Africa grows plenty of cotton. It just does not make much of it into clothes. A new $5 billion plan aims to change that, turning a scattered collection of cotton producers into a regional textile industry. The road out of Koudougou in Burkina Faso is lined with cotton fields that stretch toward the horizon, broken only by…
In the period that followed decolonisation, Africa’s development landscape continued to be shaped by Western partnerships. By the late 1990s and early 2000s, this Western-facing architecture took the form of policy conditionality, governance agendas and institutional reform attached to rotating credit agreements. This approach rested, at least in part, on a simple reality: countries in…
For centuries, useful metals have been developed by starting with one core element and adding small amounts of other elements. Steel, for example, is composed primarily of iron; carbon is added in varied amounts to produce different grades of steel. Bronze is made up of copper and tin. These mixtures are known as alloys. Africa…
Rwandan entrepreneur David Kamugundu has advanced to the top 20 of Africa’s Business Heroes (ABH) 2026, securing Rwanda place in the next stage of one of Africa leading entrepreneurship competitions. Kamugundu, a medical doctor who founded digital health company eFiche Ltd, is among the entrepreneurs selected from more than 24,000 applications submitted across all 54…
The geopolitical matrix of the Horn of Africa is undergoing a profound and unpredictable realignment. Caught in a volatile web of historical animosities, maritime rivalries, and shifting power balances, the region has reached a deeply troubling crossroads. Key state actors face a critical dilemma: either escalate toward coordinated, multi-front military confrontation or backpedal toward structured…
Chris Oshiafi PAC Research, one of Nigeria’s leading research outfits, has identified financial architecture, digital innovation, regulatory reforms and political commitment as critical to addressing Africa’s more than $100 billion unmet trade finance gap. The research outfit said digital payment systems, blockchain-enabled trade infrastructure, factoring and supply chain finance could significantly widen access to trade…
VezoPay, the South African company behind a battery-free tap-to-pay smart ring, has quietly gone live with Investec and Absa, taking its roster of banking partners to four in under a year. A fifth major retail bank is expected to follow before the end of 2026. Neither of the new launches has been announced officially. Investec…
What is the past? It may seem a simple question to answer, but it is more complex than we might think at first. As science, politics, technologies and ways of thinking change, so does our understanding of what went before. Tim Forssman is an archaeologist who has conducted research in South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho and…
Mombasa, Kenya — As funding shrinks, civic space narrows and opposition to sexual and reproductive rights grows across Africa, advocates are gathering in Mombasa with a simple message: progress cannot be taken for granted. More than 250 advocates, policymakers, youth leaders, healthcare providers, researchers, civil society organisations and community leaders from across the continent have…
Jessica Erobomhan Chairman of the House Committee on Insurance and Actuarial Matters, Ahamadu Usman Jaha, has said Nigeria’s fintech ecosystem has become one of the largest in Africa, noting that the country’s growing payment ecosystem continues to attract significant investment. Jaha spoke recently in Lagos at the 2026 Stakeholders’ Retreat of the House Committee on…
