Here are three big stories from Africa’s business and policy space that might have escaped your notice but are important to bear in mind this week:
Dangote Refinery marks milestone with inaugural crude oil delivery
On Friday, the Dangote oil refinery in Nigeria marked a significant step towards the commencement of operations as it received its inaugural shipment of 1 million barrels of crude oil from Shell International Trading and Shipping Co (STASCO), following years of delays. According to a statement from the Dangote Group, this cargo, sourced from Chevron’s Agbami deep-water field, is the first of 6 million barrels essential for the initial operation of the refinery.
The commencement will involve the production of diesel, aviation fuel, and Liquefied Petroleum Gas, with the subsequent production of Premium Motor Spirit to follow. A spokesperson for the Dangote Group mentioned that the STASCO cargo, delivered via a chartered vessel, has been successfully unloaded into the refinery’s crude oil tanks. The following four shipments, expected from the state oil firm NNPC in two to three weeks, will be complemented by a final cargo from ExxonMobil.
The Dangote Refinery boasts to meet 100% of the Nigerian requirement of all refined products and a surplus of each product for export. It is a multi-billion dollar project that will create a market for $21 billion per annum of Nigerian Crude.
AFDB approves $66 million for Tanzania’s Agricultural Development Bank
Last week, the Board of Directors of the African Development Bank Group gave the green light for a $66 million loan to Tanzania’s government. This funding is meant to increase the Tanzania Agricultural Development Bank (TADB) capital. The project was approved on December 5th and is anticipated to improve financial access in the agriculture sector, boost crop yields and productivity, increase household income, and generate jobs.
More so, the TADB Phase II project is set to receive $950,000 in technical assistance from the Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa (AFAWA) initiative to enhance financial access and support for women in agriculture value chains. An additional $250,000 in technical assistance from the Africa Adaptation Acceleration Program (AAAP) will focus on climate risk management, helping TADB assess its portfolio’s climate risk profile and develop tools for climate-resilient lending practices.
With this support, TADB can strengthen its financial position and improve the financial and non-financial services it provides to entrepreneurs in agriculture and related areas. Ultimately, it aims to contribute to widespread economic growth in Tanzania.
NIBSS bars banks from transferring to non-deposit institutions
On Thursday, December 7, the Nigerian Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) instructed banks to remove non-deposit payment service providers from the instant payment (NIP) outward transfer channels. The state-owned payment infrastructure company stated that including non-deposit-taking financial institutions like Switching Companies, Payment Solution Service Providers (PSSP), and Super Agents (SA) as beneficiaries on NIP funds transfer channels violates the CBN Guidelines on Electronic Payment of Salaries, Pensions, Suppliers, and Taxes in Nigeria dated February 2014.
This recent directive, causing a stir in the Nigerian Fintech ecosystem, prompted responses from entities such as Kuda, Paga, Opay, and Piggyvest, clarifying that they were not affected. Furthermore, while switches, PSSPs, and SAs may facilitate outward transfers as inflows to banks, they are not allowed to receive inflows due to restrictions in their licenses, which prohibit them from holding customers’ funds.
ICYMI: Market roundup
- The NGX All-Share Index rose by +85.75 (+0.12%) last week to close at 71,541.74 points on the 8th of December.
- The top gainers include Multiverse +9.95%, Infinity Trust Mortgage Bank +9.94%, PZ Cussons Nigeria +9.87%, Ecobank +9.79%, and Champion Breweries +9.09%. Top decliners were Greenwich Alpha ETF -26.32%, FBN Holdings -10.00%, Mrs Oil Nigeria -9.96%, Learn Africa -9.82%, and Neimeth International Pharmaceuticals -9.52%.
- The Nigerian naira started the week at N797.47/$1 and closed the week at a decline of N803.50/$1.
- Brent crude closed the week at $75.65, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude closed at $71.26.
- According to data from Coinmarketcap, the global cryptocurrency market cap stood at $1.63 trillion on Sunday, 10th of December, a 0.43% decrease over the last day. Bitcoin dropped by 0.23% to trade at $43,838.59, Ethereum rose by 0.07% to trade at $2,348.43, and Binance Coin rose by 0.38% to trade at $239.68 – over the last day.
- Cynoia, a Tunisian team collaboration startup, raised $930, 000 for West African expansion.
- Amini, a Kenyan-based climate-tech startup, raised a $4 million seed funding round.
- Mtor, an Egypt-based car parts marketplace, raised $2.8 million in pre-seed funding.
- Kenyan e-bus startup, BasiGo, secured a $5 million debt facility to scale local production.
- Kenya’s Tappi raised $1.5 million in pre-seed funding to digitise African SMEs.