Benin hosted the first Regional Summit on Digital Transformation in West and Central Africa, gathering officials from about 20 countries to discuss issues of inclusion, connectivity, and artificial intelligence. The summit, an initiative of the Beninese government and the World Bank, aimed to define a common vision and harmonize national approaches to digitalization across the region. On the...

Kossi Ténou succeeds Badanam Patoki as president of the AMF-UMOA. Ténou brings over 20 years of experience in the West African financial system, including a role as BCEAO National Director. His appointment comes as the union seeks to deepen the regional market and strengthen investor protection. The West African Monetary Union (UMOA) appointed Togolese economist and banker Kossi Ténou...

NNPC Ltd reported a post-tax profit of 5.4 trillion naira ($3.6 billion) for 2024, continuing a profit streak that began in 2020. Reforms under the 2021 Petroleum Industry Act strengthened governance, financial discipline and transparency, enabling sustained profitability. NNPC Ltd aims to mobilise $60 billion in investments by 2030, and analysts say it must spend at least $5...

Caledonia Mining must raise up to $484 million to build the Bilboes gold mine, with a payback period of 1.7 years. The project is expected to produce 1.55 million ounces of gold over 10.8 years, including 200,000 ounces in 2029. Caledonia plans to commission the mine by late 2028 using a mix of senior non-recourse debt, internal cash flow from Blanket, and third-party...

Uganda and Kenya launched the $500 million Devki Mega Steel plant, expected to produce 1 million tonnes of steel per year and create up to 20,000 jobs by 2027. Uganda holds 500 million tonnes of iron ore deposits but loses about $5 billion annually to steel imports. The project supports Museveni’s policy of banning unprocessed mineral exports to drive local value addition and...

BOAD will introduce a stock-market-listed composite index directly correlated with its financial performance. The instrument forms part of a broader strategy to strengthen solvency and credit quality as BOAD prepares its 2026–2031 plan. BOAD accelerated capital-strengthening operations since 2023, including hybrid debt, new shareholders, and a $500 million sustainable hybrid bond...

ECOWAS Bank unveils plan to boost agricultural industrialization in West Africa Region lacks midstream processing capacity; over 85% of crops exported raw DFIs, including AFD and EBID, to fund SMEs and strengthen farm-to-port links George Agyekum Donkor, president of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Bank for Investment and Development (EBID), and other...

Malawi faces fertilizer shortages due to forex and procurement delays; the government seeks urgent external support to secure 2025/26 supplies. Only 30,000 of 110,000 tonnes delivered; subsidies restored, state agencies enlisted, and maize imports launched to stabilize food access. IMF engages in accelerated talks for emergency balance-of-payments support as Malawi implements austerity and...

MTN and ZTE have launched a quad-band Massive-MIMO pilot site in Cape Town and introduced a five-band Ultra-Broadband Radio, enhancing signal strength, speed, and reliability. At Hout Bay Port, the companies piloted a 5G-Advanced system that combines connectivity with environmental sensing, enabling accurate vessel tracking and marine ecosystem monitoring. These innovations support South...

Ministers agreed that regulatory stability and legal clarity are essential to attract long-term private investment across Africa. They emphasized that regional infrastructure integration is key to expanding connectivity and enabling multi-country value chains. They stated that public-private partnerships and de-risking measures are now central to mobilizing private capital for...