Oseyiza Oogbodo Blog

Two of Africa’s largest mobile operators and mobile money providers, Orange Group (www.Orange.com) and MTN Group (www.MTN.com), have announced a joint venture, Mowali (mobile wallet interoperability), to enable interoperable payments across the continent. 

Representatives of 14 countries in East Africa have agreed that the African Continental Free Trade Area, the AfCFTA, represents a unique opportunity to promote regional integration.

A new book by McKinsey (https://www.McKinsey.com/) confirms that Africa is poised for economic acceleration, akin to the Asian boom.

Protea Hotels (ProteaHotels.com) by Marriott, part of Marriott International, Inc. (NASDAQ: MAR) (www.Marriott.com), has announced the signing of Protea Hotel by Marriott Accra, Kotoka Airport, the brand’s second hotel in Ghana and the first Protea Hotel by Marriott in the capital city of Accra.

Rwanda Rugby Federation (RRF) (www.RwandaRugby.com) will hold elections on Sunday, November 25 to elect a new executive committee to steer the body for next term.

The 2018 Open Doors report on international education has revealed that the United States hosted 1.09 million international students during the 2017/2018 academic year.  This marks a 1.5% increase over the prior year.  The number of Sub-Saharan African students hit a record high at 39,479, marking a 4.6% increase over the prior year.

Ecobank Transnational Incorporated, ETI, the Lomé-based parent company of the Ecobank Group (www.Ecobank.com), has announced the successful close of a $200m syndicated loan facility.

TAB Finance, a new microfinance bank licensed by the Central Bank of the Republic of Guinea, has joined Oradian’s (www.Oradian.com) global community of visionary financial institutions.

Child marriage will cost African countries tens of billions of dollars in lost earnings and human capital, says a new World Bank report.

The African Development Bank's (www.AfDB.org) Board of Directors has approved two loans worth €235.763 million for the completion of construction work on Thwake Dam on Thwake River in southern Kenya (https://bit.ly/2DxMe2W).

Three people have been announced as the joint winners of the 2018 cycle of the Al Sumait Prize for African Development in the field of Health in recognition of their exemplary work in health improvement on the African continent.

The man hanging around Bamidele-Thorpe Plaza was conspicuous in a suspicious manner though he was well dressed and young and had an innocent look.

The Board of Directors, African Development Bank (www.AfDB.org), has approved its third equity investment of US$40 million in Africa Infrastructure Investment Fund (AIIF3), a closed-ended pan-African infrastructure fund managed by South Africa-based Africa Infrastructure Investment Managers (AIIM).

Marriott Hotels (www.MarriottHotels.com), in partnership with TED, hosted its first ever TED Fellows Salon in Egypt, sparking meaningful conversations on Egypt’s Cultural Past and Present at the Marriott Mena House, Cairo.

The World Bank Group (www.WorldBank.org) has announced L’Afrique Excelle, a six-month business acceleration program designed to support the 20 most promising growth stage technology startups operating in Francophone Africa.

Endeavor Management, a Houston-based international oil and gas management consulting and business advisory firm, has announced a strategic alliance with Centurion Law Firm (www.Centurionlg.com), a legal and business advisory group with offices in several African countries.