Carlyle is assessing whether it can buy Lukoil’s foreign assets worth about $22 billion. The fund must determine if a U.S. government license is required due to sanctions. Lukoil’s overseas assets include refineries, oil projects, and fuel stations across several regions. The U.S. fund The Carlyle Group is studying the possibility of acquiring the overseas oil and gas assets held...

Morocco mandates fiber-optic links in all new buildings from November 6 Policy supports Digital Morocco 2030 and national broadband expansion goals Aim is faster connectivity, 5G rollout, and stronger digital service access Morocco will require all new buildings and housing developments to include fiber-optic connections under a decree published in the Official Gazette on November 6. The...

Uganda mulls separating airport operations from civil aviation regulation Proposed split aims to align with global norms, boost oversight, and investment Reform details expected soon; model mirrors Morocco and Kenya practices Uganda’s Ministry of Works and Transport said on Thursday it had received a report from the Civil Aviation Authority recommending that the regulator be separated...

Nigeria launched digital platform to automate civil service workflows and documents System includes e-signatures, centralized records, hosted on state-run 1Gov Cloud Over 59,000 gov emails created; full digitization target set for end of 2025 Nigeria’s federal government launched the “1Gov Enterprise Content Management” platform on Monday, November 10. The system is intended to...

DRC minister visited Huawei China center to boost AI training cooperation Talks focused on launching a national AI academy for local sector needs Initiative builds on earlier Huawei-DRC deal for rural digital connectivity Digital Economy Minister Augustin Kibassa Maliba carried out a working visit on November 10, 2025, to Huawei’s training center in Hangzhou, in the People’s Republic...

After two years of limited testing, WhatsApp will soon let users and businesses hide their phone numbers and use a username instead. The new feature is expected to significantly reshape how companies communicate on the platform. WhatsApp has started informing business users that it will introduce usernames, a long-awaited feature that the company plans to roll out in 2026, according to...

Akdital raised $130M in bonds to fund Morocco, Gulf expansion Plans 2,700 new beds in Morocco; Saudi hospital deal set for 2025 2024 revenue rose 55%; operates 41 clinics with 4,000+ beds Akdital, a major private clinic operator in Morocco, said this week it raised 1.2 billion dirhams, about 130 million dollars, through a bond issue. The funds will finance a new phase of the...

Venture debt surpassed equity as Africa's top startup funding source in 2025 Six major debt deals drove $1.6B raised, led by East Africa Southern Africa led equity value; fintech drew most investor interest Venture debt has moved from the margins to become the main alternative to traditional venture capital in Africa, overtaking equity investment for the first time in the first nine...

In November 2019, the Democratic Republic of Congo announced plans for a new state-owned mining company meant to bring artisanal cobalt mining into the formal sector. But institutional hurdles and operational setbacks have prevented the company from establishing the monopoly it was expected to hold. The Democratic Republic of Congo’s state-owned miner, Entreprise Générale du Cobalt (EGC),...

In African health news this week, the continent reported progress against major diseases even as funding gaps continue to weigh on public-health programs. South Africa has begun trials for its first locally developed cholera vaccine, a move seen as a step toward stronger regional health preparedness. Disease outbreaks remain a concern. Ethiopia has confirmed an outbreak of Marburg virus disease,...