Ethiopia
Government: Ethiopia’s GDP to Expand by 6.6 Percent in 2022
Ethiopia’s Gross Domestic Product will expand by 6.6 percent this year despite various challenges facing the economy, authorities said. Read More

Ethiopia’s Nine-Month FDI Inflow Reaches Over USD 2.4 Billion
Ethiopia has attracted USD 2.43 billion worth of Foreign Direct Investment in the past nine months. Head of the Ethiopian Investment Commission Lelise Neme said the total FDI is 18.8 percent higher than the amount registered in the same months last year. Read More

Ministry Assures Unilever of Govt’s Support
State Minister of Foreign Affairs Redwan Hussein met with the management of Unilever Manufacturing Plc to discuss the government’s support to the private sector. Read More

UNCDF Launches Digital Financial Services Working Group in Ethiopia
United Nations Capital Development Fund has launched a digital financial services working group in Ethiopia. The DFS working group is aimed at collaborating and networking, capacity building, and policy advocacy as well as lobbying. Read More

Kenya
No M-Pesa Payments for Expressway Use as Firm Unveils Discounts
Motorists seeking to use the Nairobi Expressway from this Saturday will not be allowed to pay via M-Pesa in the early days of its operations, limiting their options to cash and electronic cards. Read More

Lake Turkana Wind Rules Out Cuts in Tariffs as State Eyes 15 Percent Drop
Lake Turkana Wind Power has ruled out any reductions in wholesale electricity prices, making it the biggest independent power producer to publicly reject the push by government to bring down tariffs by a further 15 percent. Read More

HF Group Reports First Q1 Net Profit in Four Years
Work permits issued to foreigners increased by 25.3 percent last year following a rebound in the job market after the relaxation of restrictive Covid-19 measures. Read More

Gamblers Lose Bid to Stop 7.5 Percent Tax on Stakes
HF Group has posted a net profit in the three months to March period for the first time in four years on the back of growth in operating income and low loan provisioning. Read More

Rwanda 
11,000 New African Millionaires in 2021, Rwanda Among Fastest Rising Markets– Report
Africa’s share of millionaires grew by 8 percent between 2020 and 2021, according to a recent report by intelligence firm New Word Wealth and advisory firm Henley & Partners. Read More

Govt Searches for Investors to Transform Sand into Glasses
There are investment opportunities in the local production of glasses that are used to make windows, drinking containers, and other products. This was the pitch by Rwanda Development Board on during a retreat of Private Sector Federation leaders in Bugesera district. Read More

Tanzania
NMB Bank in Tarime Stresses on Benefits of Mobile Services
NMB bank Tarime branch in Mara region has encouraged its customers to take advantage of the bank’s mobile services so that they can benefits from digital loans to boost their small businesses. Read More

Contractors’ Contribution to Economy: Main Agenda at CRB Meeting 
Contractors Registration Board has organized annual consultative meeting which will dwell into role of contractors in the country’s economic development. Read More

Sitholizwe Mdlalose to Step Down as Vodacom Tanzania MD
Vodacom Tanzania has announced that Sitholizwe Mdlalose the Company’s managing director will be stepping down with effect from June 2022. Mdlalose returns to Vodacom as the new Managing Director. Read More

Financial Access Hampers Solar Energy Supply Plan
Renewable energy stakeholders have said the challenge of access to the finance is hampering the supply of renewable energy technologies to off-grid communities for developmental activities, especially in agriculture. Read More

Uganda
Tanzania’s Samia Suluhu Jets in Uganda for a Two-Day State Visit
President Samia Suluhu of the United Republic of Tanzania has this jetted into Uganda for a two-day state visit. Read More

Tanzania, Uganda Ink Security, Defence Pact
The governments of Tanzania and Uganda have signed two intergovernmental Memorandums of Understanding to cement bilateral ties on defence and security as well as implementation of 400 kilovolt electricity transmission line from Masaka to Mwanza. Read More

Wholesale, Retail Trade Highest Sources of Taxes
Wholesale and retail trade contributed the largest portion of taxable revenue in the nine months ending March, according to data from Uganda Revenue Authority. Read More

Govt Starts to Build Ferries for Bukungu-Kagwara Route
Government has started the construction of two ferries at UGX 41 billion (approx. USD 11.5 million) aimed at easing  transport in Buyende, Serere and Kaberamaido districts. Read More

Algeria
Algeria Tenders to Buy Wheat
Algeria’s state grains agency OAIC has issued an international tender to buy soft milling wheat to be sourced from optional origins, European traders said. Read More

Egypt
14 Entities Participate in Project to Build Capacity of Geothermal Energy in Egypt
Fourteen Egyptian and international entities are participating in a project to build the capacity of geothermal energy in Egypt, which aims to implement projects in cooperation between the government and the private sector in the coming period. Read More

Egypt, Tunisia to Strengthen Regional, Economic, Technical Development Cooperation at 17th Joint Higher Committee
In line with Egypt’s vision to strengthen regional, economic, and technical development partnerships, preparations have been underway in Tunisia to hold the 17th session of the Egyptian-Tunisian Joint Higher Committee. Read More

EBRD to Lend Up to USD 4.8 million to Intro Sustainable Resources and Intro Solar S.A.E
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development announced this week that it is lending up to USD 4.8 million to Intro Sustainable Resources and Intro Solar S.A.E in Egypt. Read More

Amethis, EBRD, SPE Capital Acquire Egypt’s GlobalCorp
Aconsortium of investors made up of Amethis, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and SPE AIF I, LP acquired a majority stake of GlobalCorp for Financial Services S.A.E, a leading non-banking financial services company in Egypt. Read More

Morocco
Western Sahara: Guinea Renews Support for Morocco’s Autonomy Plan
Guinea reaffirmed in Marrakech its unwavering support of Morocco’s autonomy plan to end the Western Sahara dispute. Read More

European Commission Executive Vice President to Visit Morocco
STM School, the first educational institution that is poised to introduce the Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics pedagogical approach in Morocco, was inaugurated in. Read More

Egypt Inaugurates New Embassy Headquarters in Rabat
The inauguration ceremony came as part of Choukri’s working visit to the Moroccan capital, and there were talks of the need to consolidate bilateral ties between Cairo and Rabat.  Read More

Hassania School of Public Works to Host 25th Annual Business Forum
Morocco’s oldest and most prestigious engineering school, the Hassania School of Public Works, is organizing the 25th annual business forum “EHTP Entreprises” on 25-26 May.  Read More

Gaming Board Sets GDP Contribution Target
Malawi Gaming Board and the National Lotteries Board says through its five-year strategic plan, it seeks to increase the sector’s contribution to the gross domestic product by 0.5 percent. Read More

JTI Moves to Boost Live Tobacco Barns
JTI Leaf says it will stop buying tobacco from farmers who by 2025 will not be curing their leaf in live barns. Read More

Number of Poor People Set to Rise
The World Bank has revised upwards the international poverty line to USD 2.15 per day, a situation economists say will increase the number of people in extreme poverty. Read More

Admarc Yet to Enter Market
State-run grain trader, the Agricultural Development and Marketing Corporation (Admarc), is yet to start purchasing maize, a situation market experts say would make vendors leverage on to dupe farmers. Read More

Mozambique
Maputo Discusses Risk Management in Development Finance
Technicians from Southern African development finance institutions are meeting in Maputo for a training session in matters related to risk management, good management practices, resource mobilisation and assessment integrated investment, among other topics. Read More

South Africa
Hectic Pace of Tractor Sales Starts to Slow
The past four months of this year have been good for SA’s primary agricultural sector, resulting in it investing more in movable assets such as tractors, the Agricultural Business Chamber said. Read More

Gold Fields CEO Chris Griffith Backs SA’s attractiveness for Mining
The CEO of one of the largest gold mining companies in the world has defended SA’s attractiveness as a destination for mining investment after an influential global survey earlier this year ranked investor enthusiasm for the country’s mining sector as among the worst across the globe. Read More

JSE May Benefit from Higher Asian Markets Ahead of US Inflation Numbers
The JSE, which snapped a five-session losing streak on Tuesday, faces higher Asian markets on Wednesday morning, with all eyes on US consumer inflation numbers later. Read More

Cutting Red Tape Will Set Free 84 Percent More Mining Investment, Indaba Told
Mining companies are prepared to increase their investment in projects in SA by 84% if the government tackles the dysfunction plaguing the processing of mining permits and approvals for self-generation projects, as well as constraints facing the railways and ports. Read More

Nigeria
Ivorypay to Launch Crypto Payment Gateway for Online Businesses in Emerging Markets
Trade, commerce, and the entire system of value exchange are no longer confined to the geographical boundaries of one country. These days, businesses strive to reach a global audience, leveraging the power of technology to achieve results. Read More

ECOWAS Rallies Members on Gas Supplies, Utilisation as Price Soars
As the geo-politics of crude oil and gas aids soaring prices, Energy Ministers across the Economic Community of West African States, converged on Abuja to address gas pipeline infrastructure challenges in the region. Read More

SEC Considers New Guidelines to Digitalise Market Transactions
The Securities and Exchange Commission is proposing a new guideline that will fully digitalise capital market operations and enable investors to carry out transactions on Internet-enabled appliances. Read More

FG Woos Investors to Calabar, Kano Free Trade Zones
The Federal Government has called on potential investors to revive, reform and transform Calabar and Kano free trade zones into world-class standards to make them functional and globally competitive. Read More