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The Attijariwafa Bank group and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat signed, on the sidelines of the 2024 Edition of the International Africa Development Forum, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) aimed at accelerating the impacts of the AfCFTA to facilitate trade and investment on the Continent. Initiated by Mr. Mohamed El Kettani, Chairman and CEO of the Attijariwafa bank group, and H.E. Wamkele Mene, the Secretary-General of the AfCFTA Secretariat, this Memorandum of Understanding relates to the cooperation between the two parties to mobilize resources, identify and support the implementation of projects in priority sectors such as infrastructure,…

Africa Global Logistics (AGL) is launching the call for applications for the “Accelerate” program of the Yiri Innovation Center, open from June 19, 2024 to July 26, 2024, in Abidjan. This open innovation program dedicated to startups developing technological solutions in key or related sectors of the AGL Group (logistics, transport, digital, etc.) aims to accelerate their growth through expert coaching, training and events within its innovation center. The objective of this program is to support startups in the seed or growth phase and to promote partnerships with the AGL Group, through support adapted to their needs. “Accelerate” is aimed…

The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) has entered into a landmark collaborative partnership with Africa50, the pan-African infrastructure investor and asset management Group. As part of the agreement, Africa50 has pledged up to USD 100 million to fund and co-finance renewables-based energy transition projects and infrastructure across Africa through IRENA’s Energy Transition Accelerator Financing (ETAF) platform, reinforcing efforts towards sustainable development and climate action across the continent. The agreement was signed today on the margins of the OPEC Fund Development Forum in Vienna by IRENA Director-General, Mr. Francesco La Camera and Africa50 CEO, Mr. Alain Ebobissé. “For the first time…

Barcelona, June 25, 2024 – On the first day of the Africa Energy Forum (aef), the African Trade & Investment Development Insurance (ATIDI) and Globeleq Africa Limited, jointly announced the former’s support for the 35 MW Globeleq Menengai Geothermal Project with liquidity cover via the Regional Liquidity Support Facility (RLSF). RLSF, a joint initiative of ATIDI, the KfW Development Bank and the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad), is a credit enhancement instrument available to renewable energy Independent Power Producers (IPPs) that sell the electricity generated by their projects to state-owned power utilities. RLSF is offered in ATIDI member countries…

Shelter Afrique, the only pan-African finance institution dedicated to affordable housing development, concluded its 43rd Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Kigali, Rwanda. The AGM, held on 13th June 2024, saw robust participation from Member States and resulted in the adoption of several key resolutions poised to advance affordable housing and sustainable urban development across the continent. Key Resolutions and Strategic Outcomes: 1. Election of a New AGM Bureau: § Chairperson: Honourable Minister of Infrastructure, Rwanda, Hon. Dr Jimmy Gasore § 1st Vice Chairperson: Honourable Minister of Housing, Urban Planning, and the City, Algeria, Hon. Tarek Belaribi. § 2nd Vice Chairperson: Honourable Minister of Economy and…

The Ministry of Commerce, Trade, and Industry (MCTI), in collaboration with the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa Sub-Regional Office for Southern Africa (ECA SRO-SA) organized a workshop to review the outcomes of the mid-term review of the implementation of Zambia’s National Industrial Policy (2018-2027) and to validate the Implementation Plan for the National Industrial Policy (2024-2027). The review ascertained the extent to which the policy has been deployed, identified successes, challenges and how these can inform the calibration of the implementation plan for the remainder of the life of the policy. The support to Zambia is part of technical…

Conakry – Guinea. On 19 June, Winning Consortium Simandou (WCS) and China Baowu Steel Group (China Baowu) officially completed the closing of a co-investment deal in Simandou Blocks 1 and 2, part of the world’s largest untapped iron ore mine. This strategic partnership marks a new chapter in the sustainable development of Guinea’s mining sector. This milestone was achieved through the concerted efforts and support of the Government of Guinea whose dedication facilitated fruitful negotiations. On 30 May, the Guinean government formally confirmed its approval of China Baowu’s investment. By 19 June, WCS and China Baowu completed the establishment of the…

African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has signed an indicative term sheet with APD-Cameroon for the financing of the development and operation of a new port terminal in Douala, Cameroon, estimated to cost EUR210 million. According to the term sheet, the proposed facility will be in two tranches in Euro and Central African Francs (XAF) of up to EUR147 million, with a proposed Afreximbank participation of EUR80 million. The new terminal will be an extension of the existing Port of Douala and will consist of two berths to be numbered 53 and 54. Addressing guests at the signing ceremony, which took place…

Today, on June 19, 2024, the Minister of State in charge of Justice, Human Rights Promotion, and Good Governance, Keeper of the Seals, Dr. Arnaud DJOUBAYE ABAZENE, officially launched a national awareness campaign against corruption in the judicial sector. Entitled “Together, Let’s Fight Against Corruption in the CAR”, this campaign is carried out with the support of the European Union and the operator Altair Asesores. It aims to raise awareness among citizens to denounce abuses, especially corruption, and to inform victims about the measures to take to assert their rights. The main messages of the campaign emphasize that laws exist…

Heads of State, Ministers, government officials, and renowned captains of industry were among the over two thousand delegates attending day one of the 31st African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) Annual Meetings (AAM) being held in Nassau, The Bahamas from June 12-15. Themed “Owning our Destiny: Economic Prosperity on the Platform of Global Africa,” the first day of the Meetings called to strengthen the linkages between Africa and the Caribbean, the sixth region of the African Union. These meetings are considered crucial for economic decision-makers in Africa and the Caribbean, and are covered by the African, Caribbean, and international media. In his…

Gide advised Crédit Agricole SA on the sale to the Holmarcom group (Holmarcom Finance City) of the second and final 15% tranche of its stake in Crédit du Maroc, a Moroccan bank listed on the Casablanca stock exchange.This transaction follows the sale by Crédit Agricole SA of the first tranche of 63.7% of its stake...

The government of the Republic of Djibouti was astonished to learn about the Container Port Performance Index 2023, published on Wednesday, June 5 by the World Bank in partnership with the private company S&P (Standard and Poor’s). According to this report, the Djibouti Container Port (SGTD) fell from the 26th position globally in 2022 to the 379th in 2023. This drop of over 350 places in one year is clearly absurd and does not reflect any tangible reality on the ground. The Republic of Djibouti vehemently rejects this report with its ludicrous conclusions, which unjustifiably damages our country and our…

In a nod to its increasingly important contribution to Africa’s economic growth and development, Afreximbank has been recognised with a haul of 8 Awards at the EMEA Project Finance and EMEA Achievement Awards 2023 Charity dinners held in London on June 5 & 6 respectively.Hosted by EMEA Finance magazine, the event honoured Afreximbank for its innovative and outstanding project finance achievements in both the Project Finance Awards and the Achievement Awards. Under Project Finance Awards 2023, Afreximbank received the Best Oil and Gas Deal award for its NNPCL Project Gazelle US$3.3-billion five-year pre-export finance syndicated loan, and the Best Energy…

Financial Afrik (www.financialafrik.com), a multi-platform media outlet covering economic and financial information, announces its certification under the “Journalism Trust Initiative” (JTI), a project initiated by the international NGO Reporters Without Borders and designed as an international ISO professional standard. With this certification, Financial Afrik and its English counterpart, Kapital Afrik (www.kapitalafrik.com), mark a new stage in their development. This certification is the result of a process based on a questionnaire with several questions per section. The responses provided by the management and journalists of the editorial team to an audit structure are made public on the JTI platform (jti-app.com) in…

African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has announced an additional disbursement of US$925 million under the syndicated US$3.3 billion crude oil-backed prepayment facility sponsored by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited. This brings the total current funded facility size to US$ 3.175 billion.Arranged and coordinated by Afreximbank, the accordion arrangement saw the raising of a combined total of US$925 million from a consortium of crude oil off-taker lenders including but not limited to the Oando Group and Sahara Energy Resource Limited.Afreximbank acted as Mandated Lead Arranger, Technical and Modelling Bank, Bookrunner, Facility Agent, Offshore Account Bank, Intercreditor Agent and Collateral Agent…

Cameroonian Alain Nkontchou has handed over the chairmanship of the board of directors of Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI) to Senegalese Pape Madiaw Ndiaye, according to one of the resolutions adopted on June 6th in Lome, during the 36th edition of the bank’s annual general meetings. Thus, a perfectly bilingual investment fund manager replaces another who is also perfectly bilingual. Pape Madiaw Ndiaye is the CEO and Founder of AFIG Funds. His career includes a stint at Emerging Markets Partnership in Washington (EMP) as an investment director. He was one of three partners to raise 407 million USD for the African…

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This past Tuesday night in Nairobi, Kenya, on the sidelines of the African Development Bank Annual Meetings, the titans of the African banking and financial industry gathered at the prestigious African Banker Awards Gala Dinner, bringing an end to the annual competition. It is with high appreciation and pride that the Eastern and Southern African Trade and Development Bank Group (TDB Group) is acknowledging the win of its Group President and Managing Director, Mr. Admassu Tadesse, as African Banker of the Year. Among the criteria the judges were looking at for this distinguished award, a pivotal factor was the demonstration…

Adenia Partners, a prominent private equity firm specializing in African growth opportunities, has successfully divested its entire stake in Cresta Paints to Uhuru Investment Partners. Cresta Paints, a key player in the automotive refinish and protective coatings sector in West Africa, was partnered with Adenia since 2015, which helped enhance its market leadership and operational standards.Under Adenia’s guidance, Cresta Paints not only expanded its market presence across West Africa but also achieved significant certifications like ISO 45001 and ISO 14001. Uhuru Investment Partners, focusing on middle-market investments in West Africa, looks forward to further expanding Cresta’s operations and customer base.…

For the second year in a row, African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has emerged as a double winner at the African Banker Awards, winning both the ‘Bank of the Year’ and ‘Deal of the Year (Infrastructure)’ awards. This prestigious recognition was announced at the awards gala ceremony held in Nairobi and attended by over 300 of the continent’s leading figures in banking and finance. The award organisers highlighted Afreximbank’s exceptional performance across various metrics, key among them, “considerably changing the banking landscape by reaching out to new customers, offering new services, adopting inclusiveness by bringing the unbanked into the banking space, making…

Mediterrania Capital Partners appoints Maty Ndiaye as its new Managing Director for the West Africa region Casablanca. Mediterrania Capital Partners, a Private Equity firm focused on growth investments for SMEs and mid-cap companies in North Africa and Sub-Saharan countries, is pleased to announce the appointment of Maty Ndiaye as its new Managing Director for the West Africa region. Maty brings 18 years of investment experience, including 14 years in Private Equity across Africa. Her career began at Goldman Sachs in Global Investment Research. She then joined Kingdom Zephyr Africa Management in London, where she was involved in CNIA Saada’s IPO…

The Eastern and Southern African Trade and Development Bank Group (TDB Group) has become the latest member of the African Legal Support Facility (ALSF), after depositing its instrument of accession to the Agreement for the Establishment of the African Legal Support Facility on 5 March 2024. The accession was celebrated during the signing ceremony which took place at TDB Tower, TDB Group’s Nairobi Operations Hub, on the 27 May 2024. With its accession to the ALSF Agreement, TDB Group became the sixty-first member of the ALSF, and the eighth institutional member, following the lead of the African Development Bank (AfDB)…

The annual general meetings of the African Development Bank (AfDB) started this Monday May 28th in Nairobi, focusing on a theme related to the reform of the international financial architecture, a subject dear to Akinwumi Adesina. The Nigerian has led a global reflection initiated since the Covid-19 pandemic, which resulted in the issuance of special Drawing Rights (SDRs) by the IMF to support developing countries. For the AfDB president, who has successfully gotten the multilateral financial system to adopt the principle of hosting SDRs to leverage them, this represents a significant advancement. However, the real stakes of reforming the international…

The Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA) has been upgraded by Moody’s Ratings to Aa1 / Stable outlook (from Aa2/Positive Outlook). The rating upgrade reflects BADEA’s robust capital buffers and very low leverage as well as continuously strengthening asset quality with only 0.51% NPLs. The very low NPLs ratio has been achieved and maintained despite a very challenging environment in Sub Saharan Africa (SSA) where the bank provides all its policy lending. The shareholder countries of BADEA (Arab countries) do not benefit from the lending operations of the bank due to its institutional governance structure. The upgrade also…

In a significant development for West Africa’s digital economy, the Fonds Commun de Titrisation de Créances (FCTC) Sonatel bond, underwritten by the Emerging Africa Infrastructure Fund (EAIF) and the International Finance Corporation (IFC), debuted on the Bourse Régionale des Valeurs Mobilières (BRVM), the stock exchange of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU). This move, commemorated in Abidjan on May 22, 2024, marks a pivotal moment for Sonatel, Senegal’s leading telecommunications provider, enabling substantial advancements in the region’s digital services. The bond issuance, a first in January 2024, attracted a combined commitment of XOF 48.5 billion (approximately $80 million)…

The Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of Investment and Export Credit (ICIEC), a multilateral insurer operating under the principles of Islamic law (Sharia) and a member of the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) Group, announces the co-option of Dr. Khalid Khalafalla as Officer, effective from May 19, 2024. An experienced executive, Dr. Khalafalla brings extensive experience...

If you are 30 years maximum of age by December 31, 2024, talented, ambitious and eager to boost your experience and expertise in a stimulating and dynamic environment, with a strong potential for development, within a team of great professional where performance is the key, visit our website for applications and more details : The African Guarantee and Economic Cooperation Fund’s Young Professionals Program (YPP) is a one (1) year program that provides a development opportunity for future leaders. The program aims to attract highly qualified and motivated professionals from the 14 FAGACE member countries: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central…

The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) and MobiHealthCare Limited (MobiHealth) have signed a project preparation facility agreement that is expected to bolster the expansion of Mobihealth’s telemedicine services in Nigeria, and also assess the feasibility of establishing similar services in Egypt, Ghana, Kenya and Cote d’ Ivoire. Under the terms of the agreement, Afreximbank will part-finance project preparatory activities that will leverage MobiHealth’s successfully integrated telemedicine proprietary platform, initially piloted in Nigeria, to the four additional countries. This initiative is expected to rapidly lead to the establishment of a network of telemedicine clinics across Africa, fully equipped with out-patient facilities. The…

African Ministers of Health, Finance and Trade, experts and development partners have adopted an approach towards the transitioning of the AfCFTA-anchored Pharmaceutical Initiative (Pharma Initiative) into the start-up Phase of the African Pooled Procurement Mechanism (APPM) ensuring continuity and keeping the momentum in advancing healthcare access, kick starting industrialization, and ensuring economic and health security on the continent. In their recommendations drawn from the conclusion of the three day meeting in Mombasa, Kenya, the ministers agreed that the APPM, led by the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) with support of Afreximbank and the Economic Commission for Africa…

The inaugural Djibouti Forum brought together nearly 400 delegates, including international institutional investors collectively overseeing a staggering $2.5 trillion in assets. Describing the forum as a “resounding success”, Dr. Slim Feriani, CEO of Fonds Souverain de Djibouti (Djibouti’s sovereign wealth fund), noted that it was evident that there “is great and growing interest in Djibouti.” During the closing ceremony of the two-day event, Feriani signed a memorandum of understanding with Tamini Insurance, part of the influential Salaam Group, a leading financial conglomerate in Djibouti. Tamini Insurance’s CEO, Mohamed Bahdon, announced that under the agreement, their clients—numbering over 4,000—will now have…