African markets and business updates

The Standing Committee on Finance has expressed serious concern over approximately R1.79 billion in outstanding pension fund contributions owed by about 19 municipalities, with municipalities in the Free State and North West accounting for 79.4% of the total debt. The committee expressed its unhappiness with the failure by municipalities to meet their statutory pension fund contribution obligations, raising concerns about accountability and the potential consequences for affected municipal employees and their retirement security.…

Benin plans to increase social spending to CFAF 1,597.5 billion ($2.73 billion) in 2027, up from CFAF 1,285.4 billion budgeted for 2026. The government plans to expand free secondary education for girls, school meal programs and health insurance coverage, while building five zone hospitals.

Moove is ending its operations in Nigeria after six years, transferring vehicles worth approximately 35 billion naira ($26 million) to eligible customers without requiring further payments. More than 9,000 customers have used Moove's vehicle financing programs in Nigeria since 2020, generating approximately 57 billion naira in ...

Every Monday, Marta Nguene, aged 14, takes on the role of ‘journalist’ at the Novo Campismo reception center in Benguela. Through conversations with families affected by the River Cavaco floods, she gathers stories, concerns, and news that she later shares during psychosocial support sessions. With financial support from the Netherlands, the WHO has seconded a mental health specialist to work with the provincial health authorities and local partners for three months, helping affected communities to cope with the emotional impacts of the emergency. Marta dreams of becoming a television news presenter.…

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.…