public markets such as Australian dollars and Pound sterling. The Bank maintains an active...

Africa must unlock the power of its women and girls if it is to adapt to climate change, cope with disasters and build its green energy sector. That is the message from African delegates as the world prepares to implement the Paris Agreement on climate change in Katowice, Poland, this week. Research shows that when women are involved in decision making, agreements on the environment are more...

In a statement published on December 11, 2018, Fitch Ratings affirmed Tunisia's Long-Term Foreign-Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at 'B+' with a Negative Outlook.   Fitch explained that this is due to the high and rising public foreign debt as well as moderated growth and difficult socio-political environment.   The rating agency explained that the negative outlook reflects the...

Expensya, a Franco-Tunisian firm that develops web and mobile expense management systems, raised $4.5 million from many investors.   The French fund ISAI that finances early stage internet companies, Seventure Partners, which invests in digital technologies and life sciences, took part in this operation along many angel investors. The startup founded in 2014 by Karim Jouini and Jihed...

South Africa announces the launch, today December 14, 2018, of a ZAR2 billion (about $140 million) fund for SMEs, which is a partnership of the Public Investment Corporation (PIC), the pension fund and the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF). The fund, which will contribute to job creation and economic growth, will place a particular accent on ICT projects. Initiatives that will contribute to...

Development Finance Company of Uganda (DFCU Bank), a commercial bank listed on Uganda Securities Exchange, will receive $30 million from Proparco and the Dutch development financing institution FMO. This is the fifth credit facility granted by Proparco to the Ugandan bank. Apart from financial resources, DFCU Bank will be provided technical assistance, mentorship program for its clients,...

Djibouti's ambassador to Egypt Mohamed Zohr Harsi announced that his country allocated 1 million square meters of land to Egypt for the construction of a logistics zone to help boost Egypt’s exports to the Subsaharan African country.    Harsi announced this during a meeting with members of the Commission of African Affairs of the Egyptian parliament. He also promised the activation...