Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced a ban on Russian oil imports following the country’s invasion of Ukraine. Mr Trudeau said oil revenues have helped to prop up President Vladimir Putin and Russian oligarchs. Coordinated Western sanctions against Russia have targeted its banks but still accept its oil and gas exports. Unlike Europe, Canada […]

Amazon.com Inc. said it will stop accepting Visa Inc. credit cards in the U.K. because of high charges by Visa, in a spat highlighting continuing tensions between retailers and payment processors over fees. Amazon told customers it won’t take credit cards issued by Visa in the U.K. as of Jan. 19, “due to the high […]

Bitcoin hit an all-time high of $68,530.34 early Tuesday, according to CoinMarketCap. That’s just a few weeks after it hit a previous high of nearly $67,000 before sliding as much as 12%. Meanwhile, Ethereum also hit a record — rising to $4,837.59, according to CoinMarketCap. The market has been quite bullish on Bitcoin. Despite more […]

The World Bank Group’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) has partnered with South Africa’s Liquid Intelligent Technologies to expand data center capacity and roll out fiber-optic cable on the continent, the groups said in a joint statement on Monday. The link-up with Liquid Intelligent Technologies, formally Liquid Telecom, aims to increase digital connectivity in Africa and […]

The CBN is yet to address why the app was removed from the store. The Central Bank of Nigeria’s eNaira app has disappeared from the Google Play Store two days after it was made available for download. The eNaira Speed Wallet app had been downloaded over 100,000 times by Wednesday, October 27, 2021, 48 hours […]

Bitcoin’s price has crashed yet again, wiping hundreds of millions of pounds from cryptocurrency markets and sending traders into a huge panic. The world’s most popular cryptocurrency plummeted below $59,000 following the “flash crash”. This is a huge drop of more than $5,000 from the levels it was trading at just a few days ago. […]

Nigeria has seen booming interest in cryptocurrency as people look for ways to avoid the weakening naira currency Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari launched the country’s new digital eNaira currency on Monday as Africa’s largest economy looked to tap into the growing popularity of virtual money and cryptocurrency. With its eNaira currency, Nigeria joined China and […]

Zimbabwe’s government has ruled out adopting the U.S dollar as the country’s sole official currency, terming it “suicidal,” the state-run Sunday Mail reported, citing Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube. Ncube said such a move could result in foreign currency deficits and deflation for the African nation. “We cannot adopt the United States dollar alone as the […]

Chinese Ambassador to Nigeria, Cui Jianchin, has said he is in talks with Chinese banks to establish operations in Nigeria to boost Nigeria’s economy and expand trade relations between the two nations. Mr Jianchin disclosed this while addressing journalists during the commemoration of the 2021 Chinese Moon Festival and China-Nigeria Cultural week, NAN reported. He […]

Nigeria and Ghana are racing to adopt a central bank digital currency as they look to ride the wave of popularity of cryptocurrencies in West Africa’s two largest economies. Central banks in both countries have partnered with foreign financial tech companies to create digital versions of their currencies, joining the global train of countries exploring […]

Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro signed a decree to raise taxes on financial transactions for three months to pay for the so-called Auxílio Brasil pandemic welfare program. His office said it expects the higher IOF tax, which is charged on credit, foreign exchange, insurance transactions, or bonds or securities, to generate 2.14 billion reais ($407.13 million). […]

The Twitter ban in Nigeria has extended to 100 days, and in that time frame the nation has lost N247.61bn. The Federal Government had on June 4 suspended Twitter after the social media platform deleted a tweet by the President, Major-General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.). Consequently, telcos on June 5 blocked access to Twitter after receiving […]

South Africa’s economy grew 1.2% in the second quarter compared to the previous three months, statistics agency data showed, a better-than-expected outcome driven by sectors like communications, agriculture and mining. Economists polled had forecast quarterly gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 0.7% (ZAGDPN=ECI) in seasonally adjusted, non-annualised terms. In unadjusted year-on-year terms, GDP jumped 19.3% […]

The Naira’s sinking value has been compounded by dollar scarcity and a recent Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) policy that bars Bureau De Change operators from accessing forex. The currency has also been hit by a slump in the price of crude oil in the global market, policy somersaults and COVID-19 induced lockdowns and restrictions. […]

The Social Economic Rights and Accountability Project has stated that over 27 million Nigerians earned less than N100, 000 per annum. This was disclosed in a statement titled, ‘How corruption is plunging Nigerians further into poverty’ signed by SERAP’s Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare. According to the statement, which was culled from a report presented titled, […]

The Central Bank of Nigeria will work with Bitt Inc, a Barbados-based fintech company, as a technical partner to help it launch Nigeria’s digital currency, the eNaira. It is a form of digital currency that allows exchange between people online. Central Bank Governor Godwin Emefiele said the eNaira will operate as a wallet against which […]

Kenya and Tanzania have set December as the target time when the two neighbouring countries will have resolved most of the non-tariff barriers affecting cross-border trade. The decision came out of a meeting of the Joint Commission on Cooperation (JCC), a bilateral organ comprising officials from the two countries created to resolve issues affecting areas […]

South Africa’s unemployment rate is now the highest in the world, according to Bloomberg. It rose to 34.4% in the second quarter from 32.6% in the three months of the year, the news agency quoted Statistics South Africa as saying in its latest report. Unemployment has been a long-standing problem in South Africa. But analysts […]

Dubai has established a specialised court focused on combating money laundering, in a move to “strengthen the integrity of the financial system”, the emirate’s media office said on Sunday. The UAE, home to the Middle East financial hub Dubai, has worked over the last few years to overcome a perception it is a hotspot for […]

Ogunlesi quoted Fashola to have said that the regulations were developed after extensive consultations with various stakeholders. Almost two years after the Minister of Housing and Works, Babatunde Fashola announced the re-introduction of toll plazas on federal roads, the Federal Government has approved a new policy for tollgates across the country. The minister disclosed this […]

Investors pulled less money from UK-based property funds in July compared with previous months, as optimism about the sector grew with COVID-19 restrictions lifted in Britain, fund network Calastone said on Wednesday. England changed its employment guidance on July 19, no longer requiring people to work from home where possible. Investors withdrew a net 94 […]

Winchester is the least affordable city to buy a home in, says Halifax. Its figures suggest buying a home in the Hampshire commuter city will cost 14 times average earnings, higher than Greater London at 11 times. Typically, buying a home in a UK city will now set buyers back 8.1 times their average earnings, […]

Kenya has lost footing in its main export market in Uganda, losing out to Tanzania in the wake of long-drawn trade feuds between Nairobi and Kampala. The Bank of Uganda data shows that in the three months to June, the value of Kenya’s exports to Uganda totalled Sh24.04 billion($221 million) — almost half the Sh43.5 […]

The market cap of Bitcoin gained $220.24bn in 30 days according to analysis of data on CoinMarketCap. On July 8, 2021, BTC opened trading at $33,889.61. It had a high of $33,907.91, a low of $32,133.18 and closed trading at $32,877.37. Its market cap was $616,492,852,697 and it closed with a trading volume of $29,910,396,946. […]

Nigeria is estimated to have lost N132.8bn (approximately $366,88m) since Twitter was banned in Nigeria by the Federal Government. The Federal Government banned Twitter in Nigeria on June 4 and the ban came into effect on June 5. It’s been 61 days since the ban came into effect. Calculating the cost impact of the ban […]

Rwanda has raised $620 million through the issuance of a 10-year Eurobond, authorities said in a statement released late on Monday. The bond was oversubscribed with orders of $1.6 billion, said the statement released by Rwandan Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning. “Rwanda has a strong track record of sound economic policies and reforms that […]

Higher prices of cooking oil, beef, and bread have pushed food inflation to a 14-month high of 8.8 percent, straining the budgets of households that are already grappling with costly energy. Twelve-month Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) inflation data shows that the cost of cooking oil has had the sharpest jump among the major food […]

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has stated that it would not supply foreign exchange (FX) to BDCs in the nation. CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele, who made the announcement at the conclusion of the Monetary Policy Committee meeting in Abuja on Tuesday, accused the operators of dollarizing the economy. He also charged the operators with […]

The government in Tanzania is reviewing a newly imposed levy on mobile money following a public outcry. The tax, which took effect on 15 July after being approved by the country’s parliament, imposes additional charges every time payments are sent or received via phones. But on Monday, Finance Minister Mwigulu Nchemba said President Samia Suluhu […]

As public outcry continues growing over newly introduced mobile phone transaction levies, Tanzanian mobile phone users bow brace for a new levy on the sim cards expected to start next month. The government imposed the levy in the current budget as telecoms complain about high taxes imposed on them about top up vouchers, whereby it […]

African leaders gathered in Abidjan, Ivory Coast to plead with the World Bank for new aid plans to finance their economic recovery and better access to vaccines against Covid-19. The leaders are seeking $100 billion for a pivotal World Bank fund that provides assistance to the lowest-income nations, as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to pile […]

Tanzanians now have to pay more every time they send or receive money via their phones A new so-called “patriotism levy” imposed on mobile money transfers in Tanzania has come into effect amid criticism. The tax, which was approved last month by the country’s parliament, will impose additional charges every time payments are sent or […]

The Government is working on modalities that will allow pension funds to invest their monies offshore, Finance and Economic Development Minister Mthuli Ncube has said. The industry has been lobbying the State for permission to invest local pensioners’ contributions out of the country, especially following the re-emergence of significant inflationary pressures during the 2018/2019 currency […]

Nigeria’s tax authority asked lenders to freeze MultiChoice Group Ltd.’s local bank accounts to recover 1.8 trillion naira ($4.4 billion) in alleged tax arrears. The decision came after South African-based MultiChoice refused to grant access to its servers for an audit, Nigeria’s Federal Inland Revenue Service said in a statement on Thursday. “MultiChoice Nigeria and […]

Zimbabwe’s central bank announced the introduction of a new 50-dollar note, the country’s highest denomination, worth only around $0.60 in US currency. Insufficient to pay even for a loaf of bread, the bill’s entry into circulation has revived memories of hyperinflation seen more than a decade ago in the southern African nation. As price growth […]

French President Emmanuel Macron has inaugurated the France-Nigeria Business Council – a private sector initiative to enhance business relations between the two countries. The council has Abdul Samad Rabiu, Founder/Chairman of Nigeria’s BUA Group as its inaugural President. The newly inaugurated council also has Gilbert Chagoury of Chagoury Group, Mike Adenuga of Globacom and Conoil, […]

Binance, the world’s biggest crypto-currency exchange, has been banned by the UK. The UK’s financial regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has ruled that the firm cannot conduct any “regulated activity” in the UK. It also issued a consumer warning about Binance, advising people to be wary of adverts promising high returns on crypto asset […]

South Africa’s headline consumer price inflation rose to a 30-month high in May, driven by surging food and fuel prices, official data showed Wednesday. Inflation reached 5.2 percent year-on-year in May, and up from 4.4 percent in April, according to Statistics South Africa. “This is the highest reading since November 2018 when the rate was […]

The Director-General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has called for lower trade costs to boost Africa’s economic recovery. Okonjo-Iweala said this at the opening ceremony of the 2021 meetings of the African Development Bank (AfDB), that record-high trade costs hinder the movement of goods. She was quoted calling for debt relief […]

Nigeria has exported commodities worth $2.48 billion to South Africa in the past 24 months with Nigeria accounting for 64 per cent of South Africa’s trades in West Africa. Nigeria’s Consular General to South Africa, Abdulmalik Ahmed said irrespective of recent challenges, the relationship between the two countries remains cordial. He noted that South Africa […]

Kenya has received a $750 million loan from the World Bank to support its budget and help the East African economy recover from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the multilateral lender said on Friday. The Kenyan government has been pushing hard to secure foreign funding to fill a wide budget deficit before its financial […]

The waiver is expected to help achieve target of 80 percent of internet users by 2025The waiver is expected to help achieve target of 80 percent of internet users by 2025 The Minister of Finance and Planning, Dr Mwigulu Nchemba has proposed to waive value-added tax on smartphones tablets and modems to encourage the use […]

Zimbabwe’s mines said that they had kicked-off crunch meetings with banks, government and the Minerals Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe (MMCZ) to find a solution after operators reported that their funds had been withheld in MMCZ’s foreign accounts by the United States government. The country’s mines export minerals through the state-run MMCZ, which was slapped with […]

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) said that its digital currency might be launched by the end of 2021. Mrs Rakiya Mohammed, an Information Technology Specialist with CBN, made the disclosure at an online news briefing at the end of the Bankers Committee meeting. “Before the end of the year, the Central Bank will be […]

The demand for camel milk has gone up in Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda in the past year amid a quest to boost immunity against COVID-19, industry leaders said Tuesday during World Milk Day. Bashir Warsame, founder of the Nairobi-based camel milk and camel yoghurt producer Nuug Camel Milk, said camel milk demand by households and […]

The funds comprise a loan of $36.77 million from the Bank Group’s African Development Fund and a $47.45 million ADF grant The project is part of the Rwanda Universal Energy Access Program (RUEAP), which seeks among other goals, to achieve universal access to electricity by 2024 The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank […]

The credit will provide six million people with basic drinking water services and 1.4 million people access to improved sanitation services. The World Bank has approved $700 million dollars for the Nigeria Sustainable Urban and Rural Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene Programme (SURWASH). It made the announcement in a statement on its website in Washington […]

The African Development Bank Group (www.AfDB.org) and the Government of Tanzania have signed loan agreements totalling $140 million to finance the construction of the 50-megawatt Malagarasi hydropower plant in Western Tanzania. The agreements cover a $120 million sovereign loan from the Bank and $20 million from the Africa Growing Together Fund (AGTF), administered by the […]