Business Features Finance Headlines

AES charts a new path, but currency dreams face reality check

In a dramatic pivot away from traditional regional alliances, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger have deepened their collaboration under the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), aiming to reclaim sovereignty and reshape their economic future, including through the planned launch of common currency. Born out of frustration with ECOWAS and external pressures, the AES is fast-tracking […]

Business Finance

The African currency rollercoaster ride: struggling against super-strong US dollar

As the global economy sinks into another period of crisis, African currencies are depreciating against the US dollar and rising import costs are adding to inflationary pressures. With around half of all international trade invoiced in dollars, a stronger greenback hurts consumers across the world — including in Africa — that use dollars to pay […]

Business Finance

Forex: falling euro drags CFA franc down, importing inflation and deepening debt

With the euro having recently declined to less than one US dollar, this development has a direct impact on the CFA franc, which has a fixed exchange rate parity value with the single European currency. The euro’s continued to slide toward the US dollar since 5 July has resulted in a 20-year low, according to […]

Africa Headlines International

Ghana to join regional bloc’s new currency

The government of Ghana has announced it plans to join the West African currency that will replace the CFA franc in 2020 in eight regional countries. The adoption of the new currency, which is called the Eco, would make Ghana the bloc’s largest economy, ahead of neighboring Côte d’Ivoire, but it urged members of the […]