The IMF believes international re-engagement is essential for resolving Zimbabwe’s debt and clearing its arrears. Zimbabwe needs to secure a full restructuring of its external debt before getting new financial support from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). In a statement issued last week, the institution urged authorities to work on clearing debt arrears and adopting a debt reform plan in...

Despite having much wider coverage than the regional average, mobile internet usage in Benin remains low. This paradox raises questions about the barriers to digital adoption and its impact on the country’s digital inclusion. Benin has made significant progress in mobile internet coverage over the past four years, according to the GSM Association (GSMA). Between 2020 and 2024, high-speed...

Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye recently met with Nigerian businessman Aliko Dangote and Afreximbank President Benedict Oramah to discuss potential partnerships across key sectors. The pan-African trade finance institution shared details of the meeting on X (formerly Twitter) on February 16. Discussions focused on financing and investment opportunities in strategic industries such as...

The report highlights that, in today’s climate of a cooling venture capital market and economic challenges across the continent, mergers and acquisitions, along with geographic expansion, have become key strategies for African startups to sustain their growth and remain viable. Africa’s tech sector saw a wave of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in 2024 as startups struggled to secure funding,...

While Fitch has stopped monitoring Dangote Industries, other agencies like Moody’s and S&P Global Ratings are expected to continue assessing the company. Fitch Ratings announced on Feb. 11 it will no longer assess Dangote Industries. After keeping the Nigerian conglomerate under negative watch due to refinancing struggles, the credit rating agency has decided to withdraw all its evaluations....

In 2024, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) put Côte d'Ivoire on its watchlist, citing gaps in its efforts to combat money laundering and terrorist financing. Côte d'Ivoire has created a new body called the Financial Surveillance Group (GSF) to step up its fight against money laundering, terrorist financing, and the spread of weapons of mass destruction. The announcement came after a...

This decision comes after Benin’s ambassador, Gildas Agonkan, publicly apologized to the Nigerien people during a ceremony. Benin has reportedly recalled its ambassador to Niger, Gildas Agonkan (pictured), for consultations with Foreign Minister Olushegun Bakari. The meeting was expected to take place on February 13, according to local media reports. Sources indicate that this decision...

Many African leaders argue that the three major international rating agencies have a "negative bias" when evaluating the credit risk of African nations, denying them access to essential financial resources. The African Union (AU) plans to launch a new African credit rating agency in H2 2025 to address concerns about what some African countries see as “arbitrary” ratings from major...

Seychelles, Cape Verde, Botswana, Rwanda, and Mauritius are the least corrupt countries in Africa, according to the 2024 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) published by Transparency International. The CPI ranks 180 countries and territories based on how corrupt their public sectors are perceived to be, using a scale from 0 (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean). The rankings are based on data from...

The civil war that broke out in neighboring Sudan in April 2023 crippled one of the main pipelines transporting most of South Sudan’s oil, depriving the country of crucial government revenue. Expected to be back in operation by late March or early April, the pipeline’s reopening could finally give Juba a path toward recovery. South Sudan’s economy is expected to grow by 17% in 2025 after...