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civil war

Ethiopia: ‘Tigrayan youth are falling like leaves,’ says PM Abiy

On 30 November, Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed urged rebels in Tigray to surrender, saying government forces were closing in on victory. ... It comes just a week after the PM pledged to lead military operations on the frontline.

A woman looks at Nigerian banks apps on a smart phone in Abuja

A Two-sided Ecosystem

Nigeria – TeamApt eyes unicorn status, looks to become Africa’s largest digital bank

A Nigerian fintech startup, TeamApt, which provides financial services to the underserved mass market in Africa, is eyeing the unicorn status ... on the back of nearly $50bn in yearly transactions, as it seeks to raise a Series C funding round ‘at well over $1bn in valuation from some of the world's biggest investors’. TeamApt could be the fifth unicorn from the Nigerian fintech ecosystem, following Interswich, Opay, Flutterwave and most recently, Andela.

Allies and Confidants

South Africa: Who’s who in President Ramaphosa’s network?

South Africa's ruling party, ANC was dealt a hard blow after November's local elections, but according to President Cyril Ramaphosa, this was ... democracy at play. Since the fall of apartheid in 1994, he has been a major player in the ANC and South African politics in general. Who keeps him going? We have this look at his network, from the good to the bad.

Customers queue to draw money from an ATM outside a branch of South Africa's Standard Bank in Cape Town

Digital Detractors

South Africa: Absa tops BrandsEye bank sentiment index as Standard Bank slides

South Africa’s Absa tops the index of customer banking sentiment published by BrandsEye as the industry grapples with the challenges of implementing ... digital banking.

Zimbabwe President Emmerson Mnangagwa attends a rally against Western sanctions in Harare

same script, different cast?

Zimbabwe: Mnangagwa’s crackdown on civil society mirrors Mugabe’s era

At the dawn of his presidency, Zimbabwe's Emmerson Mnangagwa promised a new era marked by rule of law, democracy and good governance. When the ... military deposed Robert Mugabe in 2017 after 40 years of authoritarian leadership, Zimbabweans hoped that his legacy of political violence, repressive laws and restrictions on freedom of expression and association would disappear with him. However, four years on, civil society spaces are once again under attack.

under pressure

Ghana: Will pressure force the government to drop taxes on fuel prices?

The production of oil in Ghana has very little bearing on the price of fuel in the country and its citizens are getting concerned. ...

The man that will solve world hunger?

Can the fortune of South Africa’s Elon Musk solve world hunger?

The richest man in the world is richer than South Africa, the country where he was born in the early 1970s. Elon Musk has agreed to give up a ... - small - part of his colossal fortune, if the UN can prove how it will help solve world hunger.

Nigeria – TeamApt eyes unicorn status, looks to become Africa’s largest digital bank

Allies and Confidants

South Africa: Who’s who in President Ramaphosa’s network?

Digital Detractors

South Africa: Absa tops BrandsEye bank sentiment index as Standard Bank slides

A Two-sided Ecosystem

Nigeria – TeamApt eyes unicorn status, looks to become Africa’s largest digital bank

Allies and Confidants

South Africa: Who’s who in President Ramaphosa’s network?

Digital Detractors

South Africa: Absa tops BrandsEye bank sentiment index as Standard Bank slides

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Will charm get you everywhere?

Africa – Turkey: Erdogan’s charm offensive across the continent

On 17 and 18 December, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will hold a third major summit in Istanbul, where he will meet with the continent’s leaders. ... The aim is to strengthen the political and commercial ties that have been slowly woven over the past 20 years.

An employee holds a 1kg gold bar at AGR (African Gold Refinery) in Entebbe

Exclusive

Uganda: Documents cast doubt on convicted Belgian tycoon’s exit from Ugandan gold refinery

Amid an international probe into illegal trade, Belgian businessman Alain Goetz continued to lead Uganda's biggest gold refinery long after he ... had supposedly stepped down, according to business records obtained by The Africa Report.

many hats

Nigeria: Which Soludo will govern Anambra, the economist or the politician?

Charles Soludo, a former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), was recently elected into another governorship seat — this time, a ... political position in which he will lead the southeast Anambra state. As he officially takes over from the incumbent Willie Obiano in March 2022, his past throws up various expectations of what he could bring on board while leading Anambra as governor.

Ghana to start second vaccine doses with re-deployed Congo COVAX shots

'Knee-jerk' reactions

Covid-19: How will the Omicron variant impact Africa?

International restrictions on African countries are once again being imposed as the Omicron variant has spread to Europe, with the first case ... detected in Belgium last week.

Equity Bank's Chief Executive Officer James Mwangi is seen during a Reuters interview in Nairobi

wind down

Kenya: Should over-liquid banks return capital to shareholders?

In the middle of the pandemic, Kenyan banks doubled their net earnings year-on-year to KSh50bn ($458m) during the second quarter of 2021. However, ... upon review, these ‘strong’ earnings were primarily driven by reduction in loan impairment charges, as bad ones were down by half year-on-year during the quarter.

Article 11/11 of "Banking Africa"

Seismic Intervention

South Africa: Shell faces legal challenge to Wild Coast seismic testing plans

Royal Dutch Shell’s plans to start seismic testing for oil and gas along South Africa’s Wild Coast face uncertainty after four environmental ... and human rights organisations filed an interdict aimed at stopping the exploration.

Coffee With

‘Africans, despite a lot of adversity, retain humanity at their core’ says Frannie Léautier

A coffee break is an ideal meeting time for someone as quietly frenetic as Frannie Léautier. At the end of a long day of her virtual meetings ... in several different time zones, we connect via the ubiquitous Zoom, sipping our East African coffee as we work through my lengthy roster of questions.

Future tech

Africa: Why data centres are crucial for the continent’s sovereignty

Africa still does not have enough data centres, which are essential infrastructure as they ensure the continent’s digital sovereignty. Which ... countries are doing well and which ones are lagging behind? We've got this visual overview.

Start-up Sprint

Egypt: CIB’s CVentures plans new fintech investments as the country plays catch-up

CVentures, the fintech unit of Egypt’s Commercial International Bank (CIB), is planning a batch of new investments as the country’s regulatory ... outlook improves, CVentures managing director Emad Fouad tells The Africa Report.

Nothing but up

Côte d’Ivoire: Why ENI’s discovery is a game-changer for West Africa

In 2023, ENI wants to start operating in the baleine offshore field, which it only discovered three months ago. It intends to rely on its experience ... in Ghana and the good Ivorian infrastructure that already exists.

business boost

Africa: Expanding access to trade finance is necessary for SMEs

When it comes to enhancing access to trade finance for African small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), current challenges call for innovative ... solutions.

Speeding ahead

DRC is ‘moving in the right direction’ says World Bank’s Hafez Ghanem

The World Bank, which is satisfied with the progress that the DRC has made in terms of governance and economic reforms, plans to accelerate its ... financing projects, its vice-president, Hafez Ghanem, tells The Africa Report.

Israeli billionaire Dan Gertler in June 2012

150 million reasons

DRC: How the Congolese state is taking on Dan Gertler in court

The Congolese government has filed a request for arbitration against the Israeli tycoon, hoping to get two oil contracts cancelled and $150m ... in compensation. We obtained a copy of the document.

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