Newsletters

Insights

Chinaโ€™s exports to Nigeria surge 37% to $13bn in 2025

Analysts warn Nigeriaโ€™s heavy reliance on Chinese goods exposes it to external shocks, including changes in Chinaโ€™s economic conditions, supply chain disruptions or shifts in trade policy.

Follow the story

How Ghanaโ€™s gold boom made it the best performing stock market in 2025

In 2023, Ghanaโ€™s economy was in distress. The Ghanaian cedi had lost much of its value, inflation was running hot, and a sovereign debt crisis had forced the government into restructuring. For investors, the story was simple: stay away.

Follow the story

Nigeria and Ghana account for 90% of MTN’s profit earnings

Nigeria and Ghana generated about 90% of MTNโ€™s 2025 profit, underscoring strong growth in West Africa while raising questions about earnings concentration and exposure to regulatory and currency risks.

Follow the story

S&P downgrades senegal’s local currency rating to ccc+/c on refinancing pressures

Credit ratings agency SP Global Ratings has downgraded Senegal’s local currency sovereign rating to CCC+/C, signaling increased refinancing risks as the country struggles with a debt overhang of $13 billion and stalled IMF negotiations.

Follow the story

Ethiopiaโ€™s banking reforms at risk as state-control nears 50%

New data from the National Bank of Ethiopiaโ€™s (NBE) third financial stability report shows state-owned CBEโ€™s market share rising across key balance sheet indicators in the year to June 30, 2025, even as medium and small banks lose ground.

Follow the story

Oil shock forces SARB to hold rates at 6.75%, pushing easing outlook further out

The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) has maintained its repo rate at 6.75% amid rising inflation risks due to soaring global oil prices linked to the ongoing conflict in Iran.

Follow the story

Standard Bank sets 8-12% EPS growth target as Africa risks test outlook

Standard Bank Group, Africa’s largest lender, forecasts an 8-12% compound annual growth in headline earnings per share from 2026 to 2028, alongside revenue growth of 7-10%.

Follow the story

A $1.75bn debt buyback, oil rally set Angola apart from African peers

Angola is moving to strengthen its debt profile and capitalise on soaring oil prices, launching a $1.75 billion debt buyback alongside plans for new dollar-denominated bond sales

Follow the story

Hormuz blockade drives urea prices up 30%, threatening food inflation in Africa

Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz has drastically impacted global fertiliser trade, cutting off one-third of supplies and causing urea prices to surge over 30%. This disruption threatens food security, especially in sub-Saharan Africa…

Follow the story

SA’s Thungela posts $0.38 loss per share as revenue drops 17% on weaker coal prices

Thungela Resources Limited reported a headline loss per share of $0.38 for 2025, down from earnings of $1.50 in 2024, amid a 17% revenue decline to $1.73 billion. The sharp drop in export prices and significant impairments of $514 million highlight challenges.

Follow the story

Tough business rules stifling South African jobs, growth โ€” IMF

The IMF report comes after Africaโ€™s industrialised nation recorded its fifth consecutive quarter of expansion, with gross domestic product rising 0.4% in Q4 2025 pushing annual growth to 1.1% โ€” the highest since 2022.

Follow the story

Why Nigeria is betting $990m to fix its broken ports

According to the African Centre for Supply Chain, the country loses an estimated $14.2 billion annually to inefficiencies at key seaports, driven by congestion, outdated infrastructure and bureaucratic delays โ€” challenges the deal aims to rectify.

Follow the story

South Africaโ€™s Treasury signals minimal buffers as oil breaches $100

South Africa’s National Treasury warns of limited capacity to shield the economy from a looming fuel price crisis due to escalating Brent crude oil prices. With the potential for record fuel price hikes and rising inflation, local businesses may pass costs to consumers.

Follow the story

What Africa can learn from Kenyaโ€™s $820 million KPC IPO

Kenya has raised $820 million from the IPO of its state-owned pipeline company โ€” a first for Africa’s oil and gas sector, and a template for how governments can unlock capital without losing control.

Follow the story

Morocco holds rates at 2.25% as growth outlook lifts on agricultural rebound

Morocco’s central bank, Bank Al-Maghrib, has maintained its benchmark interest rate at 2.25%, reflecting a supportive policy amid an upgraded economic growth projection of 5.6% for 2026, primarily driven by a significant agricultural rebound.

Follow the story

Why Kenyaโ€™s Pesalink matters for the future of Pan-African payment infrastructure

For decades, moving money across Africa has often taken a strange and long-winding route. A Kenyan entrepreneur paying a supplier in Ghana might see the payment leave Nairobi, pass through banks in Europe or the United States

Follow the story

Kenya channels $3bn to foreign debt repayments in six months

The payments, which include both installments on borrowed sums and interest charges, reflects 24.5% of the governmentโ€™s total revenue of $11.81 billion (KSh1.53 trillion) over the same period.

Follow the story

Ghana leads African stock market rally in 2025 with 134% surge

African equities entered 2025 with caution. Inflation was still biting in several economies, currencies were volatile, and foreign investors remained selective about frontier exposure.

Follow the story

Ethiopiaโ€™s manufacturing employment declines despite strong GDP growth

Ethiopiaโ€™s manufacturing sector is losing employment share despite strong economic growth, highlighting structural bottlenecks that could complicate the countryโ€™s industrialisation strategy, according to the African Development Bank (AfDB).

Follow the story

Oil shock from Iran war reverses global bond gains, pressures African economies

The disruption of shipping and energy flows through the Strait of Hormuz, which handles roughly 20% of global seaborne oil trade, has pushed crude prices 40โ€“50% higher in recent weeks, raising concerns about renewed inflationary pressure across global markets.

Follow the story