First Independent Mena Newspaper
Morocco is set to become AI gateway for Africa, Europe, and beyond thanks to the Nexus AI Factory to be built in the Kingdom, the first sovereign AI infrastructure platform of its kind in Africa. South Africa and other African countries were competing for this major project, but the international investors and technology giants selected […]
A landmark study by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the World Bank Group’s private sector arm, has placed Morocco’s cultural and creative industries (CCI) under a forensic economic lens — and the findings are striking. Presented on the second day of GITEX Africa 2026 in Marrakech and compiled with support from BearingPoint, the Haut-Commissariat au […]
The Islamic Development Bank has approved a $59.28 million financing to support a rural electrification project in Mauritania, targeting improved access to affordable electricity across several regions. The initiative will focus on the Wilayas of Adrar, Assaba, Inchiri, Brakna, Hodh Chargui, Hodh El Gharbi, and Tagant, with the objective of enhancing equitable and sustainable energy […]
Morocco has adopted its first-ever comprehensive public finance management strategy, setting out a structured reform roadmap to 2032. Drawn up with the support of major international partners and grounded in the findings of a PEFA assessment — the internationally recognized benchmark for evaluating public financial management systems — the framework aims to modernize fiscal governance […]
Bank Al-Maghrib and the Moroccan Capital Market Authority (AMMC) announced on Monday the start of futures trading in financial instruments with first listing of a standard futures contract on the MASI 20 equity index. A futures market is a regulated financial marketplace where participants buy and sell standardized contracts to deliver commodities or securities at […]
On Thursday, South Sudan signed with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)a five-year-finance reform agreement worth $5 million, signaling a decisive pivot towards economic self-reliance and stronger national ownership of fiscal reforms. Under the arrangement, the government will contribute approximately $1 million annually, marking a departure from reliance on donor funding to a government-led and […]
Morocco’s government is spending at least 1.6 billion dirhams ($160 million) a month on measures to cushion households and businesses from higher energy and transport costs, Budget Minister Fouzi Lekjaa said. The support package focuses on subsidies for butane gas, electricity price freezes and financial aid for professional transport operators, Lekjaa told reporters. State support […]
Mauritania has reaffirmed the strength of the country’s treasury, citing an increase in tax revenues of about 30 billion former ouguiyas in the first quarter of 2026 compared with the same period last year. The data were disclosed by Minister of Economic Affairs and Development, Abdallahi Ould Souleimane Ould Cheikh Sidiya, at a press conference […]
The African Development Bank (AfDB) has forecast steady economic growth for Morocco at 4% in 2026 and 4.3% in 2027, following an estimated performance of 4.4% in 2025, according to the institution’s latest report on Africa’s Macroeconomic Performance and Outlook. The projections position Morocco among the continent’s most resilient economies, underpinned by a broad and […]
Casablanca ranked as Africa’s leading financial center in the latest Global Financial Center Index (GFCI 39), underscoring its growing prominence on the continent. The index, published in March 2026 by consultancy Z/Yen Group in partnership with the China Development Institute, ranked Casablanca 49th out of 120 financial centers worldwide. It placed ahead of other African […]