Category: Finance

African startups get $180 billion from a small, rich island and Gulf financiers

Chinedu Okafor First published, 27 January 2026 04:25 PM Africa, in the last decade, has emerged as one of the fastest-growing tech markets, given its rapid tech and mobile adoption, underpinned by a youth population. Africa has become a rapidly growing hub for technology, driven by high mobile adoption and a youthful population. Significant investments exceeding $180 billion have been made by advanced economies, including Japan and Gulf states, into Africa’s tech sector. Japanese organizations and funds, along with institutions like JICA, have played a crucial role in reshaping Africa’s…

Ghana Makes Strides in Non-Interest Banking  Introduction

…..As Country’s Central Bank Finally Issues Guidelines Report: Mohammed A. Abu Ghana’s Central Bank (Bank of Ghana) has finally issued its Guidelines for the Regulation and Supervision of Non-Interest Banking 2025, bringing to an end, the decades long much expected introduction of  the globally  most patronized alternative financing model into the country’s financial system. The introduction of Non-interest banking came out as one of the key policy recommendations during last year’s National Economic Forum which tended to have stimulated the pursuit of a series of pragmatic action measures by the…

Ghana to raise ₵10 billion in first-ever domestic infrastructure bond

in Economy, Real Estate and Construction, Sectors Nairametrics by Israel Ojoko  First Published,January 9, 202 Ghana is preparing to raise ₵10 billion ($935 million) through its first domestic infrastructure bond to finance roads and interchanges across the country. The sale will be split into two tranches of ₵5 billion each, issued in the first and second halves of the year, with longer-dated tenures. Details of the offering, along with other domestic bond issuances, are expected to be published in an issuance calendar later this month. What the sources are saying  According to one source,…

Innovate Ghana: Qualcomm Make in Africa Startup Mentorship Initiative

Open Call: Qualcomm Make in Africa Startup Mentorship Program Deadline Date: February 15, 2026 The Qualcomm has launched the Qualcomm Make in Africa Startup Mentorship Program, an equity-free initiative designed to support promising early-stage startups across Africa applying advanced connectivity and processing technologies to innovative end-to-end system solutions. The focus areas and themes of the program include advanced connectivity and processing technologies, end-to-end system solutions including hardware, business coaching, engineering consultation for product development, intellectual property protection, artificial intelligence including AI-Hub, Internet of Things, Extended Reality, compute technologies including AI-PC, 5G,…

ICD-Coris Bank Partner to Support Benin SMEs with EUR 25 M Sharia Compliant Line of Financing

This strategic financing facility will enable CBI Benin to provide much-needed capital to SMEs and corporate clients across Benin, supporting the country’s economic diversification efforts and private sector development, says, an official statement issued in Jeddah, Thursday. EUR 25 million Shariah-compliant Line of Financing facility to support private sector growth in Benin Four-year facility to facilitate access to finance for the private sector enterprises, mainly SMEs and Large corporates. Expected to create 600 new jobs and support sustainable economic development Expanding ICD’s successful partnership with Coris Holding across West Africa…

Africa Investment Forum: AfDB appoints SG as Lead Advisor for innovative Synthetic Securitization Platform

The African Development Bank Group (www.AfDB.org) has appointed Societe Generale as Lead Advisor for the structuring and execution of its Multi-Originator Synthetic Securitization Platform (SST Platform) says an official statement issued in Rabat,Friday. The two entities,it said, signed a contract on November 26 during the Africa Investment Forum Market Days 2025 in Rabat (Morocco). Joining three other transactions executed since 2018 under the Bank Group’s successful Room to Run (R2R) initiative, the SST Platform will operate as a revolving, evergreen and scalable risk-transfer vehicle offering development finance institutions regulatory capital…

Championing   Regional Transit Guarantee Scheme in ECOWAS….Afreximbank Urges Nigeria

African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) (www.Afreximbank.com) has urged Nigeria to champion the implementation of an effective regional transit guarantee scheme under the new transit regulation endorsed by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). Delivering a keynote address at the inaugural session of the Customs Partnership for African Cooperation in Trade (Customs PACT) held in Abuja, Nigeria, from 17 to 19 November, Mrs. Kanayo Awani, Executive Vice President, Intra-African Trade and Export Development, Afreximbank, highlighted the challenges imposed by the current interstate road transit regime in the region. Key among…

Niger makes Major Strides in  High-Speed Connectivity with Handover of over 1,000 km of Fibre-optic Cable

NIAMEY, Niger, November 21, 2025/ — Niger has taken a major step forward in improving the country’s broadband connectivity and regional digital integration by completing provisional acceptance of the fibre-optic sections built under the Trans-Sahara Optical Fibre Backbone Project (TSB) – a project financed by the African Development Bank Group (www.AfDB.org). On 14 November, an official ceremony was held in Niamey in the presence of the Minister of Communication and New Information Technologies, Adji Ali Salatou; the Head of the African Development Bank Group’s Country Office in Niger, Mamadou Tangara;…

EIB and European Commission support Palestine’s economic resilience with €400 million facility for local businesses

  Financing is part of the European Commission’s Multiannual and Comprehensive Programme for Palestinian Recovery and Resilience, aiming to boost economic stability and job creation. EIB facility to strengthen Palestinian local micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises by improving access to affordable financing. Partnership with the Palestine Monetary Authority and local financial intermediaries to channel resources to private sector. After the approval of the European Investment Bank (EIB)’s Board in July, today, the EIB and the European Commission have announced at the UN General Assembly in New York the signature of a €400 million financing facility with the…

Can the AU Drive a Realistic African Climate Agenda?(By Prince Israel Orekha)

About Author-Global Director ,Connected Advocacy,israel@connectedadvocacy.org.ng   As Africa Climate Week, #ACS2 opens, one pressing question lingers: Can the African Union (AU) chart a realistic and united pathway to address Africa’s climate crisis—or will the gathering become another symbolic ceremony remembered only in speeches? The urgency is undeniable. Africa stands at the frontline of climate change, yet its fragmented approaches and weak governance systems risk undermining the continent’s ability to respond effectively. For the AU to lead meaningfully, several critical issues must be addressed: Building Unity of Purpose The AU must…