African markets and business updates

The long-awaited Africa Credit Rating Agency launched this month in Mauritius, but will the alternative to Wall Street firms gain credibility?

WAEMU's trade surplus more than doubled to CFAF 1,817.7 billion ($3.1 billion) in Q2 2026, up from CFAF 812.3 billion a year earlier. Exports rose 15.6%, driven by gold, agricultural commodities and petroleum products, while imports increased by just 4.6%. Industrial production grew 5.7%, ...

The three-year arrangement still needs approval from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Executive Board and depends on prior actions by the Zambian government. It targets a primary surplus of 3% of GDP in 2029, slightly below the 3.1% recorded in 2025.

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is increasingly concerned about the deepening displacement crisis in the Central Sahel, with nearly 4 million people uprooted across Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, including more than 818,000 refugees and asylum-seekers. This is roughly twice the number recorded in October 2020, when the region had more than 1.7 million internally displaced people and 365,000 refugees. The crisis is being compounded by continued attacks affecting civilians, climate-related shocks and severe humanitarian funding shortfalls.…

A National Conference on Advancing Regenerative Agriculture for Food Systems Transformation in Ethiopia was held in Adama, bringing together key stakeholders from across the agricultural sector. The event was organized by the Sasakawa Africa Association (SAA), the Food and Land Use Coalition (FOLU), and Stichting Wageningen Research (SWR) Ethiopia. The conference aimed to compile and share best practices in regenerative agriculture from research institutions, universities, government agencies, and non-governmental development organizations.…

As part of her newly launched virtual Mentorship and Leadership Platform, "Beyond Power; Leadership, Global Influence and Impact," Senator Dr. Rasha Kelej (Ret.), CEO of Merck Foundation ( ), has published a thought-provoking new leadership article titled "Performance, Loyalty, and Character: The Three Qualities That Define Great Teams." Through the article, she explains why performance, loyalty, and character are equally important qualities that every leader should consider when developing and retaining talent.…

Côte d’Ivoire’s planned Boundiali gold mine is expected to create 4,200 direct and indirect jobs during construction and another 2,200 once production begins. The mine is expected to produce 1.5 million ounces of gold over 11 years, starting in 2028, but the share of ...

With participation confirmed from 24 African countries and 45 countries globally, CMAS 2026 will bring together more than 100 speakers, over 50 investors, buyers and financiers, 20 African governments and more than 40 project developers in Kigali from 13 to 15 October. The diversity of participation reflects growing engagement with African carbon markets from governments, project developers, financiers and credit buyers. The international presence will bring African policymakers and projects into direct contact with organisations active across carbon markets globally.…

French geophysical company Viridien signed an agreement with Morocco’s ONHYM to improve geological data and help attract oil and gas exploration investment. The partnership will focus on Morocco’s underexplored onshore and offshore basins, but no investment amount, survey area or timeline has been disclosed.

President John Mahama will begin a two-day working visit to the Ahafo Region on Friday. During the visit, dubbed the “Resetting Ghana Tour,” the President will inspect ongoing projects, receive status briefings, and engage the region’s people in Goaso on key policy interventions designed to drive local economic growth. Key stops on his itinerary include a poultry, meat, and feed processing facility in Bechem, Tano South Municipality; the Tepa–Goaso Road project, being executed under the Big Push Programme; and the Ntontroso Bridge connecting Acherensua, one of the region’s primary food baskets.…