Features

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) — Colombia has already paid a steep price in the pandemic with more than 61,000 deaths from Covid-19. Now the South American nation faces another cost: about $850 million to immunize its population. South Africa, Colombia and other middle-income countries hit hard by Covid have lined up behind richer ones to buy vaccines in hopes of averting more suffering. They’ve pursued cheaper doses from AstraZeneca Plc, as well as far more…

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) — President Joe Biden got his giant coronavirus stimulus bill. Now, he wants to make sure he gets the credit. The president will hold a ceremony on Friday to sign his $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan into law, kicking off a victory lap that aides and allies describe as a campaign to persuade the nation that he and fellow Democrats are responsible for preventing millions of Americans from enduring poverty…

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) — MTN Group Ltd. has begun work toward separating its fiber and fintech units as part of plans to unlock value and raise funds to fuel expansion. Africa’s biggest wireless carrier is seeking strategic partners and investors for the businesses, Chief Executive Officer Ralph Mupita said in a presentation Wednesday. The company owns 85,000 kilometers (52,817 miles) of fiber across the continent, while fintech products such as mobile-payment services are growing rapidly….

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) — Senator Elizabeth Warren renewed her attacks on Citadel Securities and Robinhood Markets on Tuesday, accusing the companies at the center of the GameStop Corp. trading saga of profiting at the expense of their customers during periods of extreme market volatility. “When big sharks like Citadel and Robinhood come out ahead no matter what happens, and when the information they gather isn’t disclosed, and when it’s secret how that information…

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) — As the rest of the world prepares for a vaccine-driven return to normal over the next few months, at her community health center in a poor, working-class neighborhood of Cape Town, Andrea Mendelsohn is dreading the arrival of April and May—that’s when the weather will get cooler in the southern hemisphere and bring a surge in coronavirus cases. Few people in South Africa—aside from medical staff like Mendelsohn—will be…

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) — As scientists raced to develop Covid-19 vaccines, public health specialists were hoping that more than one group would succeed. Having multiple companies producing vaccines would make it easier to inoculate a lot of people fast. Be careful what you wish for. A range of vaccines with different efficacy results now has given rise to worries that some people may refuse the shot on offer in hopes of getting a…

NIGER(Capital Markets in Africa) — Niger’s President Mahamadou Issoufou, who’s due to step down next month after serving two terms, was named the 2020 winner of the world’s largest leadership prize — a $5 million award made by Sudanese billionaire Mo Ibrahim’s foundation. Issoufou is the sixth winner of the Ibrahim Prize for Achievement in African Leadership since it was introduced in 2006 to promote good governance in the world’s poorest continent. Previous recipients include…