African markets and business updates

Following her recent recognition as one of the 100 Most Influential Africans 2025 by New African Magazine (UK), Dr. Rasha Kelej, CEO of Merck Foundation and President of the “More Than a Mother” Campaign, has now been named among the 100 Most Influential African Women 2025 by Avance Media, for the seventh consecutive year. She is recognized alongside Africa’s highest-ranking leaders, including H.E. SAMIA SULUHU HASSAN, President of Tanzania, and H.E. NDEMUPELILA NETUMBO NANDI-NDAITWAH, President of Namibia.…

The 2026 Basketball Africa League (BAL) ( www.BAL.NBA.com ) Playoffs tipped off on Friday, May 22 at BK Arena in Kigali, Rwanda, and will culminate with the 2026 BAL Finals on Sunday, May 31 at 6:00 p.m. CAT. For the complete schedule, click here ( ). Eight teams have qualified for the Playoffs: Al Ahly (Egypt), Al Ahly Ly (Libya), ASC Ville de Dakar (Senegal), Club Africain (Tunisia), Dar City (Tanzania), FUS Rabat (Morocco), 2024 BAL champion Petro de Luanda (Angola) and the RSSB Tigers (Rwanda)…

At FESPA Global Print Expo, 19th-22nd May 2026, Stand 2-E20 in Barcelona, Canon ( www.Canon-CNA.com ) showcased how its wide-format production technologies and customer-led approach combine to create bold, high-impact prints that transform spaces and connect with audiences, delivering real business impact. Under the theme ‘Move your World’, Canon re-emphasised the commercial potential and positive momentum that speciality print businesses can gain.…

By Rania El Rafie, Vice President, Public Relations & Strategic Communications at APO Group ( www.APO-OPA.com ). Every year on 25 May, the continent asks one pointed question: are we moving closer to the Africa we envisioned: self-determined, sovereign in its own story? With the African Union’s Agenda 2063 ( ) approaching its midpoint, that question lands with particular weight for those of us in communications. Because Africa’s story is still being narrated over. And much of the industry, global agencies included…

By NJ Ayuk, Executive Chairman, African Energy Chamber ( ). Just a decade ago, many had written off the Venezuelan oil industry and, by extension, Venezuela itself, determining that it was on the brink of an irreversible collapse. A more pessimistic view asserted that the country had already become a failed state, and it would just take some time for the rest of the world to see it for themselves. On January 3, 2026, when U.S.…

H .E. Mohammad Ali Rashed Lootah: “ We remain committed to strengthening economic ties between Dubai and Ethiopia and creating new channels for cooperation that unlock partnership opportunities for private sector companies in both markets .” Ethiopia ’s non-oil trade with Dubai increased to AED 22.3 billion in 2025, recording significant year-on-year growth of 236.6%. 1,6 76 Ethiopian companies were registered as active members of Dubai Chamber of Commerce by the end of Q1 2026. Dubai Chamber of Commerce ( www.…

The long-held assumption that African offshore basins are entering irreversible decline is being actively challenged in the shallow waters of the Republic of Congo. As international majors continue to rebalance portfolios toward deepwater, high-impact exploration, a new class of independent operators is stepping into the gap – capturing value not through new acreage acquisition, but by optimizing existing assets. At the center of this shift is independent producer Ammat Global Resources…

Rugby Africa ( www.RugbyAfrique.com ), the continental governing body for rugby union in Africa, is pleased to announce the appointment of former NBA Africa executive Aïcha Diop as Chief of Staff to the President. In this strategic leadership role, Aïcha Diop will work and support Herbert Mensah, President of Rugby Africa, Executive Board Member of World Rugby, and Chairman of World Rugby Regions—the body uniting the presidents of all six continental rugby associations: Rugby Europe, Asia Rugby…

The Board of Trustees of Al-Sumait Prize for African Development, chaired by His Excellency the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sheikh Jarrah Jaber Al-Sabah, announced that Centro Internacional de Mejoramiento de Maíz y Trigo (CIMMYT) won the 2025 Al-Sumait Prize in the field of food security which recognizes organizations whose work has produced transformative, life-saving impact in Africa. This distinction celebrates CIMMYT’s decades of science-driven contributions to food security, agricultural resilience…

Opportunity Africa today launched #NotWaiting on Africa Day, a pan-African campaign calling on Africans across the continent and the diaspora to spotlight the people, ideas, businesses and innovations already shaping Africa's future. The campaign is rooted in a simple conviction: if Africans begin to see themselves differently, the world will too. Across the continent, entrepreneurs are building globally competitive companies, creators are influencing global culture, communities are driving local innovation…