Author: Editor

Africa should harness its vast mineral reserves to drive economic transformation and accelerate sustainable development on the back of power poverty, the Acting Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa, Antonio Pedro has urged, highlighting that the continent is well position to spearhead clean energy transition. “The top priority for Africa is to achieve inclusive and sustainable economic transformation that delivers tangible impacts on job creation and poverty eradication while addressing the triple planetary crises of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution,” Mr. Pedro, said in a video address at the 17th August opening of the 19th Ordinary Session of the…

The Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA) has just been rated AAA with a stable outlook by the Japan Credit Rating Agency (JCR). The Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA) is a multilateral development bank (MDB) established by Arab countries (Members of the League of Arab States – LAS) to promote economic development in (non-Arab) African countries. Its three main activities are participating in financing economic development in the African countries, stimulating the contribution of Arab capital in African development, and participating in providing the technical assistance required for development in Africa. The rating is based…

His Excellency Dr. Sidi Ould Tah, President of BADEA, signed three significant agreements with the Republic of Benin with a total amount of USD 100 Million (CFA Francs 60 Billion) to boost Benin’s private sector, improve food security, adapt to climate change and support the development finance landscape in West Africa. These strategic framework and loan agreements were signed in Cotonou, with H.E. Mr. Romuald Wadagni, Senior Minister / Minister of Finance and Economy of Benin in the presence of H.E. Mr. Gaston Cossi Dossouhoui, Minister of Agriculture. On this unique occasion, H.E. Dr. Sidi Ould Tah said: “The Republic…

Vista Group has agreed with ECP, BIO, DEG, Proparco and Envol Afrique to acquire, subject to regulatory approvals,  61.4% of Oragroup S.A, the holding company of Orabank based in Lomé and operating in 12 West and Central African countries (Togo, Cote D’Ivoire, Benin, Senegal, Burkina-Faso, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger, Tchad, Gabon, Mauritania) with total assets of $7.7 billion as of end of 2022. The entities (Vista and Oragroup) will create a Tier 1 banking group covering 16 countries with more than 270 branches and represent total combined assets of more than $10 billion. This new acquisition by the Vista Group now significantly extends its presence to other markets and geographical areas (100%…

Prof. Benedict Oramah, President and Chairman of the Board of Directors of African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), in the company of the Hon. Mia Amor Mottley, Prime Minister of Barbados, Dr. the Hon. Ralph Gonsalves, Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, the Hon. Phillip Pierre, Prime Minister of St. Lucia, the Hon. Dickon Mitchell, Prime Minister of Grenada, H.E President Olusegun Obasanjo (GCFR), Former President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Chairman of the Intra-African Trade Advisory council, as well as other dignitaries from Africa and the Caribbean community region presided over the official opening of the CARICOM office…

Africa should develop regulatory mechanisms to supervise international credit rating agencies (CRAs) to avoid erroneous assessments that discourage investment on the continent, an experts report has recommended. “African regulators need to develop regulatory mechanisms to supervise the work of international CRAs operating within their respective jurisdictions to ensure proper conduct of business and enforcement. It is imperative for regulators to ensure accountability on inaccurate rating opinions issued in Africa, African experts said in a report, African Sovereign Credit Review Mid-Year Outlook. Poor ratings affect investment in Africa The joint report by the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and the African Peer…

The most beautiful palace in Kigali celebrates its 50th anniversary from August 4th to 6th, 2023. Opened in 1973, this establishment immortalized in the movie ‘Hotel Rwanda’ offers suites, bars, and restaurants in a festive ambiance. Its destiny is intertwined with the events of this country, which was the stage of one of the greatest tragedies of the 20th century. Hotel Mille Collines experienced by Prince Balla Moussa Keita. In 1991, during an inaugural flight of Air Zaire from Kinshasa to Kigali, the capital of Rwanda, I found myself face to face with Mr. M Amri SUED, the late ambassador…

African debt management officers from eastern and southern African countries received a training on Loan Negotiation and Foreign Exchange Risk Management. With the objective of enhancing the negotiation of fair and balanced loan contracts with external lenders, from 17 to 21 July 2023, the African Legal Support Facility (the “ALSF”), the Macroeconomic and Financial Management Institute of Eastern and Southern Africa (‘‘MEFMI’’), the Currency Exchange Fund N.V. (‘‘TCX’’) and the Eastern and Southern African Trade and Development Bank (‘‘TDB’’) “Organisers”) have brought together African government debt management officers (“DMOs”) from the eastern and southern African region in a five-day workshop in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania. An increase…

By George Orido in NAIROBI-KENYA  President Dr William Ruto of Kenya has announced that Africans coming to Kenya might soon need no visa. Mr. Ruto said Kenya was the cradle of mankind and that alone should inform the decision to waive visa requirements for all African countries entering Kenya. “Scientists, and I am one of them, have long established that Kenya is the cradle of mankind and if you start feeling at home then you are truly at home,” he said amidst applause from delegates attending the Mid-Year Africa Union meeting in Nairobi. He added; “Next time you come to…

Ocorian, the specialist global provider corporate and fiduciary, fund administration, and capital markets services to financial institutions, corporates and high net worth individuals, is strengthening its US Capital Markets team with a senior appointment. Anton J. Britton has joined as Head of Business Development, Capital Markets based in New York where Ocorian is rapidly expanding its range of services. He brings more than 20 years’ experience in the financial services industry which most recently has involved working with large US-based public pension fund client managing complex relationships with public and Taft Hartley pension plans. He also has extensive experience in…

The Board of Directors of the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA) has approved 8 social and environmental impact projects in West, Central and Southern Africa as well as the Sahel region. These new approvals aim at fostering both Arab-African cooperation and African regional integration, supporting impactful environmental projects that focus on addressing African climate change, and closing the development gap in Africa, in line with BADEA’s 2030 Strategy, the United Nations SDGs and the African Union’s 2063 Agenda. Four public sector projects and three capacity development grants worth USD 110.765 Million (65 Billion FCFA), in five countries…

Building on the success of its official launch ceremony last year in Rabat under the High Patronage of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, may God Assists him, The African Sovereign Investors Forum (ASIF) held its second annual meeting in Kigali, Rwanda, on July 6-7. Under the theme “Strategic Partnerships: Driving Africa’s Resilience and Sustainable Development”, this year’s edition was hosted by Rwanda’s sovereign wealth fund Agaciro Development Fund. Among the participation of ASIF’s sovereign wealth funds executives, this second meeting hosted the Republic of Rwanda’s Prime Minister, Dr. Edouard Ngirente, as well as members of his government, naming Mr. Eric…

The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) in collaboration with Bank of Tanzania and Frontclear – an institution dedicated to money market development working in Tanzania since 2016 and ECA’s technical partner – organized a 2-day workshop to launch the feasibility of an Umbrella Guarantee Facility (UGF) for the Tanzanian market. The UGF – or Tradeclear – is a systemic approach to reducing counterparty credit risk in the market, the key challenge behind market segmentation. Entrenched market segmentation pushes banks to rely on central bank standing facilities for their liquidity adjustment, despite often high levels of excess liquidity in…

Lomé, 14 July 2023 – Ecobank, the leading pan-African Banking Group, has been named Africa’s Best Bank for SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises) by the prestigious Euromoney Awards for Excellence for the second year running, having also won the accolade in 2022. Jeremy Awori, Chief Executive Officer, Ecobank Group, said: “This award reflects Ecobank’s absolute commitment to supporting African SMEs and our continuous suite of innovations – financial and non-financial – to spur their growth and success. We aim to be the bank of choice for Africa’s SMEs. Undoubtedly, these SMEs are the key drivers for Africa’s economic growth, as they…

Kinshasa, 13 July 2023 – Rawbank, the leading bank in the Democratic Republic of Congo, publishes its results alongside its 2022 annual report. The year saw a dynamic performance with diversification and an increase in loans to clients of 39%. The bank’s twentieth year of activity ends with a strong and sturdy financial position. Rawbank’s commercial activity in 2022 was particularly solid, with a balance sheet total of US$4.14 billion. Lending increased by 39% from the previous year to US$1.3 billion. Supported by sustained growth, Rawbank increased its shareholder equity, which will allow it to lend to support the dynamism of…

The Launch Event placed the limelight on Global Food Security Issues and Provided Engagement and Collaboration Opportunities for African and Arab Businesses in the Agricultural & Food Sectors Prof. Benedict Oramah, President & Chairman of Afreximbank and Chairman of the AATB Executive Committee, in a handshake with Eng. Hani Sonbol, CEO of ITFC and Secretary General of the AATB, after declaring the Food Security Programme by the AATB duly launched. The Executive Committee of The Arab-Africa Trade Bridges (AATB) Program, a multi-donor, Inter-regional program, launched a US$1.5 billion Food Security Program to address the issues of food insecurity in the Arab and African regions amidst…

· Africa50 and International Solar Alliance (ISA) will engage in mutual capacity-building and synergize, leveraging each other’s networks to mobilize funding and raise awareness of African solar projects in European and Indian markets. Africa50, the pan-African infrastructure investment platform and the International Solar Alliance (ISA), an action-oriented, member-driven, collaborative platform for increased deployment of solar energy technologies, today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to support and finance solar projects in Africa. This partnership advances the organizations’ mutual goal of increasing the deployment of solar, to improve energy access, ensure energy security, and drive the energy transition around the world. …

The Africa50 Infra for Africa Forum kicked off this morning in Lomé, Togo, with a landmark signing of an asset recycling agreement. Asset Recycling is an innovative initiative led by Africa50 for governments to monetize existing infrastructure assets through a concession to the private sector with funds received being reinvested in other priority projects. The agreement with the Republic of Togo, is expected to free the Government from all or part of the debt associated with the Lomé-Kpalimé Road project, thus freeing up some fiscal headroom to allocate public investments to other priority infrastructures for the country. The road users,…

Drives digital transformation and growth of DRC’s mobile network market – Supports the development of state-of-the-art telecom towers across the Democratic Republic of Congo, sub-Saharan Africa’s largest country – Increases last-mile connectivity in a mobile subscriber market projected to grow by 22 million subscribers by 2030 The Emerging Africa Infrastructure Fund (EAIF), a Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG) company, has committed US$30 million to Eastcastle Infrastructure (“Eastcastle”), a platform company that owns, operates, and develops shared telecom tower infrastructure in countries across Africa. The investment enables the purchase and development of telecom towers across the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) for the…

The African Trade Insurance Agency (ATI) is set to hold its upcoming Annual General Meeting in Kigali, Rwanda – the pan-African multilateral trade & investment insurer has disclosed. The event is scheduled to take place from the 5th to 7th July 2023 and is expected to comprise the 23rd Ordinary Annual General Meeting of Shareholders (AGM) and an Investor Roundtable. The Roundtable will discuss Africa’s trade and investment risks under the theme: Re-thinking Risk. Enabling Finance, against the backdrop of the continent’s economic fallout stemming from the Covid-19 scourge, the negative consequences of Russia – Ukraine war, and climate change. “Several…

The African Securities Exchanges Association (ASEA) has signed a memorandum of understanding with SecondSTAX, a technology company that is building solutions to enhance intra-Africa capital and investment flows, to support the success of the African Exchanges Linkage Project (AELP) which aims to integrate all exchanges across the continent and to facilitate seamless cross-border trading of securities. SecondSTAX will provide technical and operational support to ensure the successful delivery of AELP, which is the flagship project of the African Securities Exchanges Association (ASEA) and the African Development Bank (AfDB) to enable the free movement of institutional investments between participating exchanges and licensed investment firms across…

The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) and Al-Mahaliya Inc. of Mauritania recently signed a EUR 19.6 million financing agreement for the development of a 100-metric tonnes per day dairy processing and bottling plant in Nouakchott.  The agreement, signed on the sidelines of the 30th Afreximbank Annual Meetings (AAM2023), is expected to boost the local dairy sector and associated value chains in Mauritania and to help standardize the industry. According to the agreement, the development of the dairy processing and bottling plant, which fits within Afreximbank’s industrialization and export development strategy, will facilitate and provide financing for the manufacturing sector through agro-processing and…

The global rating agency, Fitch Ratings, on 20 June 2023 affirmed the African Export-Import Bank’s (Afreximbank) Long-Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at ‘BBB’, with a Stable Outlook. Fitch also affirmed Afreximbank’s Short-Term Issuer Default Rating at ‘F2’ and the Long-Term ratings on the Bank’s Global Medium Term Note Programme and Debt Issuances at ‘BBB’. The rating affirmation is a strong testament of the Bank’s systemic relevance to Africa and captures the increasing number of the key mandates given to the Bank by the African Union (AU), such as the implementation of the health response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the support for access to…

Practical roadmap for easing the debt burden for low-income countries while freeing up funds for climate needs World leaders attending this week’s Summit for a New Global Financing Pact praised the African Development Bank for finding a solution that would enable rich countries to reallocate part of their Special Drawing Rights (SDR) to low-income countries through multilateral development banks. The technical solution preserves the asset reserve status of the SDRs and would unlock hundreds of billions for Africa. The African Development Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank have been leading calls for the reallocation of the SDRs through multilateral development banks like…

In line with the call from the Paris Summit for a New Global Financing Pact, the European Investment Bank (EIB) has committed to intensify its support for the Global South and to join innovative mechanisms to accelerate a just transition in developing countries. The EIB has also agreed with the European Commission to strengthen their existing cooperation on most initiatives carried out around the globe as Team Europe under the EU’s Global Gateway investment strategy. The aim is to boost investment in key sectors such as energy transition and healthcare and to develop new tools to support low- and middle-income…