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31 Aug 2019

A digital marketplace for investors in Africa

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Agriculture & Fisheries

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Within the African Investment Forum, the African Development Bank launched a new digital platform to better connect private sector representatives and potential sponsors with investment opportunities in Africa. The database has a bilingual interface and provides information on private and public-private partnership projects, investment opportunities in Africa as well as many other investment support services, trainings, guidelines and tips. Read on

15 Jul 2019

The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA)

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African leaders have reached an important milestone in creating a united African market with the launch of the operational phase of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) on 7 July 2019 in Niamey, Niger. The 54-nation trade bloc will unite 1.3 billion people and create a USD 3.4 trillion economic bloc. It is the largest trade bloc to be created since the the World Trade Organization was founded in 1995. It is set to become the biggest integrated market worldwide uniting some 2.5 billion people by 2050. Read on

07 Jul 2019

West Africa in the African Continental Free Trade Area

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Cross-border co-operation

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Regional integration

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ECOWAS

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African leaders launched the operational phase of the new African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) at the 12th Extraordinary African Union Summit on 7 July in Niamey, Niger. The 54-nation trade bloc is set to become the biggest integrated market worldwide, uniting some 2.5 billion people by 2050. The African Union’s goal is to make the free-trade area instruments operational by July 2020. To date, 27 countries have ratified the AfCFTA instruments. What's in it for West Africa? Read on

06 Jul 2019

Sahel: Fighting inequality to respond to development and security challenges

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Oxfam published a new report on rising inequality in the Sahel. Beyond the many security, humanitarian and environmental challenges, the problems in the Sahel have their roots in the inequality and the strong sense of injustice among the region’s people, particularly young people. The report offers a series of recommendations in order to reduce inequality and deliver on the SDGs. They notably call upon Sahelian countries to uphold their commitments and allocate at least 20% of their national budgets to education and 15% to health. Moreover, the G5 Sahel should place more emphasis on development and governance. Read on

29 Jun 2019

ECOWAS summit focuses on security issues

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ECOWAS leaders gathered at the 55th Ordinary Session of the Authority of Heads of State and Government on 29 June in Abuja, Nigeria. Taking stock of 44 years of co-operation, they committed to consolidating the region’s integration. However, security challenges continue to undermine West Africa’s integration efforts. An ECOWAS extraordinary summit will be held on 14 September 2019 in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso to better co-ordinate the fight against terrorism. Read on

28 Jun 2019

Swiss Africa Business Innovation Initiative

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Children & Youth

Development co-operation

Economy

Industry

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Switzerland

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The Swiss Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research has launched an initiative to support entrepreneurs and start-up companies active in the fields of mobile health, pharmacometrics, innovative financing or digital humanities (knowledge transfer) in sub-Saharan Africa. More particularly, the Swiss Africa Business Innovation Initiative (SABII) aims to boost the entrepreneurial know-how and exposure of sub-Saharan graduate students. Read on

26 Jun 2019

The AfCFTA is laudable, but its imminent benefits are overstated

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Cross-border co-operation

Development co-operation

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This op-ed by Archie Matheson, published on the African Arguments blog, suggests that the intra-African trade benefits of the new African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) will take time and might be much less significant than thought. “Therefore, it is imperative that the project does not detract energy and resources from initiatives that are having more immediate impacts on intra-African trade and economic growth,” the author concludes. Read on

13 May 2019

Switzerland, BCEAO support financial inclusion in the UEMOA area

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Switzerland is partnering with the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO) to support the implementation of a regional financial inclusion strategy in the UEMOA area. The two partners aim to develop regional financial education programmes and targeted information campaigns, in particular for women, youth and rural populations. In particular, they plan to integrate financial education modules into school and university programmes. Read on

28 Feb 2019

Nigeria: President Buhari wins second term

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Following a last-minute postponement, Nigeria’s general elections were eventually held on 23 February. Incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari was re-elected in the first round for a second four-year mandate with 55.6% of votes (15.2 million people). His closest rival, former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar gained 41.2% of votes (11.3 million people). Abubakar rejected the results released by the Independent National Election Commission (INEC), denouncing the vote as a “sham election” and setting up a legal team to challenge results. Read on

27 Feb 2019

West Africa’s growth prospects remain strong

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The economic outlook of West Africa is promising. Six West African countries [Côte d’Ivoire (3), Senegal (5), Burkina Faso (6), Ghana (8), Benin (9) and Guinea(10)] ranked in the top 10 in Africa in 2018 in terms of real GDP growth. The West African economy is projected to grow by 3.6% in 2019, slightly below the continental average of 4%. Read on

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Economy

A digital marketplace for investors in Africa

The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA)

West Africa in the African Continental Free Trade Area

Sahel: Fighting inequality to respond to development and security challenges

ECOWAS summit focuses on security issues

Swiss Africa Business Innovation Initiative

The AfCFTA is laudable, but its imminent benefits are overstated

Switzerland, BCEAO support financial inclusion in the UEMOA area

Nigeria: President Buhari wins second term

West Africa’s growth prospects remain strong

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