Indian electric motorbike maker Spiro is entering the Cameroonian market. The company wants to promote electric mobility and support local industrial development, according to a May 10 announcement by CEO Kaushik Burman. Spiro’s plan aligns with Cameroon’s goal of developing a local automotive industry. Under the 2025 finance law, electric vehicles are now exempt from the 12.5% excise tax....

Cameroon officially launched the second container terminal at the Kribi deep-sea port on May 9. The new terminal was inaugurated during a ceremony led by Transport Minister Jean Ernest Ngallé Bibéhé Massena. According to Patrice Melom, head of the Port Authority of Kribi (PAK), the expansion has allowed the port to triple its handling capacity in just seven years. When the first terminal...

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) parliamentarians met in Lomé from May 6 to 9, 2025. They adopted recommendations to lower air ticket prices across West Africa. They urged governments to scrap several taxes starting January 1, 2026, to cut air travel costs. At the session’s close in Lomé, lawmakers demanded the removal of four taxes: ticket tax, tourism tax, solidarity...

Nigeria’s GDP grew 3.4% in 2024, the strongest since 2014, excluding COVID rebound years. Oil, gas, and services led the growth, while agriculture and manufacturing stayed weak. Reforms helped rebuild foreign reserves and cut the budget deficit to 3% of GDP. Nigeria recorded its strongest economic growth in ten years in 2024, reaching 3.4% according to the World Bank. The...

Unpaid domestic debts hit CFA363 billion by end of 2024, or 2.6% of GDP. 80% of arrears affect private firms, especially small and mid-sized businesses. Government vows zero new arrears in 2025 under IMF-backed program. Mali has promised to stop accumulating new domestic arrears in 2025. The pledge comes under its current program with the International Monetary Fund, as unpaid...

Senegal has officially launched the second phase of the Project for Support and Promotion of Women's and Youth's Entrepreneurial Initiatives (PAVIE II) at the Grand Théâtre National in Dakar. The initiative, with a budget of €163.449 million, aims to create 92,633 jobs, empower women and youth, and advance Senegal's food sovereignty under the "Sénégal 2050" national development...

Lucara Diamond increased the underground mine construction costs at its Karowe diamond project in Botswana by 25%. The company now estimates the cost at approximately $683 million. Lucara plans to cover this amount using its cash reserves and negotiated loans. Lucara lowered its 2025 revenue forecast to between $150 million and $160 million, down from the initial $195 million...

AngloGold Ashanti operates only one mine in Guinea, the Siguiri gold mine, in which it holds an 85% stake. Last year, the mine delivered 273,000 ounces. In the first quarter of 2025, AngloGold Ashanti produced 80,000 ounces of gold from Siguiri, a 67% jump from 48,000 ounces in the same period last year. The company credited this surge to its strategic choice to stop processing Bidini ore....

Platinum group metals (PGM) producers in South Africa face falling prices and operational headaches. Companies have cut staff and watched revenues shrink. Ivanhoe Mines moves in with a different plan: diversify revenue at its Platreef mine. Ivanhoe Mines runs Africa’s largest copper mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). On May 8, Ivanhoe announced its teams had reached the core of...

Besides its Sadiola mine in Mali, Allied Gold manages the Bonikro and Agbaou mines in Côte d'Ivoire. These two mines delivered a total of 36,676 ounces of gold during Q1 2024. Allied Gold produced 38,808 ounces of gold in Côte d’Ivoire in Q1 2025, against 36,676 ounces in Q1 2024, thus up 5% year-on-year. The Canadian mining company produced the ore from the Bonikro and Agbaou...