African markets and business updates

Energy solutions provider Zarein Energy will participate as a Gold Sponsor at the 2026 edition of African Energy Week (AEW) 2026, scheduled for October 12–16 in Cape Town. The company’s participation comes as it accelerates development of the Kwale Free Trade Zone gas and petrochemical project in Delta State, Nigeria, targeting large-scale gas processing, captive power generation and petrochemical manufacturing. Held under the theme “Invest in African Energies: Affordable and Abundant Energy Additions…

Ecobank Group CEO Jeremy Awori outlines to Omar Ben Yedder how the bank is embracing change and reinventing itself to support Africa's next chapter of growth.

Many communities across South Africa continue to experience limited access to affordable, nutritious food, while droughts, floods and extreme weather place additional strain on local agriculture and food production. In this environment, we can no longer afford to think about agriculture only in terms of large-scale commercial farming. We must invest in resilient and climate-smart systems that enable communities to produce food closer to where it is needed most. At INMED South Africa…

Qrent ( www.Qrent.co.za ), a provider of IT asset management and sustainable refurbished technology solutions, says organisations that continue delaying technology refresh cycles in an effort to protect budgets may be exposing themselves to greater operational and continuity risk. The warning comes as global hardware costs continue to rise amid ongoing supply chain disruption and increased demand for AI infrastructure.. According to Gartner, memory pricing is expected to increase significantly…

Hanan Morsy said that Africa wasn't consulted or offered a say on the implementation of the EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism.

Accelerating Africa's own fertiliser production now will build agency and resilience to future shocks, argue Yemi Osinbajo and James Mwangi.

Iyunola Adekanye, Partner at Dentons Nigeria, has been appointed to the Advisory Board of African Mining Week (AMW) 2026 – The Most Influential Mining Conference in Africa. Adekanye’s appointment reinforces AMW’s mission to convene African stakeholders and global investors under one roof for strategic partnerships aimed at unlocking the continent’s $8.5 trillion worth of untapped mineral resources, including its 30% share of global critical minerals. A seasoned legal advisor with over 17 years of experience…

UN Women Liberia, in collaboration with implementing partners HOPE Liberia and Youth Crime Watch Liberia (YCWL), convened the Liberia Spotlight Initiative 2.0 Women’s Economic Empowerment Component Inception Meeting in Monrovia last week, bringing together key stakeholders to strengthen collective action toward women’s economic empowerment and the prevention of Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV). Liberia continues to face persistent gender inequality driven by entrenched patriarchal norms…

African central banks are expanding gold purchasing programs and reserve diversification strategies as part of a broader shift toward domestic resource-backed monetary frameworks. Combined foreign exchange reserves rose from approximately $480 billion in 2024 to $530 billion in 2025, while gold now represents around 17% of total reserves. These developments will form a key focus of the Central Bank Governors, Finance and Investor Roundtable at African Mining Week (AMW) 2026…

Nationals residing in Austria, South Sudan, the US, and Canada have colorfully celebrated the 35th Independence Day anniversary under the theme “Our Resilience: Our Guarantee.” At the celebratory event in Juba, Republic of South Sudan, in which a number of nationals and invited guests took part, Mr. Tsegay Mehari, Eritrea’s Consul, expressed the importance of coordinating capacity and knowledge in the implementation of national development programs, as well as strengthening the resilience, unity…