African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), through its development impact investment arm, the Fund for Export-Development in Africa (FEDA), has committed to spearhead the launch of the Africa Film Fund (‘the Fund’) as part of its Creative Africa Nexus Programme (CANEX). This transformative undertaking of up to US$1 billion is designed to revolutionize Global Africa’s film and creative industry.

This move follows Afreximbank Group’s commitment at the CANEX Weekend (CANEX WKND 2024) in Algiers, Algeria, in October 2024, where the Bank announced plans to launch a private equity film fund through FEDA to support film production and distribution across Africa and empower African filmmakers to create globally appealing content. The Fund will play a pivotal role in promoting the production and global distribution of high-quality films and TV series, further amplifying Global Africa’s cultural influence across the world. In doing so, the Fund will be a catalyst to attract and direct crucial patient capital into Global Africa’s film and TV production industry, mobilising resources that would enable filmmakers and storytellers to produce world-class content that resonates globally.

To accelerate the momentum of the clean cooking revolution, the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF), in collaboration with the Government of Tanzania and the European Union, inaugurated the Eastern Africa Regional Clean Cooking Energy Symposium in Arusha, Tanzania. The event brought together industry leaders and policymakers to discuss strategies for advancing clean cooking, under the theme “Linking finance, innovation, technology adoption, access, and policy.”

The three-day regional symposium convened over 200 key stakeholders, including senior government representatives from Kenya, Uganda, Malawi, Rwanda, and Tanzania, development partners, SMEs, researchers, financial institutions, and civil society organizations. This gathering underscored a shared regional commitment to addressing the critical issue of clean cooking in East Africa, where the prevalent use of traditional biomass fuels like wood and charcoal poses significant health risks, contributes to environmental degradation, and exacerbates climate change.

In his keynote address, delivered on behalf of Hon. Dr. Dotto Mashaka Biteko, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Energy, Eng. Innocent Luoga, Commissioner of Electricity and Renewable Energy, emphasized:

Djembe Consultants (Djembe), the MEA region’s Communications Partner of Choice, has announced the winners of its inaugural Accelerate with Djembe cohort at a demo day event in Accra. The Accelerate with Djembe Program, the world’s first communications-focused accelerator program for scaleups in the Middle East and Africa, has provided cohort members with branding, public relations, digital marketing, and investor relations advisory support over the past six months.

At the event, Djembe CEO Mitchell Prather stated: “Our focus at Djembe is to serve as a growth catalyst for the MEA innovation ecosystem. Accelerate with Djembe provides a platform to bridge the communications gap we have encountered in the sector, and the results we have seen our scale-ups achieve in recent months only strengthen the narrative that innovation can indeed be powered by storytelling. We are proud of the winners and look forward to continuing our collaboration with them in the coming year.”

The Islamic Republic of Mauritania welcomes the official support expressed by the Republic of Benin for the candidacy of Dr. Sidi Ould Tah for the Presidency of the African Development Bank (AfDB).

This support was announced following an audience granted today by Mohamed Cheikh El Ghazouani, President of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, to a high-level delegation from Benin. Led by the Minister of State in charge of the Coordination of Government Action and Development, Abdoulaye Bio Tchané, and the Minister of State in charge of Economy and Finance, Romuald Wadagni, the Beninese delegation delivered a personal message from President Patrice Talon to his Mauritanian counterpart.

The meeting was held in the presence of the Minister in charge of the Office of the President, Nani Ould Chrougha, and the Mauritanian Minister of Economy and Finance, Sid’Ahmed Ould Bough. Following the audience, the Beninese delegation emphasized the excellence of bilateral relations between Benin and Mauritania, before officially conveying Benin’s decision to support the candidacy of Dr. Sidi Ould Tah.