Never again after the Andhra Pradesh disaster, you might think, would poor borrowers be allowed to take on too much debt. Sri Lankan microfinance loans in 2020 were worth $3.2bn, or more than 50 times the 2006 level. What’s clear is that the industry, like any kind of money lender, usually wants to obscure or hide its interest rates. In Cameroon and Zambia, microcredit interest rates exceeded 100% before regulators imposed interest-rate ceilings in 2013. With Africa’s population growing, urbanisation accelerating and digital lending channels becoming more common, microfinance lenders aim to expand.

The Greylag goose is the largest grey goose from the Anser genus of the Anatidae family of waterbirds. A stout, robust and heavyweight bird, the Greylag goose is the closest wild relative and ancestor to the domestic goose. Greylag geese are distributed across much of Europe and Asia, extending into eastern Russia and China. The plumage of the Greylag goose is greyish brown, with a darker head and paler breast and belly with a variable amount of black spotting. Greylag geese breed in Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Finland, the Baltic States, northern Russia, Poland, eastern Hungary, and Romania.

A dense layer of fog engulfed parts of Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab and Rajasthan amid the prevailing cold wave conditions in North India on Wednesday. Dense fog engulfs the major roads and highways on a cold winter day. (ANI)The city continued experiencing moderate to dense fog in isolated regions in the early hours of the day, with visibility remaining around within 500 m at 9 am. Ajmer in Rajasthan recorded visibility of 25, Bikaner, Jaisalmer and Jaipur each recorded visibility of 50. "Moderate to dense fog cover visible over Punjab, Haryana, north Rajasthan, West Madhya Pradesh adjoining East Rajasthan, Central parts of Uttar Pradesh south Assam & Tripura," IMD wrote in a series of posts on X.

ShareThe Emerging Africa Infrastructure Fund (EAIF), a subsidiary of the Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG), has pledged a senior secured loan facility worth $30 million to AXIAN Energy. This financial commitment is integral to AXIAN Energy’s growth strategy, which aims to establish more than 460 Megawatts (MW) of utility-scale renewable energy generation capacity throughout Africa in the coming decade. While initially concentrated on oil and gas distribution, AXIAN Energy has strategically transitioned its focus to renewable energy since 2017. This investment aligns perfectly with EAIF’s overarching goal of improving energy access, which will directly benefit AXIAN Energy Group’s initiatives in rural areas with limited access to power. Benjamin Memmi, the CEO of AXIAN Energy, expressed, “This facility represents a significant milestone in our pursuit of sustainable development and energy inclusion across Africa.

It also happened to be the joint-highest wicket tally on a single day of a Test match in South Africa, alongside the 2011 fixture featuring the hosts and Australia at the same venue. Three of the last four instances - spanning between September 1948 and January 2024 - have come in Cape Town. Never before has a team lost more wickets on a particular score in a Test innings. 8 batters have registered 1,000-plus runs as an opener in Tests against India, Elgar being the latest to do so, finishing with 1012. 5121 runs by Dean Elgar is the fourth most aggregate for South Africa as an opener in Tests, after Graeme Smith's 9018, Gary Kirsten's 5726 and Herschelle Gibbs' 5242.

Southern AfricaMauritius: Our one big victory in 2023 was the Supreme Court of Mauritius finally delivering its ruling that the nation’s colonial-era sodomy laws are unconstitutional. But in another case, the Supreme Court denied citizenship by descent to the child a same-sex couple who had been born by surrogacy in South Africa. The Supreme Court has said they’ll deliver their judgement on May 17, 2024 – the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, and Transphobia. However, the evolving international jurisprudence is that sex discrimination includes sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination, so it’s entirely likely that anti-LGBT discrimination was just banned there. The new constitution also defines marriage and family in heterosexual terms, however, and the new constitution specifically shields marriage laws from review on discrimination grounds.

DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The "Middle East And North Africa Out Of Home Dining (OOHD) Market, & Region): Insights and Forecast (2023-2028)" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) out of home dining market is projected to reach US$49.30 billion in 2023, growing at a CAGR of 10.66% over the projected period. Trend: Adoption of Western-style MealsThe MENA out of home dining (OOHD) market has witnessed a dynamic change in the dietary patterns. The COVID-19 AnalysisThe sudden outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has caused a significant strain on the growth of the Middle East and North Africa out of home dining market. Strict measures to contain the spread of the virus during the pandemic adversely impacted tourism, consumer mobility, and purchasing behaviors.

Succes Masra, Chad’s new Prime Minister, has presented a new cabinet of 41 ministers including 8 new comers, one day after his appointment by the country’s transitional leader, Mahamat Idriss Déby. Masra officially took office Tuesday January 2 in a ceremony attended by outgoing transitional Prime Minister, Saleh Kebzabo who led the administration for 14 months. The cabinet lineup is still dominated by several members of Kebzabo’s team including Foreign Minister Mahamat Saleh Annadif, Minister of Public Security Mahamat Charfadine Margui, and the Minister of Armed Forces Dago Yacouba. Mascra, leader of the opposition, announced that his first task is “to bring children back to school.” “The first thing we hope to do is get the children back into school. Once the children are in school, the adults, we can work together to dialogue and move forward,” he emphasized.

Miller said travel agencies in Senegal’s capital city of Dakar are promoting visa-free travel to Europe, and then to Mexico. Once in Mexico, Miller also stressed, the customers are connected to a smuggling organization that will help them cross the southern US border illegally. “They sell complete packages to connect them to a smuggling organization that will then facilitate their movement up to the border,” he also explained. The U.S. is struggling to contain increasing arrivals of millions of migrants crossing the border with Mexico. Arrests of migrants from countries such as Senegal, Mauritania, China, and India entering via Mexico ballooned to 214,000 during the 2023 fiscal year, according to US Customs and Border Protection data.

The pomegranate picking season in South Africa will start this week. Sapex growers will start picking Angel Red in the North of South Africa. Angel Red on the trees. The internal quality and colour of Angel Red is already very good. The volumes of South Africa as a whole, will probably increase by about 10% compared to last year.

Governor of Bank Al-Maghrib (BAM), Abdellatif Jouahri, was named “Best Central Banker in Africa for 2024” by the London-based financial and international affairs magazine “The Banker”, affiliated to the “Financial Times” group. The Banker’s Central Banker of the Year 2024 awards celebrate the officials who have best managed to stimulate growth and stabilize their economy. “It is with considerable satisfaction that I receive this award from such a prestigious international publication as The Banker,” Jouahri was quoted as saying in the press release. “I am convinced of central banks’ pivotal role in overcoming the major challenges that beset the world. “At a time of intensified political tensions, the protracted inflationary trends around the world are a further concern for central banks,” Jouahri said.

The Emerging Africa Infrastructure Fund (EAIF), a subsidiary of the Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG), has pledged approximately USD19 million for a groundbreaking 20MW solar PV project in the remote and underserved region of north-western Uganda. The Ituka project involves the development, construction, and operation of a 24MWp/20MWac solar PV power plant in Ombachi, situated around 400km from Kampala in north-western Uganda. The West Nile region, currently facing electricity supply challenges, is expected to be connected to the national grid in 2024. Ituka’s 20-year Power Purchase Agreement with the Uganda Electricity Transmission Company Limited and the Implementation Agreement with the Government of Uganda mark significant milestones for the project. EAIF has a successful track record in financing solar power projects in Uganda, with operational plants like the 10MW Tororo Solar PV and the 10MW Soroti solar plant.

The recently signed liquefied natural gas (LNG) development project in South Africa’s Mpumalanga province is a promising step on the long road to Africa’s just energy transition. And we cannot do that without tapping our own natural resources, natural gas being the most vital among them. Then there’s German independent, Wintershall Dea, which is increasing its participation in the Reggane Nord natural gas project in Algeria by 4.5%. And, as our report notes, the forecast for continued natural gas projects in our continent is looking good. Africa’s natural gas sector stands poised to prepare the entire continent for eventual decarbonization, as do many of the companies operating here.

Date: 5-6 March, 2024Location: Cairo EgyptWebsite: https://na.finnovex.com/Finnovex, the premier global platform dedicated to catalyzing discussions and insights within the financial technology sector, proudly announces the return of Finnovex North Africa 2024. With a theme centered around “Seizing the Fintech Boom: Innovations Reshaping the Financial Landscape,” Finnovex North Africa 2024 is set to uncover the transformative power of technology in revolutionizing the financial industry across the North African region. Finnovex North Africa 2024 will provide a comprehensive overview of emerging technologies such as AI, blockchain, digital banking, cybersecurity, regulatory compliance, and their pivotal roles in reshaping the financial landscape. Join us at Finnovex North Africa 2024 on the 5th and 6th of March 2024 in Cairo, Egypt, and become an integral part of the conversation reshaping the future of finance at this premier event. Through its series of conferences and events, Finnovex brings together leading minds, visionaries, and stakeholders to explore and harness the potential of emerging technologies, fostering collaboration and driving industry progress.

Africa faces being left behind the rest of the world if the slow implementation of the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) continues at the same slow pace, which will be bad news not only for the integrity of football, but also the continent’s match officials. That is the view of Council of Southern Africa Football Associations (COSAFA) Referees Manager Felix Tangawarima after the organization recently introduced VAR for their Women’s Championship and held a workshop for referees in how to most effectively use the system. Tangawarima is well-placed to comment; he is a Confederation of African Football (CAF) and FIFA Instructor and very much at the forefront of modern trends in officiating.