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The sustained slowdown marks a sharp turnaround for the West African nation, which was grappling with inflation of 23.8% as recently as December 2024 amid currency pressures.
The timing of China’s annual New Year tour coincides with worsening diplomatic relations between Africa and the US, underpinned by steep trade tariffs and foreign aid cuts.
The renewed push comes as global trade faces mounting uncertainty from protectionist policies by the US, reinforcing the need for African nations to deepen regional trade as a pathway to resilient growth.
The haircut proposal marks a restart of negotiations that broke down last October and signals tentative progress in the East African nation’s drawn-out debt restructuring process.
With businesses and households still recovering from recent aftershocks of elevated inflation and the removal of fuel subsidies, CPPE argues that full and simultaneous compliance across all sectors of the economy is unlikely.
According to Stanbic’s latest PMI survey, nearly 59% of respondents projected sustained improvement in business activity over the next 12 months, supported by plans to boost expansion spending and product exports.
The projection follows a sharp moderation in consumer prices in 2025, with headline inflation easing from 24.4% in January to 14.5% in November, reflecting a sharp turnaround from the highs of 2024.
With the AfDB providing full guarantee on non-payment risk, Equity Bank can lower the cost of issuing letters of credit and expand trade finance volumes without adding pressure to its balance sheet.
While the replenishment outcome represents a 23% increase over the previous round, it fell well short of the AfDB’s $25 billion target, highlighting challenges in sustaining concessional funding amid a tougher global climate.
The slowdown in overall inflation in Africa’s most industrialised nation mirrors a larger regional trend seen in other major economies in November including Nigeria and Ghana.
The warning comes weeks before the conflict-affected nation heads into a presidential election scheduled for December 28, with President Faustin-Archange Touadéra seeking a third term in office.
The CBN pointed out that both mortgage lenders were critically undercapitalised and had insufficient assets to cover their liabilities, pointing to a weak solvency position.
With the exception of a brief uptick in March, Nigeria’s inflation has trended downwards through most of 2025, pointing to easing price pressures and early signs of macroeconomic stabilisation.
The gap threatens the latest replenishment of the African Development Fund, the concessional financing arm of the AfDB, as donors gather in London this week for a two-day pledging conference aimed at raising $25 billion.
Equity Group and KCB, the country’s two biggest lenders, on Wednesday announced that all new Kenya-shilling loans issued from December 1 will now be priced using the revised CBR of 9%.
The review marks a notable turnaround for Ethiopia, which only regained access to IMF financing last year after a long suspension triggered by stalled reforms and a conflict that erupted in 2020.
The successful auction comes on the back of fiscal consolidation, improved power supply and early signs of recovery in logistics as authorities push to revive South Africa’s struggling economy.
Before the new tariffs, South Africa’s small exporters typically saw their strongest US demand in the final quarter, driven by Thanksgiving, Black Friday and Christmas shopping.
Despite the scale of interventions, reserves climbed from $9.1 billion at the end of 2024 to $11.4 billion by October 2025, aided by a historic gold rally
Officials said state revenue reached $4.4 billion in September, reflecting 105% of the full year target amid stronger tax collection.