In Focus | Africa
Macron envisions Paris as a global development finance hub

The New Guard
Gabon, Tanzania, Nigeria, Botswana

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

GabonCyril Pellen Aubian, from sustainable development to politics

TanzaniaAmar Shanghavi, from trees to carbon

NigeriaOluseun Onigbinde, transparency first

BotswanaPako Sebetlela wants to breathe fresh life into mining sector

Africa
IMF ready to pay out first $20bn in SDRs to AfDB

The African Development bank should receive $20bn in IMF SDRs in the coming months, as part of a pledge made in 2021 during the Covid-19 crisis by rich nations to reallocate the equivalent of $100bn in SDRs to African countries.

Ethiopia
Paris quietly prepares for Ethiopia's reconstruction

It was only in November that the Ethiopian government and Tigrayan rebels reached a fragile ceasefire agreement ending two years of civil war, but donor countries are already preparing to finance the country's reconstruction.

Egypt
Colas and Orascom bid for €1.7bn Alexandria subway facelift

Egypt has launched a call for tenders for the modernisation of a subway line in the country's second city, and French and Egyptian giants Colas and Orascom are finalising their bids.

Spotlight | Africa, Japan, Tunisia
Japanese diplomats scramble to shore up their TICAD Africa aid summit in Tunis

Japanese diplomats are busy preparing the 8th Tokyo International Conference on African Development to be held next month in Tunis. Japan has been promoting the event but there have been shortcomings in its organisation despite Tokyo's ambitious objectives for the continent.

Mozambique
Six years after being abandoned, Maputo's Bus Rapid Transit project is up and running again

The Mozambican authorities are once again planning a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project, high-capacity buses using dedicated lanes, in the capital Maputo.

Burundi
Builders and contractors blame each other for delays with Jiji and Mulembwe dams

The South African subsidiary of CMC di Ravenna and the Egyptian Orascom have blamed project owner, public company Regideso for project delays.

France, Morocco
Morocco loses seat on UNESCO's executive council, despite DG Audrey Azoulay's backing

Breaking news published on 19/11/21 at 14:30 - Morocco's UNESCO representative Samir Addahre has unexpectedly not been re-elected to the organisation's executive arm. The news is a blow to the diplomatic efforts of Mohammed VI, who is on excellent terms with director general Audrey Azoulay.

Africa
OECD works with World Bank and AfDB to champion fiscal data exchange

The World Bank and the African Development Bank are supporting the recommendations of the OECD on corporate tax evasion.

Tunisia
Washington maintains aid programs and security cooperation with Kais Saied

Although the Biden administration called on the Tunisian president to rapidly restore the country's democratic institutions in mid-August, it has continued to cooperate with Tunis on several fronts, not least via its MCC and USAID development agencies.

Inner circles | Africa, France
AFD head mobilises his networks to boost agency's foreign policy profile

As the Agence Francaise de Dévelopement prepares to have its financial capacities increased by recently adopted development legislation, its head, Rémy Rioux, is putting his connections to work to convince African financial institutions to put greater emphasis on climate change in their development strategies.