The Minister of Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola, has advised communities yearning for infrastructure to be ready to give up some land to pave way for the constructions. Fashola said this at the inspection of the new 1.2km two-lane Ikom bridge, which is to replace the old one-lane bridge built during the colonial era, …read more →
AFRICAReports
Nigeria To Borrow from Credit Suisse, Standard Chartered to Fund Next Stage of Railway Projects
Nigeria is negotiating a raft of loans from Chinese and European lenders to fund railway projects in the country, transportation minister Rotimi Amaechi said. Amaechi said Standard Chartered had agreed to fund $3.02 billion for the ongoing Port Harcourt-to-Maiduguri railway project. He had previously told Bloomberg that the government was in talks with Standard Chartered …read more →
Ghana to Fund Projects, Refinance Debt With $2 Billion Social Bonds
Ghana is planning to issue green and social bonds of up to $2 billion by November, which would make it the first African country to sell debt to fund development programs. The West African second-biggest economy, which is planning to borrow up to $5 billion on international markets this year, would use the proceeds from these sustainable bonds to refinance …read more →
Herbert Wigwe is African Banker of the Year for the second time, consecutively
The Group Managing Director/CEO of Access Bank PLC Herbert Wigwe has been recognised as the African Banker of the Year at the 2021 edition of the African Banker Awards. A winner of one of the most prized categories at the Awards ceremony for the second consecutive year, Wigwe was recognised for his stellar leadership in …read more →
WTO Chief, Okonjo-Iweala Warns Nigeria, Other Africans On Danger of Rising Debt Profile
The Director-General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has expressed concern about rising national debts, warning that majority of countries in the continent face a high risk of falling into a debt trap. Okonjo-Iweala observed that the current debt burden pre-dated COVID-19 but was worsened by the pandemic. Noting that “prevention is better …read more →
Access Bank Launches Women Empowerment Programme In Nigeria & Eight Other African States
Access Bank Plc has unveiled the third edition of its Womenpreneur Pitch-a-ton Africa programme as part of the bank’s mandate to empower female entrepreneurs with financial and business skills, The Womenpreneur Pitch-a-ton Africa programme is designed to provide female owned businesses across Africa an opportunity to access finance, world-class business training as well as mentoring …read more →
Lagos Is Issuing Fresh N85 Billion Bonds To Secure the Future of its Infrastructure
The Lagos State House of Assembly said it approved the state government’s request to issue fresh bonds and take a bank loan because of the relief it would bring to the state. Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu had asked the state legislators to approve a N85 billion special dispensation for bond redemption and for bridge loan. In …read more →
MTN to Invest N640bn In Nigeria to Expand Broadband Access
MTN Nigeria plans to invest N640 billion (approximately US$1.5 billion) over the next three years to expand broadband access across the continent’s most populous country, in line with the federal government’s 2020-2025 National Broadband Plan and in support of MTN Group’s strategy, Ambition 2025: Leading digital solutions for Africa’s progress. “Nigeria is one of our most important markets. …read more →
WTO Head Says South Africa, Senegal, Rwanda And Nigeria Considered as Vaccine Production Hubs
Zurich (Reuters) – Africa is working with the European Union and other partners to help create regional vaccine manufacturing hubs in South Africa, Senegal and Rwanda, with Nigeria under consideration, World Trade Organization Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said. “We have now seen that over-centralization of vaccine production capacity is incompatible with equitable access in a crisis …read more →