Author: Ibrahima jr Dia

Co-operative Bank of Kenya announced on Wednesday (May 19th) that its net profit was 3.46 billion shillings (32 million USD) in the first quarter of 2021. This is a decrease of 3.6% compared to the same period of the previous year. This poor performance is mainly due to the increase in provisioning for defaults. Moreover, this prudential management had an impact on operating expenses, increasing by 27% to 9.3 billion shillings (86 million USD). “The group cautiously increased loan loss provisions to 2.3 billion shillings ($ 21 million) in the first quarter of the year, appreciating the challenges businesses and…

Read More

Cairo-based digital bank Telda has raised $ 5 million as part of a pre-seed funding round. This is the largest pre-seed transaction in both MENA and Africa yet – Autochek previously raised the largest pre-seed at $ 3.4 million. The roundtable was led by Sequoia Capital, an American venture capital firm with the participation of Global Founders Capital and Berlin-based Class 5 Global, which football star Mesut Özil joined as a partner. strategic. “Telda is the first digital bank in Egypt, allowing customers to create a free account in seconds, receive a free Telda card to use online, in stores,…

Read More

After Rwanda in November 2020 and Mauritania in January 2021, Guinea becomes the third African nation to sign the agreement establishing the Fund for the Development of Exports in Africa (FEDA), a subsidiary entity of the African Bank of ‘Import-Export (Afreximbank). The establishment agreement was signed on March 31 by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ibrahima Khalil Kaba, on behalf of the Republic of Guinea. In a statement issued on Monday (May 17th), Afreximbank said that in order to finalize the process of legally establishing FEDA, two member states must sign and ratify the agreement. The signing of the agreement…

Read More

The global financial services industry will face 4 main risks, according to a new report released by Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty (AGCS) titled “Financial Services Risk Trends: An Insurer’s Perspective”. The insurer discusses cyber incidents due to dependence on technology, the Covid-19 pandemic, legislative and regulatory developments, and environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues. Allianz indicates, in fact, that financial institutions and their administrators operate in a rapidly changing world, marked by new and emerging risks, generated by their cyber exposure, due to their dependence on technology, the tightening of regulations and the Covid-19 crisis. “The financial services sector…

Read More

MTN Rwanda, a subsidiary of the South African telecoms group MTN, announced Friday, May 7, that it had introduced part of its capital on the Rwanda Stock Exchange (RSE), the local stock exchange. The company goes down in the country’s history by becoming the first mobile network operator to register its actions with CSR. Thanks to this IPO, the shareholders of Crystal Telecom Limited now hold a direct 20% stake in MTN Rwanda and can trade their MTN Rwanda shares directly on the RSE. These shares were previously held by Crystal Telecom Plc. According to MTN Group President Ralph Mupita,…

Read More

Affected by a third wave of particularly virulent coronavirus, Tunisia has opted for general containment. Jasmine’s country will have to confine itself from May 9 to 16, 2021, according to an announcement made this Friday, May 7 by Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi. To this end, a curfew from 7 p.m. to 5 a.m. is introduced throughout the period considered. With this in mind, bars, restaurants, mosques, shops, with the exception of food, will be closed until further notice. In addition, travel will also be prohibited between governorates. Since the start of the month of Ramadan – April 13 – the…

Read More

The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) tasked the Kenya Deposit Insurance Corporation with liquidating the Charterhouse Bank (CHB), 15 years after it was placed under statutory management following complaints of money laundering. “Due to the bank’s serious violations of banking law and its inability to remedy them, liquidation is the only possible option,” the issuing institute said in a statement released Friday (May 7th). The central bank assessed the recommendation and found that the liquidation would facilitate the orderly resolution of CHB’s assets and liabilities. This is in accordance with the laws of Kenya, in order to protect the interests…

Read More

Dutch entrepreneurial bank FMO announced on Thursday, May 6, its intention to participate in TeamApt Inc’s Series A equity (fundraising) with USD 2 million through the FMO Ventures program. The initiative aims to help the development of emerging markets by investing in innovative technology-based business models. It is supported by contributions from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands as well as by a guarantee from the European Commission. As a reminder, TeamApt is a financial technology company that creates financial services for millions of underserved consumers and businesses in Nigeria. The company offers payment gateways, ATMs and access…

Read More

The national telecommunications operator, Tunisie Telecom, announced on Tuesday (May 4th) that its chief executive officer, Samir Saied, has resigned for “personal reasons”. The company specifies that the resigning will hold office until the appointment of his predecessor. Former director of the Société Tunisienne de Banque (STB) and the Oman Development Bank, Samir Saied was appointed CEO of the telecoms group in April 2020, before taking office on May 4. The banker replaced, in this post, Mohamed Fadhel Kraiem, called to become minister of communication technologies and digital economy. He left the ship in a context favorable to the national…

Read More

The South African National Treasury has announced that it will continue with plans to introduce a new state bank. A tool that will essentially be put in place to help the most vulnerable populations in the country. Speaking on this issue Tuesday, May 4 in the National Assembly, the Director General of the Treasury, Dondo Mogajane, indicated that the new bank was part of the structural reforms announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa in his post-Covid recovery plan. 19. The new financial institution should, he informs, help the poorest South African populations to find financing. In addition, the person in charge…

Read More

The South African company MTN officially launched its Supersonic AirFibre offer on Monday 3 May. The telecoms giant has announced that it is starting its first commercial installation of its new service. Since announcing the solution’s launch in February 2021, the group has said it has received more than 20,000 expressions of interest, with the goal of connecting 60,000 homes in the first year. “AirFibre serves as an alternative to the labor-intensive deployment of cabled fiber, using MTN’s existing receiving network,” explained Calvin Collett, director of MTN SA Supersonic, adding that “the technology uses existing open spectrum frequencies, which can…

Read More

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimated at the end of last week that the Guinean economy achieved one of the strongest growths in Africa in 2020, with a 7% increase in its gross domestic product (GDP). This growth was driven by a booming mining sector which represents around 12 to 15% of the country’s GDP. However, notes the Bretton Woods institution, despite the implementation of a rapid and well-structured response plan, the pandemic has wreaked havoc on the non-mining economy, which accounts for more than 3/4 of total GDP and employs a large majority of the population. The monetary institution…

Read More

The board of directors of Tunisie Leasing & Factoring on Friday April 30 appointed Ahmed El Karm as chairman of the group’s board of directors (PCA), replacing Ahmed Abdelkefi. After more than 27 years as managing director of Amen Bank, the new PCA gave the witness last Tuesday to Néji Ghandri to run the bank. Between 2015 and 2019, Ahmed El Karm was president of the Tunisian Professional Association of Financial Institutions (APTBEF). Note also that the newly promoted is the president of the Union of Maghrebian Banks. He is now replacing Ahmed Abdelkefi, a Tunisian economist and businessman specializing…

Read More

Kenyan insurer Britam Holdings has decided to make further acquisitions in Africa as part of its growth strategy, internal sources reported on Thursday (April 29th). However, the structure did not disclose its timeline for planned geographic expansion or targeted markets and estimated capital investments. “We have the ambition to grow beyond our current footprint. We will be looking at all options by coming up with new products or looking at potential new markets, ”Britam CEO Tavaziva Madzinga said in an investor briefing on Thursday. The official added that the company has many opportunities for expansion with potential mergers and acquisitions.…

Read More