On 18 June, the Zimbabwean telecommunications magnate Strive Masiyiwa launched an online commercial platform designed to help African governments to procure medical supplies and equipment. The African Medical Supplies Platform is an initiative financed by Afreximbank, Nigeria's pan-African mega-bank presided over by the Nigerian Benedict Oramah. Its launch comes at a difficult time for Masiyiwa in Zimbabwe, where his mobile payment subsidiary EcoCash is in dispute with the country's central bank (Africa Intelligence, 15/05/20). The businessman's new platform also has the backing of South African president Cyril Ramaphosa, who was present at its launch in his capacity as chairperson of the African Union (AU) and described the initiative as "the Amazon of coronavirus resources on the African continent". He sees it as a foretaste of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which the AU had planned to launch in early July but whose inauguration has had to be postponed until January 2021 on account of the Covid-19 pandemic.
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