Category: LATEST NEWS

President Nana Akufo-Addo launches policy and grant support for SMEs

Frank

GHANA – The President of the Republic of Ghana, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has launched the Ghana Enterprises Agency (formerly NBSSI), the National Micro, Small and Medium-Scale Enterprises (MSMEs) and Entrepreneurship Policy, and the GEA Grant Support for SMEs. They will be under the Ghana Economic Transformation Project, which is backed by the World Bank. The President indicated that the National Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises and Entrepreneurship Policy is the first of its kind in Ghana. “It is a policy designed to direct the growth of the sector, provide…

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Ecobank Transnational successfully raises US$350m Tier 2 Sustainability Notes

Frank

TOGO – Ecobank Transnational Incorporated, the Lomé based parent company of the Ecobank Group, has successfully raised US$350 million Tier 2 Sustainability Notes, representing the first ever Tier 2 Sustainability Notes by a financial institution in Sub-Saharan Africa. This Tier 2 issuance is the first to have a Basel III-compliant 10NC5 structure outside of South Africa in 144A/RegS format and will be listed on the main market of the London Stock Exchange. The bond, which matures in June 2031, has a call option in June 2026 and was issued with…

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Air Arabia Maroc launches new air routes linking Morocco to Europe

Frank

MOROCCO – Air Arabia Maroc, a joint venture company and member of Air Arabia Group, has announced the launch of new air routes linking Morocco to Europe as part of the company’s decision to expand its network. The new routes will include flights linking Casablanca and Geneva, Nador and the Netherlands’s Eindhoven, as well as Oujda and Spain’s Murcia. According to the company, the flights between Casablanca and Geneva will kick off on June 17. The company will serve the destination with two flights per week on Thursdays and Sundays.…

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MultiChoice ups its stake in BetKing to 49% after injecting US$321m

Frank

SOUTH AFRICA – Entertainment company MultiChoice, has increased its stake in Pan-African online sports betting company BetKing to 49%, a move the pay-TV giant says is in line with its strategy to expand its entertainment ecosystem and develop meaningful drivers of future value. The company announced that through its wholly owned subsidiary, Mwendo Holdings, it will invest US$321 million in BetKing to increase its shareholding. However, the deal is subject to MultiChoice securing debt funding to finance the transaction. In 2021, MultiChoice initially invested US$95 million in BetKing for a 20% stake, as the pay-TV group…

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Sub-Saharan Africa records 2.4% economic decline, worst recession in 60 years – World Bank

Frank

SSA – The economic output of economies in Sub-Sahara Africa declined by 2.4% in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the region’s first economic contraction in a generation and the deepest recession since the 1960s, latest World Bank reports indicates.  However, the recession was milder than previously projected as the virus spread more slowly than anticipated and agricultural activity was unexpectedly intense in some countries such as Benin, Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria. According to the June 2021 issue of the  Global Economic Prospects Reportby the World Bank, growth in the Sub-Sahara region has…

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NSIA, OCP to develop US$1.4bn Ammonia and Phosphate plant

Frank

NIGERIA – The Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) has signed an agreement with Office Chérifien des Phosphates (OCP) of Morocco, for the development of a US$1.4 billion plant to produce Ammonia and Diammonium Phosphate, under its Gas Industrialization Strategy, reports Vanguard. According to the NSIA, the Multipurpose Industrial Platform Project is a backward integration initiative which builds on the successes of the Presidential Fertilizer Initiative (PFI) and other sovereign bilateral initiatives between Nigeria and Morocco. The project is structured to commercialize Nigeria’s vast natural gas resources and satisfy Morocco’s demand…

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MotoChekit launches in Nigeria to provide Vehicle History Reports

Frank

NIGERIA – MotoChekit, an automobile information service provider, has launched in Nigeria, powered by CARFAX, to help individuals and firms desirous of importing used vehicles make the right purchase decisions. Promoters of the company, Segun Abiodun and Ayo Tifase said that they were also out to help the Federal Government curb the unbridled importation of salvaged or junk vehicles. They explained they were providing Nigerians with Vehicle History Reports (VHRs) at a reduced cost compared to what is obtainable in the Global VHR market. “A large percentage of the Tokunbo…

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Nairobi Securities Exchange appoints two new non-executive directors

Frank

KENYA – The Nairobi Securities Exchange(NSE) Board has appointed  two new non-executive directors, Donald Wangunyu and Stephen Chege who will represent the interests of trading participants on the NSE Board and those of listed companies, respectively. Donald Wangunyu brings over 20 years of experience in finance and technology from both Kenya and the USA. He currently sits on the Boards of Standard Investment Bank, the Kenya Association of Stockbrokers and Investment Banks and the East Africa Forum for Alternative Investments. He is the founder and CEO of the Robo-Advisor, FourFront Management. On…

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UN confirms appointment Rebeca Grynspan as UNCTAD Secretary-General

Frank

WORLD – Rebeca Grynspan of Costa Rica will be the new Secretary-General of United Nation Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the UN trade and development body after her nomination to the post by UN Secretary-General António Guterres was approved by the UN General Assembly. Ms. Grynspan, the first woman and Central American to be appointed as Secretary-General of UNCTAD, is an economist and current Ibero-American Secretary-General. She replaces Dr. Mukhisa Kituyi of Kenya who stepped down after serving his year terms. “I am grateful and honoured for the trust…

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Oil & gas company Zenith Energy set to commence drilling activities in Robbana concession

Frank

TUNISIA – Zenith Energy, an oil & gas production company, has announced that it is in the process of finalising plans to commence drilling activities in the recently acquired Robbana concession, onshore Tunisia. The Company intends to drill ROB-3, an infill vertical well, in the proximity of the producing Robbana-1 well (ROB-1), to a total depth of approximately 2,400 metres. ROB-3 will target two proven hydrocarbon-bearing reservoirs in the Cretaceous Upper Meloussi sandstone formation, from which successful production has been achieved from ROB-1 for many years. A production of approximately…

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