The 20 African Billionaires on the 2024 Forbes List are Worth a Combined $82.4 Billion
The fortunes of Africa’s wealthiest people have rebounded slightly in the past 12 months, reversing the decline in their fortunes from a year ago. All of that gain can be attributed to the return of Nigeria’s Femi Otedola, who last appeared on the Forbes Africa list in 2017 when he held a controlling stake in […]
Africa Finance Corporation is Restructuring its Equity Holding for non-African Sovereigns
The Lagos-based multilateral lender, which took on Turkey’s Exim Bank as its first non-regional equity holder in December, has held early talks with future sovereign investors including United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia as it looks for long-term partners focused on African development. AFC was founded as a multilateral financial institution in 2007, via […]
Counting the Cost of Afcon’s Impact
A survey by the African Development Bank also shows that AFCON 2023 created about 50,000 jobs in Ivory Coast, mostly in the SME and informal sectors. The football showpiece also boosted the revenue and reputation of media outlets and sponsors that covered the event. CAF had 17 commercial partners for the tournament, including title sponsor […]
The Winners and Losers of Egypt’s Economic Crisis
Bordered by the Red Sea and the Mediterranean, Egypt is a country blessed with many miles of coastline, and its resorts have long been tourist favourites. But in a country in which the divide between rich and poor has always been stark, Egypt’s recent economic woes have had a seismic effect on society – and […]
Governments and Regulators Must Accelerate Efforts to Build Robust Inter-country Payments Systems
The success of efforts to deepen intra-continental trade, including the landmark African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), depends in large part on the existence of cross-border payments systems. However, despite the success of mobile money on the continent, cross-border payments still add unnecessary costs and delays to businesses and individuals, industry leaders claim. During the […]
Ghana Introduces an Annual Carbon Levy on Vehicles and Industrial Emissions
It’s only the third African country to introduce an explicit carbon tax, after South Africa and Mauritius. The tax is intended to address harm associated with vehicle emissions. But it has prompted a pushback from various citizens, civic and consumer groups. Ghana’s government believes the vehicle emissions tax is a more cost-effective and equitable way […]
A Growing Black Market for Foreign Currencies Signals the Economic Woes Plaguing Algeria
The state, reluctant to allow the exchange rate to adjust fully, has proven incapable of limiting demand among the population as confidence in the dinar remains low. The widening parallel exchange rate underscores how every day Algerians have lost buying power as the government has juggled competing priorities, trying to combat inflation and maintain state […]
Kenyan Electric Mobility Startup Raises Debt and Equity Funding to Help Accelerate its Expansion across Africa
Founded in 2017, and rebranded earlier this year, Roam is the leading provider of electric vehicles designed and manufactured locally. Its vision is to create reliable and cost-effective products designed for the pan-African mass market. Having raised US$7.5 million in equity and grant funding back in 2021, the company has now banked a further US$24 […]
Absa has Identified Agriculture on the African Continent as One of its Key Growth Sectors
How does the bank which funds the largest number of agriculture sector transactions in South Africa, utilise its skills and knowledge to improve food security and become a force for good across the African continent? In Kenya, Absa has a robust value proposition anchored on four approaches of access to relevant and actionable information, access […]
Here are the African Countries with the Strongest Currencies in 2024
This list is based on each country’s current exchange rate, courtesy of real-time data as of 12th February 2024, from Google Finance, backed by data from Forbes Currency Converter. Having a strong currency provides numerous benefits to African economies, ranging from increased purchasing power and attracting foreign investment to lower import costs and more international […]
