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The Pan-African Economy in Brief: Thursday, February 14, 2019

NIGERIA:
The Nigerian diaspora plans to invest $3 billion in the country's economy:
Nigeria will benefit from a $3 billion "investment fund" from its diaspora, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, Presidential Advisor for Diaspora Affairs, announced this week. In an interview with Bloomberg, the manager said that this new investment should be made mainly by the Nigerian community living in the United States. The agriculture, energy, mining and transport sectors are expected to monopolize most of the new financing. With these new funds, the Nigerian authorities aim to accelerate the country's economic diversification process. This should enable Nigeria to mitigate the shocks of fluctuations in raw materials compared to an economy that is more than 90% dependent on hydrocarbons...

The Dangote tomato processing plant could be restarted in two weeks:
In Nigeria, the tomato processing plant of the Nigerian giant Dangote, could be up and running within two weeks. This is reported by the Dailytrust, which quotes Alhaji Abdulkarim Kaita, the company's general manager. This recovery will come after more than a year of closure due to the decline in the supply of raw materials to the plant based in Kadawa, Kano State, in the north of the country. Covering 17,000 hectares, the plant was launched in March 2016 with a $20 million investment. With a processing capacity of 1,200 tonnes of tomatoes per day, the facility is owned by the group's Dansa Holdings subsidiary...


IVORY COAST:
Ivory Coast is launching a Guide to Good Practices in Cashew nut traceability: In Ivory Coast, a guide to good practices in cashew nut traceability was unveiled yesterday in Abidjan, reports the African News Agency (APA). The purpose of this document is to support the Cashew Cotton Council (CCA) in the training and capacity building of cashew nut processors in terms of traceability. More concretely, this roadmap will make it possible to support these actors in the implementation of a quality management system, taking into account the regulatory and commercial requirements imposed on the world market...


SOUTH AFRICA:
Agricultural exports reached a record $10.6 billion in 2018:
In South Africa, agricultural exports generated $10.6 billion, the highest level since 2001 and a 7% increase over 2017. This historical performance is attributable in particular to the increase in exports of oranges, grapes, wine, corn, lemons, wool and apples, explains Wandile Sihlobo, economist at the Chamber of Agricultural Enterprises (Agbiz). In terms of destinations, Africa and Europe remain the main markets for the rainbow nation, accounting for 66% of total shipments. Asia ranks third with 25% market share thanks to products such as meat, beverages, cereals and vegetables, while the Americas are closing the gap with 5% of total trade...


GABON:
3 million mobile subscribers and 1 million Internet users to date:
According to statistics from the Agence nationale des infrastructures numériques et des fréquences (ANINF), Gabon had 3 million mobile phone subscriptions, for a penetration rate of 144% in January 2019. In this market segment, Gabon Telecom Mobile maintained its leadership with a share of nearly 59% compared to 41% for its only rival Airtel Gabon. These statistics also revealed that the country also registered one million Internet users for an estimated population of 2.09 million inhabitants. This represents an Internet penetration rate of 48%. In this segment, mobile Internet remained the most popular. It represented nearly 99.11% of the market in which the Gabon Telecom group once again took the majority with a share of around 65%, while Airtel was satisfied with a share of around 34.11%...


SENEGAL:
Macky Sall's Communication Centre presents a guide on oil and gas:
As part of the election campaign activities, the Communication Department of candidate Macky SALL of the Benno Bokk Yaakaar coalition presented, this Tuesday in Dakar to journalists, a guide entitled "OIL AND GAS IN SENEGAL, 10 questions and answers to understand the essential"...