Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) and Bharti Airtel, a leading telecommunications services provider with operations in 20 countries across Asia and Africa, today announced a partnership to bring innovative mobile payment services to seven markets in Africa including Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Rwanda, Seychelles and Tanzania.

Following the announcement of the collaboration between Bloomberg and the African Development Bank (AfDB) in December, Bloomberg and the AfDB through the African Financial Markets Initiative (AFMI) have launched the AFMI^SM Bloomberg® African Bond Index (ABABI), a new family of African bond indices. Calculated by Bloomberg Indexes, this composite index is comprised of the Bloomberg South Africa, Egypt, Nigeria and Kenya local currency sovereign indices.

LOME, Togo, November 26, 2014/ -- As part of the implementation of its annual bond issue program, the West African Development Bank (BOAD) (http://www.boad.org) is launching a bond loan issue of FCFA 40 billion through a public offering from 1 to 19 December 2014. The bond value will be FCFA 10,000 at 5.95% interest, net of taxes. Bonds may be purchased at BOAD headquarters in Lomé, at its resident missions located in the buildings of the national agencies of the BCEAO, or through WAEMU-approved MICs.(1)

The funds raised in this new operation will enable BOAD to increase its efforts in support of merchant public sector and private sector projects in the West African Economic and Monetary Union.

With 26 bond lines issued as of the end of October 2014 for over FCFA 750 billion in resources mobilised since its first operation in 1993, BOAD is currently the leading non-sovereign issuer in the regional capital market. Two operations successfully conducted in January and July of this year have made it possible to mobilise around FCFA 180 billion.

Returns, safety and liquidity of BOAD securities are guaranteed based on the institution's performance, and income from these securities is exempt from taxes and duties.

(1) Management and intermediation company.

Actis has today announced that is has established Credit Services Holdings (CSH), a buy-and-build credit services business. CSH’s first investment will be acquiring 100% of Compuscan, the largest independent credit bureau in Africa.