Madagascar | CEO Business Africa

Malagasy women-led agribusiness Soafiary receives US$3.6m loan from IFAD to scale farmers’ support

June 16, 2022June 16, 2022

MADAGASCAR – Soafiary, an innovative women-led agribusiness from Madagascar, has received €3.5 million (US$3.6m) loan financing from the UN’s International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), to enable its grow sustainably and orient its business model. The Malagasy company specializes in the sourcing, processing and commercialization of cereals (maize, rice) and leguminous plants (beans, cape peas, lentils, soybeans) on local and…

Edtech startup Sayna raises US$638k in seed round to expand geographically

April 27, 2022April 27, 2022

MADAGASCAR – Sayna, a Madagascar-based edtech and crowdsourcing platform, has raised US$638,000 in its first seed round of funding from international venture capital firms including Launch Africa Ventures, Orange Ventures, and the MAIC Investors Club. This funding will enable the Malagasy startup to grow into other geographies, transforming it into a global enterprise. “This funding will enable us to complete…

GreenYellow, CEB to construct 13MW solar power in Mauritius

April 2, 2022April 2, 2022

MAURITIUS – GreenYellow Indian Ocean, the subsidiary of the French company GreenYellow, has signed an agreement with the Central Electricity Board (CEB), the entity that manages electricity in Mauritius. The agreement covers the construction of a 13.86 MW solar photovoltaic power plant in Arsenal. The solar park will be built in Arsenal, a town in the north of the island.…

Investisseurs & Partenaires completes its exit from textile company Ultramaille

February 17, 2022February 17, 2022

MADAGASCAR – Impact investment firm Investisseurs & Partenaires (I&P) has completed its exit from Madagascar-based textile company Ultramaille. Founded in 1998, Ultramaille is a textile company specialising in knitwear and knitting. Based in Ambatomaro, this company founded by Frédéric Wybo currently employs more than 800 people and exports its production to Europe, the United States and South Africa. Since 2016,…

Rio Tinto breaks grounds on solar-wind hybrid project in Madagascar

December 14, 2021December 14, 2021

MADAGASCAR – Multinational mining giant, Rio Tinto Plc has announced that construction of its 8MW hybrid wind-solar project in Madagascar has begun. The facility will consist of an 8 MW solar generation capacity, 12 MW of wind, and 8.25MW of battery storage and will supply power to Rio Tinto’s QIT Madagascar Minerals (QMM) ilmenite mine in Fort Dauphin, southern Madagascar.…

Airtel completes sale of its Madagascar towers to Helios for US$51.7m

November 4, 2021November 4, 2021

AFRICA – Airtel Africa has completed the sale of its telecommunications tower company in Madagascar to Helios Towers plc, an independent telecommunications infrastructure company in Africa, for the sum of US$51.7 million in gross consideration for the transaction. In a disclosure filed to the Nigerian Stock Exchange, the company noted that the proceeds from the transaction will be used to…

Rio Tinto signs renewable energy power purchase agreement in Madagascar

July 29, 2021July 29, 2021

MADAGASCAR – Rio Tinto, Anglo-Australian metals and mining corporation, has signed a power purchasing agreement for a new renewable energy plant to power the operations of its QMM ilmenite mine in Fort Dauphin, Southern Madagascar. The project, which uses solar and wind energy, will significantly contribute towards Rio Tinto’s operations in Madagascar achieving its carbon neutral objective by 2023. The…

Ed-tech startup Sayna of Madagascar raises funding from I&P, Miarakap to expand its offering

June 29, 2021June 29, 2021

MADAGASCAR – Sayna, a Malagasy ed-tech startup has secured a round of funding to help it expand access to its training programme and launch new platforms. Launched in 2018, Sayna aims to provide quality training in the digital sector in Africa and offer professional opportunities to young people by bridging the gap between the growing demand of companies on digital issues and…

Axian Group and GreenYellow begin expansion works on Ambatolampy solar power plant in Madagascar

June 16, 2021

MADAGASCAR – As part of the promotion of renewable energy in Madagascar, JIRAMA, a state-owned electric utility and water services company and Green Yellow Madagascar, have agreed to further expand the Ambatolampy, the biggest solar power plant in the Indian Ocean in order to increase its capacity from 20 to 40MWp as well as providing for a 5MWh of battery.…

OPEC Fund signs US$15m loan to improve energy access in Madagascar

April 13, 2021April 13, 2021

MADAGASCAR – The OPEC Fund for International Development (the OPEC Fund) has signed a US$15 million public sector loan agreement with Madagascar to co-finance the second phase of a project that will improve energy access in rural areas. The finance will be used for Madagascar’s ‘Integrated Growth Poles Energy Access Enhancement Project (Phase 2)’, which will install solar nano-networks, power…