Ethiopia
Reform Created Conducive Conditions for Increased French Economic Presence in Ethiopia: Ambassador
Ethiopia’s reform agenda has created conducive conditions for increased French economic presence in Ethiopia, according to Ethiopia’s Ambassador to France. Read More

Ethiopia, Belgium Discuss on Ways to Strengthening Investment and Trade Relations
Ethiopian Ambassador to the Benelux countries and EU Institutions, Hirut Zemene conferred with Director of Africa & Middle East Department at AWEX (Wallonia Export and Foreign Investment Agency), Eric De Clercq and Area Manager for Africa at FIT (Flanders Investment & Trade), Lise Betjes. Read More

Russia Readies to Gather African Leaders for Second Summit In Addis Ababa, Ethiopia – OpEd
Russia gears up to gather African leaders, regional economic blocs, business community and civil society for the next symbolic summit in Addis Ababa, and that will witness another round of sparkling speeches reiterating Soviet-era assistance to Africa, outlining broad roadmap and indicating sectors for investment in Africa. Read More

Kenya
Treasury Shuns Law Set to Control Goods Prices
The Treasury will not invoke the law that allows the government to control the prices of essential goods in reaction to the surge in inflation. Read More

New 10 Percent Phone Tax Takes Effect Friday
Buyers of mobile phones face increased prices in a new duty slapped on the gadgets through changes to the laws taking effect Friday. Read More

CBK Fails to Effect Uhuru Cash Order Eight Months On
Lenders are still waiting for the Central Bank of Kenya’s nod to raise the threshold for reporting transactions beyond the Sh1 million set in law, eight months and 26 days after President Uhuru Kenyatta gave an order to expand limits for high-value transfers. Read More

Kemsa Extends Redundancy Notice to Engage Employees
The Kenya Medical Supplies Authority (Kemsa) has extended the notice of redundancy it had issued early this month to allow more time to engage its employees. Read More

Rwanda
Rwanda Lands Deal to Host AfDB-Backed Drugs Foundation
Rwanda has landed a deal to establish a pharmaceutical body, funded by the African Development Bank, to support the region in the making of vaccines, drugs and patent applications. Read More

Sixth Review Under the Policy Coordination Instrument and Monetary Policy Consultation Clause-Press Release; Staff Report; and Statement by the Executive Director for Rwanda
The economy has emerged from the COVID-19 pandemic with scars that would likely take time to reverse. Supported by the authorities’ policy support, growth rebounded strongly to 10.9 percent in 2021. Read More

Algeria
Egypt’s PM Calls for Alternative Routes with Algeria to Facilitate Trade
Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly stressed the importance of finding alternative trade routes with Algeria to facilitate goods’ shipping between the two countries rather than the land route passing through Libya amid current circumstances there. Read More

Egypt
SCZone Discusses Green Hydrogen with International Companies
The Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZONE) hosted a roundtable discussion in coordination with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) , the Ministry of Electricity, and the Sovereign Fund of Egypt (TSFE) within a series of periodic meetings to discuss the frameworks and policies for establishing green fuel projects in Sokhna integrated zone and to discuss the related technical and legal studies. Read More

IFC Lends ElSewedy Electric USD 150 Million to Develop Solar Energy Projects
ElSewedy Electric announced that it has secured USD 150 million in financing from the International Finance Corporation (IFC). The company said in a statement to the Egyptian Exchange that the loan will be allocated to develop a number of solar energy investment projects, periodic maintenance of assets, and approved improvement plans for manufacturing facilities. Read More

Trade Exchange between Egypt, Bahrain Reaches USD 917.2 Million
Trade exchange between Egypt and Bahrain surged 128.7 percent during 2021, to reach USD 917.2 million, compared to USD 401 million in 2020, according to the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics. Read More

World Bank Approves USD 500M in Development Financing for Egypt to Support Food Security Efforts
The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors approved a USD 500 million loan to bolster Egypt’s efforts to ensure that poor and vulnerable households have uninterrupted access to bread, to strengthen Egypt’s resilience to food crises and to support reforms in food security policies, including to improve nutritional outcomes. Read More

Morocco
NATO Formally Invites Finland, Sweden to Join Alliance
NATO issued a formal invitation to Finland and Sweden to join the alliance, with the move coming a day after the two Nordic countries reached an agreement with Turkey, who had initially opposed their bid to join the alliance. Read More

Poland: Morocco Participates in 11th World Urban Forum
Morocco participates in the 11th World Urban Forum (WUF11), held from 26 to 30 June in Katowice, Poland, under the theme ''Transforming our cities for a better urban future.". Read More

World Bank Calls for ‘Bold’ Reforms
The World Bank has called for the adoption of three bold reforms as Malawi aims to navigate through the hostile global economic environment worsened by a combination of shocks such as the Covid pandemic and the Russian-Ukraine war. Read More

Sugar Exports Earnings Dwindle
Foreign exchange earnings from sales of sugar, the country’s third top export earner, continue to dwindle amid declining foreign forex reserves. Read More

Malawi Trapped in Cost-Of-Living Crisis
Malawi has not been spared from the largest cost of living crisis of the 21st century, which has come amid a limited capacity to cope. Read More

Fertiliser Firms in Forex Crisis
Local fertiliser firms are failing to service outstanding bills in excess of USD 120 million with suppliers abroad making them unable to order the commodity due to the chronic foreign exchange shortage. Read More

South Africa
Government is Making Changes to South Africa’s Borders in the Coming Months – What to Expect
Government plans to roll out its Border Management Authority (BMA) in the coming months, with the new state-owned company expected to introduce significant changes to the country’s borders. Read More

Small Business Urged to Apply for Support
Minister of Small Business Development, Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams, has encouraged small business in townships and rural areas to apply for support through the Township and Rural Entrepreneurship Programme. Read More

S.African Consumer Confidence Plummets in Q2 as Spending Shrinks
South Africa's consumer confidence plunged to minus 25 in the second quarter of 2022, the lowest in more than three decades — barring 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic hit — as consumers tightened their purse strings, a survey showed. Read More

Employment Increased by 42 000 in First Quarter - Statistics SA
Community services, manufacturing and mining industries in South Africa managed to create thousands of jobs in the first quarter of 2022, amid a gloomy labour market as the country’s unemployment rate remains the highest in the world. Read More