Helios Towers operates one of Africa’s independent telecommunications tower platforms. Standard Bank, Africa’s largest bank by assets and market capitalisation, has partnered with Helios Towers to provide a $29 million (R479 million) Social Documentary Credit Facility. According to the financial services company, this transaction marks Standard Bank’s first Documentary Credit Facility structured in a Sustainable…
Bridge Bank Group Côte d’Ivoire launched an initial public offering on the BRVM, offering 10 million shares at 6,750 CFA francs each in one of the regional exchange’s largest listings in recent years. The sale represents 20% of the bank’s capital and is expected to raise 67.5 billion CFA francs, or about $118 million. The…
Libreville — The World Bank Group (WBG) has appointed Mr. Sylvain Kakou as Country Manager for the Republic of Gabon. This appointment reflects the WBG’s commitment to strengthening country-level leadership and enhancing the development impact of its programs. In his new role, Mr. Kakou will work to strengthen partnerships with the government, private sector, civil…
The World Bank has abandoned its target of directing 45 percent of its financing to projects that help tackle climate change, prompting warnings that poorer countries – especially in Africa – could receive less support to adapt to a warming world. The bank’s five-year Climate Change Action Plan expired on Tuesday. Last year it put…
The World Bank approved an additional $163 million for a social cohesion project in Benin, Côte d’Ivoire and Togo, as northern border regions face pressure from insecurity, climate shocks and displacement. The financing will support the Social Cohesion Project for the Northern Gulf of Guinea, known as COSO. The project aims to strengthen vulnerable communities,…
Standard Bank has become the first African-based lender authorised to clear renminbi transactions on the continent, a step that deepens the financial plumbing connecting Africa to China and moves more of their trade off the US dollar. The bank, the largest in Africa by assets, said on Friday it had been jointly authorised with the…
BISSAU — Guinea-Bissau’s economy demonstrated notable resilience in 2025, according to the World Bank Group’s Guinea-Bissau Economic Update (Spring 2026), released today. Real GDP expanded 5.8% in 2025, buoyed by a strong cashew harvest and farmgate prices that supported rural incomes and private consumption. Yet beneath this encouraging headline, the country faces mounting structural pressures…
Lesaka Technologies has extended the long-stop date for its R1.1-billion acquisition of Bank Zero by nearly six months, to 31 January 2027, as the dual-listed fintech waits on the last of the regulatory consents needed to close the transaction. In a filing, Lesaka said it agreed with the sellers on 11 June to move the…
An employee counts genuine South Korean 50,000 won banknotes in this arranged photograph at the Counterfeit Notes Response Center of KEB Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Aug. 14, 2017. The won advanced for the first day in four as top U.S. national security officials sought to damp down talk of am imminent war with North Korea following days…
Standard Bank Connect aims for eSIM to be a meaningful share of its subscriber base by the end of 2026. Mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) Standard Bank Connect has introduced its eSIM offering. An eSIM is a digital SIM embedded directly into compatible smartphones and devices. It allows customers to activate mobile services digitally and…
