• Madagascar faces a political crisis as President Andry Rajoelina reportedly fled the country amid mass protests and army unrest.• The crisis comes as the IMF supports key reforms through $107 million in recent funding under its Extended Credit Facility (ECF) and Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF).• The unrest threatens to derail fiscal consolidation and energy-sector...

• Ghana Cocoa Board (Cocobod) owes 32.5 billion cedis ($2.7 billion) and faces production falling 40% since 2020.• Ghana uses less than 50% of its 504,780-ton cocoa processing capacity due to raw bean shortages.• Vice President Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang calls for blended finance and EU partnership to boost local processing. Ghana, the world’s second-largest cocoa producer after Côte...

Côte d’Ivoire, the world’s top cocoa producer, began its 2025–2026 marketing season on October 1 with a weaker start than expected. Early port arrivals reached 48,000 tons between October 1 and 12, down 52% from the same period last season, according to exporters cited by Reuters. The sluggish pace points to a slow harvest across major cocoa-growing regions, as producers face poor road...

IMF approves $30M for Somalia under ongoing reform program Funds support post-HIPC strategy, stability, and institutional growth Somalia seeks extra $40M amid aid decline, slower GDP outlook Somalia is set to receive $30 million from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) after the IMF Executive Board approved the latest reviews of the country’s reform program, according...

EU pledges €1.16B to boost Africa’s energy transition Funds target electrification, grids, and renewable storage in 17 countries Disbursement pending; pledges part of Africa-EU Green Energy Initiative In less than a month, the European Union (EU) has announced more than €1.16 billion in funding to support Africa’s energy transition and expand access to electricity. After...

Court upholds ICTSI’s $640M Durban terminal concession deal DCT2 overhaul to boost capacity, fix chronic port congestion Project seen as key to reviving South Africa’s logistics sector The KwaZulu-Natal High Court on Friday, October 10, dismissed an application by APM Terminals BV to overturn the concession of the Durban Container Terminal Pier 2 (DCT2) to International Container...

Funds to boost farm mechanization, expand training center in Diamniadio Senegal targets food sovereignty, aims to train 700,000 technicians by 2029 Senegal and Japan have signed two bilateral agreements worth $24 million to support agriculture and  vocational training, the Ministry of Economy, Planning, and Cooperation announced on Sunday, October 12, 2025. The first deal,...

NETIS Group has announced the appointment of Alykhan Kassam as its new Chief Executive Officer, marking a new phase of growth for the pan-African telecom and energy infrastructure company. The appointment, effective October 1, 2025, comes as co-founders Jean Farhat and Jean-Claude Figali transition from daily operations to advisory roles on the board. Founded in 2009, NETIS has grown into one of...

DRC to launch national AI academy under 2026-2030 digital plan Academy to train experts, promote Afro-centric, ethical AI use Aims to boost tech sovereignty, create jobs, and local solutions The Democratic Republic of Congo’s government announced on Thursday, October 9, the forthcoming construction of a national Artificial Intelligence (AI) Academy. The initiative, spearheaded by...

Algeria to build two pipelines using local expertise only $60B energy plan aims to boost refining, cut imports Foreign firms still vital in major oil, gas projects Algerian authorities, promoting a vision of “100% Algerian-built” energy infrastructure at the NAPEC 2025 exhibition in Oran (October 6-8), have announced the imminent launch of two pipeline projects to transport...