Dangote and Ethiopia to build a $660 million fuel pipeline from Djibouti
The 120km line and storage depots should cut Ethiopia's reliance on tanker trucks within 18 months.
Business
Markets, central banks, capital raising, energy and the companies building Africa's economies: what the numbers mean for businesses, investors and households.
Kenya's first commercial oil is due in December as Turkana rig lands
Gulf Energy will start drilling in November, targeting 20,000 barrels a day at first and exports early in 2027.
Devki builds Kitui's first cement plant, a KSh50 billion bet
The 3-million-tonne plant is due in mid-2027 and already employs about 2,600 builders.
Emirates brings the A350 and Premium Economy to Nairobi
From 25 October, one of the three daily Dubai–Nairobi flights will use Emirates' newest jet.
Burkina Faso opens its first gold refinery
The state-backed plant aims to refine the country's gold at home, but it has yet to secure steady supply.
Kenya and the US near a deal to process critical minerals in Kenya
Kenya wants refineries built at home, with Mrima Hill's rare earths and niobium the biggest prize.
Tullow Oil turns cash-positive for the first time since 2021
Strong output in Ghana and high oil prices helped the debt-laden producer more than double its cash flow forecast.
The Lobito railway hits record cargo as it targets 400,000 tonnes
The line carrying DRC copper and cobalt to the Atlantic set monthly records in June and July and plans to double volumes next year.
Eastern Africa's $1.6 billion plan to share clean power across borders
A World Bank programme starts with a 1,000MW Uganda–Tanzania line, as the UN launches a global push for grids.
Ruto and Dangote break ground on the Lamu oil refinery
The 700,000-barrel-a-day refinery is due in 2030, but a court has frozen the disputed land until a hearing on 14 October.
First fuel cargo for Rwanda lands in Mombasa under new Kenya deal
The 40,000-tonne shipment is the first under a state-to-state deal expected to lift Rwanda-bound fuel through Kenya about tenfold.
Kenya’s economy grows 5.3%, its fastest first quarter since 2023
Every sector grew, led by hotels and restaurants, as lower interest rates helped credit flow again.
Kisumu’s KSh8.4 billion water project will connect 53,000 more homes
The project will more than double sewerage coverage in the lakeside city and cut water losses by 27%.
Kenya’s tourism hits record arrivals and KSh501 billion in earnings
International arrivals reached 2.65 million in 2025 and rose another 11% in the first quarter of 2026.
Tanzania inaugurates the Julius Nyerere hydropower plant
The 2,115MW plant on the Rufiji River is one of Africa’s largest, and was financed almost entirely by the Tanzanian government.
The Lobito Corridor railway secures $753 million
US and South African lenders will fund the upgrade of 1,300km of track linking Angola’s Atlantic coast to the Congo border.
Raxio raises $380 million to build more African data centres
The operator, already in six countries, is heading to Tanzania as demand for cloud and AI computing grows.
Spiro raises $215 million to put more Africans on electric motorbikes
The battery-swap company already has 100,000 e-bikes on African roads and plans to enter Malawi, Mali and Ethiopia.
Namibia’s flagship green hydrogen project wins new AfDB backing
Hyphen’s project near Lüderitz, valued at more than $10 billion, was one of four chosen from 81 applications.
West Africa’s development bank approves new projects and $1.1 billion in partner funds
Rice irrigation in Togo, a road in Guinea-Bissau and loans for small businesses are among the approvals.
South Africa passes 476 days without load shedding
Eskom kept the lights on through the whole 2026 winter, a turnaround after years of rolling blackouts.
Ethiopia prepares to double its electricity exports to Kenya
From December 2026, peak exports over the 1,045km interconnector are set to rise from 200MW to 400MW.
Tanzania’s electric railway carries 2.5 million passengers
Passenger numbers on the Dar es Salaam–Dodoma line rose 22%, and the railway company no longer needs salary subsidies.
Boats return to the Nile between Egypt and Sudan
The Aswan–Wadi Halfa river route reopened after about six years, easing travel for Sudanese returning home.
Morocco and Egypt break tourism records
Morocco welcomed 19.8 million visitors in 2025 and Egypt nearly 19 million, and 2026 started strongly.
Nigeria’s economy grows 4.43%, its fastest pace since 2024
Services and farming drove growth, and the non-oil economy now makes up almost 96% of GDP.
Mozambique’s $20 billion LNG project restarts after five years
TotalEnergies resumed full construction in Cabo Delgado, with more than 3,000 Mozambicans now at work.
West African leaders sign up to the Nigeria–Morocco gas pipeline
The $25 billion, 6,900km pipeline would carry gas along the Atlantic coast through 13 countries.
Ghana exits its IMF bailout programme after a strong recovery
Inflation fell from 54% to 3.4% and debt from 92% to 52% of GDP over the three-year programme.
China drops tariffs on imports from 53 African countries
From May 2026 to April 2028, almost every African country can export to China tariff-free.
Construction begins on Africa’s biggest airport in Ethiopia
The $12.5 billion Bishoftu International Airport is designed to handle 60 million passengers a year from 2030.
Lagos’s main ports get their first major upgrade in nearly 50 years
A £746 million UK-backed loan will modernise Apapa and Tin Can Island, which handle most of Nigeria’s trade.
Nigeria launches a $500 million fund to farm the Niger Delta
The fund aims to turn the oil-producing region into a hub for food and non-oil exports.
Kenya restarts its railway extension to Kisumu and Malaba
After a six-year stall, work has begun on the 475km line towards the Ugandan border.
Trade between African countries hits $220 billion
The AfCFTA's chief says the free trade area is starting to deliver, but implementation still decides everything.
Dangote refinery opens ₦2.15 trillion IPO at ₦525 a share
4.1 billion shares are on offer until 13 October, with a minimum subscription of ₦5,250.
Nigeria's central bank cuts its benchmark rate to 23%
A 350-basis-point 'reset' that Governor Cardoso says is about transmission, not a change of stance.
South Africa's Reserve Bank raises its repo rate to 7.25%
A renewed fuel-price shock pushes the prime lending rate to 10.75%.
The African project that could change a continent
A planned 700,000-barrel-a-day refinery in Lamu could reshape how East Africa gets its fuel.
China is building Africa's next generation of electric cars
Electric mobility is moving from distant promise to a practical industrial opportunity.
The new race to build Africa's digital economy
Digital payments, connectivity and online work are becoming essential infrastructure.
The startups trying to unlock Africa's $330 billion SME gap
Small businesses need finance built around real cash flow instead of rigid collateral.
Dangote is taking his refinery to the stock market
A major listing could change how African industrial businesses access capital.
Lagos fintech founders are rewriting the rules of African banking
A new generation of builders is closing the continent's banking gap, one mobile-first product at a time.
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