Papa Amadou Sarr, former Director of Resource Mobilization and Partnerships at the French Development Agency (AFD) and now CEO of Porteo Group, shared his views on African industrialization with Ecofin Agency at the Choiseul Africa Business Forum, held on November 4-5, 2025, in Morocco. As head of the pan-African construction and infrastructure group, Sarr argues that Africa needs major efforts...

Public Eye claims over 90% of Cerelac samples in Africa contain added sugar, averaging 6 g per portion, while European equivalents contain none. Nestlé rejects the allegations as “misleading and unfounded”, saying it complies with national and Codex standards and aims to make 100% of its markets sugar-free by 2025. The report says two-thirds of African products lack clear sugar labeling,...

Mauritania, Möhring Energie sign deal for major green hydrogen project NAYRAH to export 140K tonnes hydrogen, 400K ammonia annually from 2029 Project aligns with national roadmap to become regional clean-energy hub Mauritania has signed a framework agreement with Germany’s Möhring Energie Group to develop a major green hydrogen and green ammonia project. The deal was formalized on...

Ethiopia and Malaysia signed multiple MoUs on tourism, health, air transport and urban management during Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s visit to Addis Ababa. Bilateral trade reached $274.5 million in 2023, according to the International Trade Commission, and officials expect the new agreements to boost exchanges. Malaysia plans to open an embassy in Ethiopia, in another step toward...

Uganda’s ICT ministry and dfcu Foundation launched a national partnership to expand digital-skills programmes. The initiative will scale up “Digital Skilling” centres supporting youth, students, women entrepreneurs and SMEs. Uganda aims to boost a competitive digital economy as local startups raised $8m in 2024, $10m in 2023 and $48m in 2022. The Ugandan government...

Under sanction pressure, Lukoil is divesting its foreign oil assets, drawing interest from international players like the UAE's ADNOC. Yet, no African national oil company has exercised its pre-emption rights to bid on the stakes being offloaded in projects from Nigeria to Ghana. As several international companies move to acquire foreign oil assets being sold by Russia’s Lukoil, no African...

Senegal plans CFA427 billion ($750.7 million) in agricultural spending for 2026, up 37.88% from 2025. The increase stems mainly from new planned external financing agreements for agricultural programmes. Senegal imported $1.88 billion of food annually between 2021 and 2023, according to UNCTAD. Senegal plans to raise its 2026 agriculture budget by nearly 38% as the government scales...

The move, which gives African cocoa and coffee producers a reprieve, was driven by internal E.U. pressure and technical delays, drawing criticism from environmentalists. The European Union’s landmark law banning the import of commodities linked to deforestation, including cocoa, coffee, soy, palm oil, timber and beef, has been pushed back to the end of 2026. According to reporting by Le...

Namibia inaugurated its first telecom tower financed by the Universal Service Fund (USF) to extend 4G coverage to underserved rural areas. The government committed N$145 million ($8.4 million) to the expanded USF programme to accelerate digital infrastructure rollout. The programme will add 9 new 4G towers, connect 4,765 additional residents, and provide 7 years of free 4G to 16 schools and 4...

Airtel launches a 4G smartphone financing plan with Itel’s entry-level A50 Customers pay in weekly installments via SmartCash after a 19,000–21,000 naira deposit Initiative supports Airtel Africa’s data-driven growth amid rising digital usage Airtel Nigeria has launched a 4G smartphone financing program in mid-November in partnership with Itel, the entry-level brand of...