State-run Transco receives 30 new Mercedes-Benz buses from local assembler. Government plans $82.5m investment for 750 buses and new facilities by 2027. Expansion targets Kinshasa’s 20m residents facing severe urban mobility gaps. Transco, the public mass transit operator in the Democratic Republic of Congo, took delivery on August 25 of 30 Mercedes-Benz buses supplied by...

West African Resources lifts total gold reserves to 6.5m ounces (202 tons). Assets include Sanbrado, Kiaka, and Toega, with output set to grow sharply. Burkina Faso holds 15% stakes in each project under the 2024 mining code. West African Resources (WAF) now holds 6.5 million ounces of gold reserves, or about 202 tons, across its portfolio in Burkina Faso, the company said in its...

Angola to start operations at Cabinda refinery in September with 30,000 bpd capacity. Combined with Luanda, refining capacity will reach 95,000 bpd, topping Congo, Gabon, and Cameroon. A $900m project with Sonangol and Gemcorp, aiming to cut $2bn in fuel imports yearly. After several delays, Angola will commission its Cabinda refinery in September, with a...

Tanzania produced a record 12.26 million tons of maize in 2023/2024, up 53%. Output pushed the country ahead of Nigeria and Ethiopia, second only to South Africa. Growth was driven by fertilizer subsidies, certified seeds, and better farming practices. Tanzania set a record maize harvest of 12.26 million tons in the 2023/2024 season, according to figures from the Ministry of...

Bank loans in Niger fell 18.2% in 2024, the steepest decline in WAEMU. Long-term loans dropped 18.6%, while short-term loans rose 28.1%. Niger posted the highest rate of bad loans in the union at 26.8%. In 2024, Niger posted the largest contraction in bank lending within the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU). According to the union’s 2024 annual report published in...

Ghana’s Mahama begins state visit to Singapore for cooperation Talks focus on trade, innovation, urban, and digital sectors Mahama to address Africa-Singapore Forum, lead investment roundtable Ghanaian President John Mahama arrived in Singapore on Monday for a three-day state visit aimed at strengthening bilateral cooperation, trade, and investment. Mahama, who was invited by...

ECOWAS launches €4.5M school feeding program in West Africa Program boosts child nutrition, local farming, and rural jobs 16 NGO projects backed by Spain target multisectoral development The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) announced a 4.5 million euro ($5.2 million) program on Saturday, Aug. 23, to modernize school feeding in the region. The initiative,...

Algeria orders mobile coverage expansion along national road network Poor coverage linked to rising road accidents, safety concerns 4G rollout, 5G launch, and fiber upgrades underway by 2027 Algeria's Minister of Post and Telecommunications, Sid-Ali Zerrouki, has directed mobile operators to invest in extending their mobile networks to the country's road arteries. The order came...

Degas to invest $100M in Ghanaian AI-driven agriculture Initiative targets financing, precision farming, and yield improvement Builds on Ghana’s growing digital agriculture ecosystem and pilots Degas Limited, a Japanese agri-fintech startup plans to invest $100 million in Ghana over the next four years to boost the use of artificial intelligence in the agricultural...

Global carriers dominate the continent’s ports, but countries are reviving national fleets and targeting regional niches to reduce a multibillion-dollar drain on foreign exchange. The growing dominance of global shipping lines has reignited the debate over maritime sovereignty in Africa, where nations are seeking to decongest roads, boost intra-continental trade, and reduce foreign exchange...