Ethiopia
PM Abiy Confers with Kenyan President William Ruto
On the sidelines of the Somalia-Frontline States Summit, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed conferred with Kenyan President William Ruto to strengthen bilateral ties through infrastructure development, increasing trade and investment as well as regional issues. Read More

Ministers Stress Need for Capitalizing Achievements in Macroeconomic Gains
Priority will be given to further improve the macroeconomic achievements registered in the remaining six months of the Ethiopian fiscal year, ministers said. Read More

Economic Commission for Africa Affirms Support for Ethiopia’s Trade Policy Agenda
The ECA has supported Ethiopia in trade policy development and conducted the first of its kind analysis on the economic impact of the country’s participation in the AfCFTA. Read More

Ethiopost Amasses ETB 568 Million in Revenue
Ethiopost gained a revenue of ETB 568 million (approx. USD 10.6 million) in the past six months of the current fiscal year. Read More

Kenya
Court Quashes Betting Tax, Limit on Gambling in 5-Star Hotels
The High Court has quashed laws that restricted gambling in the city to five-star hotels with casinos and the 7.5 percent excise duty imposed on cash set aside by punters in their wallets for gaming. Read More

Manufacturers Protest Rise on Stamp Fees for Beer, Cosmetics
Manufacturers have warned the proposed increase in the cost of excise stamps as much as three times will spike trade in counterfeited spirits, cosmetics, water brands and juices, hurting growth in taxes targeted by President William Ruto’s regime. Read More

NSSF to Kick Off Hiring of New Boss in a Week
The National Social Security Fund (NSSF) will start the recruitment process of a new managing trustee in the next seven days as it moves to fill the corner office of the cash-rich state corporation. Read More

How VAT Export Ruling will Hit Kenyan Firms, Multinationals 
Multinationals and persons who export services from Kenya including cross-border consultancies have been dealt a blow after the High Court threw out a petition challenging the imposition of Value Added Tax (VAT) on their services, bringing to an end protracted court battles with the taxman. Read More

Rwanda
Rwanda Ranked 4th Least Corrupt in Africa – New Report
Rwanda ranked as the fourth least corrupt country in Africa in 2022, according to a new report by Transparency International, a global movement working in over 100 countries to end the injustice of corruption. Read More

Rwanda Names New Consul to Indian City of Kolkata
Rudra Chartejee was appointed the Honorary Consul of Rwanda in Kolkata, India. Read More

Now Rwandan Workers Have a Reason to Smile
Rwanda Social Security Board, the institution entrusted with pension contributions for tens of thousands of Rwandan workers, recently launched a platform that will help workers closely monitor their savings, a move that has been welcomed by many as revolutionary. Read More

Taxpayers Want Government to Make Tax Cuts to Stimulate Economic Growth
High tax rates in the country recently attracted public outrage, a concern that President Paul Kagame said should be addressed with immediate effect, noting that while tax collections remain crucial for development, there should be strategic ways to ease the burden on taxpayers. Read More

Tanzania
Zanzibar Projects 6 Percent Economic Growth
Despite global economic crisis attributed to drought, Covid-19 pandemic and Ukraine/Russia war, economists here forecast the isles economy to grow at 6 percent this financial year. Read More

DCB Profit Grows 112 Percent
DCB Commercial Bank pre-tax profit has grown by 112 percent, thanks to the increased usage of digital banking platforms. Read More

Geita Gold to Train 50 Graduates for Employability
Geita Gold Mining inaugurated the start of an internship for another 50 fresh graduates who joined the miner in various disciplines. Read More

Nala, M-Pesa Expand Payment Services to EU
Nala, a Tanzanian fintech startup, and Vodacom’s M-Pesa announced a partnership that would expand its International Money Transfer services to the European Union. Read More

Uganda
NSSF Half-Year Contributions Up 22 Percent to UGX 786 Billion
The National Social Security Fund Uganda is on track to achieve its key performance targets for the Financial Year 2022/2023 after savers contributions and realized income grew by 22 percent and 17 percent respectively for half year as at end of December 2022. Read More

Telecom Sector Tax Revenues Fall
Only 40 percent of revenues collected from the telecom sector were realised in the first half of the 2022/23 financial year according to the Uganda Revenue Authority. Read More

URA Widens Tax Base as Over 400,000 New Taxpayers are Added to the Tax Payers Register
Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) has registered a 17.19 percent increase in new tax payers who have been added to the tax payers register between July and December 2022. Read More

Alcoholic Drinks Control Bill an Attack on Treasury and Freedom to Socialise
House granted leave of Parliament to Sarah Opendi to table this private member’s bill. The bill also seeks to regulate the promotion and advertisement of alcoholic drinks. Read More

Egypt
Suez Canal’s Revenues Soar 45.6 Percent YoY in January
Suez Canal’s revenues grew by 45.6 percent year-on-year in January, hitting USD 717 million, Chairman Osama Rabie told Asharq Business. Read More

Madbouly Discloses Plan for Listing Up to 20 Companies on EGX in 2023
The Egyptian government is looking forward to announcing the detailed plan for listing up to 20 companies on the Egyptian Exchange this year, Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly stated in a press conference. Read More

Egypt’s GASC Offers International Tender for Up to 60,000 Tons of Wheat
The Egyptian General Authority for Supply Commodities (GASC) has launched an international tender to book about 30,000 to 60,000 tons of wheat, according to a disclosure by the authority. Read More

Egypt’s Manufacturing and Extractive Industries Index Rises 2.24 Percent MoM in November
Egypt’s index of manufacturing and extractive industries, excluding crude oil and petroleum products, rose by 2.24 percent month-on-month to 112.43 points in November 2022 from 109.97 points, according to data released by the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics. Read More

Morocco
CGEM Chairman Hails Depth of Spain-Morocco Economic Ties
The High-Level Morocco-Spain Meeting opened in Rabat with the Spanish-Moroccan Economic Forum, convening senior officials and business leaders from both countries. Read More

Spain, Morocco Forge Economic Ties as Western Sahara Policy Reversal Eases Tensions
Spain and Morocco will hold their first bilateral summit in eight years as they seek to strengthen economic ties and build on a diplomatic truce reached last year after disputes over migration and territory. Read More

Spain, Morocco Try to ‘Normalise’ Relations with High-Level Summit
A key summit was held in Rabat to normalise the bilateral relations between both nations, which had many shared challenges on the agenda, including how to deal with migration flows. Read More

Digital Payment Transactions Up 34 Percent as Value Drops 14 Percent
Malawians continue to embrace digital payment systems, witnessed by a 34.4 percent rise in transactions at a record 1.1 billion dealings in 2022. Read More

NFRA Speaks on Grain Stocks
The National Food Reserve Agency has indicated that plans are underway to release 25,000 metric tonnes of maize for price stabilisation functions in areas where the commodity is scarce. Read More

Sluggish Start to AfCFTA Trading
Local businesses wishing to explore foreign markets and expound trade with peers on the continent under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) will wait a little longer following continued revision of the Malawi tariff book by the authorities. Read More

Government to Recover MWK 200 Million from China Nationals
Three China nationals pleaded guilty to money laundering-related charges in a MWK 200 million (approx. USD 195300) case involving proceeds of wildlife trafficking. Read More
 

Exporters Turn to Government for Help with EU’s Citrus Rules
Just weeks ahead of the start of export season, the Citrus Growers Association of SA has asked for government assistance in dealing with EU cold-treatment regulations, which they say could ruin the ZAR 30 billion (approx. USD 1.8 billion) export industry. Read More

Rand Water Levels Jump to Nearly 40 Percent after Debilitating Supply Cuts
Johannesburg Water says it is making substantial headway towards restoring supply in areas affected by the power failure. Read More

New Digital Bank Launching in South Africa Next Month
Lulalend will unveil South Africa’s newest digital bank, Lula, by March after it secured USD 35 million to expand its business. Read More

Sanral Awards Nearly ZAR 7 Billion in Contracts for N2 Wild Coast and N11 Highways
The South African National Roads Agency (Sanral) awarded four major construction tenders this week for projects on the new N2 Wild Coast highway in the Eastern Cape and the N11 in KwaZulu-Natal that are collectively worth almost ZAR 7 billion (approx. USD 410 million). Read More
 

Cote d'Ivoire
Secretary-General Appoints Aminata Maiga of Côte d’Ivoire United Nations Resident Coordinator in Senegal
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres appointed Aminata Maiga of Côte d’Ivoire as the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Senegal, with the host Government’s approval. Read More

Ghana
GSE Grants Extension to 5 Entities
The Ghana Stock Exchange has extended the date for five companies to submit their unaudited financial statements for the period ended 31 December. Read More

Private Sector Credit Soared Last Year
Private sector credit growth picked up, partly reflecting continued portfolio rebalancing by banks and revaluation effects on foreign currency denominated credit. Read More

Domestic Debt Exchange Programme: Government Exceeds 80 Percent Sign-On
The government has been able to achieve between 80 to 90 percent sign-on to its Domestic Debt Exchange Programme. Read More

SMEs Get Lifeline to Expand Operations
Samaritan Angels an entrepreneurial focused agency has launched a GHS 10 million (approx. USD 818,000) initiative to support small business owners and workers in the formal and informal sector. Read More

Nigeria
Federal Government Awards Contract for Electronic Border Surveillance System
The federal government has awarded contract for the installation of electronic border surveillance system to monitor the nation’s land borders in order to checkmate illegal migration. Read More

Federal Government Probes GTB, Zenith Bank Over Data Breach
The Nigeria Data Protection Bureau has opened an investigation into allegations of data breach by two Nigeria banks; GTB and Zenith Bank. Read More

Hadejia’s 5,700 Hectares Irrigation Scheme Will Boost Quest for Food Security, Job Creation
President Muhammadu Buhari has declared that the newly inaugurated 5,700 hectares Hadejia Valley Irrigation Scheme in Auyo Local Government Area of Jigawa State would significantly contribute to Nigeria’s quest for food security, job creation and economic diversification. Read More

Nigeria Currently Has 10, 000 Data Protection Experts but Needs 500, 000 of Them
The Nigeria Data Protection Bureau said that it has identified a wide gap in the country’s data protection needs. Read More