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The Pan-African Economy in Brief: Tuesday, December 11, 2018

BURKINA FASO:
Coris Bank International joins forces with the French firm TagPay to launch its Mobile Money service: "Coris Bank International, controlled by Burkinabe businessman Idrissa Nassa, has teamed up with TagPay, a French provider of mobile payment technologies, to launch its mobile money platform. Called Coris Money, this electronic wallet relies on a distribution network of 1800 points of sale to offer, in addition to traditional money transfer operations, banking services Such as granting a loan, opening a savings account, making bank deposits..."


KENYA:
NIC Bank's share price jumped 32.45% after the announcement of discussions on a merger with Commercial Bank of Africa: "Kenyan bank NIC Bank's share jumped 32.45% on the Nairobi stock exchange on Friday, December 7, to trade at 30 shillings ($0.2930 Dollar), a day after the announcement of discussions on a merger with Commercial Bank of Africa (CBA). NIC Bank and Commercial Bank of Africa had announced, in a joint statement issued on December 6, that they would begin discussions on a possible Merger. NIC Bank is a medium-sized bank, while CBA ranks among the largest banks in East Africa's leading economy. "The Boards of Directors of both banks believe that combining the activities of two highly profitable Entities would create increased capacity to seize strategic growth opportunities through capital consolidation and strong liquidity," NIC Bank and CBA stressed in their press release..."


MALAWI:
AfDB announces a US$ 35 million loan for agriculture in Malawi: "Malawi will benefit from a $35 million loan from the African Development Bank (AfDB) for the implementation of the first phase of the Shire River Valley Transformation Project (SVTP-1). This project aims to reduce poverty through the development of the agricultural value chain and climate change adaptation mechanisms. It will enable the deployment of gravity irrigation networks and drainage services in Nsanje and Chikwawa, two districts in the south of the country..."


NIGERIA:
ICT start-ups generated $101 million for the economy in the first nine months of 2018: "At the workshop entitled "Start-up Friday", held on December 05, 2018, Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, Director General of Nigeria's National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), revealed that ICT start-ups generated $101 million for the national economy from January to September 2018. According to him, these innovative companies generated savings of US$9 million in the first quarter, then US$57 million in the second quarter and US$35 million in the third quarter..."


UGANDA:
Uganda will benefit from $77 million from IFAD to develop its palm oil sector: "The Government of Uganda and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) signed a funding agreement on December 7 for the National Oil Palm Project (NOPP). Under the terms of the agreement, IFAD will provide a loan of $75.8 million and a grant of $1.2 million for the project, which has a total cost of $210.4 million. Overall, the NOPP aims to develop an efficient palm oil industry that meets environmental and social standards in order to sustainably improve people's well-being. The initiative also aims to facilitate small Producers' access to quality inputs, credit and technical practices by establishing tripartite partnership agreements (private sector, public sector and producer)..."


IVORY COAST:
the CCC withdraws the export licences of two operators in the cocoa sector: "In Ivory Coast, Green & Brown and Tropicao, two cocoa exporters have had their operating licences withdrawn from the Cocoa Coffee Council (CCC), reports Reuters. According to two sources interviewed by the media, this revocation is linked to the poor situation of operators who tended to default on their contracts due to a lack of financing from banks. While the volume of cocoa held by these companies has not been released, Reuters sources indicate that the CCC plans to sell 150,000 tons of cocoa next January, whose contracts are on the verge of default..."


GABON:
The oil sector is subject to strong fluctuations: "The Gabonese oil sector has been severely impacted by the natural decline of its mature fields, production interruptions for machine maintenance work and delays in the implementation of some development projects during the first three quarters of the current year. During this period, the sector was characterized by a decline in activity. Indeed, domestic crude oil production fell by 10.2% to 7.143 million metric tonnes. At the same time, exports fell by 8.9% to 6.594 million metric tons, mainly to Asia (77.7% of exports)..."