African markets and business updates

DHL Group and Alibaba.com have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to explore the use of artificial intelligence in international logistics. The companies aim to make cross-border trade easier for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The agreement was announced during Alibaba.com’s CoCreate 2026 Conference in Los Angeles. DHL logistics could be integrated into Accio A […] DHL Group and Alibaba.com have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to explore the use of artificial intelligence in international logistics. The companies aim to make cross-border trade easier for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).…

The Cameroonian government has reported two different budget execution rates for 2025 for the Special Reconstruction and Development Program for the Far North, PSRDREN: 59% in the final statement issued by the program’s steering committee and 63.8% in a report from the Economy Ministry, MINEPAT. The 4.8-percentage-point gap is not explained. Signed by Economy Minister Alamine Ousmane Mey and published on September 11, 2026, in Cameroon Tribune , the statement reports a 59% financial execution rate alongside a 68% physical execution rate. The same figures were reported by Mutations on September 4. MINEPAT's September 1 report gives a 63.8% execution rate alongside an 88% contract award rate.…

Cameroon’s National Cocoa and Coffee Board, ONCC, and Cooko, a German company specializing in post-harvest cocoa fermentation and digital traceability, signed a new three-year memorandum of understanding in Douala on September 10, 2026. The agreement replaces one signed in September 2021, but the announcement provided no figures on the results of the first phase and set no numerical targets for the next three years. The agreement was signed by ONCC Director General Michael Ndoping and Cooko Country Director Epanty Mbanda. According to a statement published by ONCC, it covers cocoa quality, research, data infrastructure, producer incomes, agricultural entrepreneurship and public policy.…

Gabonese microfinance institution Bamboo EMF plans to open a branch in Douala by June 2027 as it seeks to raise CFAF 5 billion on the CEMAC financial market to expand its loan portfolio. Chief Executive Yvan N’na Mboma announced the timeline in Douala on September 9, 2026, during a presentation of the bond issue to Cameroonian investors. The institution plans to partner with a local banking network to offer its services in Cameroon. It has not disclosed the planned investment, the identity of its partner or the status of the required regulatory approvals.…

Cameroon’s Ministry of Economy, Planning and Regional Development, MINEPAT, now values the World Bank Group’s portfolio in the country at $3.2 billion, or about CFAF 1.806 trillion. The figure, published on September 9, 2026, is $1.3 billion lower than the amount presented during the joint review in April 2025. The gap is 28.9% in dollar terms, but the available information does not establish that financing declined by the same proportion. The ministry released the figure after Economy Minister Alamine Ousmane Mey met Harold Tavares, executive director for Africa Group II on the World Bank Group’s board, in Yaounde on September 8.…

Cameroon’s goods exports to the United States reached CFAF 151.9 billion ($269 million) between January and July 2026. A year earlier, they stood at CFAF 69.3 billion. According to U.S. Census Bureau data, exports more than doubled in value, rising 119.2%, an increase of CFAF 82.6 billion. The figures are based on U.S. imports from Cameroon recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau. The monthly figures were uneven, however, with purchases heavily concentrated in April and May. April and May Accounted for 78.5% of the Increase Sales reached CFAF 56.2 billion in April and CFAF 29.7 billion in May.…

Cameroon now accounts for 1,328 of the 1,834 products approved for preferential treatment under the trade regime of the Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC). That represents 72.4% of the CEMAC total, based on figures presented by the Trade Ministry on September 10, 2026, putting the country well ahead of the bloc’s five other members. The tally includes 120 products made by 14 companies operating in Cameroon, which received their approval certificates at a ceremony in Yaounde chaired by Trade Minister Luc Magloire Mbarga Atangana. The latest approvals bring the number of Cameroonian companies benefiting from the scheme since 2014 to 91.…

China United Lines (CU Lines) will begin taking slots on the Straits–Bengal–Straits (SBS) service in October 2026. The service is operated by Transworld Group’s Singapore-based units Straits Orient Lines and BLPL. CU Lines will also market the connection under the SBS service code. The service connects Malaysia with Northeast India through the following rotation: Port […] China United Lines (CU Lines) will begin taking slots on the Straits–Bengal–Straits (SBS) service in October 2026. The service is operated by Transworld Group’s Singapore-based units Straits Orient Lines and BLPL. CU Lines will also market the connection under the SBS service code.…

A reported $22.3 billion U.S.–South Korea energy framework to build a 6.3‑gigawatt (GW) natural gas plant in Encinal, Texas, has fueled a market rally as the deal approaches a make‑or‑break legislative window this week — with Seoul saying talks are in the final stretch but nothing is final until signatures are inked. The timeline sharpened […]

The Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE) has called on the Federal Government to urgently implement socially sensitive measures to cushion the impact of rising petrol prices on households and businesses across the country.