Browsing: Business

• Already ranking top 10 globally on AI usage, Egypt is inviting players in the emerging tech to explore best use cases even as it woos investments in deep tech as Cairo evolves into hub of innovation.
• Organised by GITEX GLOBAL, flagship Ai Everything MEA expo in February 2026 is poised to become the most empowering AI tech week across the Middle East and Africa.
• Tech heavyweights trailblazing AI adoption such as Atos, Cyshield, HPE, and IBM are expected to showcase at the event.

As the spirited push for the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) across Africa gets underway, Egypt has stepped forward, announcing plans to host AI tech week, a global forum that is poised to attract stakeholders in the continent’s AI ecosystem next year.

Scheduled for 10 to 12 February 2026 in Cairo, organizers of AI Everything Middle East and Africa (MEA) showcase say the expo will …

• Airtel Africa and Vodacom Group ink infrastructure sharing plan to speed up connectivity and digital inclusion across Mozambique, Tanzania and DRC.
• Vodacom Group says agreement aligns with its ambition to connect 260 million customers by 2030.
• The telcos’ cooperation is modelled to increase subscriber connectivity in a design that cuts investment costs.

Telco giants Airtel Africa and Vodacom Group have entered into a strategic partnership aimed at fostering infrastructure sharing systems across key markets as part of a broad plan to enhance access to connectivity for millions of underserved subscribers.

In an update to stakeholders, the two companies said the initiative targets Mozambique, Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) markets, subject to receiving approvals from industry regulators in these diverse countries.

Airtel Africa, Vodacom Group enter into infrastructure sharing deal

“Providing connectivity to empower people is at the core of our strategy. Our partnership with Airtel Africa is …

• Shiga Digital has unveiled its new Android and iOS apps, expanding access to its end-to-end digital finance platform for businesses and individuals across Africa.
• Plan will see fintech make it simpler for businesses and individuals to send and receive stablecoin payments, manage cross-border transactions, and access secure digital asset investments.
• Launch follows a recent strategic partnership and investment from Tether, a global leader in digital assets.

Blockchain-based fintech company Shiga Digital has unveiled its new Android and iOS apps, expanding access to its end-to-end digital finance platform for businesses and individuals across Africa.

With this milestone, Shiga Digital argues that this move makes it simpler for businesses and individuals to send and receive stablecoin payments, manage cross-border transactions, and access secure digital asset investments all from the convenience of a mobile device.

The Pakakumi Crash Casino Game App is an exciting new gaming experience that has taken the online gambling …

• The IMF counsels that successful debt stabilization requires measures to strengthen public finances and institutions, alongside pro-growth structural reforms and a sound macroeconomic environment.
• Fiscal adjustment is likely to result in stronger, more durable reductions in debt when complemented by pro-growth structural reforms and by measures to strengthen institutional frameworks.

In the context of high global uncertainty, tighter global financial conditions, and rising borrowing costs, concerns about sub-Saharan Africa’s debt vulnerabilities are mounting. But the region is tackling this issue head-on and public debt ratios have stabilized on average.

Our analytical note in the International Monetary Funds (IMF)’s latest Regional Economic Outlook for sub-Saharan Africa uses a new data set to highlight when, how often, to what extent, and how debt stabilization was achieved.

Surprising frequency

Contrary to perception, countries in the region have often been able to stabilize or reduce their debt ratios without debt restructuring. With more than …

• “It is time to replace the logic of aid with the logic of investment and trade,” says Angolan President João Lourenço.
• “We should review the high tariffs on African countries. What is needed is more trade between Africa and the U.S., not less,” said AfDB President Akinwumi Adesina.
• Bank President adds: “As we build transport corridors, let us also build strategic partnership corridors.”

African leaders have called for an urgent review of U.S. tariffs on African exports, urging a shift towards transformative partnerships and investment in Africa’s economic potential.

Addressing more than 2,000 government and business leaders, and other delegates at the U.S.-Africa business summit in the capital Luanda, Angolan President João Lourenço said: “It is time to replace the logic of aid with the logic of investment and trade.”

He urged U.S. companies to diversify beyond traditional oil and mineral extraction and invest in sectors such as automotive manufacturing, …

• Across 54 African markets, Coca-Cola contributed $10.4 billion in economic activity across its value chain in 2024.
• The beverage giant’s value chain supported over 1 million jobs in retail, agriculture, manufacturing, transport and services in Africa.
• Soft drinks maker purchased $4.3 billion from suppliers in Africa in 2024, representing 83% of the system’s total procurement on the continent.

A new market report shows that beverage multinational Coca-Cola contributed $10.4 billion in its economic value chain across Africa in 2024. The report, which was unveiled at the 2025 U.S.-Africa Business Summit in Luanda, Angola, shows taht Coca-Cola is also increasingly positioning itself as a catalyst for inclusive growth.

Behind every bottle of Coke sipped on a warm afternoon in Lagos or a Fanta shared in Nairobi’s bustling markets lies a vast economic engine — one that stretches from local sugarcane fields to high-tech distribution hubs.

The study, conducted by the global …

• Policymakers aim to direct Islamic finance away from passive monetary markets and toward productive enterprise, especially MSMEs in Africa.
• Islamic financial institutions urged to allocate at least 20% of their loan portfolios—an estimated US$1 trillion—toward MSME
• In Africa, lack of affordable financing is a persistent bottleneck stifling job creation, innovation, and productivity.

A new era of growth is beckoning for players in Micro, Small, and Medium Entreprises in Africa following the roll out of a fresh alliance by four organizations—Africa Finance Corporation (AFC), the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), the Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI), and the Union of Arab Banks (UAB)—to pioneer IFETAA, the Islamic and Arab Finance for Economic Transformation in Africa, the Arab Region and Beyond.

Unveiled at the Hofburg Palace in Vienna during a roundtable on the sidelines of the OPEC Fund Development Forum, IFETAA is designed to channel long-overdue …

• Marriott unveils plans to add more than 50 hotels and 9,000 rooms by the end of 2027. 
• Hilton seeks to triple its African portfolio to more than 160 hotels, opening over 100 new hotels in the coming years and creating approximately 18,000 jobs.
• Job creation, tourism, and the quest for regional connectivity fueling investments.

At the recent Future Hospitality Summit Africa in Cape Town, two of the world’s largest hotel chains—Marriott International and Hilton Worldwide— have unveiled bold, transformative plans to expand across Africa’s rapidly evolving hospitality industry.

With combined targets of over 150 new properties and more than 27,000 rooms across multiple African countries by 2027, the announcements signal not only a rising tide of foreign investment in African tourism but also a growing confidence in the continent’s economic resurgence, travel demand, and urbanization.

This strategic pivot positions Africa as the next frontier in global tourism and luxury accommodation, …

• Ministers of Mining in Africa are rallying behind progressive policy shifts to empower communities, formalize small-scale mining, and boost local value addition across the continent.
• They note that mining is no longer just about digging minerals out of the ground; it’s about ensuring those minerals translate into schools, roads, clean water, and decent jobs.
• Policymakers note that lasting policy change depends on strengthening institutions, building trust with communities, and ensuring access to capital and training.

Deep inside Africa’s abundant mineral wealth lies a bitter reality: while the continent is home to some of the world’s richest deposits of gold, cobalt, copper, and rare earth elements, much of its population remains disconnected from the value chain and the huge benefits of these natural assets.

At the just concluded Mining in Motion 2025 Summit in Accra, ministers from Ghana, Liberia, Malawi, and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) came together to …

• Beyond physical infrastructure, Africa’s integration requires modern software upgrades: the systems, policies, and institutional frameworks that power trade across borders.
• By positioning economic transformation at the heart of our integration agenda, Africa can advance up the value chain to generate wealth.
• By effectively mobilizing our own resources first, driving economic transformation, and building both the required software and hardware, we can successfully integrate Africa.

Ask any traveler about their experience moving across parts of Africa, and you will likely hear about familiar challenges: high costs, indirect routes, and unpredictable schedules that can make even the simplest journeys more complicated and costly. These travel hurdles highlight the immense opportunity to further strengthen Africa’s integration and unlock seamless connectivity across the continent.

The potential is undeniable. According to the World Bank, the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) stands to be the world’s largest free trade zone, encompassing 1.4 billion people and …