Author: Albert Savana

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) announced on December 22, 2021 that it had approved a new 3-year Extended Credit Facility (ECF) agreement for an amount of approximately $ 570.75 million to meet significant financing needs of Chad’s balance of payments and budget, in particular by attracting financial support from official donors. A first disbursement of $ 78.28 million is announced immediately. According to the institution, the measures taken under the program supported by the ECF will contribute, in the long term, to placing the Chadian economy on a balanced and viable trajectory that will allow the country to achieve both…

Fired on November 24, 2021 from the boards of directors of Absa Group and Absa Bank with immediate effect, Sipho Pityana is turning to the courts to “obtain justice”. The ex-administrator on Wednesday (December 22) filed a 126-page petition in the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria, claiming he was unlawfully dismissed while in “the legitimate exercise of [his] rights.” Sipho Pityana claims, in fact, “compensation for this violation of the law on companies”. “It is clear from the events that led to my dismissal that I am in fact a victim for having legitimately exercised my rights,” he said…

Present in some twenty African countries, the “Colow-So” prepaid card is now available in Ivory Coast thanks to a partnership between the Canadian company “Colow-So” and the Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank CI). In Ivory Coast, according to 2020 figures from the Financial Inclusion Promotion Agency (APIF CI), 87% of the population is not yet banked. Banks and other financial structures are therefore multiplying initiatives to nibble market shares within this segment of the population which is largely made up of the informal sector. A sector which contributes 40% to the GDP. The partnership which now links the Garanty Trust Bank…

Mali will be the largest cotton producer in Africa for the 2021/22 season, followed by Benin, Côte d’Ivoire and Burkina Faso. A projection contained in a US Department of Agriculture (USDA) report from September 28, 2021. It results, in fact, from the exploitation of an almost record area and weather conditions favorable to the establishment and development of crops from June to early September, specifies the document whose authenticity has been confirmed by the Malian Company. for the development of textiles (CMDT). Mali has planted a record 795,000 hectares (ha), up 630,000 hectares (382 percent) from the boycotted harvest last…

Gone are the last speculations and allegations about a probable postponement of the 33rd edition of the African Cup of Nations (CAN). From January 9 to February 6, 2022, Cameroon will indeed host, as planned, the most important sporting event on the continent. Confirmation was given on December 21, 2021 in Yaoundé, during an audience at the Unity Palace between the Cameroonian Head of State Paul Biya and the President of the African Football Confederation (CAF), Patrice Motsepe . “I will be in Cameroon on January 7, 2022. And I’m coming to see football. Mainly, to experience the opening match,…

The quality of service on the networks of Togo Cellulaire and Moov Africa Togo, the two mobile telephone operators in Togo, does not comply with the quality obligations set by the regulations. This is the “final” observation drawn up by Arcep, the regulatory authority for electronic communications and postal services, following an investigation carried out for the year 2021. In a press release published to this effect, the regulator indicates that its investigation focused on the one hand, on voice service indicators such as voice quality, call cut rate, call success rate and, on the other hand, on data service…

The Caisse des Dépôts et de Consignations du Niger is expanding its investor capital with the African Development Bank (AfDB) group which approved, on December 16, 2021 in Abidjan, a grant of US $ 420,000 “to consolidate its strategy in terms of capital markets ”. For the head of the AfDB’s Capital Markets Development Division, Ahmed Attout, “this financing is in line with one of the priorities of the Capital Markets Development Trust Fund, which is to broaden the base of institutional investors. “. Originating from the Trust Fund for the Development of Capital Markets (Cmdtf) managed by the Bad,…

A public electricity utility concessionaire, Energy of Cameroon (ENEO) estimates that electricity supply has improved in recent months. Based on “letters of appreciation” from the public, the company notes “a significant drop of over 50% in alerts to household and business customers for power outages.” These are the first signs of increased investment in the production and distribution segments following the fundraising in early 2021 on the local banking market of CFAF 100 billion. “This customer perception is aligned with the improvement of key indicators of service quality assessment. An 18% decrease in the duration of outages compared to last…

The external accounts of the Ivory Coast are positive with a surplus of 564 million dollars in 2020. A performance which confirms the green signals of the trade of goods and services of the Ivory Coast with the rest of the world. This information given by the national director of the BCEAO, Coulibaly Chalouho, on December 17 during a presentation ceremony of the results of the country’s external accounts, also indicates that the overall balance of the 2020 balance of payments emerged in surplus of 1 , 04 billion dollars, marked by a consolidation of net foreign assets. But the…

At 190.6 billion dirhams, or 19 billion dollars, the turnover of companies listed in Casablanca shows growth of 8.4% at the end of September 2021. Industrial stocks and the financial sector are the two engines of this dynamism. Barring an unlikely turnaround, companies listed on the Casablanca Stock Exchange should achieve very good growth this year with the exception of a few struggling companies like Delâtre Levivier and Stroc Industries. This momentum is driven by the industrial sector, which is benefiting from the acceleration of the recovery in activity. Firm order books are once again well stocked and are approaching…

“The most beautiful commune”, a citizens’ initiative set up to help Ivorian local communities to be financially autonomous, organized a round table on the theme: “UEMOA capital market and financing of communities in Côte d’Ivoire” . In Côte d’Ivoire, like most countries in sub-Saharan Africa, local communities are totally dependent on government funding. And very often the allocated budgets are below the needs of the populations. To remedy this, an initiative called “The Most Beautiful Municipality” was set up and assigned as missions “the search for solidarity funding, financial advice to local elected officials, lobbying and evaluation of citizens’ initiatives.…

The governor of the Central Bank of the Republic of Guinea (BCRG), Lounceny Nabé, and his two vice-governors were removed from office by a presidential decree published on the night of December 7 to 8, 2021. They are replaced by Karamo Kaba, who was promoted to governor, a strategist economist who was on duty at Ecofi Investment France. Its vice-governors are Mohamed Lamine Conté, previously Director General of Supervision, and Souadou Baldé, until then Vice-Manager and Head of the Supervision Department of credit institutions. This sweep comes three months after the coup d’état led by Colonel Mamadi Doumbouya against Alpha…

The bond loan by Public Call for Savings (APE) issued by the Development Bank of Central African States (BDEAC) called “BDEAC 5.60% 2021-2028” was closed on December 7, 2021 with the mobilization of 115 billion FCFA, or nearly 198 million dollars, with an overall subscription rate of 115% compared to the initial amount of 100 billion FCFA, or 172 million dollars. As with the previous loan launched in 2020, we noted a strong mobilization of economic agents with variables in the countries of the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa (CEMAC) with the banks largely in the lead. In…

The French Development Agency (AFD), with its “Choose Africa Resilience” offer and its subsidiary dedicated to the private sector (Proparco), signed, Tuesday, December 7 in Kinshasa (DRC), a USD 15 million partnership with the bank EquityBCDC, which has invested in technology and innovation, to guarantee private companies that are victims of the adverse effects of Covid-19. This partnership is “of great importance,” commented AFD CEO Rémy Rioux. Who signed the documents with the president of the Equity group, James Mwangi, on the sidelines of the 7th edition of the annual Makutano Forum which takes place in Kinshasa. A subsidiary of…

Arrested by the national gendarmerie for “insulting remarks” made against Prime Minister Choguel Kokalla Maiga, the Malian opponent Oumar Mariko was taken into police custody on Monday, December 6 in Bamako. These are the aftermath of the social media post, two private chats that have gone viral in recent days. In the first recording that circulated last week, and attributed to the current Prime Minister, we hear the latter talking about Amadou Sanogo, the author of the March 2012 coup d’état against former President Amadou Toumani Touré. He explains that the soldier had escaped a real judgment on the merits…

Faced with a latent shortage of basic products for several weeks, the Malian government suspended, on December 6, 20201, the export of agricultural products. Included in this list are cottonseed, cottonseed cakes, millet, maize, sorghum and local rice. This initiative of the National Transitional Council (CNT) joins that taken last November to reduce by 50% the taxable base for the importation of basic necessities at an estimated cost of 18 billion FCFA (about 31 million dollars) but without this being able to halt, three weeks later, the upward spiral in the prices of oil, sugar, milk and meat. The latter…

It was a decisive week which began on Monday, December 6 for Joël Aïvo and Reckya Madougou, two Beninese opponents arrested since last April. The first, a famous constitutional expert, has just been set on his fate, while the second awaits his trial hearing next Friday. Indeed, the famous constitutional expert was found guilty of money laundering and conspiracy against the authority of the State by the Court for the repression of economic offenses and terrorism (Criet), a special court created in 2018 and considered by its detractors as an instrument for silencing the opposition. He receives ten years in…

From our special correspondent, Dominique Mabika The Dakar International Forum on Peace and Security, the 7th in its history, opened on December 6 in Diamniadio, 30 km from Dakar, the Senegalese capital. Placed under the theme of the issues of stability and emergence in Africa in a post-Covid-19 world, the forum saw African heads of state and senior officials of African and European institutions succeed one another in the courtroom on themes of peace and security, on the Covid-19 pandemic. Since 2014, the Dakar Forum has been held to diagnose the situation in Africa in order to help find solutions…

Africa Finance Corporation (AFC), the leading provider of infrastructure solutions in Africa, approved on December 2, 2021, a corporate facility of USD 200 million for BUA Industries Limited, a member of the BUA Group (BUA), in order to complete its sugar plant in Lafiagi, located in Kwara State in Nigeria. According to a note made public on December 3, the proceeds will be used for the development, construction, commissioning and operation of a 20,000 hectare plantation, a 2,200,000 ton sugar factory and a 200,000-tonne-per-year sugar refinery that will process and refine white sugar. “The facility will also have an ethanol…

The restructuring of the Union bank of Cameroon (UBC) continues with the choice of corporate officers, in this case, the appointment of Charlotte Kouetcheu (photo) as Chief Executive Officer replacing Félix Landry Njoume, whose mandate ended with “the official exit of Ecobank Transnational Incorpored (ETI) as the majority shareholder of the bank”. The new director is an experienced manager who has accumulated around thirty years of experience having held numerous positions of responsibility in the banking sector, among others, managing director of Crédit communautaire d’Afrique (CCA Bank) and director of human resources at Commercial Bank Cameroon (CBC). The new boss…

South African operator MTN has announced its decision to make compulsory vaccination of its staff against Covid-19 as part of the fight against the fourth wave marked in the country by the variant Omicron. “The science is clear. Vaccination against Covid-19 reduces rates of serious infections, hospitalizations and deaths, ”Group CEO Ralph Mupita said in a statement released on Monday. The measure should take effect from next January. In its press release, MTN said, however, that it recognizes the right of employees to refuse vaccination for certain “clearly defined reasons”. And to add that he “will not be obliged to…

Lomé hosted from November 30 to December 2, 2021, the 2021 edition of Rencontres Africa. The event was held under the theme “Is Africa’s Economic Recovery Business Business?” “. Opened through a conference focused on the theme and discussed, among others, by the Togolese Prime Minister Victoire Tomegah Dogbé, the Beninese banker Lionnel Zinsou and the Togolese Minister Rose Kayi Mivedor in charge of investment promotion, the sixth edition of the Rencontres Africa took place in a hybrid format. It brought together a few hundred African and French companies and investors with the objective of generating lasting partnerships and profitable…

Nine bilateral cooperation agreements were signed on December 2, 2021 between Côte d’Ivoire and South Africa on the sidelines of a visit by President Cyril Ramaphosa to Abidjan. The aim is to increase trade between the two countries, which also often want to speak with one voice on the international stage. According to Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara, these agreements – which concern the fields of defense, agriculture and hydrocarbons – will make it possible to intensify and boost the “strategic partnership” between Côte d’Ivoire and South Africa . “With President Cyril Ramaphosa, we have the ambition to raise the relations…

The new Managing Director of the Banque de Développement du Mali (BDM) is no stranger. Appointed on November 27 to replace Bréhima Amadou HAIDARA, the one who was until then Deputy Managing Director has a 25-year career with the bank. First in what was the Malian Bank of Credits and Deposits (BMCD), which became the Development Bank of Mali (BDM) through a merger and then privatization. Major of promotion of the National School of Administration (ENA) in 1995, Ibrahima Ndiaye first worked in an accounting firm the time to sharpen the theory in the field before joining the BMCD in…

Bloomfield Investment Corporation has confirmed the long-term BBB + rating with a stable outlook previously awarded to Société Africaine de Crédit Automobile (SAFCA), officials of the Abidjan-based rating agency announced. Bloomfield also confirmed the short term A1 rating with a stable outlook. The rating is valid from September 2021 to August 2022. To justify the rating and the outlook attached to it, Bloomfield officials note that over the long term, the protective factors are appropriate and considered sufficient for prudent investments. “However, they argue, there is considerable variability in risks over business cycles.” In the short term, it is the…

Nigerien President Mohamed Bazoum has just sacked his interior minister, Alkache Alhada, in office since April. He was replaced by Hamadou Adamou Souley, until then Minister of Equipment, and himself became Minister of Commerce. This reshuffle comes after the events in Téra (west) where demonstrators opposed the passage of a French military convoy. Two deaths were recorded, according to Niger public radio. But this reshuffle was announced before the events of Téra, according to the Nigerien authorities. In addition, two ministers from Mpr Jamhuriya, from the presidential movement, in particular that of Justice, Dr Boubacar Hassan, and that of the…

The eighth session of the Ministerial Conference of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (Focac) was held from November 29 to 30, 2021 at the Abdou Diouf International Conference Center (Cicas), in Diamniadio (Senegal). Organized in hybrid mode, this meeting was attended by African and Chinese heads of state, government officials concerned, representatives of institutions, chambers of commerce and industry, eminent entrepreneurs from the business community, representatives of SMEs. And resulted in the adoption of a document on Vision 2035 of China-Africa Cooperation. Placed under the theme “Deepening the Sino-African partnership and promoting sustainable development to build a shared future community…

The largest dairy farmers’ cooperative in the world, FrieslandCampina, and the Ivorian Ministry of Animal and Fisheries Resources signed a partnership this Tuesday, November 30, to boost local milk production in Côte d’Ivoire through the endowment of technology. and the necessary knowledge. The goal, according to both parties, is to gradually reduce the country’s dependence on imports and improve the incomes of pastoralists “by integrating them into the value chain.” The Minister of Animal and Fishery Resources, Sidi Tiémoko Touré, praised his Trade and Industry counterpart, Souleymane Diarrassouba, for having started the first negotiations in order to allow the group…

The ruling junta has decided to proceed overnight between Sunday 28 and Monday 29 November 2021, with the transfer of Alpha Condé from the imposing Palais des Nations, seat of power of the National Committee of the Rally for Development (CNRD) to the residence of his wife Hadja Djene Kaba in Landreah, in the commune of Dixinn on the outskirts of the capital. In a statement read on Monday evening on national television, the CNRD and its president “reassure the national and international community of their desire to guarantee respect for individual and collective freedoms for all the people of…

The Togolese authorities announced on November 27, 2021, the establishment of a fund for universal access to electricity. Referred to as “Tinga”, this instrument is defined as “a mechanism to facilitate access to electricity for low-income populations”. This fund provides repayable grants for universal access to electricity grids in addition to other ongoing initiatives, according to a government statement. The draft decree on its creation, its attributions, its organization and its functioning was adopted by the Council of Ministers meeting over the weekend. In its vision for universal electrification contained in its national electrification strategy, the government notes that access…