• Mattei Plan seeks to mobilize investments to tackle hunger, scale up agricultural output, and reduce the drivers of forced migration by investing in climate-aligned infrastructure.
• Central to Mattei Plan is the $170 billion Rome Process/Mattei Plan Financing Facility (RPFF), a multi-donor special fund designed to support infrastructure projects aligned with climate goals.
• The deal also seeks to inject up to €400 million into private equity funds over the next five years.

Italy is increasingly positioning itself as an important player in Africa’s development journey with the rollout of the Mattei Plan—a bold initiative aimed at catalyzing economic transformation across the continent.

Named after Enrico Mattei, the visionary founder of Italy’s national oil company ENI who championed equitable North-South cooperation, the Mattei Plan represents a reimagined partnership model that prioritizes shared prosperity, sustainable development, and strategic collaboration.

At the heart of this initiative is the African Development Bank (AfDB), which Italy …

• In a stinging critique, Doanh Chau, President of Vietnam Gas says Kenya and Africa is not short on talent or resources—it is suffering from a chronic failure in leadership, vision, and execution.
• He says Kenya and Africa’s woes stem from unreliable electricity to misplaced infrastructure priorities and a governance culture geared more toward optics than results.
• Doanh Chau: “Leaders talk big, but systems don’t move,”. For Chau, African leaders should stop performing for the next donor visit or global conference and start building strong institutions that work for their people.

A hard look at Kenya, and Africa by extension

In a sharply worded critique following high-level meetings in China, Doanh Chau, President of Vietnam Gas, offers an unflinching examination of Kenya’s leadership and, by extension, the broader challenges facing Africa. His central point? Africa is not short on talent or resources—it is suffering from a chronic failure in leadership, …

• African coffee entrepreneurs are turning the Gulf region into the next big destination for the continent’s bean exports.
• With its deep-rooted coffee culture and growing appetite for specialty and ethically sourced brews, the Gulf is turning into a premium destination for African exports.
• Amid fluctuating Arabica prices, Gulf buyers are beginning to turn their attention to high-quality Robusta—and African producers are ready to deliver.

In January 2025, the World of Coffee Dubai trade show once again underscored the United Arab Emirates’ emergence as a serious player in global coffee trade—and Africa was at the center of this evolution. The event offered more than just exhibition space; it served as a launchpad for African coffee entrepreneurs to introduce their brands to a high-potential, high-growth region: the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states.

For entrepreneurs like John Francois of Asili Coffee in Ghana and Willy Kanyinda Kadima of Cocoi Café in the …

• Angola’s $5M boost is a turning point in Africa CDC’s continued push to rally political leadership, domestic financing, and unified continental action around the New Public Health Order and the Lusaka Agenda.
• Angola’s initiative comes in the wake of 70% decrease in foreign financing of health programmes in Africa amid declining flow of development assistance from the US.
• For decades, USAID has been a primary source of financing for various health programmes in African economies, but the funding freeze and potential cuts announced this early this year continue to threaten key systems
• Angolan President João Lourenço made the $5 million funding announcement after a meeting with Dr. Jean Kaseya, Director General of Africa CDC.

Oil-rich Angola has pledged to pay Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) a total of $5 million as part of championing homegrown health financing plan by economies across the continent.

The move, which …

• Defiant ex-DRC president Joseph Kabila says he has returned to the DRC to “participate in peace efforts”, but his successor, Felix Tshisekedi accuses him of backing the M23 rebels.
• An aide to Joseph Kabila, who left the DRC in 2023, announced that he is seeking “to take part in efforts to find peace in the country.”
• DRC’s conflict, which has been persistent for decades, worsened in January when M23 rebels seized Goma city and soon after, Bukavu.

The roiling crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has taken a fresh twist with former President Joseph Kabila now being directly linked to the M23 rebels, who have claimed large swathes of land in the mineral rich area.

Last week former President Joseph Kabila, who has been residing in South Africa, was warmly received in rebel-held Goma city just days after making a public appearance in Kigali Rwanda, expressing his intent …

• FOCUS Africa 2025 forum in Cairo aims at showcasing bankable projects capable of attracting capital.
• With a market of 1.4 billion people and a combined GDP of over $3.1 trillion, the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA)—presents huge opportunities.
• Afreximbank chief notes that globalisation, as we know it, is under life support.

Policymakers on trade across Africa have met in Cairo, Egypt, for the FOCUS Africa 2025 conference, in yet another push by the continent to enhance trade between countries.

The two-day meeting, 15-16 April, 2025, has seen leaders from various economies exchange views on how to address several investment challenges while unlocking high-impact trade opportunities in the continent.

Some of the key focus areas in the meeting organised by the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), in collaboration with the Ministry of Planning, Economic Development and International Cooperation (MoPEDIC) of Egypt and the Group of African Ambassadors in …