Finance

LOME (Capital Markets in Africa) – Togo’s President Faure Gnassingbe switched on a solar-powered micro-grid that will reach a village of 300 households, the latest phase of a project which aims to supply 60,000 people in the West African nation with electricity. A venture including London-based BBOX Ltd. and Electricite de France SA built the network. It will feed enough power for the rural community of Sikpe Afidegnon in the south to run streetlights, households,…

LUANDA (Capital Markets in Africa) – Angolan President Joao Lourenco canceled a decision to award Telstar Telecomunicacoes, a privately held company, the southwest African nation’s fourth mobile license. “The president annuls the outcome of the competition to ensure a clean and transparent procedure,” the Angolan presidency said in an emailed statement on Thursday. “The Ministry of Telecommunications will formalize the opening of a new tender within 30 days.” The tender, the results of which were announced on April…

MONROVIA (Capital Markets in Africa) – Mining dealmaker Mick Davis has won permission to export iron ore from a planned mine in West Africa, adding momentum to the industry veteran’s comeback. Davis, through his new Niron Metals vehicle, has signed an agreement with Liberia that will allow him to use a rail and port to export iron ore from the mine that he’s seeking to build in neighboring Guinea, according to a statement. The Zogota project, where…

GABONE (Capital Markets in Africa) – Botswana’s state-owned diamond marketer has unveiled a gem that exceeds the clarity and purity of one of the world’s most famous, the Hope Diamond. At just over 20 carats, the oval-shaped blue diamond, known as Okavango Blue, is smaller than Hope Diamond, but graded above it in terms of purity by the Carlsbad, California-based Gemological Institute of America, Okavango Diamond Co. Managing Director Marcus ter Haar said in an interview…

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – Tiffany & Co. has been expanding its workforce in sub-Saharan Africa — a region of almost one billion people where the jewelry giant doesn’t have a single store. More than a quarter of the New York-based company’s 1,500 global diamond cutters and polishers are now based in Africa, Chief Executive Officer Alessandro Bogliolo said in an interview in Cape Town. Tiffany has factories in Botswana and Mauritius with staff subject to “intensive…

KHARTOUM (Capital Markets in Africa)  – For autocratic leaders seeking lessons from the toppling of Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, avoiding a currency crisis may be the key to survival. It’s the same problem that did for long-standing rulers from Angola to Zimbabwe and may yet claim Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro. Al-Bashir, who the military ousted on Thursday to end 30 years of rule, faced months of protests against the government’s economic mismanagement, repression and corruption. One of the…

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Jumia Technologies AG raised $196 million in an initial public offering in New York, as the Africa-focused online retailer and market place looks to boost its profile and expand an ever-growing customer base. Jumia sold 13.5 million American Depositary Shares at $14.50 each, in the middle of a marketing range of $13 to $16, it said in a statement on Friday. The shares will trade on the New York…