First Independent Mena Newspaper
Africa is hemorrhaging over $580 billion every year through corruption and illicit financial outflows, according to the African Development Bank (AfDB), jeopardizing economic growth and worsening the continent’s nearly $2 trillion debt crisis. AfDB President Akinwumi Adesina, speaking in a recent Bloomberg interview, likened the situation to pouring water into a leaking bucket — “It […]
Morocco’s National Railway Office (ONCF) has secured a $225 million loan from German development bank KfW to modernize Casablanca region railway network. The German funding follows a $350 million loan approved by the World Bank in June, both supporting the “Service Intra-métropolitain Rapproché” (SIR) program. The SIR seeks to establish an electrified passenger rail service, […]
IBA Group, a multinational software service provider and Berexia payment, a leading technology services company, have joined efforts to launch SoftPOS solution in Morocco in cooperation with Al Barid Bank and Royal Air Maroc (RAM). SoftPOS, or Software Point of Sale, is a software-based solution that turns any NFC-enabled smartphone or tablet into a secure […]
Libya’s Speaker of Parliament Aguila Saleh met with Central Bank Governor Najee Issa and his deputy Marai al-Barassi in Benghazi on Wednesday, August 20, to discuss planned economic reforms and monetary policy. The talks, attended by Deputy Speakers Fawzi al-Nuwairi and Misbah Douma, centered on tackling the country’s ongoing liquidity crisis and advancing electronic payment […]
Tunisia was flagged among four other African nations by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for prolonged delays in completing their mandatory Article IV consultations. The other African nations are: Sudan, Eritrea, Liberia, and Senegal, among 13 member states globally. Article IV consultations are annual economic assessments conducted by IMF staff to evaluate a country’s macroeconomic […]
African startups achieved a two-year funding record in July 2025, raising $550 million across 61 deals worth at least $100,000 each, with Morocco emerging as a notable contributor outside the traditional “Big Four” markets. The exceptional performance was driven primarily by two Kenyan energy giants: d.light securing $300 million and Sun King raising $156 million. […]
The Arab Monetary Fund has forecast Libya’s economy to expand by 14.3% in 2025, before moderating to 5.9% the following year, contingent on improved domestic stability and stronger investor confidence. In its latest Arab Economic Outlook report released this week, the Fund attributed the robust growth outlook to the hydrocarbons sector, which provides over 95% […]
Africa’s long-fragmented cross-border payment systems may be on the cusp of transformation, driven by emerging alternatives to Western-dominated networks like SWIFT. The launch of BRICS Pay — a decentralized platform aiming to settle transactions in local currencies — signals a broader push to reduce reliance on the U.S. dollar and challenge the geopolitical sway it […]
Lower-income countries are paying private creditors nearly three times more than they repay China, according to new research by UK-based advocacy group Debt Justice, challenging dominant narratives around global debt. Between 2020 and 2025, 39% of the $354 billion in external debt repayments from 88 low-income countries and small island states will go to private […]
Morocco’s tax revenues rose by 19.1% in the first half of 2025, reaching 186.34 billion dirhams (MMDH), driven primarily by corporate income tax (IS) receipts, which soared 34.7% to 55.98 MMDH. This increase is largely attributed to payments linked to the 2024 fiscal year, the reference year for provisional installments. The rise comes despite a […]