Author: Albert Savana

President Patrice Talon is in pole position to win the presidential elections held on April 11, due to the partial boycott of the opposition and the resulting drop in turnout. Nevertheless, believes Aurelien Mali, vice-president of Moody’s, “the credit problems in Benin remain and include political and social tensions, a relatively low income per capita and a relatively undiversified economy which still struggles to attract direct investment. important foreigners ”. Note that the outlook attached to B1 had been reduced a few weeks ago from “positive” to “stable”, reflecting political tensions. “Our view of Benin’s credit reflects the small size…

French Prime Minister Jean Castex was due to visit Algiers on Sunday April 11. The meeting was postponed indefinitely for reasons related to the “health crisis,” according to a sober statement from Matignon released Thursday, April 8 amid the wildest rumors of deep disagreement. The El Mouradia palace would not have appreciated the composition of the French delegation, of barely 4 members instead of the 10 planned. Insufficient to bury the memorial quarrel paradoxically revived since the Benjamin Stora report, supposed to extinguish it, was made public. The format of the delegation is not up to par, “according to Algiers,…

In a few months, the cashew nut, whose production reached nearly 800,000 tonnes in 2020, will trade on the Agricultural Raw Materials Exchange (BMPA) to allow the setting of a national price per kilogram in accordance with the law of the supply and demand. If this platform (BMPA) allows the farmer to secure the selling price of his production, it proves the requirement to accommodate quality walnuts in storage centers. This is why the actors expect to benefit from training and appropriate means of control for a good quality of the post-harvest almonds. Already, more than 200 professional agricultural organizations…

Bolloré Logistics is reinforcing its healthcare product processing facilities with an 800 m2 extension of a pharmaceutical unit with a temperature of +15 °C to +25 °C. The health crisis having increased global trade in pharma products, it has become necessary to resize the corresponding logistics resources. Bolloré Logistics, the leader in air trade in France, has taken the initiative to support this trend by investing in its Roissy CDG Hub. With the new unit, Bolloré Logistics now boasts a surface area of 2,200 m2 at its Roissy CDG Hub, divided into three temperature-controlled areas of +2 °C to +8…

Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI), parent company of the Ecobank Group, announces that Tomisin Fashina has been appointed as its new Group Executive for Operations & Technology, a position he will now hold in addition to his existing role of Managing Director of eProcess International. Ade Ayeyemi, CEO Ecobank Group said: “The rapidly accelerating digital adoption by Africa’s citizenry and businesses, together with the explosion in ecommerce across the continent, is driving transformation throughout the banking and payment sectors. Winning across operations and technology is essential for the Ecobank Group’s short, medium and long-term success, and is an integral requirement of…

Mr. Joe Rainey, President Halliburton for the Eastern Hemisphere has just paid a visit to the Liquid Mud Plant (LMP) built by the Mauritanian company Sepco Industries at the port of Dakar. Mr. Rainey and his delegation visited the plant site, welcoming the progress made in the ongoing construction work. This 03-year contract for the construction and rental of 20,000 bbl LMP was awarded to SEPCO Industries Senegal in July 2020. The LMP will support the drilling campaign scheduled for the second quarter of 2021 for the development of the SNE field. This drilling campaign was entrusted to Halliburton by…

Rwanda Finance Limited, the agency mandated to promote the Kigali Financial Center, launched a new brand on Wednesday March 31. According to Nick Bariye, CEO of Rwanda Finance International Financial Center, the institution wants to become one of the main international financial centers on the African continent. “Today’s launch of our brand brings bold ambitions to life and marks a milestone in the journey of the Kigali International Financial Center (KIFC). We want KIFC to be a new destination for Pan-African investments. We want to be the jurisdiction of choice to effectively consolidate capital and deploy it effectively across the…

The United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) published on Tuesday, March 30, the report of the investigation into the Bounty events of January 3, 2021. A report on which France has “many reservations” , refuting any blunders. Following allegations of the death of several civilians caused by an airstrike near the village of Bounty (center) on January 3, 2021, MINUSMA, through its Human Rights and Protection Division (DDHP) , deployed a special fact-finding mission from January 4 to February 20, with support from the Force and the support of United Nations forensic science and public information, to…

The news sent shock waves through. Mustapha Bakkoury, the executive chairman of the Moroccan Agency for Sustainable Energy (MASEN for its acronym in English), the entity that built the Ouarzazate solar power plant, the largest in the world, is prohibited from leaving the territory . The former boss of the Caisse de Dépôt et de Gestion (CDG was notified of the decision at Casablanca airport on Monday, March 29, as he was about to take a flight to Dubai. According to our colleague Ledesk who revealed the information, the trip of Mustapha Bakkoury, also administrator of Casablanca Finance City and,…

The national company of the Autonomous Port of Dakar (PAD) of Senegal will proceed, on April 19, 2021, to the payment of the half-yearly interest on its bond loan called “PAD 6.60% 2020-2027” for an amount of 1.980 billion FCFA (2.970 millions of euros). In order to finance the land infrastructure of the Port of Ndayane located in the commune of Poponguine 70 km south of Dakar, the PAD had to resort to the financial market of the West African Monetary Union (UMOA) through a bond loan by public offering in the amount of CFAF 60 billion. As such, 6…

In January 2021, Senegal’s exports increased by 32.9% compared to the previous month, according to data from the National Agency for Statistics and Demography (ANSD) based in Dakar. These exports amounted to 242.5 billion FCFA against 182.4 billion FCFA in December 2020, an increase of 60.1 billion FCFA in absolute value. “This increase is mainly due to the increase in shipments of fresh vegetables (8.5 billion FCFA against 4.0 billion FCFA the previous month), mineral and chemical fertilizers (2.9 billion FCFA against 79 million of FCFA in the previous month) and phosphoric acid (+ 18.9%) ”, underlines the ANSD. Moreover,…

The benefit of Bank Of Africa (BOA) Burkina Faso, a subsidiary of the banking group of the same name, will pay its shareholders on May 3, 2021, for the financial year 2020 an overall net dividend of CFAF 8.140 billion (12.210 million euros). ‘euros), announced the leaders of this banking establishment based in Ouagadougou. Compared to the 22 million shares that make up the bank’s capital, this corresponds to a net dividend of CFAF 370 per share of CFAF 1,000 as in 2019. This dividend level, which represents 37% of the par value of the share of the bank, follows…

The Ivory Coast Armed Forces checkpoint in Kafolo (border with Burkina Faso in the north, Sikolo sub-prefecture) was once again attacked by jihadists on the night of Sunday, March 28. The death toll shows two deaths on both sides. The regular army was able to neutralize two attackers, witnesses said. This is the second attack perpetrated in this locality. The first, which took place on the night of June 10 to 11, 2020, left 13 dead and 6 injured according to official data. The Ivorian authorities announced on June 22 that they had stopped the brain from the operation. Since…

Jeune Afrique Media Group, the leading Pan-African media group, which celebrates its 60th anniversary this year, has unveiled its 2021–2025 strategy. With this transformation project, which comes amid a global pandemic and major digital disruption, the group aims to capitalize on the strength of its brands, its extensive client portfolio, and the size of its digital audience to reinforce its status as the best source for African economic and political elites. Amir Ben Yahmed, CEO of Jeune Afrique Media Group, commented, “The current transformation gives us the means to remain the leading source of political and economic information as well as…

While the cashew nut marketing campaign has just opened with promising yield prospects, the government is stepping up measures to limit the effects of Covid and boost processing, in accordance with its commitment made in 2016. Officially launched on March 11 in Kétou, in the Plateau department, the cashew nut marketing campaign was marked by two contrasting news. On the upside, good prospects for returns thanks to a favorable climate – excellent news for the some 200,000 families who make a living from this sector. On the other side, a minimum price guaranteed to historically low producers: for this campaign,…

WIC Gestion, manager of the WIC Capital fund, is pleased to announce its investment in Les Ateliers de Corinne (LADC), a small and growing business (SGB) based in Dakar (Senegal) and specialized in digital culinary marketing, the organization of cooking workshops and cake design. WIC Capital invested through a mix of equity and quasi-equity, with the participation of local individual investors and the Délégation Générale à l’Entreprenariat Rapide des Femmes et des Jeunes (DER). This participation is WIC Capital’s third investment, taking the total amount syndicated into Women Led SMEs in the region to close to XOF 500 million CFAF…

In Mali, the National Directorate of the Treasury and Public Accounts officially launched on Tuesday March 23, the schedule for issuing government securities for the year 2021. According to Alousséni Sanou, Malian Minister of the Economy and Finance , the amount of securities to be issued by the public treasury amounts to around 910 billion CFA francs (1.4 million euros). This amount is broken down as follows: 170 billion FCFA (261 538 461 euros) of treasury bills 740 billion FCFA (1.138 million euros) of treasury bonds. “The State of Mali, through the National Directorate of the Treasury and Public Accounts,…

More than a year after the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, the global airline industry remains in the red with devastating consequences for this sector in Africa as highlighted by the African Economic Commission (ECA) and the Airlines Association African Airlines (AFRAA) in its report entitled “African Airlines in the Context of the Civod 19 Pandemic, Overcoming a Liquidity Crisis, published March 3”. Most of the continent’s companies find themselves in a virtual insolvency situation with a level of financial losses set at over $ 10 billion for the entire sector. This is particularly true for Ethiopian Airlines, which reports…

As the leading producer and exporter of cashew nuts, Côte d’Ivoire does not want to be left behind in processing. It is in this perspective that the government, through the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, launched this week, the construction of an agro-industrial zone in Bondoukou, the zone which concentrates the greatest production. , located in the northeast of Côte d’Ivoire. Four large capacity factories will be built, equipped with all amenities with a minimum production capacity of 60,000 tonnes / year. At a cost of more than 18 million USD (9 billion CFA francs), this new agro-industrial park…

The Ivory Coast subsidiary of the Pan-African Bank UBA achieved, for the year 2020, a net profit of 12.115 billion F CFA (nearly 22 million US dollars) against 9.163 billion F CFA (about 16.5 billion million US dollars) in 2019, an increase of 32.22%. Information given on March 23, 2021 by Sarata Koné Thiam, Chief Executive Officer of the bank, during the presentation of the 2020 balance sheet and 2021 outlook. The total balance sheet also shows an improvement, going from 340 billion FCFA (614,123,640 US dollars) in 2019, to 514 billion F CFA (928,410,444 US dollars) in 2020. All…

The confirmation by the Constitutional Court of Niger, on March 21, of the victory of Mohamed Bazoum at the head of the country with more than 55.6% of the vote convinced Emmanuel Macron to take his phone to congratulate his counterpart. During this meeting, the French president particularly praised the “peaceful transition of power” with President Mahamadou Issoufou and the “historic” nature of the transition in this country. In addition to the violence that punctuated the ballot, these results are however contested by Mahamane Ousmane, opponent of the second round at the head of the Democratic and Republican Renewal (RDR-Tchanji).…

Under the leadership of Alassane Ouattara, the country has asserted itself as a key player in Tech in West Africa, symbolized by the Information Technology and Biotechnology Village (Vitib), in Grand -Bassam. A look back at a decade of initiatives in favor of digital emergence. No, the Ivorian economy is not based only on coffee and cocoa. Since 2011, the country has been stepping up initiatives to enable the Tech sector to become a real lever for development. Admittedly, the target of 15% of GDP in 2020 – against 7% in 2017, was certainly too ambitious, especially against the backdrop…

Burkina Faso’s National Telecommunications Office (ONATEL) SA, 61% controlled by the Maroc Telecom group, achieved an after-tax profit of CFAF 31.052 billion (€ 46.678 million) at the end of fiscal year 2020, announced the leaders of this telephone company based in Ouagadougou. Compared to the 2019 financial year when it stood at CFAF 30.086 billion, this profit has increased by 3.2%. “Without taking into account the impact of the upward revision of the rate of the specific tax on turnover, the growth in net income would be 8.7%”, specify the officials of ONATEL S.A. At the end of the year…

The State of Mali will proceed, on March 27, 2021, to the payment of the annual interest on its bond loan called “State of Mali 6.50% 2020-2028” for an amount of 6.5 billion FCFA (9.750 million euros) , announced the officials of the Regional Stock Exchange (BRVM) based in Abidjan. By decree dated January 29, 2020, the Minister Delegate in charge of the budget of Mali had authorized for a period of 12 days, as from March 9, 2020, the issue by the National Directorate of the Treasury and Public Accounting on the market regional financial institution of the West…

French justice is due to look into the dispute between Euronews, owner of Africanews, and Ylias Akbaraly in the coming weeks. Buyer of the pan-African channel at the end of a contract signed in August 2019, the boss of the companies Sipromad and Phenixya suddenly changed his mind, citing a hidden agreement he was unaware of between Euronews and the Republic of Congo, the country of the headquarters of the media launched in 2016. To justify his turnaround, the Franco-Malagasy businessman advances a letter sent to him by the Congolese Minister of Communication and Media, Thierry Moungalla, on October 2,…

“It is with great joy and pride that SEA-invest continues to develop its activities in Côte d’Ivoire, through the forthcoming opening of a logistics base which will contribute to the development of industrial ecosystems in the Yopougon commune. », Affirmed Philippe Van de Vyvere, president of the SEA-invest group, which is working to open, through its subsidiary in Côte d’Ivoire, a new logistics base for equipment in the west of Abidjan, on a area of ​​16.5 hectares, made up of 3 groups which will include 80,000 m² of warehouses. The announcement made on Tuesday March 23 comes after a meeting…

The improvement in industrial production in Senegal, which began in September 2020, continued until the end of January 2021, according to data established by the National Agency for Statistics and Demography (ANSD). These data indeed show that this production has increased by 9.2% compared to its level for the same month of 2020. However, it is still well below its performance for the months of October and November 2020 with record increases of 14% and 16.1% respectively. The months of December 2020 (+ 7.7%) and September 2020 (+5.1) are the periods when industrial production in Senegal is less efficient, but…

The turnover index (ICA) of commercial enterprises shows a decrease of 14.8% in 2020 compared to 2019, according to a document from the National Institute of Statistics (INS) of Côte d’Ivoire consulted on Tuesday March 23. This instrument, which measures the evolution of sales of commercial enterprises tax-free, highlighted the edifying fall of wholesaling and intermediary activities, which recorded a rate of -17.6%. It was also a mixed year for semi-wholesale businesses, which also fell with a rate of -4.6%. This negative period in the sector, which does not also spare car and motorcycle repair companies (-2.1%), is induced by…

Tunisia is the first Maghreb country and the sixth in Africa to manufacture its own satellite, after South Africa, Egypt and Ghana in particular, according to the specialized site Space in Africa. Challenge One, intended for the Internet of Things (the ecosystem of connected objects), was built by a team from the Tunisian telecommunications group TelNet, most of whose engineers, trained locally, are between 25 and 30 years old. “I am proud to have participated in this project. Working in the aeronautic or aerospace sector is a dream, ”said Khalil Chiha, 27, trained at the Sfax national electronics school. The…

Initially scheduled for September 6 to 12, 2021, the second edition of the Intra-African Trade Fair (Iatf 2021) is now scheduled for December 8 to 14. A decision taken by Afreximbank, organizer of the event, in common agreement with the African Union (AU) and Rwanda, which hosts the event. This, during the extraordinary meeting of the Advisory Board of the Iatf 2021 which took place on March 18, 2021 in Cairo. For the bank, due to the Covid-19 health crisis, it is first necessary to allow good vaccine coverage on the continent in order to guarantee a good holding of…