Kenya is grappling with a host of economic challenges including a vast debt mountain, cost of living crisis and tumbling currency. The IMF said in a statement published on Wednesday that its executive board had approved the $941.2 million loan, with an immediate disbursement of $624.5 million. Total payments under various credit facilities amount to...
The shilling has officially crossed the 160 units points against the US dollar, the lowest level on record. On Monday, the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) quoted the local currency trading at 160.23 units against the greenback, compared to 159.85 end of last week. The shilling has been falling against major international currencies since 2020,...
(ERGO) – After 12 years working as a waiter in a restaurant, Abdirahman Bihi Osman, 38, decided to open his own business selling fresh fruit drinks in the central Somali town of Adado. Since last October, he has reached regular profits of $25 a day that means he no longer worries about making ends meet for...
By Fasika Tadesse and Mohamed Omar Ahmed Ethiopia has been landlocked since 1993, when Eritrea gained independence after a three-decade war, leaving it reliant on its neighbors’ ports. In 2023, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed identified regaining ocean access as a strategic objective and warned that failure to secure it could lead to conflict. Somalia, Eritrea and Djibouti were incensed and said they...
Premier lender African Development Bank (AfDB) on Wednesday announced that it was pulling out international staff from Ethiopia, after a “serious diplomatic incident” in which its employees were attacked by security officers. The Abidjan-headquartered lender said that existing Ethiopian staff will continue working under its employment contracts and their Ethiopian office manned by an officer-in-charge....
CAPE TOWN, (Reuters) – Shipping companies sailing around the Cape of Good Hope to avoid Houthi attacks on the Red Sea face tough choices over where to refuel and restock, as African ports struggle with red tape, congestion and poor facilities, companies and analysts say. Hundreds of large vessels are rerouting around the southern tip of Africa,...
Some of the largest shipping companies in the world have been forced to reroute their vessels at considerable costs after Yemen’s Houthi group targeted ships headed towards Israeli ports in solidarity with Palestinians. The Iran-aligned group has demanded that Israel allow humanitarian aid to enter Gaza, which has been reeling from more than two months...
Heads of the country’s nascent sovereign wealth fund are partnering with the Japanese Toppan Holdings Inc. in a bid to localize the printing of currency and passports. Sources disclosed the progress of the partnership was a topic during discussions between the management of Ethiopian Investment Holdings (EIH), central bank regulators (including Governor Mamo Mihretu) and...
The Federal Republic of Somalia is inching closer to joining the East African Community, as it moves to sign a Treaty of Accession with the bloc at State House, Entebbe, Uganda today. The Treaty of Accession will be signed by Somalia’s President Sheikh Hassan Mohamud and the chairperson of the Summit of EAC Heads...
WASHINGTON — Somalia on Wednesday secured a $4.5 billion debt relief deal from its international creditors, the International Monetary Fund and World Bank said, which will allow the nation to develop economically and take on new projects. The deal comes as part of a debt forgiveness program —called the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries initiative— overseen...