The Secretariat for the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) and the African Development Bank have launched phase one of the Africa Cloud Ecosystem Project, to be financed with a $550,000 grant from the NEPAD Infrastructure Project Preparation Facility Special Fund (NEPAD-IPPF) to support the market analysis and pre-investment study for the project.

The signing ceremony for the project was followed by a workshop for representatives of both institutions. The first step in getting the project off the ground is a market analysis. The regional cloud ecosystem project will contribute to...

Africa’s first corporate clean mobility bond has been launched by Morocco’s national railway operator (ONCF). FSD Africa provided technical assistance for the green certification process of this bond.

With this issuance, ONCF is targeting to raise approximately 1 billion dirhams ($95m) to support the Al Boraq project, which has led to considerable gains for the community in terms of connectivity, travel time and frequency, while reducing greenhouse gas emissions. This high-speed line (Ligne à...

Interswitch, Africa’s integrated payments and digital commerce company, and Compass Plus Technologies, an international innovative retail banking and electronic payments solutions provider, announced a partnership to further strengthen Interswitch’s payment card processing capacity in Africa.

The strategic partnership will see Interswitch utilise TranzAxis, a world class cloud based, and service-oriented architecture developed by Compass Plus with innovation at its core, for Verve, Visa and Mastercard credit card processing...

Outsource Monetic Group, an American and Senegalese fintech based in Atlanta, GA, announced the closing of a pre-seed fundraising round with 500 Global, a startup accelerator company based in San Francisco, USA.

The fintech also announced the launch of the pilot phase, in Senegal and Côte d’Ivoire, of its private ATM network branded KaliSpot™. The KaliSpot™ network is named after the Fulani/Peul term “Kalis” for money. Each KaliSpot™ point will be equipped with an infrastructure of ATMs (Automated...

3i Infotech, a global Information Technology company, has announced a strategic partnership with CoreStack, a global multi-cloud governance provider that empowers enterprises to unleash the power of the cloud.

The long-term partnership will enable 3i Infotech's NuRe Cloud platform to boost cost optimization, security, and operational efficiencies for enterprises by leveraging CoreStack's NextGen Cloud Governance offerings - FinOps, SecOps, and CloudOps. The 3i Infotech and CoreStack partnership bring a...

Ecobank Nigeria, an affiliate of the leading Pan-African banking Group, Ecobank Group, has extended its innovative remittance services to its business account holders.

Under the new plan, business customers will be able to instantly receive funds sent through Ecobank Rapidtransfer or any of the Bank’s remittance partners from other businesses anywhere in the world directly into their bank accounts. Similarly, they will be able to instantly receive remittances from their customers and transfer money to other business...

The Green Climate Fund (GCF) has approved the joint FMO – Climate Fund Managers (CFM) $145 million proposal to accelerate private sector investments in low-emission and climate-resilient water, sanitation and ocean projects, entitled Climate Investor 2 (CI2).

As an accredited entity to the GCF since 2016, the project is FMO’s third collaboration with the Fund and its largest - following the $100 million that the GCF invested in Climate Investor One in 2019, and $137 million invested in the...

The Satrix Smart City Infrastructure Feeder Exchange Traded Fund (ETF), has been listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE), targeting South African investors who are looking for an opportunity to invest in smart cities.

This ETF tracks the performance of companies that invest in infrastructure and technologies that transform cities into smart cities. The fund also aims to advance the following Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) outlined by the UN: (6) Clean Water and Sanitation; (7) Affordable and Clean Energy...

Major international operating oil and gas companies, notably Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) and Exxon Mobil Nigeria, and the Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC) have made significant investments in support of the ongoing development of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Parks Scheme (NOGaPS), the Executive Secretary, Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Engr Simbi Kesiye Wabote has revealed.

He stated this recently at the Nigerian Content Sensitization Programme for Law Enforcement Agencies, organised by the NCDMB in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State with a view to strengthening the existing collaboration with various law...

The British International Investment (BII), the UK’s development finance institution (DFI) and impact investor, has partnered with Standard Bank and H1 Holdings to successfully reach financial close on the first sizable battery energy storage and photovoltaic (PV) solar project in South Africa.

The partners are investing to back three unique Kenhardt projects, powered entirely by renewable sources. The c. $1 billion project will be Africa’s largest and South Africa’s first baseload renewable energy project. The total $720 million...

IFC and Jubaili Agrotec, a Nigeria-based agrochemicals manufacturer and distributor, announced a partnership that will support the company to expand its regional footprint and increase thousands of smallholder farmers' access to key inputs such as fertilizer used to protect crops and increase food production.

IFC's $35 million financing package will help Jubaili expand its production capacity in Nigeria, Ghana, Tanzania and Uganda, helping to offset Africa's reliance on agrochemical imports. Farmers use agrochemicals to protect crops against pests...

Bizao, a fintech that facilitates payments for both local and international businesses operating in Africa, announced a €8 million Series A funding to accelerate its geographical footprint across the continent and invest in the design of new lines of products and services.

This funding round was led by AfricInvest Financial Inclusion Vehicle (AfricInvest FIVE), a private equity company with operations in Africa; Adelie, a multi-stage venture capital fund focused on technology companies and Seedstars Africa...

Kasada has announced that it acquired the former Crowne Plaza Upper Hill in Nairobi, Kenya. Having only recently purchased the Umubano Hotel in Kigali, Rwanda, this second East-African purchase reaffirms Kasada’s status as a pan-African hotel owner and investor.

With its strategy of acquiring high quality assets across metropolitan hubs in Sub-Saharan Africa, Kasada is now the most active investor with the initial portfolio of hotels doubling within 18 months thanks to a presence in eight countries...

Trendtype has partnered with specialist technology provider Content Catalyst to launch an interactive research portal using industry-leading content delivery service, Publish Interactive. The London-based research firm provides in depth data and analysis of FMCG and pharma consumers, markets, retailers, and distributors across 50 African countries.

Trendtype’s new portal delivers an enhanced user experience for subscribers and their experienced team of analysts. Subscribers will benefit from new functionality, allowing users to comprehensively search across all reports and datasets...

An international team of scientists has found that eco-friendly practices such as growing a range of crops, including legumes such as beans or pigeonpea, and adding plant residues or manure to soils can raise food crop yields in places such as rural Africa, where small-scale farmers cannot apply much nitrogen fertilizer.

Published in the science journal Nature Sustainability and examining data from 30 long-running field experiments involving staple crops (wheat, maize, oats, barley, sugar beet, or potato) in Europe and Africa, this major study is the first...

Nokia has released research that forecasts 5G subscriptions are expected to reach 263 million in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region by 2026.

The 5G subscription growth Nokia says will primarily be in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, including Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait and Bahrain. Additionally, subscribers in South Africa, Nigeria and North African countries will increase adoption following the release of new spectrum. This trend is triggered by the increasing use of...

It has been popularly believed that the world of business is a world of men. In the past women played a supporting role in business affairs, while young people and women taking meaningful business strides were almost non-existent. In a way, it was considered inappropriate for women, married or otherwise, to engage in business activities.

Today’s worldview however, has shifted to placing women and youth at the forefront of business activities rather than having them operate from the side-lines. More and more women are becoming dominant stakeholders in Africa’s business scene...

Unicaf is an online and blended learning higher education platform that is dedicated to making higher education of international standard accessible, by offering scholarship opportunities to professionals and young school leavers.

What are scholarship opportunities?

A scholarship could be defined as financial aid that relieves the burden of tuition fees and living costs that students and families have to pay to secure a place in secondary and tertiary education. Considering the rising costs of student expenses and debts, we could nowadays describe education...

The Africa Trade Expo (TATE) presents direct access to African buyers whose main aim is to source the latest products, establish partnerships, and conclude import/export deals. TATE is an ongoing virtual trade show for African businesses to network, collaborate, and enter into partnerships with international manufacturers and exporters. Present your new opportunities, network, build relationships and grow your business in African markets...

Future Foods is a virtual meeting place for importers, F&B managers, retail category buyers, owner-operators, agents, and distributors from across Africa’s diverse and booming market to come to conferences, to network, meet exhibitors, source products, new ingredients, retail shelf-ready products, and the latest processing, packaging, and logistics solutions. Future Foods connects attendees exhibitors across the...

Mahad Ahmed is Founder and CEO of Ame Trade Limited. He is also a member of the African Business Roundtable and an an established expert in the Consulting and Events Services industries.

Please tell us about your company

AME Trade Ltd was founded in 2006 with the specific aim of creating quality country & industry specific B2B events and digital connect marketing services. We are a leading independent company empowering trade development & investments through the organisation of conferences & trade...

Efayomi Carr is a Principal at Flourish Ventures, a Global Fintech Venture Firm investing in fintech entrepreneurs across the globe, whose innovations help people enhance financial health.

With deep fintech industry and country-specific expertise, Flourish is focused on building its investment in Africa and adding to its growing portfolio of a dozen startups located in Nigeria, Ghana, Egypt and Kenya that includes Apollo Agriculture, Fair Money, Financial Services Innovators (FSI)...

Louis Ojong is the CEO of King Investment Group, a company that operates in Financial Services, Software Technology and Education/Training. Louis sheds more light on King Investment Group in contribution of African knowledge economy.

How will Africa develop as a knowlegde economy in 2022 and how can companies contribute?

One of the major ways for Africa to develop as a knowledge economy is to embrace the use of technology. With this, data collection and sharing becomes a vital tool through which quality data/information can be shared to speed up growth...

Fintechs that are innovating, operating and growing throughout Africa have moved on from the broad academic concept of financial inclusion to the practical onboarding and walking hand in hand with underserved people along a financial journey.

The first port of call is understanding that serving the underserved is not just about technology. It’s about the human element of dealing with people that are not part of the mainstream financial system; it’s about reaching them and...

MTN SA believes that the power of technology is the key to unlocking South Africa’s potential and creating jobs and opportunities. This comes as billions of online connections every day between people, devices and products rapidly reshapes the future of business, opening the door to many opportunities.

Understanding and adapting to these trends, re-skilling, up-skilling and being more innovative is now more critical than ever. There is no doubt SMMEs will be the engine room of the economic future and a key focus must be on empowering...

The digital ecosystem in Africa's Silicon Savannah has very high prospects. As it stands, there are close to 400 fintech startups in the country. In 2020, for instance, Kenya was second to Nigeria in the concentration of startup activity in Africa, with an investment of KES 35.7 billion, according to research by database company Statista. 

Beyond the fintech space, major tech companies such as Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft, Google and Visa have chosen Kenya as their base for new operations. During the recent launch of Microsoft’s KES 3 billion office and labs...

As the region bets on diaspora remittances to boost respective countries’ national purses and drive economic growth across East Africa, member states are looking at cementing regional partnerships.

Equity Bank Kenya has signed a partnership with NALA Payments Limited, a Tanzanian-based remittance payment processing startup to facilitate diaspora remittances into Kenya. This partnership will allow Kenyans living in the United Kingdom and the United States to send money...