"the French Treasury. The eventual goal is for the CFA franc and Eco to merge, giving all of West and Central Africa a single, stable currency. The launch of the new currency is being developed by the West African Monetary Institute based in Accra, Ghana. A Trans-ECOWAS project, established in 2007, plans to upgrade railways in this zone. Economic Community of West African States The Economic Community of West African States, also known as ECOWAS, is a regional economic union of fifteen countries located in West Africa. Collectively, these countries comprise an area of , and in 2015 had an"
"West African Banque Centrale des États de l'Afrique de l'Ouest (BCEAO) and the Central African Banque des États de l'Afrique Centrale (BEAC). Both use the CFA franc as their legal tender. The idea of a single currency union across Africa has been floated, and plans exist to have it established by 2020, though many issues, such as bringing continental inflation rates below 5 percent, remain hurdles in its finalization. As of 2012, Africa has 23 stock exchanges, twice as many as it had 20 years earlier. Nonetheless, African stock exchanges still account for less than 1% of the world's stock"
"West African CFA franc The West African CFA franc (; or simply ""franc"", ISO 4217 code: XOF) is the currency of eight independent states in West Africa: Benin, Burkina Faso, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo. These eight countries had a combined population of 105.7 million people in 2014, and a combined GDP of US$78.4 billion (as of 2012). The acronym CFA stands for ' (""Financial Community of Africa"") or ' (""African Financial Community""). The currency is issued by the BCEAO (""Banque Centrale des États de l'Afrique de l'Ouest"", ""Central Bank of the West African States""), located in"
"from blue to green. On November 30, 2012, the Banque Centrale des États de l'Afrique de l'Ouest (Central Bank of the West African States) issued a 500-franc banknote. General: West African CFA franc The West African CFA franc (; or simply ""franc"", ISO 4217 code: XOF) is the currency of eight independent states in West Africa: Benin, Burkina Faso, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo. These eight countries had a combined population of 105.7 million people in 2014, and a combined GDP of US$78.4 billion (as of 2012). The acronym CFA stands for ' (""Financial Community of Africa"")"
"Central Bank of West African States The Central Bank of West African States (, BCEAO) is a central bank serving the eight west African countries which share the common West African CFA franc currency and comprise the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA): The Bank is active in developing financial inclusion policy and is a member of the Alliance for Financial Inclusion. Its predecessor, the , was created in 1955 and was transformed into BCEAO in 1959. The treaty establishing the West African Monetary Union (UMOA), signed on May 12, 1962, gave BCEAO the exclusive right to issue the"
"Economic Union (UMEOA) and has adopted the CFA franc. This is issued by the Central Bank of the West African States (BCEAO), situated in Dakar, Senegal. The BCEAO manages the monetary and reserve policy of the member states, and provides regulation and oversight of financial sector and banking activity. A legal framework regarding licensing, bank activities, organizational and capital requirements, inspections and sanctions (all applicable to all countries of the Union) is in place, having been reformed significantly in 1999. Microfinance institutions are governed by a separate law, which regulates microfinance activities in all WAEMU countries. The insurance sector is"
"as the , where CFA stands for ""Communauté financière d'Afrique"" (""Financial Community of Africa"") or (""African Financial Community""). It is issued by the BCEAO (, i.e., ""Central Bank of the West African States""), located in Dakar, Senegal, for the eight countries of the UEMOA (, i.e., ""West African Economic and Monetary Union""): These eight countries have a combined population of 102.5 million people (as of 2013), and a combined GDP of US$78.4 billion (as of 2012). The Central Africa CFA franc (XAF) is known in French as the , where CFA stands for (""Financial Cooperation in Central Africa""). It is"
"per capita in twenty years from 170 to 4400 dollars in 2016. The West African country has graduated from the low to the medium income group of countries thanks to good leadership and governance, and despite its limited natural resources. Dr. Tshiani lead a team of World Bank professional experts who designed and implemented a comprehensive economic and financial transformation program for the West African Development Bank (BOAD), the Central Bank for West African States (BCEAO) as well as the eight countries forming the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU): Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal,"
"Central African CFA franc The Central African CFA franc (French: ""franc CFA"" or simply ""franc"", ISO 4217 code: XAF) is the currency of six independent states in Central Africa: Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon. These six countries have a combined population of 48.0 million people (as of 2014), and a combined GDP of US$88.2 billion (as of 2012). CFA stands for ""Coopération financière en Afrique centrale"" (""Financial Cooperation in Central Africa""). It is issued by the BEAC (""Banque des États de l'Afrique Centrale"", ""Bank of the Central African States""), located in Yaoundé,"
"of Central Africa (or CEMAC from its name in French: ""Communauté Économique et Monétaire de l'Afrique Centrale"", in Spanish: ""Comunidad Económica y Monetaria de África Central"", and in Portuguese: ""Comunidade Económica e Monetária da África Central"") is an organization of states of Central Africa established by Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon to promote economic integration among countries that share a common currency, the CFA franc. UDEAC signed a treaty for the establishment of CEMAC to promote the entire process of sub-regional integration through the forming of monetary union with the Central Africa CFA"
"currency as the common central bank for the then seven member countries: Central Bank of West African States The Central Bank of West African States (, BCEAO) is a central bank serving the eight west African countries which share the common West African CFA franc currency and comprise the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA): The Bank is active in developing financial inclusion policy and is a member of the Alliance for Financial Inclusion. Its predecessor, the , was created in 1955 and was transformed into BCEAO in 1959. The treaty establishing the West African Monetary Union (UMOA), signed"
"and short- to medium-term credit. Dependence of the sector on donor assistance is limited. Burundi is part of the East African Community and a potential member of the planned East African Federation. Economic growth in Burundi is relatively steady but Burundi is still behind neighbouring countries. Burundi's currency is the Burundian franc (ISO 4217 code BIF). It is nominally subdivided into 100 centimes, though coins have never been issued in centimes in independent Burundi; centime coins were circulated only when Burundi used the Belgian Congo franc. Monetary Policy is controlled by the central bank, Bank of the Republic of Burundi."
"various ethnic groups. For historical reasons, Western European languages such as French, English and Portuguese predominate in Southern and Coastal subregions, whilst Arabic spreads inland northwards. The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), founded by the 1975 Treaty of Lagos, is an organization of West African states which aims to promote the region's economy. The West African Monetary Union (or UEMOA from its name in French, ""Union économique et monétaire ouest-africaine"") is limited to the eight, mostly Francophone countries that employ the CFA franc as their common currency. The Liptako-Gourma Authority of Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso seeks to"
"is a common species in the Indian Ocean. The porcelain-like shells came to West Africa, beginning in the 14th century, through trade with Arab merchants. The shells became an important currency in the slave trade. The first modern coins exclusively used at the Gold Coast was produced in 1796 but cowries was used alongside coins and gold dust as currency until 1901. The first cedi was introduced in 1965, replacing the pound at a rate of 2.4 cedi = 1 pound, or 1 pesewa = 1 penny. The first cedi was pegged to the British pound at a rate of"
"Swaziland, Namibia, and South Africa also form a common currency and exchange control area known as the Rand Monetary Area that uses the South African rand as the common currency. In 1980, Lesotho introduced its own currency, the loti (plural: maloti). One hundred lisente equal one loti. The Loti is at par with the rand. Until the political insecurity in September 1998, Lesotho's economy had grown steadily since 1992. The riots, however, destroyed nearly 80% of commercial infrastructure in Maseru and two other major towns in the country, having a disastrous effect on the country's economy. Nonetheless, the country has"
"a single currency by 2023. There are two existing regional currency unions in Africa, using the West African CFA franc, and the Central African CFA franc, respectively. Additionally, the Common Monetary Area links several countries in southern Africa based on the South African rand. The African Union's plans for further integration encourage the development of more such regional unions as an intermediate step to full monetary union. One proposed union is the eco, a proposed currency for members of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). In 2002, Mansour Ciss and Baruch Gottlieb created a ""prototype"" currency, called the"
"him has been erected (50-Rand); the place of Mandela's 27-year imprisonment at Robben Island, showing a pile of quarried limestone (100-Rand); the statue of Mandela at the Union Buildings in remembrance of when he was inaugurated there in 1994 (200-Rand). South African rand The rand (sign: R; code: ZAR) is the currency of South Africa. The Rand is subdivided into 100 cents (sign: ""c""). The ISO 4217 code is ZAR, from Dutch ""Zuid-Afrikaanse Rand"" (South African Rand). The Rand is legal tender in the Common Monetary Area between South Africa, Swaziland (Eswatini), Lesotho, and Namibia, although the last three countries"
"plan to introduce a common currency called the Eco. The six member states of WAMZ are Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Nigeria and Sierra Leone who founded the organization together in 2000 and Liberia who joined on 16 February 2010. Apart from Guinea, which is Francophone, they are all English-speaking countries. Along with Mauritania, Guinea opted out of the CFA franc currency shared by all other former French colonies in West and Central Africa. The WAMZ attempts to establish a strong stable currency to rival the CFA franc, whose exchange rate is tied to that of the Euro and is guaranteed by"
"why one can use either the West African CFA franc (Niger's official currency) or the Nigerian Naira for currency in Maradi. The city lies in a region known for groundnut farming. Attractions in Maradi include the Dan Kasswa Mosque, the Centre Artisanal (traditional handcrafts) in the Sonitan quartier and the Katsinawa Provincial Chief's Palace, but much of the rest of the city dates from the 1950s and later and is becoming industrialised. The central Market, the ""Maradi grand-marché"", is a large daily market of wholesale, retail, and agricultural goods from across south central Niger and the major pont of cross"
"Dakar, Senegal, for the members of the UEMOA (""Union Économique et Monétaire Ouest Africaine"", ""West African Economic and Monetary Union""). The franc is nominally subdivided into 100 ""centimes"" but no centime denominations have been issued. The Central African CFA franc is of equal value to the West African CFA franc, and is in circulation in several central African states. They are both the CFA franc. The CFA franc was introduced to the French colonies in West Africa in 1945, replacing the French West African franc. The West African colonies and territories using the CFA franc were Ivory Coast, Dahomey, French"
"Swazi lilangeni The lilangeni (plural: emalangeni, ISO 4217 code: ""SZL"") is the currency of Eswatini and is subdivided into 100 cents. It is issued by the Central Bank of Eswatini (in Swazi ""Umntsholi Wemaswati""). The South African rand is also accepted in Swaziland. Similar to the Lesotho loti, there are singular and plural ""abbreviations"", namely L and E, so where one might have an amount L1, it would be E2, E3, or E4. It was introduced in 1974 at par with the South African rand through the Common Monetary Area, to which it remains tied at a one-to-one exchange rate."
"Common Monetary Area The Common Monetary Area (CMA) links South Africa, Namibia, Lesotho and Swaziland into a monetary union. It is allied to the Southern African Customs Union (SACU). The main purpose of this trade is that all of the parties can have the same development and equitable economic advance so they can be treated as a whole. Although the South African rand is legal tender in all states, the other member states issue their own currencies: the Lesotho loti, Namibian dollar and Swazi lilangeni. However, these are exchanged at par with the rand and there is no immediate prospect"
"South African rand The rand (sign: R; code: ZAR) is the currency of South Africa. The Rand is subdivided into 100 cents (sign: ""c""). The ISO 4217 code is ZAR, from Dutch ""Zuid-Afrikaanse Rand"" (South African Rand). The Rand is legal tender in the Common Monetary Area between South Africa, Swaziland (Eswatini), Lesotho, and Namibia, although the last three countries do have their own currencies pegged at par with rand. Before 1976, the rand was legal tender in Botswana. The Rand takes its name from the WitwatersRand (""white waters' ridge"" in English), the ridge upon which Johannesburg is built and"
"income of the Republic is often listed as being approximately $400 a year, one of the lowest in the world, but this figure is based mostly on reported sales of exports and largely ignores the unregistered sale of foods, locally produced alcoholic beverages, diamonds, ivory, bushmeat, and traditional medicine. The currency of Central African Republic is the CFA franc, which is accepted across the former countries of French West Africa and trades at a fixed rate to the euro. Diamonds constitute the country's most important export, accounting for 40–55% of export revenues, but it is estimated that between 30% and"
"Eco (currency) The Eco is the proposed name for the common currency that the West African Monetary Zone (WAMZ) plans to introduce in the framework of Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). After its introduction, the goal is to merge the new currency with the West African CFA franc (used by the French-speaking members of ECOWAS since 1945) at a later date. This will create a common currency for much of West Africa. For the Eco to be implemented, ten convergence criteria, set out by the West African Monetary Institute (WAMI), must be met. These criteria are divided into"
"Abidjan is also the bridgehead of the country's only highway linking the city to the administrative and political capital, Yamoussoukro. Abidjan has one of the biggest ports in the sub-region (West Africa). It is a container transshipment port and was opened in 1951 in the presence of the Minister of Overseas and Colonies at the time, François Mitterrand. The 15m deep Vridi Canal, where boats with large draughts can dock in the deep-water port. The Côte d'Ivoire is in the Franc Zone (where the currency is CFA francs), as part of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU). Abidjan"
"presented in a vertical format. Eastern Caribbean dollar The Eastern Caribbean dollar (symbol: $; code: XCD) is the currency of all seven full members and one associate member of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS). The successor to the British West Indies dollar, it has existed since 1965, and it is normally abbreviated with the dollar sign ""$"" or, alternatively, ""EC$"" to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies. The EC$ is subdivided into 100 cents. It has been pegged to the United States dollar since 7 July 1976, and the exchange rate is US$1 = EC$2.70. Six of the"
"Sahrawi peseta The Sahrawi peseta (, ) is the currency of the partially recognized Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic. It is divided in 100 céntimos, although coins with this denomination have never been minted, nor have banknotes been printed. The official international currency code is EHP. The first Sahrawi pesetas were minted in 1990, but they were not adopted as the national coin of Western Sahara until 1997. As this territory is mostly controlled by Morocco, the circulating currency in that part of the country is the Moroccan dirham, with Algerian dinars and Mauritanian ouguiyas circulating alongside the Sahrawi peseta in"
"franc: the West African CFA franc (ISO 4217 currency code XOF), and the Central Africa CFA franc (ISO 4217 currency code XAF). They are distinguished in French by the meaning of the abbreviation CFA. These two CFA francs have the same exchange rate with the euro (1 euro = 655.957 XOF = 655.957 XAF), and they are both guaranteed by the French treasury (), but the West African CFA franc cannot be used in Central African countries, and the Central Africa CFA franc cannot be used in West African countries. The West African CFA franc (XOF) is known in French"
"in the next ten years. So far only three of the 53 member states of the African Union have committed to using the currency. Egypt, Swaziland, and Lesotho have logged reservations over the precise date of monetary union and have requested a two- to three-year delay. Seychelles may not join as a result of economic fears and may, along with Cape Verde, attempt to join the euro at a later date, while the official currency of Mayotte is the euro. The African Central Bank (ACB) is one of the three financial institutions of the African Union. It will over time"
"in December 2000 in connection with the formal launch of WAMZ. The Eco was first planned to be introduced in 2003, but this was postponed several times, to 2005, 2010 and 2014. At a meeting of the Convergence Council of Ministers and Governors of West Africa on 25 May 2009, the start of the currency was rescheduled to 2015 due to the international economic crisis. The December 2009 meeting also established a plan to begin work to merge the Eco with the CFA franc immediately upon the launch of the Eco; this was planned to be achieved by 2020. In"
"Zairean zaire The Zaire (French: ""Zaïre""), was the unit of currency of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and then of the Republic of Zaire from 1967 until 1997. There were two distinct currencies. All but six of the 79 series of banknotes issued bear the image of Mobutu Sese Seko. The Zaire (French: ""Zaïre""), symbol: ""Z"", or sometimes ""Ƶ"", was introduced in 1967, replacing the ""Congolese franc"" at an exchange rate of 1 zaire = 1000 francs. The zaire was subdivided into 100 ""makuta"" (singular: ""likuta"", symbol: ""K""), each of 100 ""sengi"" (symbol: ""s""). However, the sengi was worth"
"West African States (ECOWAS). The ECOWAS development fund is based in Lomé. Togo also is a member of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA), which groups seven West African countries using the CFA franc. The West African Development Bank (BOAD), which is associated with UEMOA, is based in Lomé. Togo long served as a regional banking center, but that position has been eroded by the political instability and economic downturn of the early 1990s. Historically, France has been Togo's principal trading partner, although other European Union countries are important to Togo's economy. Total United States trade with Togo"