Here is a recap of the major activities that happened in Africa in the last 7 days. You can watch the video here: 

Central Africa

• Pensana Rare Earths announced it is in talks with financiers including Barclays, Rand Merchant Bank, and funds including Fidelity to secure additional funding for its rare earth mine in Angola.
• The miner aims to raise $25 million in equity from funds to develop the mine and a further $30-$50 million as working capital from the banks.
• China’s state-owned China Great Wall Industry Corporation (CGWIC) will provide a balance of up to $170 million.

Eastern Africa

• Kenyan lender I&M Holdings has announced a deal to buy 90% of the Orient Bank Uganda.
• Equity Bank in Kenya received a loan of $50 million from the IFC to Support SMEs.
• Plans are progressing well to roll out national data centers at Konza Technopolis located just outside Nairobi on the way to Mombasa.
• Phase 2 of the Misikhu-Brigadier road project in Kenya secured funding to the amount of $6.5 million.
• In Malawi, minister of energy, Newton Kambala announced the upgrade of sub-stations for future power supply from Mozambique and Zambia to support the government’s aim of uninterrupted power supply.
• Metrobus in Mozambique presented a new $80 million rail project connecting east to west Maputo. The rail line will be 27 kilometers long and construction is scheduled to start in 2021.
• The African Development Bank signed a $400 million loan facility as part of the $20 billion Mozambique LNG project.
• In Rwanda, COVID-19 has resulted in a shortage of raw materials which is causing disruptions in the manufacturing sector.
• Construction work on the Mogadishu-Afgooye road project has resumed after a lengthy closure due to security concerns. 
• The $200 million road project is 120 km long and is funded by the Qatar Investment Authority and constructed by a Turkish contractor.
• A new digital stamp tax in Uganda is likely to increase the cost of business for manufacturers in the country.
• In Zambia, Glencore’s subsidiary Mopani Copper Mines’ proposal to suspend mining operations because of the low copper price and COVID-19 disruptions was rejected by the mining ministry.
• The Zambian government has formally asked China to cancel its debt.
• Zimbabwe recorded a Typhoid outbreak in Sunningdale, a suburb of the capital Harare.
• Zambia and Zimbabwe have secured more water for Hydropower projects.

Northern Africa

• The impact of the low oil prices and COVID-29 resulted in a decline of 30 percent in Algeria’s oil and gas revenue.

Southern Africa

• Namibia’s Petra Diamonds Limited announced it has come to an agreement to sell some of its exploration assets in Botswana.
• The African Development Bank has approved $288 million as a loan to the South African government.
• At the same time, the South African government has not committed to funding the plan to restructure the ailing national carrier, South African Airways (SAA).
• With COVID-19 cases on the rise, South Africa’s public schools will close again this week.

Western Africa

• The Ghana government has further reduced its 2020 growth forecast to 0.9%.
• Orange has launched a digital banking product in the Ivory Coast and is planning to further expansions in the region.
• Nigeria has exported its first LNG cargo since the COVID-19 lockdown.  Some 950,000 metric tons of LNG was shipped.
• Nigeria won’t make its target to electrify 60 percent underserved rural communities due to a lack of funding and the current COVID-19 pandemic.
• The Nigerian government has received $890 Million from the Global Fund to treat HIV/AID, Tuberculosis and Malaria.
• Nigeria’s national debt will reach $85 billion if the government’s plan to loan a further $11 billion go ahead.
• The World Bank has approved a grant of $30 Million to Sierra Leone in aid of smallholder farmers.

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