Accenture Customer Credit Solutions has been created by Accenture to help businesses digitize credit services in Africa. Accenture has been providing services to more than 40 industries in 120 countries and is now hoping to create a more simple and faster credit provision process for African customers. Edcon Holding Limited is Accenture Customer Credit Solutions' very first client. Read More »

Global payment company Visa Inc. announced Tuesday that it is opening an office in Côte D'Ivoire. This expansion is part of Visa's strategy with the World Bank Group to provide universal financial access and electronic payment accounts to 500 million people by the end of 2020. Visa is working with several government representatives and local organizations to establish its new office. Read More »

U.S.-based Mondelez International's Cocoa Life Sustainability program has assisted 76,700 farmers in nearly 800 communities since it began in 2012. The program covers the cocoa-growing regions of Ghana, Ivory Coast, Indonesia, the Dominican Republic, India and Brazil. Mondelez reports that farmers in the Cocoa Life regions have experienced tripled incomes since 2009. Read More »

To prevent debit and credit card fraud for West African users, representatives from Visa Business School is hosting a three-day fraud prevention workshop in Dakar, Senegal. Topics being covered at the workshop, which was attended by 17 banks, included the latest technology in debit and credit cards and best practices for using them as well as fraud trends and how to detect them. Read More »

African capital markets experienced some hard times in 2015, according to PwC "2015 Africa Capital Markets Watch" released Monday. The report includes studies of equity and debt capital market transactions that took place between 2011 and 2015 on exchanges across Africa; it also looks at transactions completed by African corporations using international exchanges. Read More »

John Deere is launching a new campaign to help African farmers improve productivity on their farms. The S.M.A.R.T. campaign offers African farmers one-stop shopping for all their agricultural equipment needs by advocating mechanization. John Deere is also developing its own financing network specific to African agriculture, brokering partnerships with local African banks. Read More »

Looking to develop accelerated growth in high-potential and emerging markets, telecom group Orange sought legal advice from Dechert LLP on purchasing all shares of Airtel's subsidiaries in Sierra Leone and Burkina Faso recently. Read More »

An American company recently purchased World Pension Summit and World Pension Summit Africa Special from Netherlands-based company Global Platform BV. The summits were acquired by Pensions & Investments, a Crain Communications publication and global media source for institutional investors. The events are geared toward retirement industry professionals from around the world. Read More »

Five African nations are set to benefit from $15 million in funds from Rotary International aimed at ending polio. The funds are part of a $35 million grant by the organization to keep both the continent and world free from the highly infectious and potentially fatal disease of polio that destroys nerve cells in the spinal cord and could cause irreversible paralysis. Read More »

Bharti Airtel International recently agreed to sell the company’s operations in Sierra Leone and Burkina Faso to Orange. For Orange, the acquisition serves its international development strategy since it is focused on locations that have a large potential for growth and emerging economies. By adding these two countries, it adds approximately 5.5 million mobile customers. Read More »

Orange announced Tuesday its subsidiary Orange Côte d’Ivoire will acquire Liberia's largest mobile service provider, following a deal with Cellcom Telecommunications Limited. Orange officials said Cellcom Liberia's national mobile license and its large market share position it for current and future success. Liberia as a whole has approximately 66 percent mobile coverage. Read More »

Auto company Ford recently expanded use of its OpenXC sensor technology -- which has been available in its cars and trucks -- to motorcycles in an effort to help people in West Africa receive better access to health care. Read More »

Burkina Faso recently began taking steps toward better efficiency with the implementation of cloud-networking technology. Read More »

Telecommunications firm Orange and other members of the ACE consortium said on Wednesday that they have launched the next phase of the ACE submarine cable system, which will expand the availability of digital services through broadband connectivity in Africa. Read More »

Humanitarian service organization Rotary International contributed $6.9 million Monday to help Nigeria remain polio-free.  The funds will be used to increase immunization availability and activities overseen by the Global Polio Eradication Initiative. This year, the World Health Organization removed Nigeria from its list of countries experiencing polio endemics. Read More »

Mondelez International opened a new production facility in Lagos, Nigeria, Tuesday. The new plant represents a $50 million investment and is part of Modelez's plan to expand regional brands, such as Cadbury Bournvita, in key markets while developing a more efficient supply chain. Supplanting the older facility, which failed to keep up with demand, the new plant is fully automated. Read More »

In Nigeria, they will build Four Points by Sheraton Abuja and Residences and the Westin Abuja and Residences; in Kenya, they will build Four Points by Sheraton Nairobi Airport; in Senegal, they will build Aloft Dakar; in Tanzania, they will build Element Oyster Bay Dar es Salaam; in Mali, they will build Sheraton Bamako; and in Egypt, W Sharm El Sheikh and W Sharm El Sheikh.  Read More »

According to A.T. Kearney's 2015 African Retail Development Index, retail markets show promise not only in larger markets such as Nigeria, but also in smaller markets like Gabon. The ARDI is a list ranking the 15 top countries for retail growth in Africa. Read More »