SEMAFO reports that all employees in Burkina Faso are safe

The terrorist attacks on Jan. 15 and Jan. 16 in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, which killed 30 and injured more than 56, did not harm any SEMAFO employees. SEMAFO announced Tuesday that its employees were not involved nor harmed in the tragic events at the Cappuccino Cafe and Splendid Hotel. The corporation added that it expressed its deepest sympathies to the victims. Read More »

Public chats made possible in Middle East, Africa with Viber

Viber launched its latest social channel, Public Chats, Tuesday on the African continent. Viber users can have “public chats” or live discussions to like and share with their community. This feature offers a new social experience, entering into live conversations not just with family and friends, but also with celebrities, personalities, brands and organizations. Read More »

Cape Verde to develop wave-powered desalination system with SEFA grant

Cape Verde was recently awarded a grant in the amount of $930,000 by the African Development Bank-hosted SEFA to develop the world’s first wave-driven desalination system. Called Wave2O, the system will be located in Praia Grande, Cape Verde, and will operate completely “off-grid,” supplying more than 48,000 people with clean fresh water at a competitive cost. Read More »

Microsoft partners with Udemy to promote youth employability in MENA

Microsoft is teaming up with online education marketplace Udemy to increase youth employment in MENA. Under the agreement, young individuals in the MENA region will have access to Udemy's skills-based courses offered through a network of youth employability portals known as YouthWorks (or Ta3mal in the Arab world) led by Microsoft and regional social initiative Silatech. Read More »

ECG's hydro power agreement with Zoetic signals interest in renewable energy

Zoetic Global entered into a 20-year power purchase agreement with ECG to provide 100 megawatts of additive power generation at the nation's Akosombo Dam on Lake Volta. Zoetic Global deploys life-sustaining technology solutions in energy, water and food security worldwide. Its new project with ECG involves the deployment of several modular hydrokinetic turbines in Akosombo Dam. Read More »

ECOWAS declared most dynamic regional economic community in Africa

Toga Gayewea McIntosh, vice president of ECOWAS Commission, declared ECOWAS the most dynamic regional economic community in Africa on Jan. 8. At the 35th meeting of the West Africa Monetary Zone (WAMZ) Convergence Council in Accra, McIntosh said the sub-region is a good reference point on economic growth, despite political, security, health and economic challenges. Read More »

IFRC says volunteers played crucial role to end of Ebola outbreak in West Africa

The IFRC recently credited local volunteers in helping to bring about the end of the Ebola outbreak in West Africa. The World Health Organization (WHO) officially declared the end of Ebola virus transmission in Liberia Thursday. The other two countries, Sierra Leone and Guinea, affected by the virus from 2014 were declared free of the disease toward the end of last year. Read More »

UN rep urges media to support Africa's SDGs

Oluseyi Soremekun, national information officer for the UNIC in Lagos, recently asked Nigerian media outlets to back Africa's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Soremekun made an appearance this week on "Civil Society Weekly," a program on Radio One 103.5 FM, where he spoke on the subject. Soremekun pointed out that UNIC Lagos planned to translate the SDGs into four languages. Read More »

American company acquires World Pension Summit, World Pension Summit Africa Special

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 »

COPL president purchases 1.1 million common shares of company's stock

COPL President and CEO Arthur Millholland purchased more than 1.1 million common shares of the company on Monday. Interests of COPL, an international oil and gas exploration and development company, are focused in West Africa. One of its major projects is Block LB-13, where it has a partnership with ExxonMobil in offshore Liberia and holds a 17 percent working interest. Read More »

L'Occitane contributes $120,000 to Dress for Success program

L'Occitane, a France-based beauty company that has backed women's leadership programs in West Africa for the last two decades, recently donated $120,000 to the Dress for Success initiative. Dress for Success assists women in attaining professional goals. L'Occitane Director Maddie Smith traveled to New York to present the Dress for Success donation to the program's CEO, Joi Gordon. Read More »

Teacher training program launched in Ghana

With backing from the nation's government, Ghana will have 35,000 trained teachers make their way into its classrooms through the T-TEL program. Over the next four years, the initiative will transform Ghana's 38 colleges of education into T-TEL Centers of Excellence. Funding for the program is also coming from the United Kingdom's Department for International Development (DFID). Read More »

ICD coordinates $244 million sukuk for Ivory Coast

With support from the ICD, Ivory Coast's Ministry of Economy and Finance recently closed on a $244 million sukuk, a Sharia-compliant bond used as an alternative financing tool. The sukuk carries a five-year maturity and was subscribed by regional and international investors as well as retail investors from all eight West African Economic and Monetary Union member nations. Read More »

Ingenico reaches 50,000 terminal milestone in Africa

The Ingenico Group recently provided approximately 50,000 payment terminals to African countries. Its first smart terminal in Africa was installed in 2008, and it has expanded its reach across Malawi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nigeria, Uganda, Zambia and Tanzania. Financial institutions are able to carry out numerous transactions that do not involve plastic cards. Read More »

Orange to acquire Burkina Faso, Sierra Leone Airtel operations

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 »

Mass AxiGye named ambassador of the Gambia to Ethiopia

Mass AxiGye is the new ambassador of the Islamic republic of the Gambia to Ethiopia and the permanent representative to the African Union. The Gambia's main economic activities are farming, fishing and tourism. About a third of the population lives below the international poverty line. AxiGye said his focus as ambassador will be on historical events coming this year. Read More »

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