African markets and business updates

For families living along the border between Nigeria and Niger, crossing between the two countries is part of everyday life. People visit relatives, trade in local markets and move with their livestock in search of water and pasture. This movement can interrupt childhood vaccination and delay the detection of disease outbreaks, increasing the risk of infections spreading between communities. When Aisha Iliyasu brought her 2-year-old son to a vaccination post near the Nigeria–Niger border, she was concerned that months of travelling with the family’s livestock had caused him to miss routine vaccinations.…

Sport continues to demonstrate its vital role in fostering trust, building resilience, and creating meaningful connections between security agencies and local communities. In Elwak Town, this spirit came to life when Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) troops, based at Elwak Base, organized and participated in a friendly football tournament involving fellow security personnel and local youth teams. The event brought together six teams: Elwak Airstrip Base, Elwak Old Camp, Elwak Chinese Camp, Elwak National Police Service (NPS), Elwak North Youth Football Team, and Elwak South Youth Football Team. The matches were competitive and entertaining, showcasing teamwork, discipline, and sporting spirit.…

The MSGBC basin is moving from frontier exploration toward commercial gas production, and the investment conversation is shifting with it. The CEO Regional Leadership Panel at MSGBC Oil, Gas & Power 2026 – “Is MSGBC the Next Global Gas Hotspot?” – will bring together senior executives from international oil companies and energy investors to examine the forces driving capital into the region’s gas sector. The panel will also explore how MSGBC countries can compete for a larger share of global investment by monetizing the basin’s emerging gas resources. The basin now has a producing track record to support its monetization ambitions.…

From Nigeria's handwoven aso-oke and indigo-dyed adire to Burkina Faso's faso dan fani, traditional fabrics are being reimagined. At African Fashion Week Sandton, Botswana designer Keabetswe Mogatusi's Technicolour Dreamcoat glows beneath the bright lights of the runway. An eye-catching piece with bright geometric patterns, its design draws on traditional African craftsmanship, with a modern flair. The statement coat is part of Mogatusi's Afro-Futurist collection and combines Malian fabrics, hemp-cotton blends and hand-painted textiles, the majority of which are sourced from within Africa.…

The Ministry of Health, in collaboration with the Liberia Pharmacy Board, has commemorated World Pharmacists Day 2026 in Ganta City, Nimba County, under the theme “Empowering Pharmacists for Healthier Futures.” The commemoration concluded a five-day World Pharmacists Week celebration featuring a series of activities to promote the profession and highlight its contribution to healthier communities. Activities included radio talk shows, volunteer services at John F. Kennedy Medical Center, Redemption Hospital, E&J Medical Center, JDJ Memorial Health Center, and Ganta Methodist Hospital, and health awareness sessions in schools.…

In a makeshift courtroom inside a police station in South Sudan’s largest camp for displaced families, a young woman stares into her lap. Her hands are clasped together; her fingers twitch nervously. A large open wound marks her right cheek. We learn it was inflicted by her husband, who is standing on the other side, behind the defence lawyer. He bit her and threatened to blind her in a fit of rage. Mary** (name changed), a mother of two, listens as the defence lawyer argues that Mary had failed to prepare food on time, suggesting that she had shirked her duties. On the other side, Nyawel Liah Diu, 28, clears her throat to speak.…

A multi-front offensive launched by the Tigray People's Liberation Front and its allies risks sparking a return to regional war. International Crisis Group (ICG) warns that Ethiopia is "slipping into renewed war" after rebel group the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) and its allies launched a coordinated offensive against the Ethiopian federal government. Large-scale ground fighting between the TPLF and government forces began last week, when the TPLF took over three Tigray airports that had been under federal control in Mekelle (pictured). TPLF forces also retook the major towns of Axum and Shire, replacing the federal police stationed with their own forces without a fight.…

Zimbabwe’s mining sector is entering a period of growing electricity demand, with the Chamber of Mines of Zimbabwe forecasting that consumption could rise from approximately 1,000MW today to more than 1,500MW within the next 12 months, driven by mine expansions and new mineral processing facilities. Within this context, VUKA Group is launching the C&I Energy + Storage Summit Zimbabwe on 17 November 2027, a dedicated pre-conference programme co-located with Zimbabwe Mining Week 2026 (17-19 November 2026) at the Rainbow Towers Hotel & Conference Centre in Harare.…

RobotPlusPlus (ROBOT++) ( ), an engineering-led developer of working-at-height robots, is extending automation across industrial maintenance with its HighMate Series for industrial cleaning and corrosion control, led by the HighMate AP-F-CO Coating Robot+VOC Recovery System. The systems, presented at SMM 2026 in Hamburg, cut workers' exposure to hazardous work at height while improving cleaning and surface-treatment efficiency and consistency. On ships, storage tanks, bridges, and other large steel structures, manual coating often struggles with harmful particles, high paint loss, and reliance on the painter’s skill. The HighMate AP-F-CO Coating Robot+VOC Recovery System handle exactly that.…

The South African photographer leads a group of five young African image-makers whose work begin an international exhibition tour at The Africa Center in New York this September. South African photographer Mpumelelo Buthelezi has been named the 2026 winner of the Africa Soft Power Climate Storytelling Fellowship & Photo Essay Prize for E'Plazini: A Place to Call Home for Waste Collectors . The series follows waste pickers living in the Dryhook informal settlement near Soweto. In his accompanying text, Buthelezi describes a community that has spent years collecting and sorting discarded plastic, cardboard, glass and metal for sale to recycling companies.…