Reinforcing a longstanding partnership, IFC and the Spanish Ministry of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation announced the replenishment of Spain-IFC Technical Assistance Trust Fund at the Annual Meetings of today, aiming to boost private sector investments in Latin America and Africa.

The Spanish Government will provide €4 million to replenish the Trust Fund. Spain's support will bolster IFC's efforts to help create markets and jobs and fuel economic recovery in the two regions, which have been severely impacted by a confluence...

Hitachi Energy, a global technology player that is advancing a sustainable energy future for all, has announced it has signed a long-term service agreement with Société Nationale d’Electricité (SNEL), the national electricity company of the Democratic Republic of Congo, to secure power supply in the country’s most important power transmission asset: the Inga-Kolwezi high-voltage direct current (HVDC) link.

The link supplies up to 1,000 megawatts of emission-free electricity from the Inga Falls hydropower plant in the far west of the country to the Kolwezi mining region in the south...

Enterprise Holdings, the world's largest vehicle rental business, has announced the addition of new franchise locations featuring car rental options from Enterprise Rent-A-Car, National Car Rental and Alamo Rent A Car through the Woodford Group in South Africa.

This marks the first time Enterprise Holdings brands will be available in South Africa. The Woodford Group offers a range of product offerings within the automotive industry including comprehensive logistic solutions, an online vehicle auction...

Entravision, a global advertising solutions, media and technology company, has announced that its Africa-based digital business unit, Entravision 365 Digital in Ghana, has become the Authorized Sales Partner of Meta, the company that owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp.

Entravision 365 Digital will provide support, training, lines of credit and local billing to advertisers in the Ghanaian market, thereby enabling them to meet their business objectives. “This partnership reinforces our commitment to advertisers to...

Cellulant Zambia has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)  with the Lusaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) to offer digital payments to its member businesses.

Lusaka Chamber of Commerce members can now readily access payment solutions that will enable them to accept payments from their customers’ preferred mobile money wallet. Cellulant’s payment platform, Tingg which integrates over 290  banks across Africa, is a one-stop payments aggregator for Multinational Corporations and Small and...

Bboxx, a  platform providing access to essential products and services, and Ampersand, an e-mobility company delivering sustainable transport solutions in East Africa have partnered to expand Ampersand’s e-mobility scheme in Rwanda.

Following a successful initial pilot in the country, the scheme is now being launched in Kigali, Africa’s greenest city, and will eventually see the provision of ten of thousands e-motos (electric motorcycles) to taxi drivers in Rwanda over the coming years. The e-motos will be financed by Bboxx using...

The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) has announced the successful separation of the mobile money business from the telecommunications business which were previously under Airtel Networks Kenya Limited (ANKL).

This was effected by a separation and transfer of the mobile money business to the new entity Airtel Money Kenya Limited (AMKL), a journey that started in 2019. The completion of this restructuring enables AMKL to ring-fence its operations and focus exclusively on its mobile money business. Significantly...

Independent Energy announced a consortium agreement with Sosai Renewable Energies to jointly install two minigrids in Plateau State in Q1 2023, to enhance electricity access and supply to about 1000 households in Nigeria.

Peter van Zwol, Managing Director, Independent Energy: ''Sosai and Independent Energy have a long history of collaborating on projects in Nigeria and this consortium deal represents another solar panel in the huge solar array we are building together.'' According to a World Bank report, 85...

Dooka has partnered with Tradeshift, the global network for digital trade, to launch the first-ever pan-African digital marketplace for business-to-business trade across the continent.

Delivered on Tradeshift’s global B2B commerce platform, utilizing the Tradeshift® Marketplace Operator solution, Dooka makes the corporate purchasing experience as consumer-centric and intuitive as buying at home. By eliminating any friction in the buying process, the Dooka marketplace delivers a digital commerce environment that actively promotes barrierless connectivity and inclusive trade between large...

The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to boost their joint efforts to promote regional integration and inclusive growth in Africa.

The partnership will enable UNCTAD to work closely with the AfCFTA Secretariat, African member states, regional economic communities, the business community and strategic development partners to foster regional economic...

MTN South Africa’s head office is quickly “going green” as plans to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2040 gain further momentum.

To secure and procure reliable energy, MTN South Africa this week launched a request for proposal (RFP) which will see the MTN Headquarters becoming a completely “green” office. Phase 1 involves the procurement of providers for alternative energy rooftops and solar carparks and this forms part of the company’s broader Project Zero initiative, which explores all...

Airtel Africa has announced that it will use African operations (ATC Africa) communications sites to support its network rollout.This will be achieved through a new partnership the telecommunications and mobile money services provider company announced on Monday with ATC Africa.

ATC Africa has sites across Kenya, Niger, Nigeria, and Uganda. Through their combined efforts, the companies expect to substantially increase connectivity on the continent, extend digital inclusion to underserved communities and...

MEST Africa has announced the 36 technology startups from 5 African countries that have been selected for the regional pitch competition stage of the 2022 MEST Africa Challenge. 

The regional competition stage will see the shortlisted startups placed into 4 main pitching groups that will participate in virtual pitch competitions scheduled to take place between the 10th and 13th of October 2022. Each pitch competition will be adjudicated by a panel of expert judges from around the continent. From the regional pitch stage, 10 finalists will be...

The African Business Roundtable (ABR), Africa’s foremost and continent-wide association of business and business leaders has concluded its free-to-attend webinar masterclass directed at the business community and with the purpose of sharpening project preparation skills to attract investor interest.

Sponsored by the African Import-Export Bank (Afreximbank), the event was held on the 28^th of September to participants from all over the continent. Panelists included ABR members and policy and investor experts from Afreximbank, with...

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 trade and investment layout of the African Continent is a story of both promise and missed opportunities. With a population of over 1.2 billion, Africa promises a huge and promising market.

Africa’s advantage is enormous: huge population, vast landscape, natural and mineral resources, the right demographics in terms of youth in the working age bracket, the ingenuity and energy of a rising class of educated work force. But then the challenges facing the continent are...

The conflict between Russia and Ukraine has brought about new complexities in the global supply of staple food items and inputs like fertilizer, affecting many African countries.

At least 20 African countries – 12 from north Africa and eight from sub-Saharan Africa – have been thrown into jeopardy due to a sudden break in the flow of wheat, maize, soybean and rice from the black-sea region. Across sub-Saharan Africa, food prices have increased, and the purchasing power of families has taken a deep dive. Because of the crisis, there...

There is a growing body of evidence around the world that shows that gender diversity is linked to innovation in business. An innovation mindset is six times more likely in more gender-equal cultures than in the least equal ones.

If the innovation mindset in all countries were raised by 10%, we could expect an $8 trillion increase in global GDP by 2028. But the truth is that we still have a long way to go before we get there. The gap between men and women is more expansive than ever. The COVID-19 pandemic shook the...

It’s frustrating for small business owners to hear about great solutions that boost productivity, streamline processes and remove unseen costs, only to find that the products in question are really targeted at larger operations, involving high upfront software costs, complex technology integrations and expensive ongoing maintenance.

Historically, production workflow automation has tended to fall into this category. It’s been embraced enthusiastically by larger commercial print houses, who are driven to scrutinise their workflows and squeeze out every operational...

There is nothing quite like that first cup of coffee in the morning. For me, it’s a moment to gather my thoughts before the day really begins. However, this daily ritual isn’t something we can take for granted.

Climatologists have warned that without action, coffee farmers in Africa will lose their livelihoods. So, if we want to keep enjoying that precious cup, we need to ensure our coffee is...

Some of Africa’s newest business success stores are gaming start-ups. Much of Africa’s economy is stable and the gaming culture on the continent is grow. Those factors, together with the support of a large number of Africa’s governments, makes Africa the perfect location for new gaming companies to thrive and grow.

The new African gaming start-ups span the spectrum of the gaming world from development and publishing to game design, marketing, influencing and competition. The Grande Vegas casino bonuses encourages these efforts with a...