Author: Albert Savana

The CEO of the largest pan-African banking group, Ade Ayeyemi, can show a smile. [1 dollar USD = 580.5 CFA Franc XOF]. The consolidated net profit of Ecobank Transcontinental Incorporated (ETI), the parent company of the Ecobank banking group, increased sharply by 281% at the end of the 2021 financial year compared to the same period of 2020, announced the leaders of this pan-African bank based in Lomé. According to the unaudited consolidated financial statements, this profit amounted to 193.792 billion FCFA (333.7 million dollars) against 50.837 billion FCFA, a significant increase of 142.955 billion FCFA. For its part, the…

It’s a first. Shaken by China’s Tiktok and Apple’s changing privacy rules, Facebook lost users for the first time in its history, 18 years after its launch, and Meta’s pessimistic forecast for the current quarter disappointed investors. The least valued GAFAM company (MAGMA since its name change) recorded a drop of 1 million daily users on its four platforms (Facebook, Instagram, Messenger and WhatsApp) to 2.8 billion in the fourth quarter of 2021. The number of these users is stagnating in America and Europe and declining in Latin America, Africa and other territories. These declines have shaken the balance sheet…

Globacom Limited, a Nigerian multinational operating in the telecommunications sector, announced earlier this week that it had entered into a partnership agreement with the Israeli company Ceragon Networks, a network equipment supplier. This agreement aims to offer the Nigerian telephone operator an extension of its network, but also to have state-of-the-art technology. In its statement, Globacom said it wants to build the biggest and best telecommunications network in Africa. With this in mind, the document points out, this agreement will significantly increase network capacity and improve service delivery to customers. Ceragon will provide a customized solution that covers rural areas…

The Ivorian Banking Company (SIB) opened its third “Business Center”, a self-service space dedicated to businesses on February 1, 2022 in Abidjan. Through this establishment, the subsidiary of the Moroccan group Attijariwafa Bank intends to strengthen its support for the development of local businesses. The SIB Business Centers bring together in the same space all the professions involved in the processing of requests from business customers in order to offer increased responsiveness, greater speed, as well as more effective follow-up. These centers, which were motivated by the bank’s desire to offer companies a new value proposition more suited to supporting…

After five years of activity in the interim market, Action Ivoire Intérim (A2I) Outsourcing presented on February 1, 2022, the results of the 2017-2022 financial year and unveiled some tracks of its Strategic Development Plan (2022- 2026). According to the managers of the pan-African outsourcing company, specializing in human resources and Facility Management, this first five-year term has resulted in a turnover estimated at more than 4 billion FCFA in 2021. As for the next five-year term, according to the 2022-2026 Strategic Development Plan, A2I Outsourcing plans to raise the stakes and achieve a turnover of at least 35 billion…

The inflation rate fell from 4.9% in November to 6% in December 2021 in the countries of the West African Economic and Monetary Union, according to data published this week by the Central Bank of African States. West (BCEAO). This is its highest level since the start of the year. The data indicate that in November, the pace of inflation accelerated in connection in particular with the rise in the prices of the “Food” and “Housing” components, whose contributions to total inflation increased respectively by 0.8 and 0.3 percentage points from the previous month. “The acceleration noted at the level…

The Bank of Central African States (BEAC) with the assistance of the World Bank (WB) is looking for consultants for project management assistance for the development of a tool for empowering macroprudential stress tests in the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa (CEMAC). This initiative is in line with the 2017-2020 Strategic Plan aimed at strengthening macroprudential analysis in order to provide the institution of monetary issuance in the sub-region with tools allowing the identification, evaluation and systemic risk analysis of savings and credit institutions. The Central Bank needs an instrument to assess the resilience of commercial banks in…

Super gasoline goes from 615 to 635 FCFA / liter from February 1 to 28, 2022, i.e. 20 FCFA increase, reported on Monday January 31 a note from the General Directorate of Hydrocarbons consulted. As far as the price of diesel is concerned, it has not undergone any modification. It remains unchanged at 615 FCFA / liter as the kerosene which remains at 555 FCFA per liter at ambient. Also, the price of the 6 kg butane gas bottle (B 6) also remains stable at 2,000 CFA francs. Same for the 12.5 kg bottle, regularly used in households (5,200 FCFA).…

In the Democratic Republic of Congo, President Félix Tshisekedi kicked off construction work on the deep-water port of Banana in Kongo Central (north-west of the country), this Monday, January 31, 2022 in Moanda. According to the authorities, the platform will increase the volume of international trade and thus enable the country to respond to the meeting of African integration with well-renewed and well-assumed assets. It will also allow the DRC to develop an industrial and logistics zone as well as the consequent creation of jobs. In a speech delivered on December 13, 2021 before the parliament in Kinshasa, Félix Tshisekedi…

The French ambassador to Mali, Joëlle Meyer, was summoned this Monday, January 31 by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Mali who notified him of the decision of the government which invites him to leave the territory within a period of 72 hours. The announcement was made in a press release signed by the head of Malian diplomacy. “This measure follows the hostile and outrageous remarks made recently by the French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs and the recurrence of such remarks by the French authorities with regard to the Malian authorities, despite the protests repeatedly…

The consolidated turnover of the Tunisian group ENNAKL Automobiles operating in the automotive sector (concession, rental and sale of automotive spare parts), recorded an increase of 20.05% as of December 31, 2021 compared to the same period. of 2020, announced the leaders of the group. This turnover amounted to 538.281 million dinars against 448.396 million dinars as of December 31, 2020, an increase of 89.885 million dinars. “The performance achieved in 2021 enabled Ennakl Automobiles to consolidate its position as the leading importer of the automotive market for new vehicles in Tunisia for the fourth consecutive year with 13.10% market…

The President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Akinwumi Adesina, signed three financing agreements on January 27, 2022 with Amadou Hott, the Minister of Economy, Planning and Cooperation of Senegal before a parterre of partners and economic operators in Dakar. These cooperation and investment agreements are aimed at supporting economic recovery, accelerating industrialization and job creation in the country. These are, according to the two parties, financing agreements relating to the Program of support and industrial acceleration in competitiveness and employment, intended for young people and women, the Program to open up agricultural and mining areas for phase I, both…

The State of Niger, through its General Directorate of Treasury and Public Accounts, raised on January 27, 2022 an amount of 33 billion FCFA (49.5 million euros) at the end of its issue of similar bonds of the Treasury (OAT) with a maturity of 3 years on the financial market of the West African Monetary Union (WAMU). The funds raised aim to mobilize the savings of natural and legal persons in order to cover the financing needs of the Niger State budget. The Niger Public Treasury had auctioned an amount of 30 billion FCFA. He found himself with overall bids…

In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the government increased the prices of petroleum products for the western zone, including the city of Kinshasa, following changes in the parameters of the price structure of these products, in this case the rate of exchange rate (the exchange rate for the US dollar is 2.005 FC on January 26, 2022), the average border price and the volume of products put up for consumption. According to a press release from the Ministry of National Economy published on January 25, 2022, a liter of gasoline will now cost 2,095 Congolese francs (1.04 USD), compared…

The prices of products imported by Senegal rose by 3.2% in November 2021 compared to the previous month, according to data from the National Agency for Statistics and Demography (ANSD) based in Dakar. This structure emphasizes in its note on the monthly indices of foreign trade prices that “this increase is mainly the result of the increase in the prices of mineral products which contributed to it by +4.8 percentage points, vegetable products ( +0.2), and transport equipment (+0.1).>> However, this increase in the prices of imported products was mitigated by the fall in the prices of base metals and…

For the second consecutive week, the needs of commercial banks in Mali will not be fully covered by the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO), the common issuing institution of the 8 countries of the Union economic and monetary West African (UEMOA). According to the results of the fourth injection of liquidity at a fixed rate for the year 2022 consulted by ‘Financial Afrik’, the institution based in Dakar (Senegal) refinanced the Malian banking sector, on January 24, to the tune of 209.136 billion of FCFA for the week, against 356.136 billion. This amount is the same as the…

Inflation, in annual comparison, accelerated to 3.2% in December 2021 in Morocco after 2.6% in November, according to data updated by the central bank. This dynamic, she said, mainly reflects the 3.1% rise instead of a 0.9% drop in volatile food prices. “It is also attributable, although to a lesser extent, to the rise in underlying inflation to 3.6% instead of 3.3% in November, in connection with the evolution of its food component. On the other hand, the prices of fuels and lubricants saw their pace slow down to 19.9% ​​instead of 25.2% and regulated tariffs increased by 0.1% after…

Congo is considering the construction of a railway line to serve the north and the south in order to fcilitate the export of mining and hydrocarbon products. 1,000 km long, this railway linking the department of Sangha to that of Pointe-Noire, the ore port in the making, should require an investment of 10 billion dollars. Presented as a lever of development according to the Head of State Dénis Sassou Nguesso, the construction of the said railway linking the production and export zones aims for the same development objectives like the integrative projects aimed at integration under -regional. This is for…

Abdelwahab Nougaoui joins the Wafa Assurance group as advisor to the CEO, according to an announcement made on Monday, January 24. This insurance veteran’s mission, specifies the same source, is to lead Wafa Assurance’s projects in reinsurance, such as the launch of a reinsurance activity and the development of capacities for placing large risks on the international markets of reinsurance. An engineer by training and a graduate of the Ecole Centrale de Lyon (France), Abdelwahab Nougaoui boasts more than 33 years of experience in the field of insurance. Also holder of a diploma of higher studies specialized in business management…

The airline Air France has announced that it is suspending the Paris-Ouagadougou link. A decision that she says she took because of the situation in Burkina Faso, and in connection with the French authorities in the country. Thus, the Paris-Accra-Ouagadougou rotation stopped in Accra (Ghana). “The two flights scheduled for Monday are canceled”, specifies, for its part, the French embassy in a press release. Since Sunday evening, confusion has been growing in the country where a mutiny of soldiers has punctuated the day. Several sources announced on Monday the arrest of President Roch Marc Christian Kaboré who would be detained…

The Malian president of the transition, Assimi Goïta, announced this Wednesday January 19 to have exchanged with António Guterres, the boss of the United Nations Organization (UN). Main subject discussed, the political crisis in the country and its latest developments. “I had a long telephone conversation with the Secretary General of the United Nations, António Guterres this evening. I conveyed to him our commitment to a return to normal, peaceful and secure constitutional order and invited him to encourage the international community to support our country by placing the best interests of the Malian population above any other consideration.” ,…

Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara spoke out on the financial, economic and diplomatic sanctions decided by the Community of West African States (ECOWAS) against Mali, on the sidelines of a visit, Monday January 17, 2022 to Libreville, with his Gabonese counterpart Ali Bongo Ondimba. “We are very unfortunate to have imposed all these sanctions,” he said, recalling the context of these measures. “It is unacceptable for a military regime to remain in place for a five-year period (…). We have done everything to ensure that the military authorities of Mali organize elections in a timely manner, it is with our reluctance…

Tamer Adel Seif El-Din has been the Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of the Arab Investment Bank (aiBANK) since the beginning of January 2022. His appointment comes after the group’s acquisition of 76% of the bank’s capital was finalized. financier EFG Hermes and the Sovereign Fund of Egypt, Egypt’s sovereign wealth fund. With more than 22 years of experience in the banking sector, Seif El-Din has served in several banks including National Société Générale Bank – sold in 2012 to Qatar National Bank –, Misr International Bank, Union National Bank and the Bank of Alexandria. As a reminder, the…

Côte d’Ivoire is working to give itself the means to succeed in the digital transformation of all its services. And it is to Digital Business Invest (DBI) that the Ministry in charge of the Promotion of SMEs, Handicrafts and the Transformation of the Informal Sector has decided to entrust the digitization of its sector of activity. Digital Business Invest (DBI) is a company based in Tallinn, Estonia. She specializes in the design of tailor-made digital economy models, alternative financing and management of innovative projects, driving the digital transformation of the public and private sectors. It is to this company that…

An aircraft belonging to Libyan warlord Khalifa Haftar landed in Israel on Thursday, a military correspondent for Israel’s public Kan news service said. Writing on Twitter, Itay Blumental said an “executive plane used by Libyan General Khalifa Haftar” landed in Israel after making a “diplomatic stopover in Cyprus.” “After two hours on the ground, the plane took off for Cyprus”, indicates for its part, a report from the Israeli airport authorities which did not give the identity of the occupants. Probably relatives of the Libyan marshal. Indeed, prior to the signing of a peace accord in October 2020, Khalifa Haftar’s…

French asset management company, Eiffel Investment Group, is seeking to raise $200 million in bridging loans to invest in accelerating electrification and energy transition in Africa. The European Investment Bank (EIB) intends to participate in the fund to the tune of 30 million dollars. The aim is to provide start-up capital before long-term investments for renewable energy projects, which could provide energy to two million consumers. The group is targeting a market that it estimates at 523 million euros per year and will do so by soliciting investments from public and private institutions. Eiffel Investment Group also plans to launch…

The growth of the world economy, which was around 6% before the outbreak of the health crisis linked to the coronavirus which led to the recession, should take time to pick up again and stabilize for the duration. The United Nations is counting on difficult prospects, especially since the pandemic has exacerbated poverty and inequalities. This slowdown is partly explained by the end of economic and fiscal stimulus plans and by severe disruptions due to supply chains. According to a study by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, after a revival of activity punctuated by a growth…

During the launch of the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (Papss), the pan-African payment and settlement system in Accra on January 13, the managing director of Smart Africa, Lacina Koné, announced that his institution and Afreximbank have recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding to support and advocate for the development of pro-Papss policies and regulations across the continent. During a moderated panel with the Governor of the Central Bank of Ghana, Dr Ernest Addison, the Governor of the Bank of Zambia, Dr Denny Kalyalya and the Managing Director of the West African Monetary Institute ( IMAO), Dr. Olorunsola Olowofeso, Lacina…

The president of the African Import-Export Bank (Afreximbank), Benedict Oramah, revealed this Thursday, January 13 in Accra (Ghana) that his institution intends to forge relations with at least 500 African banks by providing them with lines of nearly $ 8 billion to facilitate commercial transactions with the Papss (Pan-African Payment and Settlement System), the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System. “This will represent the largest banking relationship ever forged by a financial institution on the continent. Currently, the bank has integrated more than 480 banks ”, he noted at the official launch of the new instrument. Adding that the current payment…

In November 2021, Senegal’s industrial production excluding cotton ginning increased by 7.1% compared to the same period of 2020, according to data from the National Agency for Statistics and Demography (ANSD) based in Dakar. “This development is in relation to the performances noted in the environmental (+ 62.7%) and extractive (+ 51.8%) industries”, underlines the ANSD. Still according to this structure, the situation observed in the extractive industries is explained by the good performance of the production of metal ores (+ 66.3%) and other products of the extractive industries (+ 33.3%). Likewise, production in the first eleven months of 2021…