• Algeria and Occidental Petroleum signed study agreements on El Ouabed and Dahar.• The studies will assess hydrocarbon potential before any direct exploitation.• Hydrocarbons account for 83% of Algeria’s exports and 47% of budget revenues. Algeria has taken a new step in its energy cooperation with U.S. company Occidental Petroleum. On August 17, 2025, the National Agency for...

• Tanzania and Burundi begin construction of a $2.15 billion cross-border railway.• The 240 km line will cut Dar es Salaam–Bujumbura cargo trips from 96 to 20 hours.• Project seen as strategic for trade growth, with future extension toward the DRC. Tanzania and Burundi officially launched the construction of a modern railway line on August 16, 2025, linking Uvinza in Tanzania to...

• Inflation slowed for the third straight month, dropping from 23.71% in April to 21.88% in July.• Food inflation fell sharply year-on-year, from 39.53% to 22.74%.• Government wage hikes and tax suspensions on key staples helped curb price pressures. Nigeria has recorded a steady fall in inflation since April 2025, when the rate peaked at 23.71%. By July, inflation eased to 21.88%, down...

• Africa’s private equity market is shifting as exits increasingly involve sales between funds rather than IPOs or strategic buyers.• Q2 2025 saw 147 transactions, with mega deals rebounding, but insiders stress mid-sized peer-to-peer trades drive real momentum.• Peer-to-peer acquisitions are creating new liquidity corridors, signaling growing maturity and resilience in Africa’s...

• Insurers and reinsurers must comply with new capital requirements within 12 months or lose licenses.• Life, non-life, and reinsurance companies face steep hikes in minimum capital, up to ₦35 billion.• Despite strong revenue growth, Nigeria still contributes only 2.1% of Africa’s total insurance premiums. Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, still lags in insurance, contributing...

• The government set a minimum farm gate price for shea nuts at CFA250 CFA ($0.44) per kilogram.• The government suspended raw shea nut exports to boost local processing.• Over 152,000 women in Ivory Coast earn incomes from the shea sector. Ivory Coast, part of the so-called "shea belt" alongside Nigeria, Mali, and Burkina Faso, remains a key global supplier of shea nuts. The 2025/2026...

• Africa50 closed $118m for a green project fund to de-risk early-stage climate infrastructure in Africa.• The fund targets $400m to build bankable renewable, transport, ICT and water projects across the continent.• Backers include AfDB, KfW, BOAD, UK FCDO, Soros Fund and others, aiming to catalyze $10bn private investment. Africa50 has secured $118 million for a new...

• Nigeria has enacted sweeping new rules to govern its fast-growing digital lending market.• The regulators move to rein in abusive practices and give investors more certainty.• The sector is attracting steady capital despite a global fintech funding slowdown. The “Digital, Electronic, Online, or Non-Traditional Consumer Lending Regulations, 2025,” signed into effect by the Federal...

• 950,000 sq km of Africa lacks government control, study says• Sahel worst affected; JNIM blamed for 83% of deaths• Burkina Faso accounts for 55% of Sahel’s victims An estimated 950,000 square kilometers (about 367,000 square miles) of populated African territory is outside of government control, plagued by Islamist violence and trafficking, according to a recent study by the Africa...

Yambi City is an annual festival that takes place every year-end in Kinshasa, driven by the Afrika Diva collective and spearheaded by activist rapper Orakle Ngoy. Since its creation, the event has sought to promote and empower women artists in the Democratic Republic of Congo by giving them a platform for expression, visibility, and networking. In an artistic landscape where women’s voices...