First Independent Mena Newspaper
Norway, South Korea, the United Kingdom, and the United States have officially launched a multi-donor “fund of funds”, known as FASA, whose aim is to address the financing challenges faced by agricultural small and medium-sized enterprises (agri-SMEs) across Africa. Over the next 10 years, the “Financing for Agricultural Small and Medium Enterprises in Africa” Fund, […]
Saudi Arabia promised $41 billion worth of investments in Sub-Saharan Africa, Saudi finance minister Mohammed bin Abdullah Al-Jadaan said. The investments include a $1 billion development program for Africa, $5 billion for startups from the Saudi Development Fund over the next decade, and $10 billion in financing from the Saudi Export-Import Bank. Additionally, private sector […]
Sweden has joined the Netherlands and Luxembourg in making a significant contribution to Africa’s financial development, pledging 50 million Swedish crowns ($4.8 million) to the African Development Bank’s Capital Market Development Trust Fund (CMDTF). This investment, channeled through Sweden’s International Development Agency, aims to strengthen and integrate Africa’s regional financial markets. The initiative serves multiple […]
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF), a global financial crime watchdog, has included Algeria in the list of money laundering & terrorism financing countries. The FATF has made the decision during its plenary meeting held lately in Paris with the participation of delegates from the FATF’s Global Network of over 200 jurisdictions and observers from […]
The IMF expects the Sub-Saharan African economy to grow by 3.6% in 2024 and 4.2% in 2025, noting that growth remains “subdued and uneven.” Resource-intensive countries continue to grow at about half the rate of the rest of the region, with oil exporters struggling the most, the IMF said in its regional economic outlook. “Factors […]
The draft budget for 2025 provides for an array of measures to curb the impact of imported inflation on the citizens’ purchasing power, including wage hikes, cancelation of VAT and customs duties on some basic foodstuff, and subsidies. Under the new budget, monthly salaries lower than 6000 will be exempted from the income tax, while […]
One billion dollars has been raised for Lebanon and its army at the International Conference in Support of Lebanon’s People and Sovereignty held in Paris, French diplomacy announced on Thursday. “In the face of the war’s toll, participants responded to the United Nations’ appeal and announced $1 billion in aid, including $800 million in humanitarian […]
The International Finance Corporation has announced a $37 million investment in Morocco’s logistics service provider BLS to support the company’s growth strategy and strengthen Morocco’s position as a regional logistics and trade hub. The IFC funding will help BLS finance its expansion plans, which include creating an estimated 500 new jobs by 2030 through the […]
The Moroccan government increased the budget allocated for defense to 133 billion dirhams ($13.5 bln) as it prepares to promote defense industries and upgrade equipment, as shown in the draft budget for 2025. This year, Morocco’s defense budget was at 124 billion dirhams, highlighting the country’s efforts to modernize its army with state-of-the art technologies. […]
Morocco’s 2025 budget has allocated 340 billion dirhams ($34.5 bln) to public investments, up 1.5% from last year. The investments would focus on key sectors such as renewable energies, telecommunications, housing, farming, electricity, water, phosphates, roads, and transports, according to the draft budget. The 2025 assumes a 4.6% growth rate in 2025, up from 3.3% […]