Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has approached the country’s House of Representatives to request approval for a new external borrowing amounting to $5.513bn. If approved, the loan would bring Nigerians’ external debt to $36.013. The country’s external debt as of December 2019, stood at $27.1bn while IMF had extended an emergency loan of $3.4bn to Nigeria…
With most airports closed and flights grounded for the past two months, South Africa’s aviation sector is teetering on the brink of collapse. The situation is so dire that a delegation representing the industry has called on the South African government to provide “specific financial relief” to the sector to help cushion the blow of…
An announcement that the Nigerian government has imposed a fine of about $2,500 on a British private charter plane, Flairjet, which contravened the flight ban imposed to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in the country, has been greeted by mostly disbelief and anger. According to the Nigerian aviation minister Hadi Sirika, a Legacy 600 aircraft…
Many businesses will be heaving a sigh of relief following President Cyril Ramaphosa’s announcement on Sunday night, that from June 1st, the country will be moving to level three of its lockdown regulations. This means over 8 million people will return to work and industries such as manufacturing, mining, construction, media and government services which…
Oil revenue from Africa’s largest crude oil producer, Nigeria, shed $1.09bn in the first quarter of 2020, the country’s Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed has said. The minister explained during a presentation at the National Econiomic Council’s first virtual meeting, which was presided over by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, that the net…
Senegal has demonstrated strong ambition for economic development and rapid progress towards becoming an attractive investment destination (By Thomas Hedley, Field Editor) Although they are located 1,800Km from each other, Côte d’Ivoire and Senegal vie for the place of the economic leader in West Africa, with a slight advantage for the former which, thanks to…
It started as conspiracy theory circulating on social media that billionaire tech mogul Bill Gates was behind a plan to hurriedly pass a controversial Infectious Disease Control Bill into law in the Nigerian parliament. But when the spokesperson of one the political parties in Nigeria, Ikenga Ugochinyere issued a statement alleging that the leadership of the House of Representatives received the sum…
South Africa has been under lockdown for over 50 days now, it’s been so long that it almost feels normal. During this time, we’ve become experts at interpreting our fellow citizens’ muffled speech, which emanate from the ubiquitous and colorful masks found all around the country. The cold smell of hand sanitizer and terms like…
WHO says it supports efforts at finding a cure even from indigenous medicines
The commercial nerve center of Nigeria, Lagos, is working towards reopening the city for business after two weeks of easing its lockdown. But considering that Lagos State is the epicenter of COVID-19 in the country with 2550 out of the total number of 5959 cases (May 17), is the city ready to fully resume commercial…
Local content policies and localization strategies cannot be forgotten in the pursuit of investment and efficiency (By Verner Ayukegba) Africa is at an energy cross-road. On one hand, the most talented, better educated, most entrepreneurial and competitive generation the continent has ever had is rising and taking on leadership positions that will propel African companies…
The Private sector-led Coalition Against COVID-19 (CACOVID) has ordered for 250,000 supplies for tests and another 150,000 extraction kits to fast-track molecular testing for the deadly coronavirus, noting that the reality of the situation at hand was such that efforts must be put together with no stone left unturned in dealing with the scourge. The…
With the COVID-19 pandemic and economic slowdown threatening the lives and livelihoods of the world’s most vulnerable people, the UN’s International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) today committed US$40 million, and launched an urgent appeal for additional funds, to support farmers and rural communities to continue growing and selling food. IFAD’s new multi-donor fund, the COVID-19Rural Poor…
Africa is the biggest winner from the International Monetary Fund’s first batch of debt relief as 19 countries from the continent will get access to grants in order to mitigate the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. This fell short of requests by other African countries to bilateral and multilateral lenders to give them a break…
The International Air Transport Association has released new analysis showing that some 25 million jobs are at risk of disappearing with plummeting demand for air travel amid the COVID-19 crisis. Globally, the livelihoods of some 65.5 million people are dependent on the aviation industry, including sectors such as travel and tourism. Among these are 2.7…
Ethiopia has issued a new directive that allows diaspora and local enterprises engage in provision of mobile money services. The directive has however prohibited the entry of foreign companies in the sector- a roadblock for companies like M-PESA that have been planning to enter into the Ethiopian market this year. According to the directive, the…
The proposed assistance will be channeled to the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) AThe Board of Directors of the African Development Bank on Wednesday approved a $1.5 million emergency relief grant to assist nine countries in the East and Horn of Africa on the control of swarms of desert locusts that are threatening livelihoods and…
Changes in Safaricom’s ownership seem to have freed the company up for more rapid expansion into other markets. In May, UK telecoms giant Vodafone transferred a 35% stake in Safaricom to its South African offshoot Vodacom, in return for more equity in Vodacom valued at KSh260bn ($2.48bn). This left it with just a 5% stake in the Kenyan company,…
Israeli Spyder missile system in action. Courtesy: Financial Times Nile dilemma as Ethiopia’s Arms Trade with Israel troubles rivals Egypt Ethiopia’s installation of Israeli made air defense systems at the Grand Renaissance Dam and the increasing arms trade between both nations is triggering serious concerns in Egypt. Egypt is hugely dependent on the River Nile…