Hi there. Welcome to another Daba weekly newsletter!

In less than two weeks, Egypt has turned around its economic fortunes. Teetering on the brink of collapse, it has unlocked over $40bn of financing from the UAE and IMF.

And there's more in the pipeline with potential investments from Saudi Arabia and the EU eyeing an $8.1bn package, setting the stage for recovery in one of Africa’s most significant economies.

In other top stories from the past week:

• Bitcoin continues rally beyond $72k

• Stanbic investors get record dividends

• Catch up with the latest on Daba platform

• Spotlighting Africa’s top public female CEOs

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Introducing our all-new African capital markets page!

We’re delighted to announce that you can now view in real-time prices of the Bourse Régionale des Valeurs Mobilières (BRVM) stock exchange on the Daba Website.

You might not have heard of this stock exchange before, but it is the fifth-largest stock exchange in Africa and is growing rapidly!

And if you are already an investor, you can easily check your prices and news on our platform.

Curious to learn more about this market? 

Check out this article exploring the BRVM, stay tuned to our blog page, and follow us on all social media. You can also reach out to our team; we would be happy to discuss it with you further!

Follow the button below to check out the African Capital Markets page now.

Here are last week’s top stories

Bullish markets

Bitcoin surges past $72k for first time ever as ETFs spur crypto rally

Bitcoin topped $72,000 for the first time in history on Monday, advancing for a sixth straight day and taking gains this year to almost 70% on the back of massive inflows into US exchange-traded funds. 

The BRVM equity market saw a positive trend, with a 0.21% increase to 212.98 points, recording its fourth consecutive weekly gain. Trading in the Nigerian equities market closed the week in the green and kicked off this week on a bullish note.

Oil prices fell for the week but have risen to a four-month high on a confluence of factors, including potential supply disruptions after Ukrainian attacks on Russian refineries. Gold, currently hovering at record highs, continues to trade in the green but has an uncertain outlook as investors have doused expectations of Fed rate cuts in June.

Record payout

Stanbic shareholders in Kenya get highest-ever dividends as profit hits $84m

Investors in public companies can benefit in two ways: shares can become more valuable over time, and you get regular dividend payouts. The latter are particularly important in stock investing because they give shareholders a steady source of extra income.

As such, news of Kenya’s Stanbic Holdings increasing its dividend payout by 21.8% would have met with smiles on the faces of investors. The decision came as the net profit for the year ended December 2023 surged by a third, reaching the highest level in the lender’s history.

The enhanced performance prompted the Stanbic board to propose an increase in dividend per share from Sh12.60 to Sh15.35 ($0.11), marking the highest-ever payout in the lender's history.

Rescue deal

Egypt reaches $9.2bn IMF deal after biggest-ever rate hike, pound devaluation

Egypt recently secured an expanded $8bn deal with the IMF, following the central bank's decision to float its currency and implement a significant 6% rate hike — the largest ever recorded. 

The North African powerhouse also secured a $1.2bn loan focused on environmental sustainability, bringing its total funding from the IMF to over $9bn.

These measures mark the latest in a string aimed at stabilizing the country’s economy. They follow a deal with the UAE to develop a prime stretch of Egypt’s Mediterranean coast that would bring $35bn of investments to the indebted country over the next few months.

Headline roundup

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

Macro & Markets

• BRVM benchmark index sees fourth straight week of gains

• West Africa central bank maintains key lending rate at 3.5%

• Senegal schedules delayed presidential election for March 24

• Transcorp Power listing adds over $1.1bn to NGX market cap

VC Funding & Startups

• RemotePass gets $5.5m to facilitate remote hiring in emerging markets

• Egypt-based adtech dKilo secures $3.2m in seed funding round

• MDaaS raises $3m to improve healthcare access across Nigeria

• SA healthtech RecoMed secures funding from Japanese pharma Eisai

Other Deals & Expansion

• Deel acquires South Africa’s PaySpace to expand Africa presence

• Fawry partners UAE-based PayMe on remittance services for expats

• Egypt-based fintech Khazna expands services into Saudi Arabia

• Kenya's Bamburi Cement completes $84m sale of Uganda unit

Funds & Accelerators

• Conducive Capital launches $50m fund to invest in African startups

• Ring Capital launches new VC fund targeting francophone West Africa

• Endeavor unveils first cohort of startups for Kenya ScaleUp program

Startup Opportunities

Discover funding and accelerator opportunities to boost your startup's growth.

• Business Technology & Innovation Program (Mar 15)

• AWIEF Growth Accelerator (Mar 24)

• Women’s Health Accelerator Program (May 16)

• Archipelagos SME Program (Jun 30)

Our insight for the week

Get more context into events shaping Africa’s economic landscape.

The women steering some of Africa’s largest public companies: Despite women comprising only 5% of CEOs across African stock exchanges, their impact is undeniable. 

The Definitive List of Women CEOs by Africa.com and Standard Bank Group showcases these trailblazers, revealing not only their scarcity but also their financial outperformance compared to male-led firms.

Drawing parallels to global trends, studies highlight the profitability boost associated with gender-diverse executive teams.

The profiles of these influential women offer insight into their remarkable journeys and achievements. From Nompumelelo Zikalala's pioneering efforts in mining to Mpumi Madisa's historic tenure at Bidvest Group, each CEO brings a unique blend of experience and vision to their respective industries. 

Bertina Engelbrecht's leadership at Clicks Group and Nombasa Tsengwa's strategic initiatives at Exxaro Resources further exemplify the transformative impact of female leadership.

The narratives extend beyond South Africa, with leaders like Miriam Chidiebele Olusanya of Guaranty Trust Bank in Nigeria and Jane Karuku of East African Breweries PLC in Kenya making significant strides in their sectors.

As we celebrate these achievements, we invite you to join us in celebrating gender diversity in corporate leadership.

To learn more about these remarkable women shaping Africa's corporate landscape, TAP HERE or the button below for the full article on our website.

That’s it for this week. Next Frontier is sent once weekly. Think your friend or colleague should know about us? Forward this newsletter to them. They can also sign up here.

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Catch you next week!