(Posted 03rd October 2024)
CCA MEMBERS IN THE NEWS
Flutterwave Helps Global Businesses Unlock New Opportunities Across Africa, Says CEO Olugbenga Agboola
Fintech Finance News
On the sidelines of the 79th United Nations General Assembly in New York, Flutterwave’s CEO, Olugbenga “GB” Agboola, highlighted the company’s instrumental role in expanding market access for African businesses. He expressed this during a high-profile panel session titled “Connecting the Next Billion Customers” at Semafor’s Next 3 Billion Summit in New York. The summit gathered businesses and government leaders to discuss the role of digital transformation and innovations in harnessing the economic development of emerging markets….Read More>>
Caledonia Mining Sells Zimbabwe Solar Plant to CrossBoundary Energy for $22.35 Million
Solar Quarter
Caledonia Mining Corporation Plc has signed a conditional agreement to sell its Zimbabwean subsidiary, Caledonia Mining Services (Private) Limited (“CMS”). CMS, which owns and operates the 12.2MWac solar plant powering the Blanket Mine, will be sold to CrossBoundary Energy Holdings (“CBE”) for $22.35 million in cash. Under the terms of a power purchase agreement, the solar plant will continue supplying electricity to Blanket Mine….Read More>>
U.S Department of State
The United States welcomes today’s signing of a landmark $480 million Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) grant to the Government of Sierra Leone to boost access to electricity, to foster sustainable economic growth, and to improve the quality of life of its citizens. This grant, coupled with a voluntary contribution of $14.2 million from the Government of Sierra Leone, will fund transformational energy sector investments to deliver affordable and reliable electricity for 4.6 million people…Read More>>
Biden reaches out to Africa at UN General Assembly
Voice of America News
President Joe Biden is turning to Africa in the sunset of his presidency. In the space of one day, in front of world leaders, he elevated Sudan’s conflict to a priority, announced he would travel to Angola and endorsed adding two seats for African countries to the U.N. Security Council.In his valedictory speech to the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday, Biden made several brief overtures to the African continent — reminding world leaders of the evils of South Africa’s apartheid regime, calling for an end to Sudan’s grueling conflict and citing urgency in combating an mpox outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo…Read More>>
ENERGY
All Africa
Monrovia — The Liberian government, through the Ministry of Mines and Energy, has concluded a pivotal three-day sector validation workshop, marking significant strides towards modernizing the nation’s energy policy to meet contemporary demands and foster economic growth.Deputy Minister for Operations at the Ministry of Mines and Energy, William Hines, expressed the government’s optimism about the ongoing efforts to update the National Energy Policy of 2009. The workshop, aimed at identifying gaps in the existing policy and ensuring its alignment with current realities, has reportedly made considerable progress…Read More >>
Jigawa partners with energy firm to establish CNG conversion centres
New times Nigeria
The Jigawa State Government has announced its intention to enter a partnership with Safa and Fresh International Limited, an indigenous energy company, to establish Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) conversion centres across all 27 local government areas in the state.This was revealed during the commissioning ceremony of a new petrol filling station owned by the company held on Wednesday in Dutse, the state capital…Read More>>
CFAO Healthcare is pleased to announce its strategic expansion into the South African pharmaceutical market by acquiring a prominent pharmaceutical manufacturer and distributor, Opella Healthcare South Africa.It marks CFAO’s first healthcare investment in the country, which is the second-largest market on the continent. The new entity will operate as CFAO Healthcare in South Africa.CFAO Healthcare, a division of CFAO Group, continues its mission of enhancing healthcare globally by manufacturing, distributing, and providing pharmaceutical and medical products and related services…Read More>>
All Africa
Rwanda’s family planning use increased from 10 percent in 2000 to 64 percent by 2020, according to latest statistics from the Rwanda Demographic and Health Survey.The Rwanda Biomedical Centre (RBC) notes that the progress in modern contraception coverage, now at 58 percent, and natural methods at 6 percent, transformed maternal and child health outcomes across the country.”The impact has been profound, not just on individual health but also on the nation’s socioeconomic development,” said Dr. François-Régis Cyiza, the Director of Maternal and Child Health Facilities at RBC…Read More>>
All Africa
Massive road infrastructure projects are being implemented across Tanzania, positioning the country among the sub-Saharan African nations with the largest road networks. Over the years, the government has taken deliberate measures and committed resources to expand the road network, leveraging Tanzania’s strategic advantage as a bridge economy linking the East African Community (EAC) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) markets…Read More>>
African Development Bank Invests $10 Million in Dhamana to Boost Sustainable Infrastructure in East Africa
TechAfrica News
The African Development Bank has made a strategic equity investment of $10 million in Dhamana Guarantee Company, a Nairobi-based provider of guarantees to support sustainable growth enterprises. This follows an anchor investment from the UK-Government-backed Private Infrastructure Development Group through its subsidiary, InfraCo Africa.Dhamana will also receive equity investments from County Pension Fund Financial Services (CPF), and technical assistance support from and Financial Sector Deepening Africa (FSD Africa) and Cardano Development….Read More>>
Bulawayo 24
Zimbabwe is celebrating its recent achievement of gaining access for avocado exports to China, but the country’s agricultural sector is witnessing growth in other areas as well, particularly in the blueberry industry, which is gearing up for rapid expansion.This year, Zimbabwe is expected to export approximately 5,500 tonnes of blueberries. Although this figure is still less than 20% of the volumes shipped by its more established neighbor, South Africa, industry leaders are optimistic about the potential for growth in the coming years…Read More>>
Start-up to launch agri-food app to boost trade
Namibian
Namibian start-up Fudlink will be launching a mobile application that could transform agricultural trade in the country.According to the founder of Fudlink Agricultural Technology CC , Twama Nghidinwa, the pre-launch of the digital platform will be part of the Windhoek Agricultural and Livestock Show 2024 on Saturday.“The pre-launch will bring together farmers, logistics providers, retailers and consumers to this innovative digital platform,” he says…Read More>>
ICT
The BFT Online
It is with a profound sense of honor and responsibility that I stand before you today at the 2024 TICON Africa Conference. As we gather here in the beautiful city of Mombasa, Kenya, we are reminded of the incredible journey we have embarked upon together as a community of ICT professionals dedicated to advancing technology across our beloved continent…Read More>>
Digital payment system reduces fraud
Daily News
Minister for Infrastructure, Communications and Transport, Dr Khalid Salum Mohammed informed the House of Representatives that the adoption of technology in various financial systems has helped identify and close many loopholes that previously resulted in financial losses within public institutions.Dr Mohammed was speaking on behalf of Dr Saada Mkuya Salum, the Minister of State in the Office of the President (Finance and Planning), who was absent during the session…Read More>>
World Bank Begins Education Programme on Generative AI in Nigeria
This Day Live
In one of the pioneering efforts to leverage free Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools to enhance educational outcomes in a context where it is most needed, the World Bank has commenced an experiment in Edo State, Nigeria.Generative AI involves the creation of new content and ideas, including conversations, stories, images, videos, and music, as AI technologies attempt to mimic human intelligence in non-traditional computing tasks like image recognition, natural language processing (NLP), and translation…Read More>>
FINANCE
Reuters
The African Development Bank said on Monday it approved financing worth 70 million euros ($78.3 mln) for Moroccan lender Bank of Africa to promote access to trade finance in Africa.
The trade finance facility comprises a Risk Participation Agreement (RPA) of 50 million euros and a Trade Finance Line of Credit (TFLOC) of 20 million euros, the AfDB said in a statement.
The funding should catalyse almost 300 million euros in trade over a 3.5-year period, it said….Read More>>
African Development Bank grants over $5 million to support micro-enterprises run by young people and women
African Development Bank Group
The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank Group has approved a grant of $5.28 million to South Sudan to help create much-needed jobs for young people and women. The ‘Job Creation through Youth and Women-led Micro and Small Enterprises (JMSE) Project’ receives the African Development Fund grant under the Transition Support Facility (TSF).The executing agency is the Ministry of Trade and Industry while the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is responsible for implementing the project. The UNDP has contributed $1.2 million to the project, which will run from January 2025 to December 2028….Read More>>
