The microfinance market in Sub-Saharan Africa is expected to achieve growth rates of 10-20% in 2015, according to the Microfinance Market Outlook by responsAbility Investments.
The Franco-American Alliance for Islamic Finance (FAAIF) and the African Islamic Economic Foundation (AFRIEF) have joined forces to promote Islamic finance in Africa.
Tunisia is planning to issue $1.75bn of dollar-denominated and Islamic bonds in 2015 as it seeks funds to revive economic growth, according to the central bank governor Chadli Ayari.
The Egyptian Exchange (EGX) will start trading on the first exchange traded fund (ETF) on EGX 30 index in the Egyptian market on Wednesday, January 14, 2015.
Access Power MEA, a power project developer focused on the Middle East and Africa, and EREN, a renewable energy developer, have launched Access Infra Africa, a vehicle that will invest in the early stage development of power projects in Africa.
Old Mutual has acquired a 23.3% stake in UAP Holdings, an East and Central African financial services company with a presence in six countries, for KES 8.88 bn ($97.6m).
Standard Chartered has announced the closure of its institutional cash equities, equity research and equity capital markets (ECM) activities, as the banking group continues to exit or reconfigure non-core and underperforming businesses.
TriLinc Global Impact Fund has recently approved around $3m in trade finance transactions to companies in South Africa and Zambia.
Whilst equities were in the red in 2014, it was a strong year for Africa bond indices, according to Tim Edwards, Senior Director, Index Investment Strategy at S&P; Dow Jones Indices.
GEMfonds, a UK-based investment management company, has revealed it plans to launch a $500m Nigeria-focused infrastructure fund in June 2015, alongside Sigrun, a Madrid-based investment banking firm, and The Infrastructure Bank (TIB), a partly Nigeria’s government-owned dedicated infrastructure bank.
The Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa, Carlos Lopes has called on the international community to consider debt cancellation for Ebola-affected countries as this would create the right conditions for recovery in their post-crisis phase.
Eczellon Capital, an investment bank operating in the Nigerian and other West African markets, has launched a West Africa-focused private equity fund with a target size of $250m.
Africa is a very significant region for the depositary receipt market, according to Anthony Moro, Head of EMEA at BNY Mellon's Depositary Receipts business.
National Bank of Canada (NBC), the sixth largest bank in Canada, has acquired 9.5% stake in AfrAsia Bank - its first investment deal in Africa.
