Africa Business A low-growth economy, high unemployment and the mounting pressures posed by the ongoing energy crisis have continued to weigh heavily on start-ups in Southern African over the past year. Early-stage investors likewise reported that these challenges have had a material impact on the local venture capital industry, with an overall decrease in the…
Reuters News South African pharmacy chain Clicks Group reported a 11.5% rise in full-year earnings on Thursday helped by stronger second-half turnover growth. Clicks said its adjusted diluted headline earnings per share (HEPS) for the year ended Aug. 31 totalled 1,044.5 cents, up from 936.6 cents a year earlier. Including insurance proceeds for damaged stores…
Bizcommunity.com The Climate Finance Accelerator (CFA) South Africa, now in its third phase, has launched a call for proposals to identify projects fighting climate change that would benefit from capacity-building support to help them attract investment. Around 10 projects are expected to be selected from the energy, water, smart agriculture, clean transport, waste, forestry and…
Bizcommunity.com The African Development Bank (AfDB) has approved a $2.5m grant to support 10,000 small horticultural businesses in Tanzania. The grant will come from the Global Agriculture & Food Security Programme and will be used to support food system service providers in rural areas. The project will allow small operators in Tanzania to improve the…
Reuters News Namibia’s central bank kept its main lending rate unchanged at 7.75% on Wednesday. The decision is the second time in a row that the Bank of Namibia has held its key rate, after a 50 basis point (bps) hike in June and two 25 bps increases earlier in 2023. Inflation in the southern…
By Reuters Inflation in South Africa rose sharply in September but stayed within the central bank’s target range, fuelling analysts’ expectations that interest rates would be left unchanged next month. Statistics South Africa said headline consumer inflation rose to 5.4 percent year-on-year in September from 4.8 percent in August, with food, fuel and transport sectors…
Reuters LONDON, Oct 24 (Reuters) – Shareholders of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) have approved Benin and Ivory Coast to join as new members, the lender said in a statement on Tuesday. Both countries had applied in July and August respectively, and wanted to become recipients of EBRD financial and advisory services…
The Zimbabwean Zimbabwe has been struggling to contain spread of cholera outbreak, with the government announcing measures amid fears of a repeat of its 2008 outbreak that sparked a “national emergency”. Cholera cases span all 10 of Zimbabwe’s provinces, with the most alarming spikes in the south-eastern provinces of Masvingo and Manicaland, the epicentre of the crisis….
Reuters NAIROBI, Oct 24 – Kenya’s shilling was stable against the dollar on Tuesday, traders said, as remittance inflows matched manufacturing and energy sector demand in a quiet session. At 0910 GMT, commercial banks quoted the shilling at 150.00/20, the same as the close of Monday’s session. The shilling has lost 17.8% of its value…
By Felix Onuah ABUJA, Oct 19 (Reuters) – China’s President Xi Jinping pledged on Thursday for his country to increase investments in Nigeria’s power generation sector and its digital economy, the Nigerian vice president’s office said in the wake of a Belt And Road Initiative forum in Beijing. Nigeria’s National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) and…
