Archives

The New Guard
Niger, Tunisia, Ivory Coast, South Africa

Every Wednesday, Africa Intelligence spotlights a new generation of movers and shakers in business and politics.

Niger Karim Soumana, Bazoum's soon-to-be ambassador in Qatar

Tunisia Faouzi Daas, Kais Saied's strategic adviser and upcoming MP

Ivory Coast Bakary Traoré, guardian of Ivory Coast's forests

South Africa Leon Schreiber, the opposition MP embarrassing the ANC

DRC
Bridgeway Foundation takes fight to ADF with backing from Washington and Kampala

Bridgeway Foundation is a member of the camp of those fighting the armed group known as the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF). The US foundation claims to have helped several fighters defect from the group, and that it is running a private intelligence, lobbying and public relations operation.

France, Gabon
French courts speed up Santullo probe

While in Switzerland the investigation into alleged bribery of Gabonese officials by Sericom, a construction firm founded by Guido Santullo, is well under way, France, acting on Gabonese lawsuits, has just summoned several former associates of the late Italian businessman.

Togo
Lucrative cargo tracking business at heart of Antaser Afrique's legal battle with Togo firm

Antaser Afrique, a Belgian firm that officially monitors maritime imports for Togo, is engaged in a legal battle with its former partners in the country. The dispute centers on control of the strategic market for electronic cargo tracking notes.

Ivory Coast
BNP Paribas pulls out of Ivory Coast

BNP Paribas's management will leave is Ivorian branch Banque Internationale pour le Commerce et l'Industrie de Côte d'Ivoire (BICICI) on 15 February, after it was purchased by the Ivorian state in September.

East Africa
Helsinki woos East Africa to offset Ukraine war fallout

Western sanctions on Moscow have slashed Finland's exports to Russia, forcing Finnish firms to look for business elsewhere. Helsinki has it sights set on East Africa, where it hopes to open up new trading opportunities.

Somalia
President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud to travel to Doha

Though he was wary of Qatar at first for financially supporting his predecessor, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud will travel to Doha in March just before the UN's LDC5 conference.

DRC, South Africa
Pretoria launches airlift to supply its peacekeepers in DRC

The South African army is operating a cargo plane chartered by Sapsan Airline that leaves Pretoria on an almost daily basis to supply its peacekeepers in eastern DR Congo. In a context of high tension between Kinshasa and M23 rebels, the South African military wants to be prepared for any eventuality.

Egypt
Sisi plans fresh green bond issue to finance his infrastructure projects

The Egyptian government is preparing to issue new "green" bonds to finance its sustainable development projects. Although it is still struggling to cope with the repercussions of the war in Ukraine, Egypt is using every possible means to attract foreign investment.

Libya
LIA sovereign wealth fund opens mysterious branch in London

The Libyan Investment Authority (LIA) sovereign wealth fund opened a subsidiary in London on 16 January. LIA officials have not commented on the purpose of the subsidiary, which is called the Libyan Foreign Investment Company, or the identity of its directors.