Ethiopia
Government Focused on Climate-Smart Agriculture to Improve Livelihood of Farmers
Researchers in various institutions said the Government of Ethiopia is giving due attention to climate-smart agriculture to improve the livelihood of smallholder farmers. Read More

Pakistan’s Arif Habib Group Keen on Investing in Ethiopia
A high-level delegation of Pakistan’s Arif Habib Group visited Addis Ababa, where they met with business people and officials of the government of Ethiopia and discussed prospects of investing in the country’s manufacturing sector. Read More

Ethiopia, Denmark Keen on Cementing Relations
Ethiopia and Denmark have expressed desire to heighten relations in various fields of cooperation, according to Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Read More

PM Holding Discussion with University Scholars
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed is conducting discussions with university scholars with the view to fostering the role of Ethiopian intellectuals in nation building endeavors. Read More

Kenya
IMF Projects Ethiopia, Angola Economies to Overtake Kenya
Kenya is set to be replaced as the third-largest economy in sub-Saharan Africa by Angola and Ethiopia, weakening the East African country’s power to tap investors enticed with a population that has more cash to spend. Read More

New Bill Eliminates Parliament’s Nod in Sale of Parastatals
The Treasury is seeking to exclude Parliament from approving the sale of State-owned firms in proposed changes aimed at shortening the approval process for the sale of government assets. Read More

How Ruto’s First Budget will Affect Families and Businesses
Treasury last week released a draft document that broadly outlines strategic priorities and policy goals that will guide the preparation of the budget for the William Ruto administration’s first year in power and in the medium term. Read More

Kenya Eyes More Regional Trade After Pact with Two Blocs Kicks Off in March 
Kenya could soon start exporting its goods outside the East African Community market with the implementation of a tripartite agreement that is expected to be implemented in March this year. Read More

Rwanda
Private Sector Tipped on Requirements to Trade Under AfCFTA
Private sector actors were taken through the different frameworks governing the African Continental Free Trade Area agreement (AfCFTA) and requirements to start trading across the countries. Read More

Rwanda’s Fast Education Progress Celebrated in UNESCO Report
Rwanda is celebrated for being the only low income country to have achieved fast progress towards its nationally set target on upper secondary completion for 2030, according to a new report. Read More

Tanzania
Women, Youth Urged to Utilise Councils’ Loans
The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Community Development, Gender, Women and Special Groups, Dr Zainab Chaula has urged women and youth to take advantage of loans offered by councils in the country to do businesses   to improve their economic status. Read More

Brighter Future for Media Industry
The government has formed a nine-member committee to come up with the recommendations on poor economies in the country’s media industry, which puts journalists’ families at crossroads. Read More

Tanzania Pushes for Continental Trade Surge
Tanzania is pushing for improvement of trade volume within the African continent as part of efforts to utilise opportunities created by the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). Read More

Green Bonds Framework for Issuance, Regulation in Offing
The Capital Markets and Securities Authority in collaboration with the European Union under the Technical Assistance and Information Exchange instrument for International Partnerships are developing a framework for the issuance, regulation and supervision of green bonds in the country. Read More

Uganda
EACOP Receive License to Construct 1,443km East African Oil Pipeline
President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, whilst attending the Kingfisher drilling inauguration ceremony, has also witnessed the handover of the license to Construct the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP). Read More

Uganda Starts Drilling Oil Wells
President Yoweri Museveni has launched the commencement of well drilling activities at the Kingfisher oil fields in western Uganda. Read More

Africa will Grow 4 Percent in 2023 as China Recovers
The African Development Bank predicts the continent’s growth will be a stronger-than-expected 4 percent this year, with China’s ending of strict Covid-19 curbs one of the major contributory factors highlighted in its 2023 Africa’s Macroeconomic Performance and Outlook report. Read More

E- Commerce Growth is Promising
Jumia Uganda’s newly appointed chief executive officer, is expected to steer the company’s e-commerce business towards profitability. Read More

Egypt
Egypt’s Parliament Approves Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters
Parliament’s plan and budget committee approved the Presidential decree no. 614 for 2022; regarding the mutual administrative assistance of the 2010 protocol’s modified tax matters. Read More

Egypt Announces Release of Goods Worth USD 1.5 Billion
The Egyptian government is currently working to speed up the release of goods and merchandise at the various Egyptian ports, while ensuring that the pre-shipment system runs effectively, contributing to speeding up and facilitating the release procedures, accordign to Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouli.  Read More

MSMEDA Pumps EGP 6.8 Billion to 222,000 Small, Micro Projects During 2022
The Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprise Development Agency made available financing for small and micro enterprises at a value of EGP 6.8 billion (approx. USD 228 million), during 2022, according to the agency’s CEO, Basil Rahmi. Read More

Egypt's Senators Suggest Alternative Approaches for Funding Educational Sector
Senate members suggested additional funding alternatives for the educational sector, which included renting school walls as advertising spaces, taxing private lessons and adding businessmen to school administration boards. Read More

Morocco
Clean-Seas Acquires 51 Percent of Moroccan Firm Ecosynergie
American company Clean-Seas acquired a 51 percent stake in Morocco-based Ecosynergie Group, which is an operator of pyrolysis waste-plastic conversion technology. Read More

Morocco’s Agriculture Strategy Is Heading Towards Rational Use of Water
Morocco's agriculture strategy is already heading towards a more rational use of water resources, Industry and Trade Minister, Ryad Mezzour, said. Read More

Morocco’s Exports of Phosphate, Derivatives Hit USD 10.6 Billion in November 2022
The value of Moroccan exports of phosphate and derivatives reached USD 10.6 billion (MAD 108 billion) at the end of November 2022, the Financial Studies and Forecasts Department indicated in its economic report for January 2023. Read More

Morocco’s Tourism Revenues Hit USD 8 Billion in First 11 Months of 2022
Morocco’s tourism revenues reached MAD 81.7 billion (USD 8 billion) in the first 11 months of 2022, indicate new data from the government. Read More

Malawi Moves to Revamp One Village One Product
Malawi in collaboration with the Government of Japan is set to revamp the One Village One Product and align it to Malawi 2063, the country’s long-term development plan, to enhance agriculture commercialisation. Read More

Ministry for Intensified Irrigation Farming
Output for agricultural commodities could increase substantially if irrigation farming is scaled up at all levels, the Ministry of Agriculture has said. Read More

Mzuni Sets Ambitious USD 592 Million Strategy
Mzuzu University, Malawi’s second oldest public university, has said it is undertaking feasibility and environmental impact studies which will inform the construction of an ambitious USD 592 million campus. Read More

Debt Securities Value Up 63 Percent
Total nominal value for government listed securities, including Treasury bills and Treasury notes, increased by 63 percent in 2022 to MWK 2.67 trillion from MWK 1.64 trillion (approx. USD 2.6 billion from 1.6 billion) in the preceding year. Read More

South Africa
Reserve Bank Rate Hike on the Cards
The SA Reserve Bank is expected to raise rates at its upcoming meeting, and analysts’ forecasts range from hikes of between 25 and 50 basis points. Business Day TV spoke to Siobhan Redford, an economist at RMB, for her view. Read More

Selling South Africa as an Investment Destination at Davos
SA’s delegation to the World Economic Forum in Davos showcased the country as an investment destination amid a dire energy crisis. Business Day TV spoke to BrandSA’s Sithembile Ntombela for a look at how SA was received at the WEF. Read More

Medical Schemes Get Certainty that RAF will Pay Members' Costs
The high court in Pretoria has denied the Road Accident Fund (RAF) leave to appeal against its ruling in 2022 that the fund’s decision to stop paying medical schemes was unlawful. Read More

Massive Win for Solar Users in Cape Town
The City of Cape Town says that it will be able to start paying cash for power fed into the local electricity grid from June 2023. Read More

Zambia
National Construction Council Finalising SI to Regulate the Construction Sector
The National Council for Construction is finalising Statutory Instruments formulated to regulate the construction sector and provide legal backing for the enforcement of the provisions of the National Council for Construction Act number 10 of 2020. Read More

BoZ, Government Roll Out Financial Inclusion Plan
Bank of Zambia (BoZ) and the Ministry of Finance and National Planning have started an initiative to help accelerate rural financial inclusion by promoting the use of existing public infrastructure in rural areas for the provision of financial services by the financial service providers. Read More

Government Calls for EU Partnerships
Government has challenged the private sector to develop and submit joint venture proposals with counterpart companies in the region in order to access the EUR 360 billion European Union fund for infrastructure development towards Africa. Read More

Cooperatives Urged to Commercialise Operations
The Zambia Cooperatives Federation has said the cooperative movement in the country should reclaim its lost glory of being a major contributor to the national gross domestic product. Read More

Cote d'Ivoire
Dekel Agri-Vision Starts Cashew Production on Interest Acquisition
Dekel Agri-Vision said that it plans to start full commercial production of the Cashew Operation this year, after acquiring the remaining interest in the Ivory Coast project. Read More

Ghana
AmCham Ghana Calls for a Business-Friendly Approach for Revenue Mobilisation
The Executive Secretary of AmCham Ghana, Simon Madjie, has appealed to the Ghana Revenue Authority to adopt a business-friendly approach to revenue mobilisation to help protect the operations of businesses in the country. Read More

Formalise Actions to End Corruption in Maritime Sector
The Vice-President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, has said there is a compelling need for the maritime sector to formalise actions to combat bribery and corruption in a bid to ensure fair trade. Read More

Shippers Authority, MPS to Improve Shipper Services at Terminal 3
First National Bank has reversed all debit transactions passed on to some customer accounts as a result of transactions initiated on binance.com, a cryptocurrency exchange. Read More

Agriculture CSOs Want Tax Exemptions on Imported Inputs
Some key agriculture civil society organisations (CSOs) have condemned delays in granting tax exemptions on imported agrochemicals and inputs. Read More

Nigeria
Inbound Travellers to Provide Vaccination Evidence
The Federal Government announced that international travellers to Nigeria would now be required to show evidence of Coronavirus vaccination. Read More

FG Begins Testing of Generators, Vehicles
The Federal Government, on Monday, flagged-off the national emissions control programmes for generators and vehicles, in a bid to reduce air pollution in Nigeria from both machines. Read More

Airtel Nigeria Joins MTN, 9mobile to Introduce eSIM in Nigeria
Telecommunications services provider, Airtel Nigeria, has introduced eSIM (embedded SIM) – a digital SIM that enables customers to access the same functionality as someone using a physical SIM. Read More

Imota Rice Mill, Lekki Deep Seaport and Dangote Refinery Rely on IPPs for Stable Electricity Supply
President Muhammadu Buhari commissioned the Imota Rice Mil and Lekki Deep Sea Port in Lagos state. Read More