East Africa
New Fibre Link to Boost East Africa’s Digital Resilience
Tanzania and Kenya have officially launched the redundancy route of the National Optic Fibre Cable network at the Horohoro border post, marking a major step in strengthening digital connectivity and regional integration across East Africa.
Speaking during the launch, Tanzania’s Minister for Communications and Information Technology, Jerry Silaa and Kenya’s Minister for Information, Communications and Digital Economy, William Kabogo Gitau, jointly called for the expansion of digital infrastructure across the African continent to accelerate digital transformation and economic development.
The newly launched redundancy route provides Tanzania with a critical alternative data path, linking to eight undersea cables via Kenya, cushioning the country against disruptions to its three marine cable connections in Dar es Salaam. “This route ensures Tanzania remains digitally connected even in the event of issues with our marine landing stations in Dar es Salaam.
It also strengthens regional data connectivity by providing faster, more reliable internet services across East and Central Africa,” Minister Silaa explained.
With this new development, Tanzania is now digitally linked with six regional countries, including Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Zambia and Mozambique.
Mr Silaa also revealed that plans are underway to extend the fibre optic network to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), further reinforcing Tanzania’s role as a digital gateway for the region.
Source: Daily News Tanzania
Egypt
Egypt’s Trade with BRICS Countries Surges to USD 50.8 Billion in 2024, Led by Strong Ties with China, Gulf States
Trade between Egypt and the BRICS bloc reached USD 50.8 billion in 2024, up from USD 42.5 billion the previous year, reflecting a robust 19.5% growth, according to figures released by Egypt’s Central Agency for Public Mobilisation and Statistics.
Egypt’s exports to BRICS nations climbed 10.6% to USD 9.4 billion. The Gulf region emerged as a major market for Egyptian goods, with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates together accounting for over 70% of Egypt’s total exports to the group. Non-traditional partners such as Brazil and Russia also showed increasing demand for Egyptian products, particularly in the agricultural and mineral sectors.
Key drivers of Egypt’s export growth included higher shipments of precious stones and jewellery, which alone brought in USD 2.1 billion, as well as a surge in fruit and vegetable exports that reached USD 1.4 billion amid rising global food demand.
Egypt’s imports from BRICS countries grew at an even faster pace, rising 21.8% to USD 41.4 billion in 2024. China maintained its position as Egypt’s dominant trade partner, supplying goods worth USD 15.5 billion, nearly three times the value of imports from Saudi Arabia, the next biggest source.
Energy products, industrial machinery, and agricultural commodities were among Egypt’s most significant imports from BRICS nations, underlining the diverse nature of trade flows. Russia and Brazil continued to be critical suppliers of grains and food commodities to the Egyptian market.
The figures underscore the growing economic integration between Egypt and the BRICS economies, particularly as Cairo looks to deepen its participation in global trade networks and diversify its economic partnerships.
Source: Sada Elbalad English
Ethiopia
Ethiopia Secures Record USD 32.1 Billion in Foreign Revenues
Ethiopia generated a record USD 32.1 billion in foreign revenue during the 2024/25 fiscal year, marking a significant leap from the previous year’s USD 24.7 billion, according to the National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE).
The announcement came during the Ethiopian Finance Forum in Addis Ababa. The high-level gathering brought together policymakers, private sector leaders, and financial experts to deliberate on sustainable development, macroeconomic reform, and pressing trade challenges.
Delivering keynote speeches at the forum, Finance Minister Ahmed Shide and NBE Governor Mamo Mihretu highlighted Ethiopia’s ambitious reform agenda and its tangible impact across sectors.
Finance Minister Ahmed Shide affirmed that Ethiopia’s sweeping macroeconomic reform program has played a central role in catalysing broad-based growth across agriculture, manufacturing, tourism, services, and mining.
Over the past several months, a set of carefully designed and data-driven macroeconomic policies have begun delivering measurable improvements, Governor Mamo explained. These include a sharp rise in foreign exchange inflows, from USD 24.7 billion to 32.1 billion, indicating restored investor confidence and improved economic performance.
Looking ahead, Governor Mamo stressed that more work is needed to reduce living costs and sustain economic momentum, reaffirming the government’s commitment to long-term financial stability and inclusive growth.
Source: Fana Media Corporation
Ghana
Ghana Expects to Invest USD 4 Billion in Full-Scale Implementation of 24-Hour Economy Programme
The government has projected to mobilise USD 4 billion in the next four years towards the full-scale implementation of the 24-Hour Economy programme from development financial partners and institutions across the globe.
The programme is designed to transform the economy and stimulate private sector participation to create jobs and ensure prosperity for all Ghanaians.
Mr Augustus Obuadum Tanoh, Presidential Advisor for the 24-Hour Economy Secretariat, told the media in Accra, ahead of the programme’s official launch.
Mr Tanoh said the government drew lessons from previous governments’ development initiatives, including Kwame Nkrumah’s seven-year development plan, the Savannah Development Authority and the National Development Planning Commission’s 40-year development plan.
It was also intended to develop the country’s value chain to achieve greater productivity and expand output in industries to enhance food self-sufficiency and promote an export-driven economy, Mr Abdul-Nasser explained.
For instance, he indicated that the ‘Make 24’ component was meant to boost the manufacturing of goods and services. At the same time, the ‘Aspire 24’ was intended to change the mindset of Ghanaian workers and minimise the bureaucratic bottlenecks in the public sector to aid in changing attitudes of the citizens for optimal productivity.
Mr Abdul-Nasser stated that the programme would also roll out the Volta Economic Corridor, where there would be industrial parks, agro-ecological parks and lake transportation on the Volta Lake to boost socio-economic development within the enclave.
Source: Business Insider Africa
Morocco
Morocco, Africa’s Leading Tourist Destination, with nearly 9 Million Visitors
According to the latest data published by the Ministry of Tourism, Handicrafts and Social and Solidarity Economy, Morocco welcomed 8.9 million tourists in the first half of 2025, representing an increase of 19%, or 1.4 million more visits, compared to the same period in 2024.
These promising figures confirm Morocco’s leadership on the African continent and offer very encouraging prospects for the rest of 2025. June contributed to this momentum with 1.7 million arrivals, a record figure for June to date.
In a recent piece of research, luxury tourism platform Kinglike Concierge ranked Morocco seventh among the most searched summer destinations on Google by Americans, attracted by its exoticism and cultural richness. The research also revealed that Morocco is increasingly attracting travellers from across the Atlantic, who are interested in its cultural wealth, varied landscapes and hospitality.
Morocco is not just a fashionable destination across the Atlantic; its appeal extends beyond all borders, thanks to the new market diversification policy adopted by the Moroccan Ministry of Tourism.
Morocco’s national tourism strategy is not only based on consolidating its position in traditional markets, but also on offering increasingly specialised holidays to meet the specific needs of a clientele in search of unique experiences.
Source: Atalayar
Nigeria
Nigeria’s Pharma Industry Set to Hit USD 10 Billion by 2030 Amid Growing Investments – ACPN
Nigeria’s pharmaceutical industry is projected to expand fivefold to USD 10 billion over the next five years, driven by a wave of local and foreign investments aimed at boosting local manufacturing, according to the Association of Community Pharmacists of Nigeria (ACPN).
The Association confirmed that local pharma manufacturers, including prominent Nigerian investors, are building Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient (API) plants with investment volumes running into tens of millions of dollars, while foreign investors are establishing manufacturing plants.
Ambrose Ezeh, national chairman, ACPN, said the rising investments are reshaping the structure of the sector and enhancing Nigeria’s drug security.
“I can confirm that local pharma manufacturers, including prominent Nigerian investors, are building API plants in a bid to change the structure of the game as we impose medicines/drug security in Nigeria as well as create a local manufacturing hub in Africa.
Source: Businessday Nigeria
Uganda
Uganda’s Financial Sector Assets Climb to UGX 38 Trillion, Signalling Renewed Growth
Uganda’s financial sector registered steady growth and resilience, with customer deposits rising to UGX 38 trillion (approx. USD 10.6 billion) by March 2025, an important milestone that reflects renewed public confidence, improved liquidity, and ongoing economic recovery.
According to the Bank of Uganda’s Quarterly Financial Stability Review for March 2025, supervised financial institutions remain sound, well-capitalised, and capable of supporting both private sector credit and public investment.
The report shows that the banking sector’s exposure to government securities as a share of total assets slightly increased to 30.4%, up from 29.9% in December 2024.
However, the central bank noted that SFIs continue to maintain strong capital buffers, ensuring financial stability.
One of the key drivers of the sector’s growth was a 4% increase in customer deposits, which reversed a previous decline.
The growth was primarily attributed to a 6.6% rise in foreign currency deposits and a 2.7% increase in Shilling-denominated deposits. Deposits now account for 83.4% of total liabilities in the banking system, reaffirming their role as the primary source of funding for financial institutions.
Source: Nile Post
Zambia
Zambia Plans USD 1.1 Billion Oil Refinery in Copperbelt to Cut Fuel Imports
Zambia recently signed a landmark agreement to develop a USD 1.1 billion crude oil refinery and energy complex in Ndola, located in the country’s copperbelt region, the government recently announced.
The new facility is expected to process up to 60,000 barrels of crude oil per day, enough to meet the entire domestic fuel demand and enable future exports to neighbouring countries, Reuters reported.
According to a government statement, the project could save Zambia millions of dollars annually by reducing its reliance on fuel imports.
Construction is scheduled to begin in the third quarter of 2025, with the first phase of commercial operations targeted for 2026.
The agreement was signed between Zambia’s state-owned Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) and China’s Fujian Xiang Xin Corporation. An IDC spokesperson said that crude oil will be sourced from the Middle East and imported via Tanzania’s Dar es Salaam port.
Beyond fuel refining, the planned energy complex will include infrastructure for liquefied petroleum gas bottling, bitumen production, lubricant blending, and a 130-megawatt power plant, boosting Zambia’s broader energy and industrial capacity.
Source: Business Insider Africa
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Reports
African Trade in a Changing Global Financial Architecture | Afrieximbank
The global financial and trade system is undergoing a significant transformation. Geopolitical division, increasing protectionism, unstable capital movements, and a rising trend towards deglobalisation are reshaping the framework of international economic cooperation that has existed since the end of World War II. For African countries, this unstable environment presents serious challenges. However, it also offers a historic chance to reposition themselves within the global economy and to redefine their development path.
The 2025 edition of the African Trade Report, published by the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), examines trade and economic development in Africa and other parts of the world during 2024 and explores how a rapidly fragmenting global economy, marked by intensifying geopolitical schisms and industrial-policy rivalries, is reshaping Africa’s trade dynamics just as the continent pursues industrialisation and deeper intra-African trade integration. Its release comes as protectionism-fuelled tariff wars are heightening risk and deepening policy uncertainty.
Click here to download and read the full report.
Tax Transparency in Africa 2025 | Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Tax Transparency in Africa 2025 is a key output of the Africa Initiative, a programme launched in 2014 to ensure that African countries are well-equipped to utilise the latest advancements in global transparency, better combat tax evasion and other illicit financial flows, and ultimately enhance domestic resource mobilisation to support their economic growth.
The report presents insights from 40 African countries, including impressive figures, case studies, and testimonies demonstrating concrete results achieved. It emphasises African countries’ commitment and progress in advancing the implementation and use of international tax transparency standards, such as the Standard on Transparency and Exchange of Information on Request and the Standards on Automatic Exchange of Information, to combat tax evasion and other forms of illicit financial flows from Africa.
With currently 39 African countries and 17 partners and donors, the Africa Initiative promotes the tax transparency agenda across Africa through increased political commitment and capacity building, which support the mobilisation of domestic resources and the fight against illicit financial flows in Africa.
Click here to download and read the full report.
Universal Access to Clean Cooking in Africa | International Energy Agency
Clean cooking access is a defining challenge for Africa’s prosperity. While the number of people without access to clean cooking has halved globally since 2010, the number in sub-Saharan Africa continues to rise. This harms health, economic development, and the environment, contributing to 815,000 premature deaths annually and significant deforestation.
In a new report, ‘Universal Access to Clean Cooking in Africa: Progress update and roadmap to implementation’, the International Energy Agency provides an updated overview of the current situation, highlighting areas where progress is being made and where urgent action remains necessary.
The report introduces a new scenario – the Accelerating Clean Cooking and Electricity Services Scenario (ACCESS) – which charts a pathway for all African countries to accelerate efforts by replicating the best historic rates of progress seen in other leading countries globally. This country-by-country analysis builds on the first-ever mapping of clean cooking infrastructure across Africa, as well as an assessment of clean cooking fuel availability and affordability in each region. The report is the latest entry in the IEA’s 25-year history of tracking progress on energy access and promoting clean cooking as a crucial part of the global energy agenda. The tracking in this report will continue to be updated in the future.
Click here to download and read the full report.
Rethinking Tax Incentives in the Mining Sector in Africa | United Nations Economic Commission on Africa
Due to various global crises and their subsequent socio-economic impacts, governments across Africa face unprecedented challenges in mobilising the necessary resources to support economic recovery across all sectors, including the mining industry. Although mineral resources offer a significant opportunity for domestic resource mobilisation, most African countries have not fully realised the expected revenues from the sector because of several external and internal factors, such as poorly designed and overly generous tax incentives.
This paper analyses tax incentives in the mining sector in Africa, establishes their ineffectiveness in contributing to a more inclusive and transformative use of mineral resources, and highlights the need for rethinking them altogether.
