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Here's a quick preview of today’s newsletter: Ethiopian Airlines gets AfDB backing to build Africa’s biggest airport, Ivorian banks boost SME lending, Zambia’s currency wobbles despite record reserves, and Côte d’Ivoire sustains strong growth amid looming political uncertainty.

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Markets Snapshot

Daba indexes track curated stock collections—all available to invest in directly on the app.

Data as of 03/21/2025 market close

Four Things You Need to Know

Aviation ambition: Ethiopian Airlines and AfDB will co-develop Africa’s largest airport—Bishoftu International—near Addis Ababa, in a $7.8B project to handle over 100M passengers annually. With design support from Dubai’s Dar and completion slated in five years, the mega-hub will transform Ethiopia into a continental aviation and logistics powerhouse.

SME finance: NSIA Banque CI and Orabank CI are securitizing $20.9M in receivables to fund SME growth across WAEMU. As part of BOAD’s Keur Samba program, the region’s first multi-seller deal boosts liquidity, expands SME lending, and signals rising interest in securitization as a financing solution for emerging African markets.

Currency crunch: Zambia’s reserves hit a record $4.31B, but the kwacha remains under pressure—logging eight straight days of losses to rank among Africa’s worst-performing currencies. Despite multilateral inflows, drought-induced energy imports and hydro shortfalls keep dollar demand high, raising questions over the sustainability of Zambia’s macro stability efforts.

Ivorian momentum: Côte d’Ivoire’s economy is outperforming peers with projected 6.5% GDP growth (2024-25), low inflation, and surging investment—driven by diversification, energy projects, and infrastructure upgrades. But looming political tensions pose risks ahead of 2025 elections, testing whether Africa’s top-performing economy can sustain progress without triggering instability.

Headline Roundup

Markets & Finance

• BRVM-Listed Sicable Annual Profit Declines on Higher Taxes

• Morocco's CIH Bank Net Income Grew 24% in 2024

• CWG, Chams Report Record Profits Amid Nigeria’s IT Boom

• Old Mutual Posts Highest Profit Since 2019 on Demand Growth

Economy & Macro

• Kenya Faces IMF Setback After $800M Review Falls Through

• Morocco Cuts Interest Rate Again as Inflation Steadies

• Nigeria's Inflation Cools For Second Month After CPI Rebase

• SA Holds Interest Rate at 7.5% Amid Global Trade Uncertainty

Corporate & M&A

• M-PESA Market Share Declines for Fifth Consecutive Quarter

• Old Mutual Launches Bank With Plans to Break Even in Three Years

• Quidax Lists Nigeria’s First Regulated Stablecoin Amid Market Shift

VC, Startups & Tech

• New $1.6m Program to Support Entrepreneurs in Cameroon

• Egypt’s Grinta Expands with New Funding and Citi Clinic Acquisition

• Kenya's Leta Raises $5M to Scale AI-Powered Logistics Platform

• New $1.3M Fund to Help Train African Software Engineers

What Else We’re Reading

• Top Themes Africa Investors Should Watch in 2025

• Debt, Elections, Growth: WAEMU High-Stakes Year Ahead

• Benin’s IPO Market Heats Up Amid Economic Reforms

• Big Reset: Uranium-Rich Niger Set for Rapid Growth

Chart of the Week

Nigeria leads cash decline as digital payments surge: Leading African economy recorded the world’s sharpest drop in cash usage—down 59% over the past decade—outpacing peers like Indonesia, Mexico, and Germany, according to a Worldpay report.

Fueled by fintech growth and central banking policy shifts, electronic payments now dominate the country’s financial landscape. With cash expected to fall to just 32% by 2030, Nigeria is setting the pace for digital finance in Africa.

👉 Read our summary of the report now on Daba News.

That’s it for today.

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Catch you next week!