Ethiopia
Morocco’s OCP Africa Donates 50,000 MT Fertilizer to Wheat Development Program in Ethiopia
Morocco’s OCP Group Africa has donated 50,000 metric tons of fertilizer for Ethiopia’s summer irrigated wheat development program. Read More

Ethio-Djibouti Railway Enabled Ethiopia to Save ETB 2.4 Billion Logistics Expenditure in Past Year: CEO
Ethio-Djibouti Railway disclosed that its cargo transport service enabled Ethiopia to save a ETB 2.4 billion (approx. USD 46 million) logistics expenditure during the concluded fiscal year. Read More

Ethiopia to Export Fruits, Meat to Chinese Market
Ethiopia has begun negotiations with its Chinese counterpart to export fruits and meat productions to China market, Ethiopian Ambassador to China, Teshome Toga disclosed. Read More

Kenya
Bank Loan Defaults Cross Half a Trillion for the First Time
Bank loan defaults have crossed the half a trillion shilling mark for the first time, setting up thousands of borrowers for property seizures in an economy hit with reduced cash flows and inflation that has squeezed household budgets and demand for goods. Read More

NSE Shares Dive despite Higher Corporate Half-Year Earnings
Stock prices continued to retreat on Wednesday despite higher earnings reported by key bank stocks for the half-year to June period, reflecting the effects of foreign investors selling on large counters. Read More

SMEs, Households Bear the Brunt of Risk-Based Loan Pricing
Small businesses are being charged between 0.2 and 0.8 percentage points more in interest on bank loans compared to individual borrowers and large corporate firms, paying the price for a higher risk perception tied to the high attrition rate among new businesses. Read More

Firm’s Platform Eases SGR, Bus, Air Ticket Bookings
Planning for a trip can be a tedious and costly affair. Growing up in rural Kenya, Wyclife Omondi had to visit physical bus and train stations to book travel tickets. Read More

Rwanda
Govt Regains Control of Upper Airspace After 30 Years
Rwanda will now have full control over her upper aerial space, after more than three decades in the hands of the government of Tanzania. Read More

Tanzania
Tanzania, Uganda Insurance Players Ink Deal for Oil Pipeline Premiums
Insurers from Tanzania and Uganda have agreed to form a consortium that will ensure that five percent of premiums are retained locally under local content in the East Africa Crude Oil Pipeline. Read More

Iran's FM Urges Boosting Relations with Tanzania
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said on Thursday that in a meeting with the Foreign Minister of Tanzania, they are going to draw up a roadmap for developing bilateral relations in different dimensions. Read More

Uganda
Government to Collect UGX 145 Billion from Rental Income Tax
Government has indicated it expects to collect at least UGX 145 billion (approx. USD 38 million) from Rental Income Tax within Kampala Metropolitan Area during the 2022/23 financial year. Read More

TICAD 8 offers Japan a Chance to Rebuild Influence in Africa
Japan’s relations with the African continent are again in the spotlight as the eighth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD 8) in Tunisia nears. Read More

Uganda’s Insurance Premiums up 18.5 Percent to UGX 711.6 Billion
Insurers in Uganda have recorded an 18.5 percent growth in gross written premiums for the six-month period ending 30 June to UGX 711.6 billion (approx. USD 187 million). Read More

MTN Uganda to Connect Network Sites to Hydro-Electric Grid 
MTN Uganda is embracing renewable energy with the connection of all its network sites to the hydroelectric grid. The company has partnered with Ubuntu Towers Uganda and American Tower Company (ATC) to connect 250 network sites countrywide to the hydroelectric grid this year in a bid to minimize the use of fossil fuel in its operations and help achieve net zero emissions by 2040. Read More

Algeria
Zimbabwe Angles for Algerian Fertiliser, Petroleum Products
Zimbabwe has made “a lot of headway” in ongoing discussions with Algeria to import two critical raw materials, urea and ammonia, used in the manufacture of fertilisers to boost the agriculture sector, especially at a time when the Russia-Ukraine conflict has disrupted supplies onto the world market, Zimbabwe’s Ambassador to Algeria, Vusumuzi Ntonga, has said. Read More

High Oil Price Volatility Not Driven by Market Fundamentals, Algeria Says
Algerian energy minister Mohamed Arkab believes that elevated oil price volatility in recent weeks is driven by fears of an economic slowdown rather than oil market fundamentals, he said in a statement seen by Reuters. Read More

Macron’s Visit to Algeria Seen as a ‘Veiled’ Gas Trip
French President Emmanuel Macron’s trip to Algeria will hope to smooth out rocky relations between the two countries, but there is no doubt that it is also an opportunity to secure additional gas supplies amid the ongoing crisis. Read More

Egypt
Egypt Signs USD 656 Million Agreement to Manufacture, Supply 320 Subway Vehicles
The National Authority for Tunnels signed a contract with a consortium of companies including South Korean Hyundai Rotem and the National Egyptian Railway Industries Company to manufacture and supply 40 new trains, including 320 vehicles, for the second and third lines of the metro, with a localization rate of no less than 30 percent. Read More

Acting CBE Governor Appoints Hisham Ezz Al-Arab and Mohamed Naguib as Advisors
Central Bank of Egypt Acting Governor Hassan Abdalla has appointed Hisham Ezz Al-Arab, the former president of the Commercial International Bank, and Mohamed Naguib, the former head of the saib Bank, as his advisors. Read More

MSMEDA, e-Commerce Platforms to Market the Products of Youths
The Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprise Development Agency (MSMEDA), in cooperation with Amazon Egypt and Jumia, is offering exceptional advantages to owners of small projects to display and market their products through these platforms. Read More

Non-Banking Financial Sector in Shock Due to High Interest Rates
The non-banking financial sector has been dealing with great pressure recently after the multiple increases in interest rates throughout the year, with the Central Bank of Egypt raised them by a combined 3 percent to keep pace with the rise in inflation. Read More

Morocco
Outsized: Digital, Data Skills Are the Most In-Demand in MENA Region
Rabat - Outsized, a London-based talent-on-demand platform, recently reported an increase in market demand for payments and cards skills, digital transformation and data skills, as well as change management experts in the Middle East and North African region. Read More

Moroccan Imports Increased Sharply in First Half of 2022
Morocco imported nearly 32 million tons of products worth MAD 365 billion (USD 34.6 billion) during the first six months of 2022, representing an increase of 44 percent compared to June 2021, according to recent data published by the country’s Foreign Exchange Office. Read More

Stellar: ‘Drilling Progresses Well’ in Morocco’s Tichka-Est Gold Project
As part of its exploration operations in Morocco’s Tichka-Est gold project, Canada-based precious metal exploration company Stellar AfricaGold announced yesterday that the first phase of the drilling program at the B structure is “progressing well.” Read More

New Shipping Lines Boost Saudi-Morocco Commercial Traffic by 117 Percent
Casablanca - The Saudi Press Agency (SPA) announced today, Wednesday, that Jeddah Islamic Port has made significant efforts to promote trade with Morocco and boost Saudi exports by establishing six shipping lines and important services. Read More