Angola has become the latest sovereign shareholder in the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC), three years after the Southern African country joined the infrastructure solutions provider as a member. The development follows Angola’s equity investment commitment of US$ 184.8 million to the AFC since 2022, and a US$25 million investment by its sovereign wealth fund earlier this year.Angola becomes the second Lusophone African nation, after Cape Verde, to join the growing list of equity investors in AFC. The AFC is acting as lead developer, alongside other partners, in the Lobito Corridor project, which will connect railway lines in Angola, Zambia, and the…
Author: Staff Reporter
Global hotel chains Mariott International, Inc. and Hilton Hotels & Resorts have announced aggressive expansion plans that will see the them add over 50 properties and over 100 properties respectively in Africa within the next two years. Mariott will make its market debut in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Madagascar, Cape Verde, Cote d’Ivoire, Madagascar and Mauritania.In Africa, the chain already has 150 properties and 26, 000 rooms across 20 countries and 22 brands.Hilton Hotels plans to open more than 100 hotels on the continent, tripling its presence from the current 63 properties. “We are witnessing a transformation of…
Popular messaging platform WhatsApp is set to start showing its users advertisements on its Status feature, in addition to several other changes meant to boost the platform’s revenues. In addition to ads, the platform has also introduced channel subscriptions, where users can subscribe for exclusive updates, and promoted channels, giving admins a way to boost visibility.The platform’s parent company Meta, which also owns Facebook and Instagram, has said that it is introducing ways “to help admins, organizations, and businesses grow on WhatsApp.”This is the latest development in a long-running plan by Meta to introduce advertising on the popular messaging platform…
Former Minister for Economic Affairs and Finance of Mauritania, Dr. Sidi Ould Tah, has been elected the ninth president of the African Development Bank Group (AfDB), the multilateral institution has announced. Dr. Tah, 60, previously served as president of the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA) for 10 years from 2015 until April 2025.The winning candidate is required to obtain at least 50.01% of both the regional and non-regional votes.The other candidates included Amadou Hott (Senegal), Samuel Maimbo (Zambia), Mahamat Abbas Tolli (Chad), and Bajabulile Swazi Tshabalala (South Africa). In the lead up to the elections, Dr. Tah said…
American multinational hospitality company Hyatt Hotels & Resorts has announced that it expects around 50% rooms growth across new and existing markets in Africa by the end of 2030. In March 2025, Hyatt Place Nairobi Westlands and Hyatt House Nairobi Westlands opened along Lower Kabete Road.In the past two years, Hyatt saw 51% rooms growth in Africa, fuelled by the addition of several properties and first-time brand entries. These included Park Hyatt Marrakech, Hyatt Centric Cairo West, Hyatt Regency Harare – The Meikles, and Hyatt Regency Nairobi Westlands, its first hotel in Kenya. “Last year marked a breakthrough year for Hyatt in Africa,…
Nigeria has joined the list of countries that do not owe the International Monetary Fund (IMF), after it cleared a US$3.4 billion emergency loan it received during the pandemic. The financing, provided in April 2020, was meant to cushion the economy as oil revenues fell.Nigeria finished paying off the principal in April, and it was subsequently removed from the debtors list.The country still owes “about US$ 30 million annually” in charges, administrative fees, and interest payments. “The net payment of the charges stops when Nigeria’s Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) holdings reach the cumulative allocation amount,” the IMF said in a…
Outbreaks of anthrax and Mpox have compounded the ongoing security crisis in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), as worsening humanitarian needs and limited access have exposed critical gaps. Anthrax, an infection caused by a spore forming bacteria, typically affects animals but can be transmitted to human beings.Since late March, after the deaths of dozens of buffalo and hippopotamuses in Virunga National Park from anthrax poisoning, 16 suspected human cases of anthrax have been reported, including one confirmed caseThe rapid territorial gains made by M23 have resulted in widespread displacement, including the flight of more than 660,000 from Goma…
Digital credit provider MyCredit has secured KSh 1.4 billion in funding from global impact leaders Oikocredit and BlueOrchard to lend to private schools in Kenya. The financing covers various purposes, including working capital, asset finance-such as the purchase of educational resources and infrastructure development-, and green financing to support sustainability initiatives.The loan offers a tenor of 72 months (6 years) and provides up to Kshs. 10 million, tailored to the specific needs of each school.Oikocredit is a social impact investor and worldwide cooperative, while BlueOrchard is an impact investment management company. “By offering customized loan solutions, we aim to reduce…
The National Bank of Ethiopia will begin regular foreign exchange auctions, starting with a US$50 million auction on April 1st. In mid-2024, Ethiopia liberalised its foreign exchange regime which resulted in a sharp devaluation of the country’s currency in the first weeks.Since then, NBE has been monitoring market dynamics to close the gap between what commercial banks and the parallel markets offer.Its last FX auction on February saw the participation of 27 banks and an average Birr 135.6 per USD. “Since the launch of a comprehensive program of macroeconomic reforms in July 2024, Ethiopia’s balance of payments position has been…
The National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE) has maintained the 15% benchmark rate to temper inflation and anchor exchange rate expectations at its second Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting. At its inaugural meeting last December, the committee maintained the rate for the same reasons, as headline inflation at the time was 16.9%.According to the MPC, the tight monetary policy stance and improvements in agricultural production have helped ease inflation, which eased to 15% in February.As the shift to an interest rate-based monetary policy regime is still in progress, the MPC also kept the 18% cap on annual credit growth. “The Committee…
French prosecutors dropped a criminal complaint by the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) against Apple in mid-February saying the allegations were not ‘well-founded’, new reports indicate. In December, the DRC’s justice minister filed the complaints against Apple subsidiaries in Belgium and France.The case stemmed from the use of minerals critical to smartphones and computers, which DRC alleged were sourced from armed groups.DRC lawyers have said they will appeal, and the original case is still being investigated by a magistrate in Belgium. In a statement after filing the complaint, DRC’s lawyers said that the critical minerals- tantalum, tin, and tungsten-in Apple’s…
Ugandan investigators have arrested the country’s Accountant General and eight senior officials for a heist in which US$16mn was stolen from the Bank of Uganda (BoU) in September 2024. Accountant General Lawrence Semakula and several officials in his office are the most high profile among those arrested.The US$16mn was meant to repay loans to the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the World Bank, but was instead diverted to accounts in Japan and the United Kingdom.In early January, Uganda’s legislature forwarded an audit of the heist by the country’s Auditor-General to the Criminal Investigations Department for action. “The arrests follow a…
Uganda’s legislature has forwarded the Auditor-General’s report on the UShs 60bn (US $ 16.23mn) Bank of Uganda heist to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations “for further investigations.” Last November, media reports emerged that that the country’s apex bank had been hacked in August, leading to the loss of over UShs. 60bn.The sophisticated cyber heist involved the diversion of payments, such as a US$ 6.134 million payment meant for the World Bank that was instead sent to a Tokyo-based company.BOU, which locked horns with the Ministry of Finance over the heist and subsequent audit, has since said that it has recovered…
The Ethiopian Shipping and Logistics Services Enterprise (ESL), known commercially as Ethiopian Shipping Lines, is mulling a rapid expansion of its maritime fleet with the addition of six new bulk cargo ships to meet demand. The company currently owns 10 bulk cargo ships and has to rely on leases and rental contracts to meet the high demand in Africa’s second most populous country. In July, ESL reported 57 billion birr in revenues, with over US$420mn in foreign currency, but the impressive performance was weighed down by 48bn in expenses, mainly from expensive leases and rentals.In response to challenges on the…