African markets and business updates

The African Energy Week (AEW) Future Leaders Student Challenge placed reliable and affordable electricity in Southern Africa at the center of a university competition, asking students to develop practical solutions as the region’s power systems change. The winning entry was Team Cobalt , who proposed putting the country’s electricity carbon tax to work. The project aims to move free electricity for the poorest homes and introduce new power supply for the country, with no new tax. Since power stations already pay a carbon tax, the project proposes that the government sets aside a fund of R6.2 billion a year, capped in a law, with first transfers from April 2028.…

John Alamu, founder and Group Managing Director of Capitalsage Holdings, explains how Johnvents is tackling challenges in Nigeria’s agricultural sector through cocoa processing, farmer support, sustainable sourcing, and value addition, while expanding across Africa and international markets.

The Portfolio Committee on Land Reform and Rural Development welcomed the Commission for Gender Equality’s (CGE) presentation on women’s access to land, economic empowerment and communal land ownership this week, but expressed concern about persistent barriers that prevent women from accessing, controlling and benefiting economically from land. The report noted that despite constitutional commitments to equality and equitable land access, women in communal areas still face insecure tenure. Added to this, they also face patriarchal norms, patrilineal inheritance, male-dominated traditional governance and discriminatory allocation practices.…

The Chairperson of the Multi-Party Women’s Caucus (MPWC), Ms Lindelwa Dunjwa, on Friday underscored the critical need to prioritise women’s mental health as a fundamental public health and human rights priority. The Caucus’ Steering Committee received a briefing by the Department of Health on key mental health issues affecting women. The Chairperson noted that mental health conditions account for a significant portion of the disease burden globally and locally.…

All seven candidates to lead the United Nations received a vote of "discourage," effectively a veto, from a permanent UN Security Council member in the latest informal poll, a diplomat said Friday.

"Let me be clear, there will be no return to fuel subsidies or multiple exchange rates," he said.

Iran has denied any involvement in an escalation of attacks by Houthi rebels on Saudi targets. The international airport in Yemen’s interim capital Aden was struck by two missiles late on Friday, the second such incident in less than two weeks.

Hundreds of former fighters in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region have been signing up for a government programme to help them return to civilian life.

Morocco's King Mohammed VI formally appoints the members of his country's new government, led for the first time in its history by a woman prime minister, Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri.

At the foot of north Africa’s tallest peak, the Kasbah du Toubkal has become a model of community tourism — while also being the ideal base for a long weekend’s trekking