The U.S. Agency for International Development appointed Andrew Karas as their mission director in Ghana Oct. 23. Working closely with the government of Ghana to help establish its middle class, Karas will be responsible for USAID's agriculture, governance, economic growth and education programs in Ghana. Karas served as USAID's deputy mission director in Ghana since December 2012. Read More »

Educators and science professionals from African Union states gathered Wednesday at the Meeting of Senior Experts of the First Specialized Technical Committee on education, science and technology. Taking place at the AU Commission Headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Dr. Mahama Ouedraogo said the main goal of the meeting was to bring together the commission's departments. Read More »

Martin Ihoeghian Uhomoibhi was named joint special representative for Darfur and head of the African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID) Tuesday. In this role, Uhomoibhi, who is Nigerian, will also be African Union-United Nations joint chief mediator.He succeeds Abiodun Oluremi Bashua of Nigeria. Uhomoibhi has had a long career in international forums. Read More »

Bamboo Finance and agribusiness leader Louis Dreyfus Holding will establish and manage NISABA, a $50 million impact investment fund. The fund's focus will be on small- and- medium-sized agribusiness ventures in Sub-Saharan Africa. The $10 million needed to launch the fund will be provided by Louis Dreyfus Holding. The fund will be supported by a network of local expertise. Read More »

Trade finance agency Export Development Canada (EDC) opened a permanent representation in Johannesburg, South Africa, Wednesday. Over the past five years, EDC has brought more than $7.4 billion to African and Canadian businesses; $235 million of it in Nigeria. EDC extends financing to sub-Saharan corporations, project owners and banks that seek business with Canadian companies. Read More »

Organic Potash Corp. (OPC) will build multiple production facilities and change its funding practices as it works with strategic partners in major West African cocoa producing nations. Additionally, OPC's board announced the resignation of director Michael Galloro as well as the termination of the subscription agreements and financing contracts with three three Chinese companies. Read More »

The African Union heads of state and government will host the Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa Week from Nov. 12 to Nov. 17 in Abijan. Since the African Union launched PIDA, they are still working to fulfill the goals of the strategic initiative. PIDA Week will be observed to promote PIDA within the private sector as well as to bring awareness to PIDA's projects. Read More »

A permanent office of Export Development Canada was opened in Johannesburg Thursday. The export credit agency, which has to date put into motion more than $7.4 billion worth of business between African and Canadian companies over the past five years, is focusing its efforts in Ghana. EDC offers financing to sub-Saharan corporations, project owners and banks willing to doing business. Read More »

Telecommunications company Millicom will cash in its equity in Helios Towers Africa for 24 percent of the company's shares. Helios Towers Africa is one of the largest telecommunications towers companies in Africa. In 2010, a group of companies owned by HTA acquired 2,450 towers owned by Millicom who kept an equity stake in the towers that are now being traded in. Read More »

Seasoned British diplomat Guy Warrington was recently named the British High Commissioner for Sierra Leone. Warrington has been working with the United Kingdom's Foreign and Commonwealth Office since 1986. The appointment to Sierra Leone will be his 10th foreign mission, with previous stints in Singapore, New York, Geneva, Seoul, Dubai and other locations around the world. Read More »

Indian automotive manufacturer Mahindra announced recently that it was launching a number of new vehicles in partnership with Ghana-based Svani Limited. Read More »

Frost & Sullivan finds that Sub-Saharan Africa is primed for renewable energy investment. South Africa, Tanzania, Namibia, Kenya, Zambia, Nigeria and Ethiopia are all ripe for investment in grid-tied solar, wind, and geothermal projects. Frost & Sullivan cited International Finance Corporation's Scaling Solar Programme as an example of solutions addressing the funding gap. Read More »

The AfDB welcomed 160 young entrepreneurs and techies from around West Africa to its headquarters in Abidjan Oct. 9 to 11 for its Innovation Weekend. A major focus of the meeting was to generate tech-based solutions in order to bring more women and young people into the workforce. Approximately 60 percent of unemployed people in Sub-Saharan Africa are between 15 to 24 years old. Read More »

Amid growing violence in concession areas, Liberia's National Investment Commission (NIC) said Oct. 18 it will institute a new program to proactively prevent disputes between residents and foreign investors. The Free Prior Informed Consent Process will be required to obtain consent from Liberians living in an area of proposed development before NIC is allowed to open it to investors. Read More »

With President Alassane Ouattara recently winning re-election in the Cote d'Ivoire, the Secretary General's Office made a number of statements, lauding the country and organizations for helping to make the elections successful. It also thanked civil society organizations as well as the African Union and ECOWAS for the role they played in making the elections successful. Read More »

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) will hold the Development Minerals Programme Nov. 9 in Addis Ababa.Africa’s supply of dimension stones, industrial minerals and semi-precious stones may be the key to boosting the continent's economy by creating millions of jobs and spurring intra-Africa trade. It is estimated that 8 million workers currently hold jobs in this sector. Read More »

The African Development Bank Group (AfDB) will provide $19 million of financing over five years to improve food security in São Tomé and Príncipe. More than two thirds of Africa's second smallest country live in poverty, and more than 20 percent don't have a secure food supply. The funding plans to train 16,000 farmers and 3,000 fishermen on producing and marketing their products. Read More »

During the Main One/Microsoft Enterprise Seminar, representatives from the two software companies spoke about the need for data center co-location and enterprise cloud solutions for businesses Monday. The theme of the seminar was “Innovative Business Models.” Opeke pointed out that Tier III rated MDX-i has received the PCI DSS and ISO 9001 and 27001 certifications. Read More »

Parcel delivery company DHL is working to increase its African presence by recruiting local business owners to act as DHL resellers. The 2015 A.T. Kearney 2015 Global Retail Development Index™ cited African nations Botswana, Nigeria and Angola as three of the top 30 developing countries for retail investment globally. DHL has 5,800 retail outlets throughout Sub-Saharan Africa. Read More »

U.S. officials extended congratulations to Côte d’Ivoire for the nation's peaceful Oct. 25 election. Provisional results from Côte d’Ivoire’s Independent Electoral Commission showed that Alassane Ouattara scored a decisive victory in his bid for re-election as the nation's president. Kirby also spoke to the future, encouraging Ivorians to maintain auspicious relations. Read More »