Features

CAIRO (Capital Markets in Africa) – French President Emmanuel Macron said on Sunday that Egypt’s stability is threatened by President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi’s crackdown against political opponents, and that he’ll seek a “balance” by denouncing abuses while not cutting off dialogue. On the first day of a three-day visit to Egypt, Macron said El-Sisi’s regime has become more repressive than under the government of Hosni Mubarak that was overthrown in 2011. “I believe in both stability and respect for sovereignty, but…

YAOUNDE (Capital Markets in Africa) – Cyprain fled his home when separatist fighters in Cameroon’s Northwest region threatened to kill him after he served government soldiers at his roadside bar. He’s one of a growing number of civilians trapped between the army and roaming gangs of English-speaking insurgents fighting to break away from the majority-Francophone nation. The conflict has decimated the local economy in the conflict zone, and according to the United Nations, left hundreds…

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Nigeria’s main opposition candidate in next month’s elections, Atiku Abubakar, said President Muhammadu Buhari breached the constitution by suspending the nation’s top judge last week. “I want to note the universal condemnation of this unlawful act by all Nigerians, as well as the international community,” Abubakar, 72, said at a press conference Monday in Abuja, the capital. “How we react to this challenge in the following days will determine the fate of…

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa)  – The Financial Times published on Thursday January 24 a first-ever special report on Innovation in South Africa. Africa editor David Pilling in his lead article writes that “homegrown innovators are fighting the brain drain and finding ways past a funding squeeze.” The six-page edition casts a bright light on South African technology, research, energy industry, white space television, and water solutions– one of the most positive indications of a…

Under the high patronage of the Tunisian Head of government and the Ministry of Development, Investment and International Cooperation of the Republic of Tunisia, the International Islamic Finance Training Institute (IIFTI) and I-Fintech Solutions (IFTS) are organizing the African Islamic Fintech Summit (SAIFI). SAIFI is jointly organized with the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD) and the Tunisian Association of Islamic Finance (TAIF) and will take place during the 16th and…

DAR ES SALAAM (Capital Markets in Africa) – Tanzania intends to cancel permits for mineral sites belonging to large-scale miners that remain undeveloped and will allocate the licences to smallholders, President John Magufuli said. The announcement comes amid a tax dispute between the state and Acacia Mining Plc, in which the government is demanding $190 billion in penalties, after claiming the company had under-declared export revenue since 2000. The East African nation surpassed its mining-revenue targets for the…