Author: Amadjiguéne Ndoye

Microsoft has announced potential funding of $500 million in partnership with venture capitalists to support African startups. The instrument should make it possible to support 10,000 startups in Africa over the next five years. The initiative is planned to launch alongside the Microsoft Startups Founders Hub on the continent, along with new partnerships with accelerators and incubators to provide startups with access to markets, technical skills and funding. Priority will be given to startups with a global reach and regional bases or with an interest in one or more regions of Africa. These initiatives will be carried out through the…

Dangote Fertilizer Limited, an entity of the Dangote Group, on Wednesday (March 2) signed a gas delivery agreement with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited and its Joint Venture (JV) partners including Shell, Total and Eni. The agreement is for the delivery of 70 million standard cubic feet (Scuf) of gas per day. It was signed in Abuja on the sidelines of the Fifth Nigeria International Energy Summit (NIES 2022), with the theme “Revitalizing Industry: Future Fuels and Energy Transition”. For Dangote Group Chairman, Aliko Dangote (pictured), the additional gas will bring more foreign currency into the country given…

Zenith Bank plc posted double-digit growth of 10% in gross profit for the year ended December 31, 2021 to N765.6 billion ($1.8 million) from N696.5 billion. naira ($1.6 million) the previous year. Profit after tax was 244.56 billion naira ($587 million). The bank’s audited financial results attribute the growth, deemed “impressive”, to the 23% year-on-year growth rate noted in non-interest income from 251.7 billion naira ($604 million). at 309 billion naira ($742 ​​million). Added to this is a 2% annual growth in interest income from 420.8 billion naira ($1 billion) in 2021 to 427.6 billion naira ($1.02 billion) previously. The…

AgDevCo has raised USD 90 million from the UK Development Finance Institution (CDC), Norwegian fund Nordfund and the International Development Finance Corporation (DFC). The investment should enable AgDevCo, which specializes in investing in African agricultural start-ups, to consolidate investments in agribusiness. The fund is made up of a contribution of $50 million from CDC Group, $20 million from the Norwegian investment fund Nordfund and $20 million from the DFC. “We are delighted that our vision is shared by our new funders, who recognize the important contribution that AgDevCo’s investments can make to productivity, sustainability and inclusiveness in Africa,” said Keith…

Cameroonian journalist Michel Lobé Ewané has been appointed to the board of directors of Joseph Sassoon Group, an international financial services group based in New York. He will be in charge of promoting the company in Africa, the search for new investments and will serve as a relay between the group and the press. Former editor-in-chief of Forbes Afrique, which he joined in 2012, Michel Lobé Ewané has a career in international media, including Radio France International (RFI), TV5 Monde and BBC World in 1999. In 2021, the journalist was appointed adviser Royal Office of Sheikh Al Qassimi of Dubai…

EFG Hermes, the largest investment bank in Egypt, announced on Monday February 21 that it had received the approval of its board of directors to entrust Goldman Sachs with the takeover offer presented by First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) . On February 9, the main Emirati bank presented, in fact, a non-binding offer to acquire a majority stake in EFG Hermes concerning at least 51% of the shares of the bank for 19 Egyptian pounds ($1.21) by stock, valuing Egypt’s leading investment bank at nearly $1.2 billion. The market value of the transaction is expected to exceed $970 million. It…

The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) announced on February 17, 2022 that it had signed a loan agreement for 250 million euros with the German Development Bank KfW. The manna is particularly intended to finance the production, acquisition and distribution of anti-Covid-19 vaccines and medical supplies in Africa. “This loan demonstrates the German government’s support for Afreximbank’s Covid-19 interventions across Africa. It also affirms the commitment of the German government to promote the manufacture of vaccines and other essential pharmaceuticals in Africa. Afreximbank has demonstrated its commitment and ability to support these activities across Africa, which ensures that the loan will…

Nigeria’s Bank of Industry (BOI) has issued a €700 million Eurobond to fund business growth in Nigeria. The five-year euro-denominated instrument is guaranteed by the federal government and issued at a yield of 7.5%. The deal was backed by Rand Merchant Bank (RMB), global coordinator and active bookrunner on the issue. The bond was initially set at $500 million. According to the RMB, BOI is the first African national development finance institution to issue a public Eurobond. The issue should be used to unlock financing for the Nigerian industrial sector. “This agreement represents the institution’s first Eurobond (BOI), the provision…

The SANAD Fund for MSMEs (SANAD) has granted a USD 1 million loan to Moroccan Attadamoune Micro-Finance in order to expand access to finance for Moroccan micro and small enterprises (MSMEs), particularly in rural areas. This funding will provide local currency financing to Attadamoune Micro-Finance through its network of 48 branches across Morocco, according to a press release issued on Tuesday (February 8th). Created in 1994, the Moroccan microcredit specialist intends, through this SANAD facility, to revive microfinance in the country to extend financial inclusion to underserved groups. “Local currency loans are a key element of responsible finance, as they…

Credit Suisse Group AG has decided to transfer to Barclays PLC its wealthy clients in nine African markets where the bank has decided to withdraw since last November. The assets under management affected by the private banking client referral agreement signed by the two banks total approximately $2.5 billion. “Credit Suisse has signed a private banking client referral agreement with Barclays as part of the plan to exit nine non-core wealth management markets, primarily in sub-Saharan Africa, excluding South Africa “, announced Credit Suisse in a press release published this Friday, February 4, confirming information from the Bloomberg agency. The…

Ghana is to receive a USD 27.39 million grant from the African Development Bank (AfDB) for the development of mini-grids and solar PV net meters in the country. The project has already obtained co-financing from the Scaling Up Renewable Energy programme, a financing window of the Climate Investment Funds, and the Swiss State Secretariat for the Economy, for an amount of $28.49 million and $13.30 million, respectively. Called “Ghana Mini Grid and Solar Photovoltaic Net Metering”, the project will have a production capacity of 67.5 MW and will produce approximately 111,300 MWh of electricity per year. It includes the development…

Her appointment officially announced on January 28, 2022, the new CEO of the Orange group, Christel Heydemann, becomes the first woman to hold this position. She will take office on April 4, replacing Stéphane Richard, sentenced last November for complicity in the misuse of public funds in the Tapie-Crédit Lyonnais affair. Member of the board of directors of Orange since 2017, Christel Heydemann Heydemann held the position of boss of Schneider Electric Europe before joining the French telecommunications giant. After starting her career at the Boston Consulting Group, an international strategy consulting firm, she spent more than ten years at…

African venture capital firm TLcom Capital has raised $70 million for the first closing of its $150 million Africa-focused technology fund. The new fund should allow TLcom to expand its activities to fast-growing, technology-focused African startups, and strengthen its presence in East and West Africa. The deal saw Allianz participate through AfricaGrow, its joint venture with DEG Impact (German Investment Corporation), as well as a host of new and returning investors, including Bertelsmann, King Philanthropies, the TLcom team and FBNQuest. private sector, and major development finance institutions such as UK CDC Group, IFC, Proparco and Swedfund. The fund’s second closing…

GuarantCo, a member of the Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG), granted a portfolio guarantee of approximately 14.55 billion FCFA, or 25 million USD to Oragbank Togo. The guarantee mainly concerns telecommunications and road projects in Togo. The largest bank in the country, Orabank will also benefit from capital relief allowing it to develop its infrastructure portfolio while remaining within the limits of a single debtor. The transaction will result in the provision of improved infrastructure services to more than 500,000 people and support hundreds of jobs through Orabank’s continued lending to infrastructure projects. In addition, GuarantCo will contribute to the…