Author: Editor

The majority of the fastest growing cities and urban set ups in the world today are in Africa. The administrative and commercial hubs for such setups are under sub sovereign governments’ authority. Mrs. Kanayo Awani, Managing Director of Afreximbank’s Intra-African Trade Initiative, hailed the sub sovereigns as an ideal vehicle for infrastructural development, given their proximity to the citizenry. “By building on the value chains of their products and services, sub-sovereigns will automatically contribute to the addition of the global value chain,” said Mrs. Awani who was speaking at a panel discussion on the second day of the 29th Afreximbank…

First combined guarantee solution (liquidity extension and partial credit) for GuarantCoFirst financing agreement solely focussed on toll plaza infrastructure in AfricaFirst road-related Public Private Partnership (PPP) in Cameroon GuarantCo, part of the Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG), has provided a USD 38.4 million (XAF equivalent) guarantee solution to Société Générale Cameroun (SG) and Société Commerciale de Banque Cameroun (SCB), a subsidiary of Attijariwafa Bank Group to finance TollCam, a project company established by Egis and Fayat. The financing comprises a 14-year combined liquidity extension and partial credit guarantee to support debt for the modernisation, operation and maintenance of 14 toll…

In May, Côte d’Ivoire Terminal (CIT) took delivery of 14 APM 75T HE electric tractors, ordered from the manufacturer Gaussin and for use at the second container terminal at the Port of Abidjan. This initial delivery follows a historic order for 36 100% electric tractors that was placed in April 2021 for a total of 6.5 billion CFA francs (€9.9 million). The remaining 22 tractors will be delivered in a few weeks’ time, ready to be put into service in November. The APM75T HE tractor is the result of creating a synergy between Gaussin’s expertise in the production of handling…

Bolloré Transport & Logistics, the operator of the leading integrated logistics network in Africa, will take part in the Africa CEO Forum 2022 on 13 and 14 June. The summit will bring together more than 1,500 business leaders, investors and policy makers from Africa and around the world to discuss the theme “Economic sovereignty, green growth and industrial transformation: new paths to African prosperity”. Bolloré Transport & Logistics will take this opportunity to present its development projects in Africa, together with its commitment strategy based on the implementation of sustainable logistics solutions. During this Pan-African event organised around conferences,…

Malawi Government chose cluster policies to cover different regions from droughtWFP Malawi receives US$14.2m pay-out following driest season since 1981 Drought-affected households in Malawi will receive swift relief with an upcoming climate insurance pay-out by African Risk Capacity (ARC) Limited to the Malawian government in June. Malawi is a signatory of the ARC Treaty established by African Risk Capacity, a specialised agency of the African Union, aimed at helping AU member states improve their capacities to plan, prepare and respond to extreme weather events and natural disasters. The objective of the ARC is to assist AU member states in reducing…

On April 2022, Bolloré Transport & Logistics Ghana received a total of 555 vehicles on behalf of CFAO Ghana PLC, part of the CFAO Group, at the Tema port. After leaving India, the vehicles were shipped in 2 batches before arriving at destination. In all, this operation will have lasted one month requiring an end-to-end mobilization of Bolloré Transport & Logistics’ teams in Ghana. Working in synergy, they were in charge of the handling of the shipping agency, customs clearance, storage, transport, and other annex services such us a washing bay as well as tire pumping. A dedicated space was…

Africa50, the pan-African infrastructure investment platform, will hold its 2022 General Shareholders Meeting in Marrakech, Morocco, from 19 – 20 July 2022. The event is expected to be opened by H.E Aziz Akhannouch, Head of Government of the Kingdom of Morocco.Dr Akinwumi Adesina, President of the African Development Bank and Chairman of the Africa50 Board of Directors, will deliver a keynote address on the important role infrastructure investments play in enabling Africa’s resilient recovery and sustainable growth, at a critical time for the continent. He will also co-chair the statutory General Shareholders Meeting with Ms. Nadia Fettah, Minister of Economy and…

Internationally renowned strategic investor, Proparco is set to make an equity investment of USD 10M, becoming MUA’s largest international institutional shareholder. This investment is a strong vote of confidence in MUA’s regional growth ambitions and marks the start of a key long-term partnership that will further strengthen its financial capacity to improve insurance coverage and increase market share. • MUA enters into an agreement with Proparco, a leading international Development Finance Institution, for a proposed equity investment of USD 10M (“the investment”), subject to shareholder and regulatory approval. • The milestone investment will enable MUA to strengthen its financial capacity…

An Open Banking Excellence Campfire shone a light on payment initiation in Brazil and addressed the topic of the country’s Open Banking ecosystem. Guests included representatives of Mastercard, Brazil’s Central Bank, Itaú Unibanco and more. Brazil’s Open Banking and Finance ecosystem will soon be the largest in the world, according to speakers at an industry event. Open Banking Excellence (OBE), the global centre of community and knowledge, driving change in Open Finance, gathered key players in the finance industry around its digitalCampfire to celebrate the launch of payment initiation in Brazil and discuss the future ahead. Over the last 12 months, Brazil has moved…

Enko Education, a network of African international schools, announces the closing of its $5.8 million Series B round led by Adiwale Partners and followed by the Steyn Capital family office, existing institutional investors Proparco, Investisseurs et Partenaires and Liquid Africa, as well as prominent figures in international education and entrepreneurship in Africa. This Series B round, which closed on May 30, validates Enko Education’s innovative educational model. Reach 10,000 students by 2025By 2030, 750 million African youth will be of school age. To enable these young people to access the best universities, Enko Education schools offer a quality African international…

Betastore, a tech-enabled B2B retail platform helping small retailers source inventory and access financing, today announced the closing of a $2.5 million Pre-Series A round which saw investment from 500 Global, VestedWorld, and Loyal VC. Betastore plans to deploy this funding to continue its expansion across West and Central Africa.  Founded in 2020, Betastore serves over 1.5 million small retailers that sell a combined $22 billion worth of merchandise in Nigeria annually. The company optimizes the procurement, financing, and delivery of a wide range of FMCG goods to these vendors via its tech-enabled platform, saving vendors time and money. With…

Bolloré Transport & Logistics was recently commissioned to handle a logistic operation organizing the  first direct shipment of coffee by Kenyan farmers to South Korea without the use of a coffee brokerage.  This was made possible thanks to sector reforms by the government of Kenya that now allow farmers  to market their produce directly with a view to fetch a better price for their produce.  The shipment that was flagged off in March docked weeks after into the country. It was successfully  done with Bolloré Transport & Logistics, the company being contracted to oversee the processing,  bulking, stuffing and shipping…

Owendo Container Terminal (OCT), operator of the container terminal of the Port of Owendo, has been granted the Green Terminal label following an audit conducted by Bureau Veritas on 4 May 2022. This label rewards the efforts made by the company to reduce the impact of its activities on the environment by implementing eco-responsible measures. The audit was conducted by Bureau Veritas experts and based on the eight pillars of the labelling process. This process includes work procedures, building infrastructure in line with international standards, waste management and training employees in best environmental practices. “Owendo Container Terminal is our 7th…

Bolloré Logistics Spain continues its deployment in Spain with the opening of two new offices in Vigo and Burgos both of them being depending from Bilbao Branch. By expanding its scope activity, Bolloré Logistics is strengthening its presence in Spain and demonstrates its willingness to offer its global customers and regional companies a personalised and local service but also to support large groups in their international development. Located in the region of Castile and Léon, the Burgos office will allow Bolloré Logistics to develop its local business specially in the cosmetics vertical and to get closer to its customers and…

The new Sigma7 Risk Management Services Platform aims to upgrade business risk management capabilities. The new company is formed by industry veterans with investment backing from Growth Catalyst Partners. Risk management veteran Andrew Hersh, in partnership with middle-market private equity firm Growth Catalyst Partners (GCP), announced two days ago the launch of Sigma7, a risk management services company founded to support large organizations facing today’s dynamic complex risk environment. Sigma7 will integrate the services of the leading companies specializing in risk services to create a complete platform to serve companies across all industries, risk domains and global locations. Three initial…

Skaleet, an international fintech providing a next-generation Core Banking Platform (CBP), has partnered today with Mobiblanc, an Agile Digital Services Entreprise (ESN), to offer turnkey solutions to financial institutions across Africa. The partnership will ensure that financial institutions have the capacities to launch new digital and innovative financial solutions that they can provide to their customers, whether businesses or individuals.  Mobiblanc, based in Morocco and Tunisia, is a leading player in North and West African markets entirely devoted to digital solutions. With a talented and dynamic team, Mobiblanc delivers an efficient and effective consulting and integration service for a wide…

In response to economic challenges created by the global pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) is launching a US$2billion facility to support recovery and resilience in Africa. AFC has committed to funding up to 50% of the new African Economic Resilience Facility and mobilising the remainder through the Corporation’s network of international partners and investors. The facility will be announced at the AFC Live Infrastructure Solutions Summit today. The facility will be disbursed through loans from AFC to selected commercial banks, regional development banks and central banks in various African countries, providing them with much needed hard…

TDB was announced as this year’s winner of the Best Development Bank at the Global Trade Review (GTR) Leaders in Trade Awards ceremony held in London this past 4th of May 2022. GTR awards “highlight excellence in the trade, commodity, supply chain, export finance and fintech markets. Each year GTR recognises the market’s pioneering institutions and top performers from around the world“. This accolade celebrates TDB’s continued excellence in driving impact in the region it serves through trade finance activities. It recognizes the Bank’s critical role facilitating greater intra- and inter-African trade, addressing supply chain disruptions as well as trade finance and forex…

Today, the European Commission and the European Investment Bank (EIB) signed an ambitious Guarantee Agreement through which the European Commission will support up to €26.7 billion of EIB financial operations to enable crucial public investments in sectors like clean energy, digital and transport infrastructure, health and education over the next seven years, rolling out Global Gateway worldwide. Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement,Olivér Várhelyi, said: “Today’s landmark guarantee agreement with the European Investment Bank will enable to finance the implementation of our Economic and Investment Plans for the Western Balkans, the Southern and Eastern Neighbourhood. We launched these three substantial investment plans to support…

A few months before work begins at Timor Port, the initiatives to protect the eco-system of this future deep water port are continuing. Timor Port and its local partner, the NGO KFF (Konservasaun Flora no Fauna) have planted the first 500 trees in this conservation area. This ceremony took place in the presence of representatives of the Timorese environmental authority and local authorities. The launch of this mangrove conservation area is part of its Biodiversity Action Plan. Timor Port will then plant 3.5 hectares of mangroves, which is equivalent to a total of 18,000 trees. It is also about ensuring …

Heads of State and Government meeting at the United Nations’ global conference on land have called on the international community to take urgent action to stem the loss of life and livelihoods that communities all over the world are experiencing due to the increasing and devastating impacts of desertification, land degradation and drought.  Speaking at the Heads of State Summit convened ahead of the opening of the 15th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP15) to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), Alassane Ouattara, President of Côte d’Ivoire, declared: “Our Summit must be one of hope, of…