African markets and business updates

MEFMI Vacancy – Manager Positions The Macroeconomic and Financial Management Institute of Eastern and Southern Africa (MEFMI) is inviting applications for the following positions: Human Resources Manager, Information Technology Manager and Programme Manager – Sovereign Asset Management. The deadline for submitting applications is Friday, 23 October 2026.

Digital payments and remittances are becoming increasingly central to Africa’s economic growth and inspiring a number of significant recent partnerships, including one involving dLocal and Western Union and another involving Mastercard and Moovn Technologies.

Cyril Ramaphosa says Pretoria wants to take advantage of growing tariff-free access benefits with Beijing

Human Rights Watch accuses the Malian army, its Russian allies from Africa Corps, as well as armed and jihadist groups, of committing serious violations of international law against civilians. The NGO is calling for urgent action from the African Union.

National authorities responsible for fisheries and for the implementation of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), from across 22 African coastal countries, commit to strengthen cooperation for improved implementation of CITES through national fisheries legal frameworks.…

Former South African President Thabo Mbeki said Monday that he had neither ordered prosecutors to stop cases involving apartheid-era crimes nor struck secret deals to shield former security officers from justice.

As the most-visited country in Africa and the next host of the FIFA World Cup, Morocco is in the midst of an unprecedented era of infrastructure and hospitality development, setting a timely stage for Morocco Showcase to highlight the country’s maturation as a prime destination for global capital investment. Morrocco’s tourism development agency Société Marocaine d'Ingénierie Touristique (SMIT) is the institutional investment partner for the 3rd Annual edition of the event in Casablanca. The Tourism Ministry plans to add 60 000 hotel beds before the 2030 World Cup.…

The Cameroonian government has endorsed a new partnership between a local cocoa cooperative and a Liechtenstein-based company to promote organic cocoa production, strengthen access to international markets and improve farmers' earnings. The agreement was signed on Monday, October 19, 2026, between the Ayos-based Unité Moderne de Production de Cacao d’Excellence (UMO.PRO.CAO.E.SCOOPS) and Protect First AG, under the government's CACAO BIO 1000 program. The signing ceremony, chaired by Trade Minister Luc Magloire Mbarga Atangana, brought together the cooperative's Executive Council President, Mveng Ateba Sébastien, and Protect First AG's Chief Executive Officer, Ralf Van Deest.…

Cameroon is encouraging rural women in Ndian Division, South-West Region, to organize their businesses into cooperatives and common initiative groups. The initiative, led by the Ministry of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises, Social Economy and Handicrafts (MINPMEESA) and the Ministry of Women's Empowerment and the Family (MINPROFF), aims to help women structure their economic activities, pool resources and develop income-generating opportunities. The initiative was presented on October 15, 2026, during International Rural Women's Day celebrations in Mundemba.…

Access Bank Cameroon reported total assets of CFA465.105 billion at September 30, 2026, down from CFA501.418 billion a month earlier. The CFA36.313 billion decline, equivalent to 7.2%, was driven mainly by a sharp reduction in interbank positions and investment holdings, while fixed assets increased significantly. Lending to customers remained almost unchanged, according to the bank's published monthly financial statements. The September decline erased half of the CFA72.469 billion increase recorded between the end of May and the end of August. Despite the latest contraction, the bank's balance sheet remained CFA36.156 billion, or 8.4%, above its level at the end of May.…