Africa

Auto Added by WPeMatico

Nigerian Central Bank Hikes Key Interest Rate Just Days After Naira Plunges to New Low

by

Following the latest meeting of the monetary policy committee, the Central Bank of Nigeria says it has hiked the monetary policy rate to 15.5%. By increasing the key interest rate by 150 basis points, the central bank hopes to “narrow the negative real interest rate gap and rein in inflation.” The rate increase came just … Read more

Report: Gap Between Ethiopian Currency’s Official and Parallel Market Exchange Rate Grows to New Record

by

The Ethiopian birr currency’s parallel exchange rate against the U.S. dollar recently dropped to a low of 92 birrs per dollar, a report has said. The report added that following this latest plunge, the gap between the birr’s official and parallel market exchange rates has widened to a record high. Resumption of Fighting Between Ethiopian … Read more

Kenyan Central Bank Says It’s ‘Craziness’ to Convert Country’s Reserves to Bitcoin

by

The Kenyan central bank governor Patrick Njoroge has described as “craziness” the calls to convert Kenya’s reserves into bitcoin. He added that he would have to be out of his mind before agreeing to this. Njoroge argued that cryptocurrencies like bitcoin are not only volatile, but are hardly solving any problem. CBK Governor Says Converting … Read more

Africa-Focused Crypto Exchange Yellow Card Raises $40 Million via Series B Round

by

Africa-focused crypto exchange Yellow Card recently revealed it has closed its $40 million Series B funding round. The exchange’s announcement of its latest capital raise comes just over a year after it raised $15 million from its Series A round. Funds to Be Used for Development of New Products Yellow Card, an Africa-focused cryptocurrency exchange, … Read more

Nigerian Inflation Rate Rises to 20.52% in August — Month-on-Month Rate Drops

by

While Nigeria’s year-on-year inflation rose for the seventh straight month to 20.52% in August 2022, the latest data from Nigeria’s National Bureau of Statistics shows that the month-on-month rate declined from 1.82% to 1.77% during the same period. The depreciation of the local currency, disruptions in the supply of food products, and an increase in … Read more

Web3 Firm Acquires Creator of South Africa’s First Listed PoW Crypto, Safcoin

by

A Web3 technology company, Virtual Nation Builders, recently said it acquired FHM, the firm that created safcoin, South Africa’s touted first proof-of-work cryptocurrency to list on a global exchange. As a result of the Web3 firm’s acquisition of FHM, the cryptocurrency will now “list and merge all its digital use-cases and platforms into the new … Read more

Ethiopian Central Bank Restricts Amount of Cash Travelers Can Hold, Sets Foreign Currency Conditions

by

According to the National Bank of Ethiopia’s directive, which became effective on September 5, persons entering and departing the country in possession of local currency are now subject to new restrictions. Individuals may not hold local currency whose value exceeds $57.00 or 3,000 birr. The directive also sets conditions and circumstances under which Ethiopian residents … Read more

Nigerian Blockchain Startup Bitmama Closes $2 Million Pre-Seed Round

by

After raising $1.65 million via a pre-seed extension, Bitmama, a Nigeria-based blockchain startup, has now closed its pre-seed funding round at $2 million, a report has said. Leading the funding round were two Africa-focused venture capital firms: Unicorn Growth Capital and Launch Africa. New Funding to Help Bitmama Scale Up Crypto Use Cases in Africa … Read more