Côte d’Ivoire announced it will set its very first photovoltaic plant with a capacity of 25 MW in the locality of Binguébougou, Korhogo region. The project will be steered by Korhogo Solaire, local subsidiary of Moroccan company Nova Power, for a total amount of about $40 million. The company will design, fund, build, and operate the facility. For the record, the concession contract...

Coca-Cola Beverages Africa, the continent’s leading drink bottler, announced yesterday May 30, it will inject $100 million in Kenya over the next 5 years. The company plans to use the amount to launch 50 new products in addition to the over 130 existing ones and also improve infrastructure. With this step, it hopes to take full advantage of the changes in Kenyans’ eating habits as the...

Botswana-based Lerala gem mine has been sold for over $8 million during an online auction opened last May 24 and closed yesterday May 30. John Taylor, an associate director at auctioneers GoIndustry DoveBid, revealed. The successful bidder out of the 12 participants will be publicly known later this week. The auctioneers are currently dealing with the mining rights transfer and the...

The Ivoirian government announced yesterday May 30 at the end of a Ministers’ council that it will maintain the cotton farm gate price at CFA265 per kg for the 2018-19 season, the same as previous campaign. According to the 2017/2018 season balance-sheet report, the country’s cottonseed output jumped 28.5% to 421,646 tons, with a yield of 1.26 tons per hectare. “This improvement in yield...

The International Finance Corporation (ICF) has just approved an agreement supporting Senegal’s mango sub-sector via a MoU signed with the Senegalese agency for investment and major works promotion (APIX). Under this agreement, a project aimed at improving the segment’s competitiveness will be set mainly in Casamance ,which is a major mango-producing region.   “The target is to...

Chinese financial institutions, Bank of China and China Export & Credit Insurance Corporation, have signed a $200 million loan agreement with Telecom Egypt, an Egyptian State-owned company. This 4-year agreement (with a 2-year grace period) was arranged by the Chinese company Huawei Technologies on behalf of the Egyptian company. “Telecom Egypt has several strategic long-term expansion...

Trade exchanges between Egypt and the UK reached £447 million during the first three months this year, up from the £414.8 million recorded the same period last year. The trade minister Tarek Kabil (photo) announced. The minister said this increase in exchanges is part of the partnership-building between both countries, spurred by the Brexit. Moreover, he also stressed that in this regard, both...

Nzuri Copper, active on Kalongwe Copper/Cobalt project in DR Congo, announced today May 30 it will raise A$6 million through the placement of shares and a convertible loan. With this operation, the company will raise A$3.07 million by issuing 12 million shares at 25.5c each; while the A$2.93 million convertible loan will be provided by its main partner Tembo Capital. CEO PDG Mark Arnesen said...

The International Finance Corporation (IFC) announced last May 28, it will grant a $10 million subordinated loan to I&M Bank Rwanda, a local subsidiary of Kenyan group I&M Holdings Ltd. The fund will be used to support SMEs which account for 98% of total businesses in Rwanda. It will also help the RSE-listed company to enhance its capital base. Main beneficiaries include companies...

The Burkinabe government launched a program aimed at providing electricity to about 125,000 households from 63 villages in the North and North- Centre regions. This CFA9 billion (about $6 million) project will be steered by the community infrastructure utility (SINCO) with support from technical partners including the EU and the French Development Agency. In this regard, about twelve solar...