Africa Archives - Inside Business Africa

Feb52019 by EditorNo Comments

AfDB, ECOWAS seal $22m deal on Abidjan-Lagos highway

The African Development Bank (AfDB) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) have agreed to fast track the technical design to develop the proposed Abidjan-Lagos highway. The bodies have therefore signed a $22 million agreement on the design project. ECOWAS Commission President, Mr. Jean-Claude Brou, said in Abuja that the signing of the agreement was in line with the decision of the Presidents of Nigeria, Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire, Togo and Benin in 2014 on the construction of the highway. He explained that with the approval of the member states, the ECOWAS Commission forwarded financing requests of approximately 89 million dollars to several development partners, including AfDB and European Union to fund the technical and project preparation studies. Local media reports

Feb52019 by EditorNo Comments

Over $10 billon of Africa telecom, media and technology (TMT) infrastructure initial public offering (IPO) and mergers and acquisitions (M&A) deals predicted in 2019 as investor appetite and valuations grow

Africa

TMT Finance exclusively reported last week on the US$1bn sale of South African data-centre firm Teraco Data Environments to US private equity firm Berkshire Partners TMT (telecom, media and technology) infrastructure mergers, acquisitions and fundraising in Africa is predicted to continue growing in 2019, as investment news provider TMT Finance (www.TMTFinance.com) predicts that transactions for the year will exceed $10 billion, due to increasing dealflow across the region and appetite from global industry and investors. TMT Finance exclusively reported last week on the US$1bn sale of South African datacentre firm Teraco Data Environments to US private equity firm Berkshire Partners. Teraco was reported to be valued at 22 times its 2018 EBITDA of US$40-45m, reflecting outstanding gro

Jan312019 by EditorNo Comments

In Nouakchott, Economic Commission for Africa (ECA)’s Vera Songwe congratulates Mauritania on ratification of African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA)

Africa, Business, Economy

In Nouakchott, Economic Commission for Africa (ECA)’s Vera Songwe congratulates Mauritania on ratification of African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) In an audience with the President of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz held yesterday in Nouakchott, ECA’s Executive Secretary Vera Songwe congratulated Mauritania for having ratified the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), as a major project for the region’s economic development. Mauritania is one of the first countries to sign the AfCFTA documents, this shows that its President and government are convinced of the importance of regional integration, said Songwe. Discussions with President Ould Abdel Aziz included strategic choices for ECA’s work in Mauritania and its coop

Jan312019 by EditorNo Comments

African Development Bank (AFDB) to present 2019 African Economic Outlook in February

Africa, Recommended for you

The African development Bank (AfDB.org) will on Friday, 8 February 2019 present the 2019 edition of its flagship African Economic Outlook (AEO) report, on the sidelines of the 32nd Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union. The annual AEO highlights economic prospects and projections for the entire continent and for each of the 54 countries. The 2019 AEO aligns with the mission of the African Union to “promote sustainable development at the economic, social and cultural levels as well as the integration of African economies.

Jan152019 by EditorNo Comments

What Angola can learn from Nigeria as it creates remarkable opportunities for marginal oil production

Africa, Business, Energy/Oil & Gas

The Nigerian experience with marginal oil field development had measurable success, with 24 licenses awarded to 31 companies, some as sole operators and others as joint-ventures With production declining and investment scarce, the Angolan leadership has put in place a number of new policies to reboot its oil industry and propel economic development. However, those changes take time and renewed deep-water oil and gas exploration for fresh reserves will take years to yield the desired results and stop the daily production crunch. In the meantime, the government is targeting what it already knows exists, the country’s multiple deposits of what has been dubbed marginal oil fields, which will go on sale this year during the Angolan Marginal Field Bid Round. Marginal fields are defined by r

Jan102019 by EditorNo Comments

World Bank Releases January edition of the 2019 Global Economic Prospects (GEP)

Africa, Economy

The January edition of the 2019 Global Economic Prospects (GEP) was released yesterday in Washington. Key message for Africa is that regional growth is expected to accelerate to 3.4 percent in 2019, predicated on diminished policy uncertainty and improved investment in large economies together with continued robust growth in non-resource intensive countries. Per capita growth is forecast to remain well below the long-term average in many countries, yielding little progress in poverty reduction. Sub-Saharan Africa Overview Recent developments: The recovery in Sub-Saharan Africa continues, albeit at a softer pace. Growth in the region is estimated to have increased from 2.6 percent in 2017 to 2.7 percent in 2018, slower than expected, partly due to weaknesses in Nigeria, South Africa, ...

Dec212018 by EditorNo Comments

Forbes Lists Ethiopian President, Isabel dos Santos as the most powerful woman in Africa

Africa, Working Woman

For the second consecutive year, only one woman from Africa has made the 2018 Forbes list of 100 Most Powerful Women in the world. Ethiopian president, Sahle-Work Zewde ranked 97th on the list that was topped by German Chancellor, Angela Merkel and was followed by the British Prime Minister, Theresa May, in the second position. Ethiopia had its fourth and only female president this year when lawmakers in Ethiopia elected Zewde to be the country’s first female president following the resignation of President Mulatu Teshome. Zewde has served for a long time in the world of diplomacy representing Ethiopia in many African countries. Being the second woman to hold an Ambassadorial position in the history of Ethiopia, the experienced diplomat served in French-speaking African countri

Sep202018 by EditorNo Comments

Remittances To Drive Economic Africa Growth, Says Report

Africa, Economy, Inside, News

Despite an economic slowdown, most African countries are reported to have a positive economic outlook. This is according to the institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW’s) latest report. In Economic Insight: Africa Q3 2018 launched yesterday, by the accountancy body The report, commissioned by ICAEW and produced by partner and forecaster Oxford Economics, provides a snapshot of the region’s economic performance. The regions include; East Africa, West and Central Africa, Franc Zone, Northern Africa, Southern Africa. According to the report, East Africa continues to be the continent’s best performing region with a GDP forecast at 6.3%. This positive outlook is due to the region’s economic diversification and investment-driven growth. Ethiopia remains the region’s

Sep122018 by EditorNo Comments

U.S. Ambassador Ties Nigeria’s Poor Social Infrastructure To Weak Tax Collection System

Africa, Business, Capital Market, Inside

The United States (U.S.) Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr Stuart Symington has attributed poor social infrastructure development in Nigeria to the weak system of tax collection in the Country. Symington made this known on Tuesday, while speaking at the 10th anniversary colloquium of the Nigerian Development Finance Forum, organised by Financial Nigeria Magazine in Abuja. He blamed the Federal Government’s inability to discontinue subsidy and allow market forces determine electricity tariffs for Nigeria poor social service delivery system. The U.S. ambassador said that the inability of government to eliminate subsidy on petroleum products and failure to hands off the fixing of electricity tariffs was hampering the provision of critical social infrastructure in the country. He also attributed

Sep42018 by EditorNo Comments

China Announces Fresh $60bn for Nigeria, Other African Countries

Africa, Business, Economy, Inside, News

The President of the Republic of China, Xi Jinping, on Monday, announced a fresh assistance of $60bn to finance infrastructure in Africa. He said this at the opening ceremony of the 2018 Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, in which President Muhammadu Buhari is participating. The Edo State Government said it was well on its way to clinch a chunk of the $60bn penciled down as financial support by the Chinese government for the continent. The Chinese President explained that the $60bn financing assistance would include $15bn grants, interest-free loans and concessional loans. He said the amount also involved $20bn of credit lines, $10bn special fund for development financing and another $5bn as special fund for financing imports from Africa. He also said C...