Nigeria Welcomes the World’s Longest Under-the-sea Cable
Meta’s 2Africa subsea cable, which is 45,000 km long, has reached the shores of Lagos State and Akwa Ibom State in Nigeria. The deep-sea cable project will connect 32 other African countries and directly support economic development in Africa, fostering further growth of 4G and 5G and increased broadband penetration to millions of people and […]
Kenya has Again been Placed on a Global Financial Watchdog’s “Grey List”
The Financial Action Task Force asked Kenya to supervise cryptoassets, improve the quality of financial intelligence and increase prosecution of money laundering cases, Kenya’s Treasury said in a statement posted on X. The FATF also added Namibia and removed Uganda from the monitoring list. Nigeria, South Africa, Burkina Faso and Cameroon are among the African […]
Ethiopia Hopes to Reinvent its Biggest City as an African Medical Tourism Hub
The Roha Medical Campus, which is backed by U.S. investors, is being built close to Bole Airport in Addis Ababa, which is already one of Africa’s busiest air transit hubs thanks to Ethiopian Airlines which flies to around 60 African cities. The hope is that patients will stop in the city for medical services rather […]
Nigeria has Blocked Access to Some of the World’s Largest Cryptocurrency Exchanges
This week, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the telecoms regulator, ordered telecoms companies to restrict consumer access to the websites of companies like Binance, Coinbase and Kraken. On Thursday consumers had only intermittent access to some sites. The controls mark a U-turn on cryptocurrencies in Nigeria, which President Bola Tinubu’s government had seen as part […]
Pioneering East Africa Marine Transport
A new freight transport ship, MV Mpungu, was launched from Entebbe on the shores of Lake Victoria on Wednesday ahead of its maiden voyage in April. Speaking at the launch, Xolani Mbambo, Grindrod’s CEO said: “The ferry operation aims to provide a reliable, efficient and cost-effective solution for businesses in the region, thereby promoting trade, […]
It Hasn’t been Easy for Africa to Finance its Developmental and Environmental Policy Goals
Many African countries continue to face challenging sovereign debt situations. Recent events suggest that the situation may be improving. For the first time in two years, three African states have been able to access international financial markets, albeit at high interest rates. Kenya, for example, is now paying over 10% compared to about 7% in […]
The Politicisation of Business is Retarding Kenya’s Economy
East African Breweries’ dominance of the brewing business is but one example of how east Africa’s biggest economy is distorted by the market power of a few big firms. It is a problem common in many other African countries, where markets are often small and fragmented, competition regulators are weak and barriers to entry are […]
Can the Nigerian System Adapt to Capture a New Economic Reality?
How do you tax a viral video? This is the question content creators in Nigeria have been asking since the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) and the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) declared their intention to register and regulate their activities under the Company and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) 2020. According to the CAC, its mandate […]
South Africa is Positioning Itself as a Beacon for Global Professionals
The country’s Department of Home Affairs has gazetted proposed amendments, including the digital nomad visa, inviting public feedback until March 29. This step towards modernizing immigration laws underscores the initiative’s potential but also its pending finalization. Additionally, South Africa joins other African nations like Cape Verde, Seychelles, Mauritius, and Namibia in attracting digital nomads, reflecting […]
Gabon’s National Oil Company to Buy US Firm
Officials agreed to acquire Carlyle’s Assala Energy after it used its right to pre-empt the sale of the business for $1.3bn to France’s Maurel & Prom, the firms said on Friday. Maurel & Prom had agreed in August 2023 to acquire Assala Energy for $730m, a deal which also included rolling over a $600m credit […]
