MTN, Africa's biggest mobile operator, is gunning to become Africa's biggest bank. The ambitious business strategy was revealed by MTN CEO Rob Shuter yesterday during the Deloitte Africa in 2018 Outlook conference in Woodmead.
"The core digital service that we have decided to put our money on is Mobile Money," said Shuter.
Mobile Money is really about leveraging the strength of the brand and leveraging the strength of the distribution because we have built a huge informal distribution network for prepaid airtime to bring customers into a transactional banking system."
Ghana’s Central Bank has issued a caution to Ghanaians against trading in digital currencies such as Bit coin. It follows the recent upsurge in trading of the virtual currencies in the West African Country.
Nigeria’s economy is projected to grow by 2.1 percent this year according to the International Monetary Fund. The prediction which represents 0.2 percent from the 1.9 percent projected in October 2017 was contained in Fund's World Economic Outlook Update, released on Monday.
Though, the IMF upgraded its growth forecast for the global economy in 2018 to 3.9 percent, it however downgraded the 2018 and 2019 growth forecasts for sub-Saharan Africa to 3.3 percent respectively.
The African Development Bank provided a much-needed lifeline at a time when it was very difficult to secure budget support loans from anywhere else, as the country struggled with the 2015-2016 economic recession, the Nigerian Government has said.
The President of the African Development Bank, Akinwumi Adesina, has made a compelling case for accelerating Africa’s industrialization in order to create jobs, reduce poverty and promote inclusive economic growth.
Citing data from the Bank’s 2018 African Economic Outlook launched in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, on Wednesday, Adesina said infrastructure projects were among the most profitable investments any society can make as they “significantly contribute to, propel, and sustain a country’s economic growth. Infrastructure, when well managed, provides the financial resources to do everything else.”
Noting that economic diversification is key to resolving many of the continent’s difficulties, he urged African governments to encourage a shift toward labour-intensive industries, especially in rural areas where 70 percent of the continent’s population resides.
Oil Giant Exxon Mobil is set to begin oil exploration in Ghana soon officials in the West African country have confirmed. A petroleum agreement to paveway for the exploration is expected to be signed by the firm with the Ghanaian government and the Ghana National Petroleum Commission in Ghana in the coming days.
Côte d’Ivoire will boost its electricity production through a 44-megawatt hydroelectric power project supported with a €50 million African Development Bank financing loan, approved on in Abidjan.
Located at about 148 km north of Abidjan, the Singrobo-Ahouaty Hydropower Plant Project, to be commissioned in 2021, will support the thermal production of electricity during periods of high demand as well as diversify the country’s energy mix.
Germany and Ghana are hoping to deepen bilateral relations in the next three days as the German President, Frank-Walter Steinmeier begins a three day visit to Ghana on Monday.
