Africa In Focus

In this episode of Doing Business in Africa, we explore the major 215 million pound UK-Ghana Growth Partnership signed in London by President Mahama and UK Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy. We analyze how the headline 101 million pound maritime hub at Takoradi Port will transform offshore services across West Africa. We also discuss how Ghana is systematically closing the infrastructure gaps that have historically deterred capital, and how its adherence to its IMF programme provides the macroeconomic stability that distinguishes it from neighbors currently facing fiscal distress.

Explore the coordinated effort to dismantle the sovereign risk premium as African leaders demand credit reform at the Nairobi Summit. This episode also breaks down the massive profit surges in regional telecoms and Aliko Dangote’s ambitious 20,000-megawatt private power play.

At the 2026 Venice Biennale, the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African Art brought 100 guests to preview week, anchoring a distinctly African lens on one of the world’s biggest art stages. This episode explores Koyo Kouoh’s vision for In Minor Keys, the presence of 13 African nations, and the role of NMAfA’s Art Ambassadors in helping shape how African pavilions are seen, discussed, and remembered. From guided tours to deeper questions of narrative authority, this is Venice reframed through African eyes.

We examine China’s zero-tariff move for 53 African countries and ask whether it will drive real industrial upgrading or simply more exports of raw commodities. The episode also explores how corridors, banks, and distressed mineral assets like Lobito, Equity Group’s expansion, and Ambatovy may shape who controls Africa’s next phase of value creation.

This episode examines how political systems in Benin, Djibouti, and South Sudan are managing continuity while shrinking real competition, and why those patterns matter for governance and stability.
It also looks at South Africa’s legal and diplomatic pressures, Ghana’s cautious economic rebound, and Sudan’s worsening humanitarian crisis as the real cost of uncertainty comes into focus.
 

Brent crude above $100 and a Hormuz disruption would hit African importers fast, lifting fuel, transport, food, and fiscal pressures. At the same time, Morocco’s $1.2 billion renewable-powered AI deal shows how stability, legal clarity, and strategic location are still drawing in capital even as investors grow more selective across the continent.

Africa’s growth outlook is improving, with broad-based GDP gains, lower inflation, and stronger inflows from FDI and remittances. But the episode also examines how the Hormuz crisis and surging oil prices are squeezing fuel-importing economies, reshaping fiscal responses, and shifting capital toward infrastructure, energy, and industrial projects.

Africa’s story in 2026 will not be shaped by a single narrative. Some of the most important developments ahead, particularly in trade, security, and geopolitics, will affect every African Union (AU) member state. Others will emerge at a national or local level, yet carry ripple effects that extend far beyond their borders. Some of these impacts will be tangible and immediate; others will be symbolic, signaling deeper shifts still unfolding. What links these developments are the underlying trends pushing them forward. From the vantage point of the year’s beginning, these forces are already visible, driven by a complex mix of economic pressures, political realignments, and international financial interests. In this episode, we unpack IOA's reported key trends shaping Africa in 2026 and what they mean for the continent’s future.
Read the full report here: https://africa.com/the-top-10-trends-to-watch-in-2026/
The Africa.com Podcast - today’s perspective, from Africa.

This interview with Sabine Mensah, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of AfricaNenda, focuses on the organization's role in assisting African governments with digital financial inclusion. Sabine explains how AfricaNenda helps map out needs and strategies for governments, focusing on creating inclusive and interoperable national payment systems. The goal is to ensure that various stakeholders, including regulators, ministries, and capacity-building organizations, work together to build systems that are tailored to local needs. She highlights Rwanda as an example, where the development of an instant payment system emphasizes local involvement, such as using open-source software and supporting local developers. This approach has fostered a robust ecosystem of fintechs and system integrators in Rwanda. A significant part of their work also involves identity systems, crucial for accessing financial services. Sabine discusses the importance of digital identities, which help with know-your-customer (KYC) processes, making it easier for individuals to access banking services. She notes that countries like Ethiopia are making strides in this area with digital identity initiatives that support financial inclusion. Sabine emphasizes the importance of designing solutions that specifically address the needs of the financially excluded, such as women, rural populations, and low-income groups. She suggests measures like collecting sex-disaggregated data and creating services that meet the unique challenges of these groups, such as distance from service providers and limited access to formal banking systems. To further accelerate progress toward financial inclusion in Africa, Sabine encourages collaboration with AfricaNenda, which is supported by donors, including the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and GIZ. She stresses the urgency of achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) related to financial inclusion by 2030, emphasizing AfricaNenda's readiness to partner with governments across the continent.

In this podcast by Africa.com, Emmanuel Khisa shares insights on the organization's role in supporting African governments in building effective and inclusive Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI). He highlights Zambia's success with electronic Know Your Customer (eKYC) systems, which have transformed digital health and social protection services. Khisa also emphasizes the importance of political will, strong infrastructure, and tailored technology solutions, and discusses how wireless and low-tech innovations, such as feature phones, can expand access to digital services across Africa.

Wamkele Mene, Secretary-General of AfCFTA, discusses the challenges and progress in implementing Africa’s digital trade protocol. While overcoming initial hurdles like data movement and payment systems was key, the real challenge now is implementation. Mene highlights the need for capacity-building, advocacy, and the strong political will of 48 countries already committed. He is optimistic that private sector investment, supported by the protocol’s regulatory framework, will drive the growth of digital public infrastructure (DPI) across Africa.

In the interview, Mohammed Abdi Mashaka, Director of Information Systems Development at Tanzania's Ministry of ICT, highlights the country’s progress in Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI). He emphasizes governance, innovation, and the development of the "JAMI stack" for digital payments, identity, and data-sharing to improve public services. Despite challenges like connectivity, Tanzania is expanding wireless and fiber-optic solutions. He stresses the private sector's role in economic growth and notes Tanzania’s 10-year Digital Economy Framework, driven by strong political will, as key to advancing digital transformation and regional collaboration.

70% of Africans make a living through agriculture, and technology could transform their world. Rural areas are chronically underserved by financial service providers, which is a limiting factor for economic development. Even where financial services are accessible, evidence shows that social concerns are often not fully incorporated in funding decisions and the delivery of services.
 
Standard Bank brings you this six-part series that delves deeper into key topics affecting the continent. Take a listen to how Africa can better prepare for the fight against climate change, leverage our agricultural potential, take advantage of deepening digitisation and protect the human rights of her people.

Many African companies have realised that life will never be the same again post Covid-19. Business survival will, to a large extent, depend on how organisations embrace the future, use technology, invest in skilling and re-skilling employees, develop tailor-made employee benefits, incorporate mental well-being into HR models, develop sustainable working models, and embed Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) practices in business models. 
In this episode, Teresa Clarke talks with Kenny Fihla, Chief Executive: Corporate and Investment Banking at Standard Bank Group about how businesses can reorganise themselves post Covid-19.

Many mining and minerals businesses are already taking active steps on their ESG agenda; identifying their priorities and measuring their performance. But the real benefits come when you move beyond measurement and take action to improve.

Blockchain is, for many people, still synonymous with cryptocurrencies and financial applications. Yet the features that make blockchain technologies so appealing for asset management and monetary transactions -- transparency, tamper-resistance, efficiency, and smart contracts -- are also useful in areas that have little to do with finance.

Investing in impact businesses can increase access to basic services such as finance, healthcare, education, clean water, and energy. Several prominent examples in Africa demonstrate that impact businesses can be both profitable and beneficial for a wide range of stakeholders and while offering tangible social and economic benefits.
Podcast host Teresa Clarke invited two women who are very familiar with the impact investing space.  
Adesuwa Okunbo Rhodes is the Founder and Managing Partner of Aruwa Capital Management, one of the few women-owned and led growth private equity funds closing the gender gaps in Africa. 
Hema Vallabh is an engineer, turned entrepreneur, turned investor. Hema is a founding partner at Five35 Ventures, a pan-African VC fund investing in women in tech. She is also Co-Founder at WomHub and WomEng.

Africa’s situation deserves extraordinary attention: the continent contributes just 4 percent of global total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, the lowest of any region, yet its socio-economic development is threatened by the climate crisis. In other words, Africa contributes the least emissions but suffers the brunt of the consequences.
Africa.com's TERESA CLARKE talks with SIMON FREEMANTLE, Senior Political Economist, Standard Bank Research Chair, and PENNY BYRNE, Climate Research Analyst at Standard Bank.
The 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference, also known as COP26, is the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference. It is scheduled to be held in Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom, between 31 October and 12 November 2021, under the co-presidency of the United Kingdom and Italy.

Men significantly outnumber women not just at the senior management and board levels but at every stage of the African Corporate pipeline. This is why Africa.com is committed to supporting talented women who aspire to climb the corporate ladder in Africa.
This workshop will inspire junior women by hearing the story of a successful African woman who reached the pinnacle of the corporate ladder, followed by an interactive session with a Harvard Business School career advisor and author of “The Unspoken Rules – Secrets to Starting Your Career Off Right.”

Why is it that most discussions of African women in business are focused on small and medium-sized businesses? 
We want to see African women dream big – why not earn the top spot in a large, complex organization?
On October 13, 2021, we began the journey of supporting every African woman to take on a new dream – climbing the corporate ladder to the number one spot. 
In addition to revealing the names of the 50 women on the Africa.com Definitive List of Women CEOs, this podcast features two big discussions:
Beating the Odds, with Harvard Business School’s Tony Mayo’s research on black women graduates of Harvard Business School who made it to the top spot.  He will share what a study of these successful women tells us. 
Then, a panel of Women CEOs from the Africa.com Definitive List of Women CEOs react to Professor Mayo’s research by sharing their own journeys to the top of Corporate Africa, and commenting on what is similar to Corporate America, and what it takes for women to get to the top in Corporate Africa. 
Finally, we explore the surprising role that stock exchanges are playing worldwide in advocating for women in big business.
For more information about Africa.com events, visit https://www.africa.com/