Fred Dzakpata

Zimbabwe has the second largest informal economy as a percentage of its total economy in the world, after Bolivia, the International Monetary Fund has said.

International Monetary Fund Boss Christine Lagarde has welcomed a commitment by Zimbabwe’s new President Emmerson Mnangagwa to stabilize the country’s economy and work to improve relations with the international community. Lagarde met with Mnangagwa on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. It was their first meeting since Mnangagwa took power in November when the military ousted Robert Mugabe, who ruled for 37 years.

Three Ghanaian cocoa farmers have been awarded at the 2017 edition of the Cocoa Excellence Awards ceremony, for having the best of the world’s standard for cocoa. The farmers are; Simon Marfo, John Kofi Asiamah, and Noah Obeng. The awards ceremony which took place in Paris – France, is held every two years to award the hard work of cocoa farmers across the world.

One of the biggest financial services company in the world, JP Morgan Chase & Co has announced its intention to establish branches in Ghana and Kenya. The company, which declared 96.7 billion dollars in revenue in 2016 is targeting multinational companies operating in Ghana’s oil and gas industry

MTN, Africa's biggest mobile operator, is gunning to become Africa's biggest bank. The ambitious business strategy was revealed by MTN CEO Rob Shuter yesterday during the Deloitte Africa in 2018 Outlook conference in Woodmead. "The core digital service that we have decided to put our money on is Mobile Money," said Shuter. Mobile Money is really about leveraging the strength of the brand and leveraging the strength of the distribution because we have built a huge informal distribution network for prepaid airtime to bring customers into a transactional banking system."

Ghana’s Central Bank has issued a caution to Ghanaians against trading in digital currencies such as Bit coin. It follows the recent upsurge in trading of the virtual currencies in the West African Country.

Nigeria’s economy is projected to grow by 2.1 percent this year according to the International Monetary Fund. The prediction which represents 0.2 percent from the 1.9 percent projected in October 2017 was contained in Fund's World Economic Outlook Update, released on Monday. Though, the IMF upgraded its growth forecast for the global economy in 2018 to 3.9 percent, it however downgraded the 2018 and 2019 growth forecasts for sub-Saharan Africa to 3.3 percent respectively.

The African Development Bank provided a much-needed lifeline at a time when it was very difficult to secure budget support loans from anywhere else, as the country struggled with the 2015-2016 economic recession, the Nigerian Government has said.

The President of the African Development Bank, Akinwumi Adesina, has made a compelling case for accelerating Africa’s industrialization in order to create jobs, reduce poverty and promote inclusive economic growth. Citing data from the Bank’s 2018 African Economic Outlook launched in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, on Wednesday, Adesina said infrastructure projects were among the most profitable investments any society can make as they “significantly contribute to, propel, and sustain a country’s economic growth. Infrastructure, when well managed, provides the financial resources to do everything else.” Noting that economic diversification is key to resolving many of the continent’s difficulties, he urged African governments to encourage a shift toward labour-intensive industries, especially in rural areas where 70 percent of the continent’s population resides.

African Airlines are expected to loose about hundred million dollars in 2018 based on a collective net loss of hundred million dollars in 2017.