African markets and business updates

Distinguished delegates, ladies and gentlemen, On behalf of the United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa, Claver Gatete, it is a pleasure to welcome participants to this meeting of the Committee of Experts. The theme of this year's conference, Growth through innovation: harnessing data and frontier technologies for economic transformation in Africa , is both timely and urgent.…

While Nigeria's ongoing macroeconomic reforms are attracting renewed attention from investors, speakers at a panel discussion during the Africa Capital Forum in London, England argued that it is long-term, committed capital that will spur job creation, infrastructure development and large-scale industrial projects. This, it was agreed, will require long term commitment to structural reforms to diversify the economy beyond extractive industries, strengthen human capital…

With Africa's public health systems perennially overburdened, millions across the continent are turning to private providers for their healthcare needs. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 35% of outpatient care in sub-Saharan Africa is delivered by the private for-profit sector. Across sub-Saharan African countries, reliance on private providers is most pronounced in Nigeria, where the private sector handles a little over half (52%) of all outpatient visits.…

Olayemi Cardoso, Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), has reaffirmed the regulator's commitment to the reforms it has embarked on under his leadership to deliver a more stable and predictable macroeconomic environment for investors in Africa's fourth-largest economy. The governor was speaking during a fireside chat with Odile Renaud-Basso, president of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), at the Africa Capital Forum held in London on 17th March 2026.…

Malagasy transitional President Colonel Michaël Randrianirina - who seized power in an October 2025 military coup following weeks of youth-led protests - was hosted in Moscow on 19 February by Russian President Vladimir Putin, arriving on an Ilyushin IL-96 jet chartered by the Kremlin. "We are delighted to announce our determination to work with Russia," Randrianirina told the press alongside Putin at the Kremlin. "We are ready to begin a new era of cooperation…

Not so long ago, Saudi Arabia was a country that, in many ways, liked to keep itself to itself. The Kingdom has, of course, been a prolific exporter of oil to world markets for decades. For much longer, it has also welcomed millions of pilgrims from across the Muslim world for the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca. But, until recently, few Saudi companies outside the oil sector achieved significant success when venturing overseas. Beyond the annual Hajj , Saudi Arabia did not make much effort to attract tourists.…

In the world of technology, visibility is currency. Founders are celebrated for sleek interfaces, rapid funding rounds, and the viral growth of their user bases. Headlines chase drama and disruption, but they rarely follow plumbing. Yet the most consequential infrastructure in Africa's digital economy was not built by a Silicon Valley-backed startup with a billion-dollar marketing budget. It was created by a quiet…

When Gozem, a Lomé-based super app, closed a $30m Series B round in February 2025, it briefly placed Togo among Africa's top five startup funding destinations, alongside Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa and Egypt. For a country of just eight million people, the moment was significant. It was not an anomaly, but rather the most visible sign of an ecosystem that has been quietly developing over the past decade. Togo rarely dominates continental tech headlines, yet its mix of business-friendly reforms…

This piece is the second in a series with Development Reimagined on "China through African eyes". Too often focus on China is either on what it has achieved or on it as a competitor. The series explores the "how" of China, and how and when African countries can adapt this into our contexts. Part one of the series is available here. The sentence landed like a thunderclap in China. Deng Xiaoping, Vice Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party, said in 1978: "Let some people get rich first." It was controversial…

Demand for quality healthcare services in Africa is rapidly rising. The continent accounts for roughly 25% of the global disease burden and is home to the world's youngest and fastest-growing population. Yet the cruel irony is that despite Africa's immense healthcare needs, a large share of its population, over 600m by some estimates, cannot afford or access essential healthcare services. The continent has the largest healthcare access gap of any region worldwide…