In Focus | Ivory Coast, Mali
From Gao to Abidjan, Ben Moctar Maouloud, the broker who has Ouattara's ear

Ivory Coast
US agro-trading giant ADM turns the page in Abidjan

US agricultural trading group Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) is to [...]

Ivory Coast
Steve Bokhobza brokers helicopters for Ivorian army under alias of David Nakash

Abidjan's recent hiring and acquisition of H125 helicopters for the armed forces was arranged by Magen-ta Solutions, a Spanish firm created by Steve Bokhobza, a controversial defence equipment broker with dual French-Israeli citizenship who now goes by the name of David Nakash.

Palace Intrigues
William Ruto, Denis Sassou Nguesso, Kaïs Saïed, Ben Moctar Maouloud

Intrigues big and small... Every Tuesday, Africa Intelligence takes a peek into the corridors of power in Africa and beyond.

KenyaState House employees find First Lady's fasting hard to swallow

CongoDenis Sassou Nguesso honours his oilmen

TunisiaKaïs Saïed blocks football boss from attending FIFA congress

Ivory CoastBen Moctar Maouloud courts French arms companies at Bpifrance salon

Ivory Coast
Chinese defence giant Norinco set to land FACI armoured vehicle contract

The Ivorian army is close to placing a firm order for some 50 Chinese infantry fighting vehicles to boost its capacity to deal with the insurrection threat posed by armed groups. Arms dealers Gaby Peretz and Ben Moctar have quietly gone to work in Abidjan in an effort to take advantage of the demand for new equipment.

Morocco
Mohammed VI expected in Dakar to see Macky Sall

The Moroccan King Mohammed VI will visit the Senegalese capital on 20 February, with a meeting with President Macky Sall the top priority.

Ivory Coast, Mali
Malian opposition figures excluded from Ivorian soldiers' release deal

The fate of Malian opposition members in Ivory Coast was a sticking point throughout negotiations for the release of 49 Ivorian soldiers held in Mali, with Bamako dropping that extradition demand ultimately its main concession.

Senegal
AU fertiliser summit backed by Bill Gates Foundation

To address the severe impact of rising food prices in several African countries, the AU is organising the African Union Fertilizer and Soil Health Summit from 23 to 30 June in Dakar.

Mali
Barrick Gold reassured about its future in Mali after audit

As the Malian gold sector undergoes an audit ordered by the ruling junta, the Canadian giant Barrick Gold, the country's leading gold producer, said it was reassured by the initial exchanges its teams had had with the audit firm Mazars.

Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast
Kaboré aides reinvent themselves in Abidjan finance

Vista Bank boss Simon Tiemtoré has invited two men who advised the former Burkinabe president to join him in Ivory Coast's economic capital.

Ivory Coast
Aly Badara Bassanté's special gendarmerie forces stock up on Israeli-made equipment

The elite units of the Ivorian gendarmerie are to be equipped with Israeli IWI assault rifles and new armoured vehicles in a €23m contract. The contract was negotiated by Malian Ben Moctar Maouloud.

Ivory Coast
Border protection: Israel's Avnon Group chases the military high command hard

With TAR already set to supply 10 helicopters to the Ivorian army, its sister company, iSTAR, is making a bid for a contract to supply surveillance drones. Both subsidiaries of Israel's Avnon Group, they aim to play a role in the country's efforts to protect its borders.

Ivory Coast, Morocco
TGCC pips Ivorian and Indian rivals to military hospital contract

One of the flagship contracts of the 2016-2020 military budget, the construction of four military hospitals in Ivory Coast, is on the verge of being awarded to Casablanca-based TGCC. This is much to the dismay of its Ivorian rivals, who had been banking on home advantage, and Indian firms, which had secured the financing.