African markets and business updates

On 23-24 April 2026, the JW Marriott Hotel Nairobi Nairobi, Kenya will play host to over 1,000 high level guests and participants comprised of heads of state, ministers, institutional investors, development finance institutions, infrastructure operators and global industry leaders at the Africa We Build Summit 2026 hosted by Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) in partnership with the Government of Kenya. The focus of the high-level discussions on financing…

African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) and its subsidiaries has announced strong results for the year ended 31 December 2025, underscoring sustained financial resilience, increased market confidence and strategic execution. Total assets and contingencies rose by 21% to US$48.5 billion, up from US$40.1 billion as at 31 December 2024, underscoring the Bank's consistent growth trajectory. Net loans and advances for the Group closed the year at US$33.5 billion (FY'2024: US$29.0 billion), an increase of 16%…

The brutal Sudanese civil war is "grinding on with no resolution in sight" and outside actors - marshalled by the US - need to relaunch their efforts to broker a peace before the conflict spreads further or leads to partition, according to a new report from International Crisis Group (ICG). The three-year conflict has triggered one of the world's worst humanitarian crises, with an estimated four million refugees sheltering from famine and atrocities in neighbouring countries.…

Ecobank Group, the leading pan-African financial services Group, has delivered a strong set of financial results for the year ended 31 December 2025, reflecting continued execution of its Growth, Transformation, and Returns (GTR) strategy and deliberate growth across its businesses. Profit before tax grew by 21% year-on-year to US$801 million, while net revenues rose by 17% to US$2.45 billion, driven by solid performances in both Corporate and Investment Banking, and Consumer and Commercial Banking.…

In order for mining to help drive South Africa's next phase of economic growth, the perennial goal of freight reform must move from rhetorical promise to measurable reality. Cape Town was the epicenter of the policy discussion in February. At the Mining Indaba, miners, financiers, and officials aligned on what is required to unlock investment: policy certainty, working logistics, and credible reform. Later, in Parliament, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana gave his 2026 Budget speech…

Eight young Nigerian artists, aged 19 to 26, showed their work at Angels and Muse in Ikoyi, Lagos, from 21 - 28 March 2026 in a group exhibition suggesting a generation negotiating western influence and local artistic identity. As evidence of this outward pull, it is obvious that Chuka Onwordi has anime on his mind. His digital art pieces, Don't Cry and Incubation , owe a conspicuous debt to that style, as does his sister Awele Onwordi's Nicely Captured . Her other work at the exhibition, Space Girl…

Mokgome Mogoba began his career in finance at Standard Bank in 2002. He then joined Standard Bank's private equity team after qualifying as a Chartered Accountant. He spent nine years at what is usually described as Africa's largest bank, and spent time working at the bank's London UK office. He was a founding member of Standard Bank's Mezzanine Debt finance team in 2005. Mezzanine debt finance is a relatively new asset class compared to other asset classes. Unless you are an asset class whizz…

In the king's shadow, Prince Moulay El Hassan's path to the throne

The Democratic Republic of Congo has raised $1.25bn in its debut eurobond issue, representing the first time the country has raised money in a currency not its own on global capital markets. The transaction, the first eurobond debut by an African country since 2019, was structured in two tranches, a 5-year tranche (matures 2032, yield 8.75%) and a 10-year tranche (matures 2037, yield 9.5%). The instrument is expected to be listed on the London Stock Exchange. According to a statement from DRC's finance ministry…

La République démocratique du Congo a réussi sa première sortie sur les marchés internationaux en levant 1,25 milliard de dollars via une émission d'Eurobonds en deux tranches. (Agence Ecofin) - En 2019, dans le sillage de l’arrivée au pouvoir de Félix Tshisekedi, la RDC avait déposé une demande officielle d’adhésion à l’EAC. Ce mardi, les chefs d’Etat de l’institution se sont réunis en sommet extraordinaire pour définitivement marquer l’entrée de Kinshasa au sein de l’organisation.…