Good Morning,

Mastercard Foundation—the NGO arm of the American payment giant—will spend up to $4.7bn on education and employment in Africa over the next decade, CEO Reeta Roy said this week.

That’s the latest in a string of such commitments from Mastercard, which alongside rival Visa has backed businesses on the continent from mobile money ventures to VC firms.

In other top stories:

• Sonatel grows net profit by 30%

• SAPH to pay over $3m dividends

• Ivory Coast leads regional growth

• Fresh $600m for climate projects

• Africa’s EV transition gathers steam

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Markets Wrap

African equity markets show mixed performance. South Africa's FTSE/JSEASI leads with a 2.69% weekly gain while Nigeria's NGX ASI saw a -2.58% weekly drop. Other regional indices show modest YTD gains but varied weekly results. Bitcoin and Ethereum experienced weekly declines of -1.13% and -3.10% respectively but their YTD performance remains strong while commodities present a mixed picture. Gold stands out with a 2.11% weekly increase, showing resilience. Oil, on the other hand, saw a -1.21% weekly drop, reflecting ongoing volatility in energy markets.

Markets

• Network operator Airtel Africa acquires shares in $29m buyback

• Bitcoin falls below $65K as cryptocurrencies see sharp decline

Earnings

• Nigeria's Dangote Cement sees margin decline in first half

• Gas producer Air Liquide net profit jumps over 120% in 2023

• Senegalese telco Sonatel grows net profit by 30% in first half

• Airtel Africa profit jumps 102% in quarter ending June 30

Dividends

• SAPH to distribute over $3m to shareholders despite profit dip

• Nigeria's Transcorp Power to pay out $21.3m in dividends

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The Week’s Top Stories

Growth engines

Ivory Coast leads impressive Q1 GDP expansion in francophone West Africa

The West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) zone experienced 5.1% economic growth in Q1 2024, slightly lower than the 5.6% in Q1 2023, as reported by the regional central bank BCEAO.

Economic activity remained steady, with Côte d'Ivoire leading at 6.3% growth, followed by Togo (6.1%) and Benin (6%). Senegal grew by 4.7%. Niger, affected by political, security, and climate issues, contracted by 0.1%. 

Despite military rule, Burkina Faso and Mali showed growth of 3.9% and 4.9%, respectively. The varying growth rates reflect the diverse economic conditions across the eight-member union.

Climate drive

Helios, Gaia aim to raise $600m to back climate projects in Africa

Helios Investment Partners has secured $200m from eight state-linked institutions targeting climate-focused investments in Africa via its Clear Fund, which aims to reach $400m—the largest of such on the continent.

Simultaneously, South Africa's Gaia Fund Managers has obtained $50m in commitments for its Luxembourg-based Gaia Africa Climate Fund, targeting a total of $200m.

Both funds aim to capitalize on opportunities in renewable energy and drought-resistant agriculture in Africa, addressing climate challenges while promoting sustainable development on the continent.

Tuna windfall

Mozambique to get $825m after win in ‘tuna bond’ fraud case

The London High Court this week ruled in favor of Mozambique in a lawsuit against shipbuilding company Privinvest, awarding $3.1bn in damages related to the "tuna bond" scandal. 

The court found that Privinvest paid bribes to Mozambican officials and Credit Suisse bankers and the judgment includes $825m to be paid by Privinvest owner Iskandar Safa directly to Mozambique, in addition to $1.5bn indemnity owed by the company to lenders and bondholders. 

This ruling marks a significant victory for Mozambique in addressing the financial misconduct associated with the scandal.

Headline Roundup

A summary of the major business, tech, and finance headlines of the past week.

Economy & Macro

• Egypt raises fuel prices again in four months to secure IMF loan

• Ethiopia’s $3.4bn IMF deal paves way for debt restructuring

• Mozambique cuts key rate for fourth straight time after IMF advice

• Ethiopian birr dips 30% as central bank floats currency for IMF loan

M&A and Corporate Deals

• UK firm acquires majority stake in troubled Nigerian telco 9Mobile

• IFC backs group to build $1bn solar energy project in Ghana

• Nigerian fintech Risevest in talks to acquire with Kenya's Hisa

Startups and VC

• Egypt’s Cartona raises $8.1m to provide retailers with working capital

• MNT-Halan expands into Turkey with acquisition of Tam Finans

• Nigerian startup Intron Health gets $1.6m for speech recognition tool

• Educatly raises $2.5m to expand higher education platform

Fundraising and Accelerators

• Shell partners with Flat6Labs to relaunch Intilaaqah program in Egypt

Must-Reads on Daba

Boost your investing IQ with educational blogs and thematic articles on Africa.

Daba Learn

• What is Angel Investing? A Complete Guide

• Market Order v Limit Order: Know The Difference

• How to Manage Your Cap Table: Tips for Founders

Insights

• African Stock Markets Are Booming. But Currency Woes Dampen Allure

• The Largest Companies on the BRVM: West Africa's Stock Market Leaders

• From Lagos to Lilongwe: Starlink's Rocky Road to Connecting Africa

Perspectives

• It is Too Early to Judge African Venture Capital

• Perspectives | Who is Fixing the Finance Gap in Africa?

Opportunities Corner

Discover funding, awards, and accelerator opportunities to boost your startup's growth. Deadline in brackets.

• Future of Capitalism (Sep 30)

• Mastercard Agribusiness Challenge (Nov 22)

Chart of the week

Get more context into themes shaping Africa’s investing landscape.

African Cities Embrace ‘Green’ Vehicles: From transit buses in Nairobi to bikes in Accra, EVs are becoming widespread in African cities. But challenges such as cost of vehicles and inadequate infrastructure threaten to scupper the momentum, we write in our latest Pulse54 newsletter. CLICK HERE or tap the button below to read the full piece - don’t forget to subscribe, if you haven’t, to get the next edition directly in your inbox.

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