David G. Bala, outgoing ambassador of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to Burkina Faso, gave a farewell address at the AU SAFGRAD project office in Burkina Faso. Bala spoke about the importance of agriculture to the continent of Africa and encouraged AU SAFGRAD Coordinator Ahmed Elemekass to continue working on regional integration as Africa moves toward agricultural development. Read More »

Technology advances in Nigeria are changing the way business is done, with smartphones and cloud applications offered through the country's growing telecom infrastructure. Having access to these tools allows businesses to run more efficiently. “Mobility is the growth engine of the Nigerian economy,” Magnus Nmonwu, regional director of Software Services for Sage West Africa, said.  Read More »

African entrepreneurs are invited to bring their best ideas to the MTN Entrepreneurship Challenge. MTN is a South Africa-based multinational mobile telecommunications company. Partnering with MTN on the challenge is online shopping site Jumia. These competitors are challenged to develop a digital application or smart solution to solve a specific challenge present in Africa. Read More »

In an effort to make its network security products more accessible to consumers in French-speaking West Africa, Clavister has entered into a distribution agreement with Defis & Strategies Group. Defis works with many other African companies, including firms in Burkina Faso. Defis will oversee the sale and distribution of Clavister's NGFW and gateway security solutions to the market. Read More »

With the extension of existing contracts, i-Tech will continue to provide two companies running exploration operations in offshore Equatorial Guinea with intervention tooling, survey and inspection services. One of the contracts is for five years; the other is for three years. i-Tech personnel will also be tasked with standard and bespoke engineering solutions for both projects. Read More »

BodySamsung Electronics Africa officials recently announced the company's plans to contribute to the efforts others are making to help the continent reach its Sustainable Development Goals. Read More »

Roberto Azevêdo made a stop in Ivory Coast on Tuesday. Azevêdo was able to meet Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara as well as Prime Minister Daniel Kablan Duncan and Minister of Trade Jean-Louis Billon. “[Ivory Coast] has been working hard to boost growth and development through a series of reforms, including by improving infrastructure and facilitating trade," Azevêdo said. Read More »

As convenient as mobile devices are, data cybercriminals are finding ways to unleash viruses through them. Russian international software security group Kaspersky Lab's 2015 Security Bulletin said many cybercriminals sent out fake emails and notifications from mobile apps via mobile devices. These messages and notifications typically contained malware or advertising. Read More »

The African Union's (AU) Peace and Security Council's theme of "Natural Resources and Conflicts in Africa" marked its 575th meeting Feb. 11. Speakers emphasized the value of natural resources and the role they play in Africa's economy, pointing out that bad management and less-than-equal distribution of those resources could mean financial troubles and conflicts on many levels. Read More »

The IOM, GIS and Brong Ahafo Regional Coordinating Council recently established an MIC in Sunyani, Ghana. The goal of the center is to serve as a place where migrants or those considering migration can get information on legalities and necessary documents. The project was funded by the European Union as part of the Ghana Integrated Migration Management Approach project. Read More »

Samuel Adjei was promoted to managing director for the company's CESA region. “I have spent the last 25 years of my life, contributing to and helping to build this great institution of ours – Ecobank," Adjei said. "But the real credit goes to the many great men and women alongside whom I have worked in Ecobank Ghana, the West African Monetary Zone region and Ecobank overall." Read More »

To ease the strain on Burkina Faso, officials recently urged its food producers to take advantage of the World Bank's Agricultural Productivity and Food Security Project, a matching grant program. The match from farmers can be made through land preparation and other community services. The World Bank is encouraging women in particular to make use of the program. Read More »

During a recent visit to the NNPC, Nigeria's Minister of State for Petroleum Resources and NNPC Managing Director Ibe Kachikwu announced the corporation's plans to partner with Nigeria's National Assembly on modernizing and streamlining Nigeria's petroleum industry. This joint venture will help NNPC launch additional retail outlets so petroleum products are more readily available. Read More »

Gryphon Minerals Ltd. has extended the option on several permits granted last October to Algold Resources Ltd., including two projects in Mauritania. For the extension, Algold transferred 300,000 common shares of Algold stock to Gryphon. The option will allow for Kanosak Barbados Inc. to acquire exploration licenses for the Tijirit and Akjoujt gold projects in Mauritania. Read More »

In an effort to collect and maintain better statistical information on labor statistics, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed by officials from the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) Wednesday. An MoU is a non-legal document outlining plans for a collaboration or partnership. Read More »

The Port of Houston Authority in Texas achieved a milestone Friday, with its inaugural regular direct container service to West Africa from the authority's Barnours Cut Container Terminal. The Port of Houston Authority is the largest container port in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico; its workers handle approximately two-thirds of all the gulf's container traffic. The carrier used for the historic launch was Grimaldi Lines. Read More »

The Bamako Forum in Mali, set for Thursday through Saturday, will focus on the theme "Africa: Between Chaos and Emergence." The Bamako Forum brings together leaders for the opportunity to discuss new and innovative ways to make Africa a stronger player in the global marketplace. Topics to be covered include migration, security and religion between Africa's nations and its citizens. Read More »

Farmers in West Africa's developing countries can make their farms even more productive and sustainable if they have access to agricultural biotechnologies. To educate farmers about those technologies and ways to obtain and use them, representatives from FAO hosted a symposium dubbed "The Role of Agricultural Biotechnologies in Sustainable Food Systems and Nutrition." Read More »

To help educate government officials on best practices for implementing universal health care in Africa, a five-day workshop kicked off Monday in Accra, Ghana. Dubbed the Africa Regional Peer-Learning Workshop on Country Approaches to Risk-Pooling for Attaining Universal Health Coverage, the event, is bringing together representatives from a number of African nations. Read More »

Digital banking platform TagPay recently received the Kalahari Award for Best Technology Enabler Platform during the Remittance and Mobile Money Expo in Lagos, Nigeria. The Kalahari Awards honor organizations that have made a positive impact on Africa's remittance services and mobile financial services sector. Winners are chosen by an independent panel of expert judges. Read More »