African markets and business updates

In an increasingly unstable world, marked by geopolitical tensions, supply chain disruptions and renewed conflict, health security can no longer be taken for granted. The ongoing conflict in the Middle East is a stark reminder that disruptions to energy, logistics and supply chains can quickly translate into global health risks, affecting access to medicines and weakening response capacities far beyond the region. Against this backdrop…

At the end of March, Egypt President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi pleaded with US President Donald Trump to bring an end to the conflict in Iran, which began in February when the US and Israel launched "Operation Epic Fury" against Tehran. "I tell President Trump: nobody can stop the war in our region in the Gulf but you," Sisi said at an event in Cairo. "Please, Mr President, please. Please help us stop the war. You are capable of doing so." Such appeals are perhaps unsurprising…

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) is aiming to be the Nigerian opposition party to unseat President Bola Tinubu in the January 2027 elections. Under its umbrella, Tinubu's top three opponents in the last elections have united in an attempt to present a common front against the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). Tinubu won the 2023 election with 36.6% of the votes cast. His rivals scored a combined 60.9% of the vote: Atiku Abubakar (pictured) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had 29.…

Speedinvest, the Vienna VC firm, opened its first dedicated MEA fund last week, anchored by EIB Global, Mubadala and Qatar Investment Authority EIB Global committed €40 million to a vehicle targeting €200 million, designed to back Series A and B startups across Africa and the Middle East The fund routes Gulf and European capital into African tech at a time when global MEA venture fundraising has slowed for two consecutive years Speedinvest GmbH, the Vienna-based venture-capital firm with about €1.…

South Africa has withdrawn its draft national artificial intelligence (AI) policy after "fictitious sources" - most likely AI-generated - were discovered in its reference list. Minister of communications and digital technologies Solly Malatsi confirmed that the current draft policy would be withdrawn after its "integrity and credibility" were "compromised.…

The numbers tell one story. In 2025, China-Africa trade reached a record $348 billion, with Chinese exports to Africa rising to $225 billion and African exports to China reaching $123 billion. By any measure, this is a relationship of enormous scale - and one that has expanded dramatically over the past two decades. But there is another story running alongside the headline figures, and it is less comfortable. "The deficit remains overwhelmingly on the African side," Bekele-Thomas told the gathering…

For Africa, one of the world's most exposed continents to external shocks, the Iran war is set to have profound economic and social consequences. In its latest Regional Economic Outlook for sub-Saharan Africa , the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned that the economic progress the continent has made in recent years is l ikely to come under severe pressure. "Sub-Saharan Africa entered 2026 reaping the benefits of hard-won stabilisation gains after a strong 2025.…

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa will attend an F1 Grand Prix event later this year as the government continues its lobbying campaign to host Africa's first F1 race in over 30 years. While Ramaphosa has yet to confirm which event he will attend, sports minister Gayton McKenzie said the president will be joining him on a "working visit" to one of the races. "His Excellency President Cyril Ramaphosa has agreed to join me at a Formula One Grand Prix later this year. This is a working visit, not a social one…

L'agence de notation Fitch vient d'abaisser la note souveraine du Mozambique en devise étrangère de « CCC » à « CC », signalant que le pays se rapproche dangereusement d'une restructuration de sa dette. Une décision prise en dehors du calendrier habituel, tant la situation est jugée urgente. Au cœur du problème : l'unique Eurobond mozambicain, d'un montant de 900 millions de dollars. Fitch estime désormais probable que son remboursement fasse l'objet d'une renégociation…

L'agence de notation Fitch vient d'abaisser la note souveraine du Mozambique en devise étrangère de « CCC » à « CC », signalant que le pays se rapproche dangereusement d'une restructuration de sa dette. Total (BRVM:TTLC, BRVM:TTLC, NSE:TOTL) annonce la finalisation de l’acquisition de la participation de 26,5 % (opérateur) que détenait Anadarko dans le projet Mozambique LNG, pour un montant de 3,9 milliards de dollars. Le Comité de politique monétaire du Mozambique maintien le taux préférentiel de prêt à 23.…