• 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...

Late-July drought in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana lifts cocoa futures despite weak global grindings data No official 2025/26 crop forecasts yet; private analysts see a possible 5–10% West African shortfall The market stays volatile as each rainfall model swing moves prices by hundreds of dollars per tonne A dry spell over Côte d’Ivoire and eastern Ghana in the final ten days of July has...

• Cameroon financier Alain Nkontchou to buy Nedbank 21.22 percent stake in Ecobank for 100 million US dollars pending regulators.• Upon closure Nkontchou family will hold 24 percent of Ecobank combining new 21.22 percent stake with existing 2.86 percent via Enko Capital.• Nedbank exits after 17 year partnership but keeps correspondent banking ties across 35 African markets where Ecobank...

• Egyptian sweet potato exports to the EU surged to 149,551 tonnes in 2024, surpassing the US and breaking records.• Since 2020, Egypt quadrupled sweet potato export volume and revenue to Europe, driven by production growth and smart timing.• Egypt targets August to January for exports to avoid direct competition with US supplies, which dominate from February to July. In just four years,...

• Lotus Resources invested $50 million to restart mining at Kayelekera, which was halted in 2014 due to low uranium prices.• The mine officially reopened on August 14, 2025, with Malawian President Lazarus Chakwera attending the inauguration.• Kayelekera is expected to produce 2.4 million pounds of uranium annually over the next 10 years, benefiting from rising global uranium demand...

• Nigeria granted Air Tanzania a permit to launch the first nonstop Dar es Salaam–Lagos flight, enhancing East-West African connectivity. • Air Tanzania is preparing to start Dar es Salaam–Lagos flights, with a 6-hour duration, faster than one-stop routes via Nairobi or Addis Ababa. • The new route supports trade, with a potential 700-tonne annual cargo capacity and visa rules requiring...