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Announcements
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
Source: United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) |

Violence displaces more than 50,000 in western Niger this year

Cross-border incursions and attacks by militant groups in Niger’s Tillaberi and Tahoua border regions have forced many to flee for safety to other nearby towns and villages

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is becoming increasingly troubled by ongoing violence in Niger’s border areas with Mali and Burkina Faso, which has forced 52,000 Nigeriens to flee their homes this year alone. Cross-border incursions and attacks by militant groups in Niger’s Tillaberi and Tahoua border regions have forced many…

Africa Forum 2018
Source: Africa Forum 2018 |

Egypt pledges a number of initiatives to boost investment, integration and governance during Africa 2018 Forum

A Guarantee Fund created to assist Egyptians companies to invest in the continent

Egypt sends a clear message of intent as it prepares to take over chairmanship of the African Union; A Guarantee Fund created to assist Egyptians companies to invest in the continent; Governance and the fight against corruption, two core issues at the centre of their AU agenda. As Egypt prepares…

United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA)
Source: United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) |

African Economic Conference (AEC) 2018: Pushing for an inclusive African Continental Free-Trade Agreement

A total of 44 African nations signed the landmark African Continental Free Trade agreement (AfCFTA) earlier this year, which aims to create a single continental market for goods and services

A truly successful implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area agreement cannot be achieved without the “people dimension,” ensuring that the integration process does not lead to widening inequalities or exclusion. In a plenary session on the final day of the African Economic Conference, delegates participated in an interactive…

United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA)
Source: United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) |

African Economic Conference (AEC) 2018: The African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) will increase Africans’ freedoms, says Economic Commission for Africa (ECA’s) Elhiraika

It aims to build an integrated market in Africa that will see a market of more than one-billion people

The African Continental Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), if fully implemented, will not only give a substantial boost to Africa’s gross domestic product (GDP) but also help expand the freedoms of the continent’s citizens, the majority of whom have never been outside their countries of origin, says a top Economic Commission for…

African Development Bank Group (AfDB)
Source: African Development Bank Group (AfDB) |

Huge desert solar initiative to make Africa a renewables power-house

Solar projects stretching across the Sahel region are expected to connect 250m people with electricity by tapping into the region’s abundant solar resource

The details of the “Desert to Power Initiative” have been outlined as part of the Paris Agreement climate change talks at COP24 in Katowice, Poland this week. Energy poverty in Africa is estimated to cost the continent 2-4 % GDP annually, according to the African Development Bank (AfDB) (www.AfDB.org), which…

European Court of Auditors (ECA)
Source: European Court of Auditors (ECA) |

EU trust fund for Africa: flexible emergency tool, but lacking focus, say auditors

The fund currently pools €4.1 billion and supports activities in 26 countries across three regions of Africa – the Sahel and Lake Chad, the Horn of Africa and North of Africa

The EU Emergency Trust Fund (EUTF) for Africa is a flexible tool for providing assistance in areas such as food, education, health, security and sustainable development, according to a new report by the European Court of Auditors (www.ECA.Europa.eu). However, its objectives are too broad to efficiently steer action across the…

World Health Organization (WHO)
Source: World Health Organization (WHO) |

Statement of the Nineteenth International Health Regulations (IHR) Emergency Committee Regarding the International Spread of Poliovirus

The low coverage with routine Inactivated Polio Vaccine (IPV) vaccination in several countries neighboring DR Congo heightens the risk of international spread

The nineteenth meeting of the Emergency Committee under the International Health Regulations (2005) (IHR) regarding the international spread of poliovirus was convened by the Director General on 27 November 2018 at WHO headquarters with members, advisers and invited Member States attending via teleconference. The Emergency Committee reviewed the data on…

SimbaPay
Source: SimbaPay |

Family Bank partners with SimbaPay to launch instant transfers to China’s WeChat

This initiative therefore connects Africa’s largest mobile money ecosystem to China’s largest payment service in real-time

Family Bank Limited (FamilyBank.co.ke), a leading bank in Kenya, has partnered with London-based financial technology firm SimbaPay (www.SimbaPay.com) to launch an instant money transfer service from Kenya to China through WeChat – a service that will help boost Kenya-China trade. Over seven million customers and businesses in Kenya will now access…

iSON Xperiences
Source: iSON Xperiences |

Gulf Capital and AfricInvest invest US$ 51 million into iSON Xperiences, the largest customer service and outsourcing provider in Sub-Saharan Africa

Gulf Credit Opportunities Fund II, Gulf Capitals’ second private debt fund, and AfricInvest Fund III, the firm’s third generation pan-African fund, provided a total debt and equity commitment of US$ 25.5 million each

Gulf Capital, one of the largest and most active alternative asset management firms in the Middle East, and AfricInvest, a leading pan-African mid-cap-focused private equity firm, have partnered for the first time to provide a US$ 51 million structured loan and equity investment to iSON Xperiences (formerly iSON BPO Limited)…

Africa Internship Academy (AIA)
Source: Africa Internship Academy (AIA) |

Africa Dialogues for World Children’s Day 2018: African Youth share their vision of the Africa they want

On November 20 (anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child), children raise their voices in solidarity with the world’s most disadvantaged and vulnerable children

World Children’s Day (www.UNICEF.org/world-childrens-day) is an annual global moment 'for children, by children' where the world listens to children and fights for their rights. It is a day to advocate and garner support and raise awareness on the most pressing issues facing children – a day to 'play one’s part' in building…