Author: Valerie Koudamenou

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) released in a statement on 14 March 2019 its economic outlook for Malawi, where it expects economic growth of about 5 percent in 2019. This growth, he says, will be due to the rebound of agriculture and an improvement in electricity production. “In the medium term, growth could still reach 6 to 7%,” said the IMF in its statement, justifying this increase by infrastructure projects planned by the authorities and which aim to support sustainable growth and reduce poverty, including electricity generation, crop diversification, improved access to finance and an improved business climate. In…

Renault Maroc Group has announced that it has acquired the 20% stake of the French group PSA in Somaca, the factory of the diamond brand based in Casablanca. The transaction is part of “its commitment to developing the automotive industry,” he says. The announcement comes amid a crisis marked by the judicial investigation around former CEO Carlos Ghosn sued for breach of trust. A case that does not seem to have affected the good shape of the company in Morocco where, at the end of 2018, it achieved historical sales (more than 75,400) while consolidating its position as market leader…

BMCE Capital, the Investment Banking division of the BMCE Bank Group, and the investment bank of the ARM Group (Asset and Resource Management) signed, on March 7, 2019, a partnership agreement on Global Research aimed at offering their respective customers greater access to African markets with coverage integrating Morocco, Tunisia, Côte d’Ivoire, Nigeria, Ghana and Kenya. “This agreement strengthens the pan-African offer of the two partners who pool their resources and publications for distribution in domestic and international as part of the network African Securities Network (ASN),” said a statement. The same source indicates, moreover, that full partnership “the already…

The African Development Bank (AfDB) and the Council of the Moroccan region of Fez-Meknes have adopted a draft agreement at the end of which both parties pledge to provide financial assistance and support to the holders of small projects. According to the information, the projects will be selected according to the criteria of created job positions, their impact on the reduction of social and regional disparities, innovation, productivity and sustainability. The areas of selection, it is said, include agriculture, handicrafts, NICTs, services and tourism, scientific research and the support of women’s cooperatives. The aim is to build skills and create…

The Gambia’s real GDP grew by around 6.6 percent in 2018 compared to 4.6 percent the previous year, according to a team of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) at the end of the mission in the country. “The economic recovery in The Gambia has continued to gain momentum, supported by renewed business confidence,” said Jaroslaw Wieczorek, the head of the IMF team quoted in a statement released on March 8, 2019. “The improved inflation outlook paved the way for easing monetary conditions and a strong recovery of credit to the private sector. The strong growth of tourism and remittances has…

The Central Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) borrowed $ 985 million from pan-African lending institutions in 2018 to cover commodity imports. The announcement was made on March 4, 2019 before the parliament by John Mangudya, the governor. Indeed, total debt amounts to USD 641 million to the African Export and Import Bank (Afreximbank), USD 152 million to the Eastern and Southern African Development Bank and USD 25 million to the African Development Bank. Central Bank of neighboring Mozambique This is indeed a panacea for Harare. The country is rejected by conventional donors including the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World…

It is on the occasion of its 30 years of exercise that the Tunisian airline Nouvelair inaugurated on 03 March 2019, the new connection with Istanbul, for a frequency of 4 flights per week. Flights departing from Tunis (Tunis-Carthage Airport) are scheduled on Mondays, Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays to the new Istanbul International Airport, according to the company. Return flights are also scheduled according to the same schedule. Nouvelair serves more than sixty European cities to major Tunisian airports. In Africa, it began serving Algeria, its first destination on the continent in 2016, on a frequency of 3 flights per…

Egyptair serves the American city of Washington from June 3, 2019 according to a new calendar published by the company. Initially, he says, the flight will leave Cairo at 23:30 to land the next day, at Washington-Dulles International Airport at 5:40. On return, the flight will leave the airport facilities of the American city at 12:00 to land in Egypt at 04:50, local time. The carrier will make three trips a week including, Monday Wednesday and Friday. Based in Cairo, EgyptAir operates more than 555 weekly flights from its Egyptian hub and many other cities in the country to around…

Kenya Airways has announced that it is introducing flights to and from Rome, Italy, from June 13, 2019. According to information, these flights will be operated four times a week, including two via Geneva (Switzerland). They are charged at a special rate from 559 EUR (all inclusive) to and from Rome. As a reminder, an agreement was signed on February 16 in Nairobi allowing the carrier to also serve Niamey (Niger) in the coming days.

The European Union donated € 15 million to the Burkinabe government on February 26, 2019 in support of the solar plan called “Yeleen”. The envelope should be used as a contribution to improving access to energy and economic growth. “This is a commitment we made at COP21 in Paris, which is to allow the countries of the South to develop and therefore industrialize, while being environmentally friendly. Only renewable energies can reconcile the two, “said Stefano Manservisi, Director General for International Cooperation and Development of the European Commission. And to emphasize that the country “is firmly committed to the path…

The national management of the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO) announced on February 26, 2019, the state of Burkina Faso’s external accounts for the year 2017. It appears that the balance payments are in excess of 246.976 million CFA francs and the current account balance has remained in deficit of 521.6 million CFA francs. The surplus of the balance of payments is that of the capital account (donations and capital transfers to the public administration) of 172.8 million CFA francs and the financial account (portfolio investment and other investments private) of 599, 1 million CFA francs, according to…

The Heads of State and Government of the Commission for the Sahel region have approved, on 25 February 2019 in Niamey, a climate investment plan of 400 billion USD over the period 2020 to 2025 designed to cope with global warming. “The Sahel region is subject to very high climatic variability. The situation in the Sahel shows how climate change is impacting the availability of resources, “said Nigerian President Mahamadou Issoufou. This plan, which will be the subject of financing, reflects, it is said, the commitments made by the member countries in the context of the Paris Agreement on global…

According to data released on February 12, 2019 by the Johannesburg International Airport Authority, the first phase of the infrastructure upgrade project will require an estimated total cost of US $ 324 million. The project focuses on the mixed-use development of the platform, and includes the construction of new freight facilities, new offices, and the modernization of the airport facade. “The development of the City of the West will serve as a catalyst to create a new multifunctional node where large companies will ultimately migrate in terms of offices and hotels,” said airport manager Bonwe Pityi-Vokwana. quoted by the local…

According to the data communicated on 23 February 2019 by the Algerian National Office of Statistics, the evolution of consumer prices in January 2019 is + 2.6% compared to the same period in 2018, and the rate of inflation annual rate is + 4.2%. The same source indicates that the consumer price index rose by nearly 0.6% in January, and the general consumer price index at the national level rose by 1%. 7% compared to December 2018. The prices of food goods register a variation of + 3.1%, according to the report. With regard to the evolution by category of…

Algerian Minister of Commerce, Said Djellab, announced on February 11, 2019, the opening of the 2nd economic forum on the experience of development of economic poles in border areas in Souk Ahras that “the control of quality and compliance International standards for Algerian products are a fundamental condition for making domestic production an alternative to imported products. ” According to him, “the success of multiple companies to offer quality products that have made their way internationally” is thanks to the fact that the country has “managed for several years to establish a national, regional development base and international “. “A…

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) announced on February 14, 2019 in a statement that economic growth in Uganda has resumed and could reach 7% this year if investments in infrastructure and the oil sector proceed as planned, and the credit of private sector remains favorable. “Tax and external vulnerabilities have increased, reflecting increased infrastructure investments, but also weaknesses in the budget process,” the statement said. The IMF recommends that the government reverse the trend of reducing budget allocations to social sectors to achieve more inclusive growth. In addition, oil production will begin in 2023, he predicts. In 2018, the budget…

Burkina Faso’s General Tax Directorate (DGI) launched, on February 12, 2019 in Ouagadougou, a comprehensive fiscal census of taxpayers taking place from February 13 to April 12, 2019 in the Center and Hauts-Bassins regions. Objective, identify and geotag around 500,000 taxpayers. “We are about 55,000 taxpayers for the city of Ouagadougou. However, the activities are very developed and we should have more than one million taxpayers. So, we hope to have 10 times more taxpayers at the end of this operation, “said Jean-Paul Galbani, the coordinator of the project named Census Revenue 2019. “There is just a small part that…

The low-cost airline Transavia Air France-KLM Group announced that it plans to connect Lyon and Casablanca next summer, specifically on the period from July 30 to September 1, 2019 at a rate of 2 flights per week. The idea, according to the carrier, is to allow “the Australians the opportunity to discover the charms of Morocco, while strengthening its strategic position in the Mediterranean”. Thus, departure flights are scheduled on Tuesdays at 10:45 pm and Sundays at 11:45 pm from Lyon-Saint Exupéry; and return flights from Casablanca-Mohammed V airport on Monday at 2:20 and Wednesday at 1:20. Transavia has transported…

Bank of Tanzania (BoT), the central bank of the East African country is forecasting a 0.1% rise in economic growth expected to reach 7.3% this year. According to the issuing bank, the rise in imports will lead to a current account deficit (4.3% in 2019) which was 3.5% in 2018. As for inflation, it will remain at 5% in “Because of improvement in the food supply, good weather conditions and the reduction of energy costs”. “This performance will be driven by the commissioning of major infrastructure, favorable weather conditions and the vigorous implementation of an industrialization strategy,” the central bank…

It’s done now. The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has approved a loan tranche of $ 2 billion to Egypt, according to an announcement made Monday by Mohamed Moeit, the country’s finance minister. The envelope is the fifth tranche of its $ 12 billion loan, of which eight had already been received by the government. This loan facility was signed in 2016. According to Minister Moeit – who had announced it for “soon”, Egypt should receive this slice within a few days, noting that the approval of the fifth tranche by the IMF results from recent economic…

In a statement released on Monday, Egyptian Finance Minister Mohamed Moeit outlined his department’s strategy to reduce the debt-to-GDP ratio to 93 percent in June 2019, to 88 percent in June 2019, and to 80% in June 2022. According to Mr. Moeit, this program targets an initial annual budget surplus of 2% of GDP and annual growth rates of more than 6% in the medium term. And explain that the government also aimed to reduce the external debt to 34% of GDP in June 2019, noting that Egypt’s external debt-to-GDP ratio fell from 41.1 in June 2017 to 36.8% in…

Ivory Coast lifted Monday, a total of 47.27 billion FCFA in the regional market of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA) and retained 33 billion according to the results of a transaction published by Umoa-Titres agency. With an amount requested of 30 billion, the operation thus displays a subscription rate of 157.58%. The interest rate is multiple, and the value date of the transaction is Tuesday, February 5th. As the leading economic power of UEMOA, Côte d’Ivoire has always obtained the confidence of investors when it comes to the market.

On January 29, 2019, the Nigerian authorities inaugurated a youth employment project known as the Youth Employment and Productive Inclusion Project (PEJIP). It is financed by the World Bank to the tune of 30 million USD, or more than 17 billion FCFA and aims at the professional integration of 40 000 young people from 15 to 25 years. 30 000 young people among the beneficiaries will be selected in the poorest communes while the remaining 10 000 will come from municipalities at risk of insecurity, says one. The project will help Niger improve the quality of youth jobs, help diversify…

The Board of Directors of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) approved Tuesday, January 29, a financing of 20 billion CFA francs for the Support Project to the Risk-Sharing Agricultural Finance Facility (ProMIFA) . The amount, it is said, will be staggered over a period of six (06) years from 2019. It is structured in three components in connection with the pillars of the MIFA, and will have to contribute to revolutionize the Togolese agriculture and the make business-oriented professional, through technical support for the development of agro-pastoral value chains and access to the market (38%), support for the…

The United Nations Resident Coordinator (UNS) in Burundi, Garry Conille, and the Minister of Economic Development Cooperation, Domitien Ndihokubwayo, launched the United Nations Development Assistance Project on 25 January 2019 ( UNIDAF 2019-2023). This project will be funded to the tune of $ 784.4 million by the global institution. “$ 359.7 million is already available, or 46%,” said Conille who remains “confident” by 2023 for the rest. The project provides assistance in several areas defined in the priorities through the National Development Plan, (PND 2018-2027), such as Equitable Education, Health, Economic Development, Empowerment of Women and Youth , peacebuilding, governance,…

The Investment Promotion Agency (API) published on January 18, 2019 its figures according to which the single-desk registration of creation of companies, in 2018, has increased by about 50%. “The year 2018 has been a year of satisfactory achievements. The one-stop shop for the creation of companies registered 3,430 companies against 2,289 companies registered in 2017, an increase of 49. 84%. At the same time, projected employment amounts to 23,902 compared to 19,410 reported in the previous year, “said Leonard Sentore, director of the Investment Promotion Agency. He added that “statistics related to foreign direct investment (FDI) are produced after…

Kenya Airways, the national airline of Kenya has proposed a private-initiative investment project (PIIP) for the concession for the operation and development of Jomo Kenyatta International Airport over a 30-year period, according to a announcement made by the Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) on January 23, 2019. “KAA’s board of directors and management have appointed Transaction Advisers to advise PIIP, including a comprehensive and comprehensive project evaluation,” said Jonny Andersen, chief executive officer of KAA. The PIIP consists in creating a common debt fund (FCC) specifically dedicated to the operation, management and development of the airport. Objective, boost the funds of…

The 14th edition of the International Agricultural Show in Morocco (SIAM) will be held from 16 to 21 April 2019 in Meknes under the theme “agriculture, lever of employment and future of the rural world”. “This annual event, which is now the main event on the agenda of national and international stakeholders, confirms its vocation to be the most important event on the African continent in terms of agriculture while responding, thanks to the scientific content of the quality of the different meetings organized there, the issues of the moment, “said Jawad Chami, the Commissioner General of the event. The…

Turkey’s new ambassador to Angola, Alp Ay, declared on 22 January 2019 in Luanda that one of his priorities is to establish an air link between the capitals of both countries. “It is a priority to strengthen relations between businessmen of both countries and to encourage Turkish investments in Angolan territory”, according to the diplomat. Thus, “the two parties will work closely together to see Turkish Airlines start a new route to the Angolan capital”. Remember that the carrier gradually deploys his garlic in Africa. He inaugurated last December his first commercial flight on Lusaka (Zambia), his 55th destination in…

EU Commissioner for Regional Policy and European Integration Johannes Hahn announced in his meeting with Prime Minister Youssef Chahed in Davos on 23 January 2019 that his organization has approved record financial support € 305 million to Tunisia under the European Neighborhood and Partnership Instrument (ENPI). This fund will be devoted to various development programs: 160 million euros allocated to various programs and actions to support the economic sectors as well as the modernization and reform of the Tunisian public administration, 60 million for the “Youth program” in action ‘, EUR 70 million for the’ Support to local governance ‘program…