First Independent Mena Newspaper
South Africa’s official unemployment rate rose to 33.5% in the first half this year as the economic outlook worsens. The country, once Africa’s largest economy, has failed to curb inequalities amid widespread criminality and infrastructure bottlenecks. Unemployment in South Africa is now one of the highest globally and has exceeded Covid-19 levels, when a lockdown […]
In 2023, banking intermediation was at the heart of Mauritanian banks’ operations, as they leveraged their deposit-taking and lending activities to support growth. According to the Central Bank of Mauritania’s 2023 annual report, this activity accounted for 65.1% of the banking sector’s total consolidated assets. Customer deposits at the 17 banks operating in the country […]
Morocco has decided to speed up desalination projects to meet growing demand for drinking water and irrigation amidst a persistent drought. By 2030, 50 pc of the country’s drinking water will be supplied by desalination plants. Several foreign investors have shown interest in Morocco’s ambitious projects, including U.S. Company “Energy Recovery” which has signed lately […]
Discussions among the BRICS member countries continue over the formation of a united currency that would facilitate trade between BRICS nations and decrease reliance on the ‘greenback’, though whether this ambitious plan succeeds is far from certain, many analysts say. In May, BRICS member countries India and Nigeria announced they had officially signed an agreement […]
Morocco’s electric vehicle battery ecosystem is gaining momentum with the announcement of a new $363.5 million investment to be injected by China’s BTR New Material Group in its second plant to be built in Mohammed VI Tangier Tech City. In its latest press release, the Shenzhen-based firm said its 2nd factory in Morocco will produce […]
Africa’s exports increased by 16.8% in 2023 compared with a year earlier, reaching US$665.4 billion, whereby this significant growth was primarily driven by minerals and IT services, according to a recently published Africa Export Competitiveness Report 2023. According to the report, the world economy recovered considerably from the Covid-19 pandemic in 2023, as the total […]
Chadian Foreign Minister Abderaman Koulamallah has “reiterated his country’s support for the Royal Initiative to promote access to the Atlantic Ocean for the countries of the Sahel.” In a joint Communiqué issued Wednesday in Dakhla following a meeting with his Moroccan peer Nasser Bourita, the Chadian official “underlined the interest shown by the two Heads […]
Imagine booking a safari in Kenya, outsourcing IT work to Egypt, or enjoying a Moroccan-designed app on your phone. Sounds like a typical day in our interconnected world, right? Well, it’s more significant than you might think. In a surprising turn of events, three African countries have muscled their way into the world’s top 40 […]
Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have agreed to reopen their border after successful negotiations that have resolved a trade dispute between the two countries that led Zambia to briefly close its border over the weekend. Zambia announced on Sunday (11 August) it had closed its border with its northern neighbor after the […]
Kenya’s main aviation union has announced a strike starting next Monday, in protest against a proposed deal with India’s Adani Airport Holdings to develop Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA). The union claims the agreement could lead to job losses and an influx of non-Kenyan workers. The Kenyan government insists the airport is not for sale […]