Tag Archives: Pan-African

AMA, Technology

Africa Fintech Summit Accra 2025 Welcomes Africa Finance Corporation As A DFI Sponsor

MaraviPost

ACCRA, Ghana, 15 September 2025/African Media Agency/- Africa Fintech Summit is pleased to welcome Africa’s leading infrastructure solution provider, Africa Finance Corporation as the DFI Sponsor for the 14th edition of Africa Fintech Summit (AFTS) 2025, to be held at the Accra international Conference Center (AICC) in Accra, Ghana, from 8-10 October 2025. This announcement follows the publication of AFC’s recent annual report, which highlights the institution’s transformative impact across Africa, where AFC-financed projects have contributed over $50 billion to regional GDP and enabled the creation of 7 million jobs in 36 countries.

AFC has mobilised US$15 billion to power Africa’s growth, electrifying 4.1 million homes, expanding digital access through supporting initiatives such as M-KOPA that connected 1.7 million first-time internet users, and investing in MTN and Airtel to reach over 100 million people with mobile and broadband services. The Corporation’s innovative exit from the Takoradi Port project in Ghana further demonstrated how private capital can be unlocked without compromising development impact. These achievements highlight AFC’s role in laying the foundations for a more inclusive and digital Africa.

 “It is with great delight & gratitude that we are welcoming AFC as our DFI sponsor and speaker for our 14th edition of AFTS in Accra this October. We have said that Africa’s financial inclusion is spurred, or limited, by the necessary infrastructure of connectivity, energy & data processing capability and AFC has been—and continues to be—an impactful, future-orientated, and innovative infrastructure solution provider that powers Africa’s digital future, We are keen to learn from AFC’s executives and create development bank & industry linkage with our startup ecosystem”” said Zekarias Amsalu, Co-Founder & MD of AFTS. 

“Africa’s digital and financial transformation depends on strong foundations — from reliable power and connectivity to fintech solutions that expand access to essential services,” said Begna Gebreyes, AFC’s Director and Head, Heavy Industries, Telecoms & Technology. “At AFC, we combine critical infrastructure with strategic fintech investments to enable businesses to grow, create jobs, and drive inclusion. In Accra, we are engaging with innovators from across the continent to advance collaborative solutions that deliver lasting impact.”

Since its first summit in 2018, the Africa Fintech Summit has become the largest annual financial technology gathering on the African continent.  #AFTSACCRA2025 will bring Keynote Speeches from the host country government & industry thought leaders, closed door roundtables, bilateral meetings, fire side-chats, a VIP dinner for Speakers and invited guests, excellence in FinTech awards ceremony, workshops, Exhibition Booths, Masterclasses for Startup Founders, Alpha Expo Mini Accelerator & Pitch Competition, Ecosystem tours around Accra for the international delegates and more. The event will conclude with happy-hour receptions for delegates and attendees on each date.

As in the past years, the event will be hybrid, with live streaming provided for remote attendees via our website as well as via partnering educational facilities across Africa as part of our industry-academia partnership initiative. Limited in-person tickets to the 14th Edition summit are now available on our website and delegates can secure their tickets with a 15% discount by using AFC15 at checkout at https://africafintechsummit.com/event/afts-accra-2025/.

Distributed by African Media Agency in partnership with Africa Fintech Summit.

About Africa Fintech Summit 

AFTS (https://africafintechsummit.com) is the premier global initiative dedicated to the African fintech ecosystem. AFTS is traditionally hosted in Washington, D.C., each April during the World Bank/IFC annual meeting week and in a different African city every October/November. The summit is being held in a hybrid format, in person in the selected Venue and live virtual delegates from around the world. 

So far AFTS has brought its summits to Washington DC (2025), Nairobi, Kenya(2024), Washington DC(2024), Lusaka, Zambia ( 2023), Washington DC & Prosper T4TA Launch(April 2023), Cape Town, South Africa( 2022), Washington DC (2022), Cairo, Egypt (2021), Virtual(2020), Addis Abeba, Ethiopia(2019), Lagos, Nigeria (2018). The 2025 Summit is scheduled for Accra, Ghana on 8-10 October 2025.

Supported by an advisory board of thought leaders and fintech pioneers, AFTS is a unique space where innovative ideas are debated, investments mobilized, partnership deals signed, and collaborations formed across sectors and geographies. AFTS is organized in partnership between Washington, D.C. based firms, strategic advisory group, Dedalus Global, and Pan-African emerging technologies advisory firm, Ibex Frontier.

About AFC

Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) was established in 2007 to be the catalyst for pragmatic infrastructure and industrial investments across Africa. AFC’s approach combines specialist industry expertise with a focus on financial and technical advisory, project structuring, project development, and risk capital to address Africa’s infrastructure development needs and drive sustainable economic growth.

Eighteen years on, AFC developed a track record as the partner of choice in Africa for investing and delivering on instrumental, high-quality infrastructure assets that provide essential services in the core infrastructure sectors of power, natural resources, heavy industry, transport, and telecommunications. AFC has 45 member countries and has invested over US$15 billion in 36 African countries since its inception. Read further at www.africafc.org

Media contact:

Africa Fintech Summit

Charles Isidi

Head of Marketing and Communications,

charles@africafintechsummit.com

Africa Finance Corporation

Yewande Thorpe

Email: yewande.thorpe@africafc.org

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AMA, Technology

Djamo Finances Secures Its Microfinance License in Côte d’Ivoire

MaraviPost

ABIDJAN, Côte d’Ivoire, 12 September, 2025 /African Media Agency (AMA)/ – Djamo Finances, a subsidiary of the Djamo group and a pioneering digital financial services platform in Francophone Africa, has officially obtained its license as a microfinance institution in Côte d’Ivoire, issued by the Ministry of Finance and Budget.

This regulatory recognition provides Djamo’s clients with an additional guarantee. The company’s governance has also been strengthened to better support and serve the financial needs of its growing customer base.

“Obtaining this license is a key milestone in our mission. It gives us the tools to reinforce customer trust and to become their primary financial partner in managing their daily finances, with regulated and guaranteed services designed to meet local economic realities. Thanks to our digital model, these microfinance services will now be within reach, anywhere, at any time, directly from a smartphone,” said Elfried Didehia, CEO of Djamo Finances.

With this license, Djamo will offer its clients new solutions such as access to credit, interest-bearing savings, and current accounts without limits. These new offerings build on an already strong suite of services that includes salary reception, payments and transfers, budget management, secure savings vaults, and investment. Djamo aims to become the primary financial partner for its clients, providing them with the full range of services they need to manage their finances. For users, this evolution means more simplicity, more security, and more opportunities.

In recent years, Côte d’Ivoire has recorded significant progress in financial inclusion: according to the World Bank, the rate has risen from 41% in 2017 to 58% in 2024. While more people now have access to bank accounts, access to credit and savings remains limited. Djamo’s license is part of this dynamic, enabling millions of people to access credit and savings services, paving the way for more comprehensive and sustainable financial inclusion.

Beyond Côte d’Ivoire, this license reflects Djamo’s Pan-African strategy to build a solid digital financial institution capable of supporting millions of people in their financial journey. Also present in Senegal, where it operates with its digital payment and transfer services, Djamo serves today more than one million users with a seamless, innovative, and 100% digital experience. Building on this milestone, the company reaffirms its vision of creating an accessible, user-centered financial institution

Distributed by African Media Agency on behalf of Djamo.

About Djamo

Djamo is a Pan-African digital financial services platform designed to make financial services simple, accessible, and useful to millions of people excluded from the traditional banking system, particularly in Francophone Africa, where fewer than 25% of adults hold a bank account.

Founded in 2019 in Côte d’Ivoire by Hassan Bourgi and Regis Bamba, Djamo provides, through a single interface, a range of solutions including Visa cards, instant transfers, bill payments, budgeting tools, secure savings vaults, and investments.

Driven by rapid growth, Djamo continues its regional expansion and its ambition to become the financial partner of choice in Francophone Africa.

Learn more: www.djamo.com

Press contact: press@djamo.io

The post Djamo Finances Secures Its Microfinance License in Côte d’Ivoire appeared first on African Media Agency.

AMA, Business

Africa Re-Union Debuts at FNB Art Joburg: Africa Turns the Map, the Table and the Story

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JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, 9 September 2025/African Media Agency (AMA)/- The Africa Re-Union, a landmark artistic initiative, is to be unveiled at the FNB Art Joburg, transforming the fair into a stage of reclamation and imagination, where art became manifesto and memory became movement. It reverses the context of the infamous 1884 Berlin Conference — where Africa was carved and divided without consent — by restoring the continent as author of its own story and architect of its own destiny.

Conceived and co-created by pan-African thinker and founder of Brand Africa, Thebe Ikalafeng, realised on canvas by South African artist Mark Modimola, and anchored in history by Professor Kwesi DLS Prah, the Africa Re-Union is not simply an artwork but a provocative declaration to reimagine the African story and history.

The monumental 3m x 2m canvas inverts Africa—literally and philosophically—using the

Equal Earth projection to restore the continent’s true scale and dignity. Rendered without

borders, it corrects centuries of cartographic distortion that made Africa appear small, coinciding with Africa No Filter, Speak Up Africa and the African Union’s recent call to rectify the misrepresentation of Africa in global maps. The work amplifies the broader Correct the Map campaign, a movement that challenges outdated cartography and calls for equal-area maps that restore Africa’s true size, scale, and significance in the world, and Brand Africa’s broader mission to contribute to the AU 2063 agenda for an integrated, peaceful, and prosperous Africa.

At the heart of the work stands a round table — because here there is no hierarchy, every voice matters equally. Seated are some of the diverse and impactful voices that have shaped Africa’s past and are re-imagining its future: Ghana’s founding president Kwame Nkrumah, Kenyan environmental advocate Wangari Maathai, South Africa’s Nelson Mandela, the frontline independence leaders Julius Nyerere and Kenneth Kaunda, host of hte founding of the OAU, Haile Selassie, Cabo Verde and Guinea Bissau’s Amílcar Cabral, Senegalese thought leaders Léopold Senghor and Cheikh Anta Diop, proponent of the United States of Africa, Muammar Gaddafi, Nigerian writer, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, youth activist Zulaikha Patel, the diaspora W.E.B. Du Bois, Dambisa Moyo and freed slave Sojourner Truth, South African sanusis, South African singer, Mirriam Makeba, the first artist to address the United Nations in 1963, cultural activist and sanusi, Credo Mutwa, pan-African advocate for a brand-led renaissance and convenor, Thebe Ikalafeng, and advocate of the African renaissance, former South African president, Thabo Mbeki. Their presence affirms that Africa’s story has always had authors—even when unrecognised. It’s a gathering of the diaspora, the enslaved whose voices were stolen, the revolutionaries and artists, the freedom fighters and feminists, writers, sanusis, and youth across the private and public sectors and the civil service. Together, they embody the unfinished conversation of Africa’s identity, memory and destiny.

One chair is left empty at the table. It is the most important seat of all — a call to action. It belongs to the unborn child who will inherit this Africa, the ancestor whose spirit still hovers, the diaspora longing to remain rooted, and every African alive today who must rise, sit, and take their rightful place at the table of history. The empty chair is not absence; it is invitation.

In a symbolic act of permanence, the original canvas will not be sold. Ikalafeng has instead gifted it to the UNISA Art Gallery, ensuring the work lives where Africa’s future is being studied and shaped. At the largest university on the continent, Africa Re-Union will be preserved not as a commodity, but as a covenant — a manifesto for generations to come. Only 2063 signed limited reproductions will be made available to ensure the conversation goes far. The number is a reminder of the AU agenda 2063 for an integrated, peaceful and prosperous Africa.

“The Africa Re-Union is not a return to the 1884 Berlin Conference table, but the setting of our own table: equal, sovereign, and unapologetically African. It is both remembrance and declaration: Africa is whole again. This time, no one will define us but us,” says Thebe Ikalafeng, Conceptual Author and Chief Curator of the Africa Re-Union.

“For me, Africa Re-Union is about shifting the canvas of our imagination. It’s to challenge how we see ourselves and how the world sees us; not as fragmented, diminished, or peripheral, but as whole, central and sovereign. This work is both a mirror and a map, and reflects our past, but points us toward a future we must author ourselves,” says Mark Modimola, Visual Artist of the Africa Re-Union.

“Johannesburg has always been a city of convergence, where Africa meets the world. To host the Africa Re-Union at FNB Art Joburg affirms our city’s role as a crucible of ideas, creativity and cultural leadership. This is more than an artwork — it is a call to re-centre Africa in history and in the future,” said Vuyisile Mshudulu, Director of Arts, Culture and Heritage for the City of Johannesburg.

“Correcting the map is about more than geography. It’s about dignity. The way Africa is represented shapes how the world sees us, and how we see ourselves. The Africa Re-Union is a bold and creative way of reclaiming that story, insisting that Africa is seen in its true scale, power and possibility,” said Moky Makura, Executive Director of Africa No Filter.

The Africa Re-Union was unveiled at the 18th FNB Joburg Art Fair opening night, in a live performance led by celebrated actor Aubrey Poo and acclaimed poet Napo Mashiane, with costumes designed by award-winning wardrobe stylist, Sheli Masondo. The performance re-imagines the infamous 1884 Berlin Conference, but this time with African agency, voice, and vision at the table.

The Africa Re-Union, part of the broader Correct the Map campaign, a movement that challenges outdated cartography and calls for equal-area maps that restore Africa’s true size, scale and significance in the world launched in partnership with the Johannesburg Art Gallery (JAG) and Africa No Filter, and supported by Brand South Africa, comes at a historic moment. At a time when Africa No Filter, Speak Up Africa and the African Union have called for the world to redress centuries of distorted representations of Africa’s size in global maps, and as the continent prepares to host its first-ever G20 Summit in 2025, the initiative is a milestone in Africa’s growing agency on the international stage.

The Africa Re-Union is a timely reminder that Africa’s voice, creativity and unity are central to creating a Better Africa for a Better World.

Distributed by African Media Agency on behalf of Africa Re-Union

MEDIA CONTACT: 

South Africa

Maria McCloy

(+27) 082 340 0262

mccloypr@gmail.com

International

Eloine Barry

(+255) 07 49 012 888 

eloine.barry@amediaagency.com

UK

Moky Makura

(+44 7939 485160)

moky@africanofilter.org

Thebe Ikalafeng

(+27 82 447 9130)

thebe@brand.africa

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AMA, Business

Investing in Africa’s Creative Potential for Sustainable Growth Takes Center Stage at Africa Creative Economy Lens 2025 in Kigali

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KIGALI, Rwanda, 2nd September 2025 -/African Media Agency(AMA)/- The Africa Creative Economy Lens (ACEL) 2025 concluded in Kigali after two transformative days, amplifying the message that Africa’s cultural and creative industries (CCIs) are not only a source of identity but a powerful engine for sustainable growth.

Co-hosted by the Africa Creatives Alliance (ACA) and Africa in Colors (AIC), the convening brought together more than 200 participants from across the continent, including policymakers, investors, DFIs, creatives, and development partners. Under the theme “Investing in Africa’s Creative Potential for Sustainable Growth,” ACEL 2025 demonstrated how creativity when matched with the right systems, financing, and policies can become a cornerstone of Africa’s economic future.

H.E. Maj. Gen. (Rtd) Robert Rusoke, Uganda’s High Commissioner, emphasized that Africa’s creative economy is not merely about entertainment but about identity, innovation, commerce, and socio-economic transformation. He noted that by 2030, Africa could command up to 10% of global creative exports, worth over $200 billion “not a distant dream, but a realistic trajectory if we invest strategically today.”

The stakes are clear: by 2050, one in four people will be African, while Sub-Saharan Africa will need 72.6 million new jobs (ILO). With industries spanning film, music, fashion, gaming, design, and digital media, the creative economy offers one of the most viable and sustainable pathways to meet this demand. Yet barriers such as limited access to finance, weak policy frameworks, and fragmented data systems continue to constrain growth.

ACEL 2025 addressed these challenges head-on through co-creation workshops, fireside discussions, and high-level dialogues. Conversations ranged from the intersection of technology and the arts to financial innovations tailored for creative enterprises. Development banks, venture funds, and corporate investors presented financing models and case studies, while policymakers, experts and creatives co-designed solutions around governance, copyright delivery frameworks, and Pan-African Trade and CCIs, focusing on the integration of CCIs into the AfCFTA.

Rita Ngenzi, Founding and Managing Director of ACA, stressed that the creative economy must move from the margins to the center of Africa’s development agenda:

“The Africa Creative Economy Lens has shown us that investing in creativity is not a luxury it is a necessity for Africa’s sustainable growth, employment, and resilience. Every job created in film, fashion, music, art, gaming, or design sparks a ripple effect across industries, communities, and borders. The task now is to translate this vision into tangible pathways that unlock opportunities at scale.”

She added: “Last year in Addis Ababa, we declared that Africa’s creative future would not be written for us, but by us. Here in Kigali, that vision is moving from declaration to action Creativity alone cannot scale without infrastructure, capacity, and investment. The outcomes of the gathering have shown us what becomes possible when creativity is connected to the systems that sustain it: it transforms into industries, jobs, and inclusive growth.”

Delivering remarks on behalf of Rwanda’s Minister of Youth and Arts, Olivier Ngabo, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, reaffirmed Africa’s ownership of its creative future:

“Rwanda is committed to becoming a place where ideas, talent, and innovation converge to create opportunities beyond our borders. This ambition is anchored in our National Strategy for Transformation (NST2), which identifies the creative industries as key drivers of growth, innovation, and youth employment. By prioritizing creativity at the national level, we are signaling to investors, entrepreneurs, and artists alike that Rwanda is a place to do more and to do better.”

He emphasized that progress must be collective and intentional:

“No government, private sector, or creative can succeed in isolation. Together, we must create dignified jobs for Africa’s youth, expand trade, and open global stages for our designers, filmmakers, musicians, and innovators. If we get this right, the creative industries will not only transform our economies but also strengthen Africa’s cultural influence and shape how the world sees us.”

Raoul Rugamba, Founder of Africa in Colors, echoed this call:

“Africa’s creative potential represents a trillion-dollar opportunity. Kigali proved that when artists, investors, hubs, and policymakers come together, creativity moves from untapped potential to a bankable driver of prosperity.”

Adding an ecosystem perspective, Japheth Kawanguzi, ACA Board Member and Founder of MoTIV, noted:

“Africa’s creative economy will not grow by chance, but through intentional ecosystem design. Just as industrial parks anchor manufacturing, innovation districts must anchor Africa’s creative and digital industries. That is why we formed the Africa Creatives Alliance—to connect ecosystems across borders, align with continental policy, and create the scale Africa needs. A single district can transform a city, but only an alliance of ecosystems can transform a continent.”

Panels explored investment unlocking strategies, alternative financing for SMEs, and innovative debt solutions, with insights from the African Development Bank, IFC, Afreximbank, Heva Fund, and others. Fireside chats showcased creative entrepreneurs and enablers that have scaled successfully with the right financing and ecosystem support.

As the world looks to Africa as the next global growth frontier, Kigali affirmed a powerful truth: sustainable development will be defined by industries that harness imagination, innovation, and identity. By investing in Africa’s creative potential, the continent is not only shaping its future—it is redefining its place in the global economy.

Distributed by African Media Agency (AMA) on behalf of Africa Creatives Alliance.

Editor Notes 

About Africa Creatives Alliance 

The Africa Creatives Alliance (ACA) envisions strengthening Africa’s role as a global contributor to the creative economy by building a vibrant, inclusive, and sustainable ecosystem that empowers creatives, drives innovation, and fosters cultural and economic growth across the continent. Our mission is to unite and fortify Africa’s creative economy through strategic partnerships, advocacy, and capacity building, creating a dynamic network of hubs, incubators, and stakeholders that supports sustainable growth, enhances market access, and highlights the cultural and economic value of creativity.

ACA’s approach is grounded in five key pillars: Ecosystem Convening, which brings together creative hubs, incubators, accelerators, and makerspaces, along with government, NGOs, academia, and private sector players, to foster collaboration and drive system-level change; Policy & Advocacy, focused on creating an enabling environment through research-driven policy recommendations that promote intellectual property protections, inclusivity, and equitable access to resources; Education and Capacity Building, leading comprehensive training programs to equip hubs, incubators, accelerators, and makerspaces with the skills and innovative business models needed to support creatives and prepare them for success in global markets; Infrastructure and Enterprise Strengthening, prioritizing investments in physical infrastructure, reducing production costs, and improving market access to enhance productivity across value chains; and Investment, focused on mobilizing capital through tailored investment vehicles, including grants, equity, and impact investment funds, to meet the lifecycle needs of creative enterprises, foster growth, and drive sustainable economic impact. 

For media inquiries

Rita Ngenzi – Founding Director, Africa Creatives Alliance

rngenzi@aca.africa | +256 772 912799

Amanda Gowa – Chief of Staff, Africa Creatives Alliance

agowa@aca.africa I +256 701 050 600

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AMA, Business

ETHICORE Group Launches to Redefine Advocacy Across Africa, GCC and Near East

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Cape Town, Nairobi, Dubai, 1st September 2025-/African Media Agency (AMA)/-ETHICORE Political Lobbying, ranked among the Top 10 firms in Africa and the EMEA region for government affairs and advocacy, today announced the launch of the ETHICORE Group and its first international office in Dubai, UAE – marking its expansion into the GCC and Near East.

Founded in 2009 with a single client – still a partner today – ETHICORE has grown into a trusted advisor across 29 African markets. The launch of ETHICORE Group consolidates its pan-African legacy and signals a bold new chapter as a purpose-built, international government affairs firm at the intersection of markets, governments, and society.

The Group’s expertise is anchored in five specialised, wholly owned divisions:

  • ETHICORE East – Advisory focused on Africa, GCC, and Near East market, policy, and regulatory landscapes
  • ETHICORE Lobbying – Comprehensive government affairs, lobbying, and advocacy services across Africa
  • ETHICORE Counsel – A bench of elite advisors for decision-makers and institutions
  • ETHICORE Rhetoric – Political communications and narrative strategy
  • ETHICORE Theorem – Public policy, regulatory, and geopolitical intelligence

Speaking on the expansion, Abdul Waheed Patel, Group CEO, said:

“The launch of ETHICORE Group reflects the boldness of our ambition and scale. Dubai provides a strategic hub for the GCC and Near East, complementing our 29-market African footprint. Under a unified identity and global strategy, we are deepening core capabilities, driving innovation, and creating new value for our clients – always with the ethics, precision, and quality that define ETHICORE.”

ETHICORE Group offers clients new strategic advantage, scaling an ethics-first legacy into a future-focused firm – helping private and public institutions, leaders and brands to successfully navigate, shape and influence the critical impact of policy, regulation, governments, politics and geopolitics across two dynamic regions amid critical global shifts, with confidence.

The firm’s regional and global expertise was showcased at Africa Global PR Week in Nairobi last week, where Patel shared the firm’s insights on “The Intersection of PR and Government: Advocating for Public Policy”.

With its new Dubai base, ETHICORE Group offers private and public institutions, leaders, and brands a strategic advantage: the ability to navigate and shape the complex impact of policy, regulation, and geopolitics across Africa and the GCC – at a time when global shifts demand clarity, credibility, and influence.

Distributed by African Media Agency (AMA) on behalf of ETHICORE Group

About ETHICORE Group

ETHICORE Group is a purpose-built, pan-African and international government affairs firm, globally recognised for pioneering ethical influence and engagement across Africa and beyond.

Founded in 2009, ETHICORE has championed an ethics-first approach to advocacy, partnering with corporations, industry associations, governments, and institutions. Today, ETHICORE Group equips clients to succeed at the nexus of government, policy, and public good across two continents.

ETHICORE accolades:

  • Ranked Top 10 firm in Africa and EMEA by PRovoke Media the global authority on the strategic communications, public affairs and reputation management (2025)
  • Represented on the B20 Task Forces on Integrity and Compliance, and Agriculture and Sustainable Food Systems, under South Africa’s G20 Presidency (2025)
  • OECD’s “Trusted Dialogue Group on Getting Influence Right” – part of a multiyear Global Program to Galvanize the Private Sector as Partners to Combat Corruption and formulation of new OECD Guidelines on Responsible Corporate Political Engagement and the OECD Council Recommendations on Transparency and Integrity in Lobbying Influence (since 2021)
  • Political Influence Brand Category Award Winner at the Africa Brand Summit (2020)

Media Enquiries: 

media@ethicoregroup.com 

www.ethicoregroup.com

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AMA, Business

Call for Exhibition Opens for 6th All-Africa IP Summit 2025 in Dakar, Senegal

MaraviPost

The Organizing Committee of the 6th All-Africa Intellectual Property Summit (AAIPS 2025) – taking place November 12–14, 2025, in Dakar, Senegal – has officially opened the exhibition for innovators, inventors, creators, practitioners, and other stakeholders to showcase their products and services.

LAGOS, Nigeria, 25 August 2025-/African Media Agency (AMA)/-African Newspage is the official media partners of the 6th All-Africa Intellectual Property Summit (AAIPS 2025).

With Africa’s knowledge economy surging—African startups raised $289 million in January 2025 alone, a 240% year-on-year increase—AAIPS 2025 provides a premier stage to display innovations, forge strategic partnerships, and amplify visibility across the continent and beyond.

6 Reasons Why Exhibit at AAIPS 2025?

1. Brand Visibility & Market Expansion

Exhibitors gain direct exposure to government leaders, private sector executives, and creative industry stakeholders. Demonstrating your IP solutions face-to-face creates lasting impressions, positioning your brand with those who matter most.

2. Networking with Decisionmakers

Over 300 delegates, including ministers, policymakers, investors, academics, and innovators, will attend. This unique mix enables startups, SMEs, and IP professionals to build partnerships and engage directly with potential clients and funders.

3. Policy Influence

AAIPS is more than an exhibition—it is a Pan-African platform shaping the future of IP policy. Exhibitors gain a front-row seat in influencing IP policy discussions and aligning Africa’s innovation ecosystem.

4. Access to Finance & New Markets

Investors and development agencies will attend AAIPS 2025 seeking innovations to support. Exhibiting at the Summit will open doors to capital, joint ventures, and partnerships to scale your ideas.

5. Thought Leadership & Credibility

Showcase expertise, position your brand as an IP leader, and connect with Africa’s growing innovation ecosystem.

6. Learning & Feedback

Engage directly with participants, gather market insights, and refine your offerings based on real-time feedback.

Exhibition Zones

  • Innovation & Technology Zone – Innovators, entrepreneurs, and creators.
  • Cultural Heritage & Creativity Zone – Showcasing Africa’s traditions and creative industries.
  • SMEs & Industrial Innovation Zone – Startups, businesses, and research groups.
  • Youth & Women Entrepreneurs Zone – Empowering the next generation of Africa’s innovators.
  • IP Experts & Advisory Zone – Law firms, IP consultants, and national IP offices.

Intellectual Property (IP) is central to Africa’s development and intra-continental trade, protecting inventions, designs, brands, and cultural expressions. The All-Africa IP Summit is not just a gathering—it is a movement to transform Africa’s innovation ecosystem.

📌 Apply now to exhibit and reserve your booth in Dakar: AAIPS Exhibition Form

Deadline: August 31, 2025

Innovation isn’t silent—it exhibits loudly at the All-Africa IP Summit, 6th Edition in Dakar!

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AMA, Business

Shortlist of nominees announced for the African Banker Awards 2025

Maravi Post Reporter

The 2025 edition of the Awards will recognise and celebrate the strides being made by banks across the continent with a focus on innovation, transformation and also the promotion of inclusivity and gender equality. 58 nominees have made the shortlist for the 2025 awards, which has become a fixture on the African banking calendar.

LONDON, England 2 May, 2025 -/African Media Agency(AMA)/- African Banker magazine has announced the shortlist of nominees for this year’s edition of its annual African Banker Awards.

The winners will be made known during the official gala ceremony scheduled for May 28th in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, as part of the official programme of the Annual Meetings of the African Development Bank.

The 2025 edition of the African Banker Awards is organised by African Banker magazine and IC Events under the patronage of the African Development Bank. The ceremony’s platinum sponsor remains the African Guarantee Fund, a fund created to share risks with commercial banks to encourage them to lend to the SME sector while ATIDI, which provides facilities to ensure against country risks and other associated insurance services, comes in as exclusive cocktail sponsor.

The African Banker Awards has, since its inception in 2007, sought to recognise and celebrate the exceptional individuals and organisations driving Africa’s rapidly transforming financial services sector.

The shortlist of nominees for the African Banker Awards 2025 was selected from over 200 entries submitted in nine categories by banks spread across the African continent. This year, two female bank executives have emerged as nominees for the prestigious “Banker of the Year” award, underlining the leading role women continue to play in shaping Africa’s banking and finance landscape.

Speaking on the awards, Omar Ben Yedder, Chair of the Awards committee commented on the increasing focus on SME, sustainable banking practices and the role of fintechs in the ecosystem. “Banks have performed strongly last year despite headwinds and currency devaluations in major countries. We also received entries in the deals category that shows that there are numerous transformative transactions taking place. And yet, the message remains. Interestingly, SMEs proved to be a profitable asset class and one that banks are paying greater attention to. The advent of AI and other technological advancements are at the centre of bank strategies too. The continent needs even bigger banks to support our growth agenda.”

The nominees for the African Banker Awards 2025 are as follows:

Bank of the Year

  • Commercial International Bank Egypt (CIB)
  • Ecobank
  • First Bank of Nigeria Limited
  • Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB Group Plc.)
  • Mauritius Commercial Bank (MCB Ltd.)
  • Trade and Development Bank Group (TDB Group)
  • Coris Bank International

Banker of the Year

  • Abdulmajid Mussa Nsekela – CRDB Bank Plc.
  • Jeremy Awori – Ecobank
  • Karim Awad – EFG Holding
  • Léon Konan Koffi – AFG Holding
  • Mukwandi Chibesakunda – Zanaco Inc.
  • Patricia Ojangole – Uganda Development Bank
  • Sidi Ould Tah – The Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA)

Sustainable Bank of the Year

  • Commercial International Bank Egypt (CIB)
  • CRDB Bank Plc.
  • Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB Group Plc.)
  • Nedbank
  • Trade and Development Bank Group (TDB Group)

Fintech of the Year

  • 4G Capital
  • Inclusivity Solutions
  • Network International
  • Oze
  • ProfitShare Partners
  • Valu

DFI of the year

  • African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank)
  • African Trade Insurance Agency
  • Bank of Industry
  • Banque Ouest Africaine de Développement (BOAD)
  • ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID)
  • Shelter Afrique Development Bank (ShafDB)
  • Trade and Development Bank Group (TDB Group)

SME Bank of the Year

  • Co-operative Bank of Kenya Ltd.
  • CRDB Bank Plc.
  • Ecobank
  • Standard Bank
  • Uganda Development Bank

Deal of the Year – Infrastructure

  • US$83.35 MM Al Zahy Group For General Contracting (Ahmed El Zzahy & Co.) – National Bank of Egypt
  • US$646.64 MM (ZAR 12 Billion) Envusa Energy – Absa Bank Ltd. / Rand Merchant Bank
  • US$1.9 Billion Kano Maradi Railway Project – African Finance Corporation / African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank)
  • Project Platinum – US$200 MM Dividends Backed Capital Raise by BUA Industries Limited – Africa Finance Corporation
  • US$188.62 MM (ZAR 3.5 Billion) Scatec Mogobe Battery Energy Storage System – Standard Bank
  • US$1.04 Billion Suez 1.1 GW Wind Power Project in Egypt: Powering Africa’s Renewable Future – African Development Bank
  • US$1.20 Billion (ZAR 22.25 Billion) Mokolo Crocodile River Water Augmentation – Standard Bank

Deal of the Year – Debt

  • US$119 MM Green, Social and Sustainable Development Bond – ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID)
  • US$2.05 Billion Bank of Industry – 2024 Facility – Afreximbank/Africa Finance Corporation/ Bank of Industry
  • US$394 MM ETC Group (Mauritius), Inaugural Sustainability Linked Loan (SLL) – Trade and Development Bank Group (TDB Group)
  • US$13 Billion Ghana’s Eurobond Debt Restructuring – Hogan Lovells
  • US$18 MM Letshego Holdings Namibia Limited Social Bond – Rand Merchant Bank (RMB)
  • Republic of Benin €507.5 facility – African Trade Insurance Agency
  • Sahara Group’s US$500 MM Debt Sub-Participation Financing – Africa Finance Corporation
  • US$ 590 MM – The Egyptian Chemical Industries Company (KIMA) – National Bank of Egypt

Deal of the Year – Equity

  • Aradel Holdings’ US$2 Billion Listing by Introduction on Nigerian Exchange Limited – Standard Bank
  • Boxer’s US$470 MM Initial Public Offering (IPO) – Standard Bank
  • FQM’s US$1.15 Billion Bought Deal on the Toronto Stock Exchange- Absa Bank Ltd.
  • Nigerian Breweries’ US$352 MM Rights Issue – Standard Bank
  • Renaissance Acquisition of Shell- US$2.4 Billion – PwC Nigeria
  • Boxer’s US$470 MM Initial Public Offering (IPO) – Absa Bank / Standard Bank

Distributed by African Media Agency. on behalf of IC Publications

About the African Banker Awards

The African Banker Awards are prestigious awards that celebrate excellence and best practices in banking and finance in Africa. These annual awards honour outstanding individuals and remarkable financial institutions that are transforming the continent’s financial sector and contributing to economic development and financial inclusion in Africa.

Organised by African Banker magazine in partnership with IC Events, the Awards bring together industry leaders from across the continent to honour innovation, resilience and competitiveness in the African banking sector.

For more information about the African Banker Awards, please visit our website at www.AfricanBankerAwards.com.

About African Banker

African Banker is a pan-African publication dedicated to the banking industry across the continent. African Banker provides in-depth analysis and commentary on the trends shaping Africa’s financial landscape.

As a trusted source of information, African Banker offers a unique perspective on the challenges and opportunities facing the African banking sector.

For any further information, please contact Constance Haasz at the following address: c.haasz@icpublications.com

Source : African Media Agency (AMA)

AMA, Business

Africa Specialty Risks officially opens office in Dubai International Financial Centre

MaraviPost

LONDON, DUBAI, 1 July 2024, /African Media Agency/- Africa Specialty Risks (ASR), the pan-African and Middle East focused reinsurance group, is pleased to announce the opening of its Dubai office, its first in the Middle East. 

‘ASR Middle East’, will solidify its ties in the Emirate and the wider region, where the Group has been writing business since February 2022. The new office is located within the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), the leading global financial hub in the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia (MEASA) region.

Mikir Shah, Chief Executive Officer of Africa Specialty Risks

Mikir Shah, Chief Executive Officer of Africa Specialty Risks, said: “I am delighted that our new ASR Middle East office in Dubai is now open. Establishing a presence in Dubai is a natural next step for us as we continue to grow in the region and strengthen our ability to facilitate and de-risk the inter-regional trade between Africa and the Middle East.”  

Salmaan Jaffery, Chief Business Development Officer, DIFC Authority, said: “We welcome ASR Middle East to DIFC, which is now the deepest reinsurance market between London and Singapore. As Dubai continues to rise as a global hub for insurance and reinsurance, this strategic move positions the firm perfectly for expansion and enhanced service delivery for clients across key growth markets.”

ASR began underwriting in February 2021 and has since been de-risking USD 23bn worth of projects and assets, as well as written business across 14 countries in the Middle East and 49 African countries.

Zouheb Azam, Head of Political Violence & Terrorism of Africa Specialty Risks

The firm’s Middle East expansion is led by Zouheb Azam, Head of Political Violence & Terrorism of Africa Specialty Risks, who is also to take on the role of Senior Executive Officer, ASR Middle East. Commenting on the move, he said: “The opening of our new office in DIFC represents an exciting next phase of growth. It positions us at the global cross-roads for financial and insurance services and will allow ASR to deepen relationships with brokers, re- insurers and businesses in the region. Our Dubai office will complement our existing operations and the progress we have made across Africa in developing bespoke and comprehensive risk mitigating solutions for developing markets.” 

Born in France, Mr. Azam has 15 years’ experience of both Africa and the Middle East as a broker and underwriter, and possesses a wealth of longstanding experience relationships within the region. Prior to joining ASR, Zouheb has gained Middle Eastern and industry experience with Gras Savoye, Willis Tower Watson and AXA.

ASR Middle East will be providing a comprehensive suite of corporate and specialty covers across all nine of its business lines, supporting corporates and investors operating in the region. 

The Dubai office is set to add to ASR’s already established network of premises in London, Mauritius, Bermuda and Morocco, and enables enhanced customer service and collaboration with business partners globally. The launch of DIFC office will also strengthen ASR’s African portfolio and facilitate expansion of its Middle Eastern book of business.

The opening follows ASR receiving regulatory approval from the Dubai Financial Service Authority (DFSA), the independent regulator of financial services conducted in or from the DIFC, in December 2023 (see release here).

Distributed by African Media Agency (AMA) on behalf of Africa Specialty Risks

About ASR
Africa Specialty Risks (ASR) provides comprehensive risk mitigating solutions through high quality underwriting to local and global customers across Africa and the Middle East, with operations in London, Mauritius, Bermuda, Morocco. Since its launch, ASR participated in the de-risking of $23 bn of projects and assets across 63 countries. 

In addition to our Bermuda and Mauritius reinsurers, ASR’s unique co-reinsurance model involves collaborating with local and international (re)insurance companies. In 2024, ASR launched Syndicate 2454, it is the first African focused syndicate writing business at Lloyd’s. 

Across the group, ASR underwrites across Political Risk, Trade Credit, Political Violence & Terrorism, Property, Energy, Construction, Liability, Parametric and Treaty. ASR also offers an end-to-end captive solution to corporate and financial institutions. 

ASR is backed by Helios Investment Partners’ Fund IV and benefits from their extensive reach across Africa, as well as their knowledge and experience in our key markets.

Corporate assets

Media Enquiries:
Africa Specialty Risk
Mikir Shah, CEO
Via Tavistock

Tavistock Communications Ltd
Tim Pearson
Katie Hopkins
asr@tavistock.co.uk

The post Africa Specialty Risks officially opens office in Dubai International Financial Centre appeared first on African Media Agency.

Source : African Media Agency (AMA)

Travel & Tourism

Visa in Africa for African Travelers

Josephine Wawira

Visa in Africa for African Travelers
Visa in Africa for African Travelers

Africa is increasingly moving towards achieving part of its African Union’s Agenda 2063, which envisions the abolishment of visa requirements for African citizens by 2018. The recent launch of the Pan-African Passport is a big milestone towards freer movement of people within the continent, a move expected to further integrate Africa. This will in turn create more job opportunities, boost economic growth, increase cultural integration and elevate domestic tourism. Continue reading Visa in Africa for African Travelers →