Browsing: Nigeria

• Africa’s digital trade economy remains hampered by infrastructure bottlenecks, fragmented logistics, and procurement inefficiencies despite its huge potential.
• Experts say to tap its potential, there is need to shift from scattered digital projects to comprehensive ecosystems that support the full trade cycle.
• One of the tools that look promising is Matta, a transformative platform aimed at enabling sustainable industrial economies across the continent.

A quiet shift is reshaping Africa’s digital trade economy; an ecosystem which analysts project is valued up to $180 billion. Fueled by the power of digital platforms and backed by continental policy frameworks such as the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), the continent is on the cusp of unlocking a projected $180 billion digital economy this year.

According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), global trade reached an unprecedented $33 trillion in 2024. Within this surge, developing …

• The success of Africa’s LNG sector hinges on strategic infrastructure development, inclusive local participation, and access to capital.
• In a Paris forum, captains of industry agree that building infrastructure for domestic gas use must come first.
• Beyond capital and infrastructure, the long-term viability of Africa’s LNG sector rests on developing local talent and operational capacity.

At the Invest in African Energy (IAE) Forum held in Paris, global energy leaders noted that Africa’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) sector hinges on strategic infrastructure development, inclusive local participation, and access to risk-tolerant capital. With global demand for natural gas on the rise, African nations are being called upon to unlock their gas potential by overcoming key structural and economic challenges.

Mobilizing investment to monetize Africa’s LNG sector

In a panel discussion focused on monetizing African gas—sponsored by energy firm Perenco—industry voices cited the need for robust financing mechanisms to bridge …

• Collaboration marks a step towards leveraging stablecoins and blockchain infrastructure to boost Onafriq’s payment network.
• Companies say by integrating USDC, they seek to simplify financial transactions for institutions and individuals, reduce costs, and strengthen trust.
• Currently, over 80% of intra-African payments are routed through correspondent banks outside the continent and settled in foreign currencies.

Payments company Onafriq has joined hands with Circle, stablecoin market leader and issuer of USDC, in a deal aimed at transforming cross-border payments and digital financial services across Africa.

In a statement, the two firms noted that their collaboration marks a significant step towards compliantly leveraging stablecoins and blockchain infrastructure to boost Onafriq’s payment network, positioning it at the forefront of the digital payment’s revolution for real-world financial applications.

“Our partnership with Circle is an important milestone, reinforcing Onafriq’s commitment to harnessing technology to remove complexity from cross-border payments. By integrating USDC, we aim to simplify …

• U.S. President Donald Trump unleashes sweeping tariffs targeting struggling African nations in a bold trade shift.
• South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, and other major trading partners branded among the “worst offenders” in global commerce.
• Trump accuses countries of imposing high tariffs on US goods, erecting “non-tariff barriers,” or engaging in policies deemed harmful to American economic interests.

Even before the pain following aid cuts could reverberate across Africa, U.S. President Donald Trump has unleashed another shocker on economies in Africa, announcing a wave of tariffs targeting countries that offer Washington “unfair trade practices”.

The new measures, which include a baseline 10 per cent levy on all imports and additional “reciprocal tariffs” on select countries, could deal a sharp blow to key African economies already struggling with global economic headwinds post the Covid-19 fallout.

South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, and other major trading partners now face steeper trade barriers, with Trump branding them …

• The trio’s capital boost represent 44% of the minimum funds required from oil producing countries in Africa.
• Africa Energy Bank seeks to fund oil and gas projects across economies in Africa, plugging gaps that exists through the continent’s overreliance on financiers from the West.
• Quite often, financiers from the west are reluctance to pump billions in fossil fuel projects in Africa citing environmental concerns.

The push to better finance capital intensive projects in Africa has received a boost after Nigeria, Angola and Ghana contributed their capital shares to the Africa Energy Bank. In an update on Wednesday, the African Petroleum Producers Organization (APPO) said the trio’s contributions represent 44 per cent of the minimum capital that is required from oil producing countries in the continent.

According to APPO Secretary General Dr. Omar Farouk, the Africa Energy Bank seeks to fund oil and gas projects across economies in Africa, helping to …

• African countries undermine their economic growth by prioritising trade with Europe and the United States over regional markets.
• How do we ensure that African countries trade among themselves? asks Dr. Phenyo Butale, Botswana’s Minister of International Relations.
• “We [Botswana] have high-quality beef in Botswana and the North West province, we export it to the European Union, yet Angola and the Democratic Republic of the Congo buy their beef from Brazil. Does that make sense? It doesn’t,” says Dr. Butale.

Despite its vast resources and production capacity, regional trade in Africa remains low with many economies relying heavily on overseas markets. This state of affairs has prompted Botswana to raise the alarm about low levels of intra-African trade.

“It’s disheartening that Africa is still unable to realise trade among its countries,” said Dr Phenyo Butale, Botswana’s Minister of International Relations, delivering a lecture in honour of the late South African Deputy …

• In line with the increase in economic activity usually associated with festive season, Nigeria private sector PMI hit 52.7 in Dec from 49.6 in Nov, its biggest improvement since January 2024.
• While some firms increased employment in response to the higher new orders, others cut staff go due to difficulties paying wages.
• Purchase prices were up amid currency weakness and higher costs for fuel and transportation.

Nigeria private sector activity showed signs of improvement during the final month of 2024 attributable to trade associated with festive season spending, the latest Stanbic IBTC Bank Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for December shows.

During the month, the overall business conditions in Africa’s largest economy improved as fresh orders increased for the second month running and renewed expansions were seen in output, employment and purchasing.

“In line with the increase in economic activity usually associated with festive season in Nigeria, the private sector …

• Nigeria’s November PMI rose to 49.6 from 46.9 in October, marking its fifth consecutive month below the neutral 50.0 threshold.
• This reading signals an ongoing deterioration in business conditions in Africa’s biggest economy.
• Rising energy prices, expensive raw materials, and a weak naira continued to drive substantial input price inflation.

Nigeria’s private sector showed tentative signs of improvement in November 2024, as inflationary pressures eased slightly. However, steep price increases and subdued demand continued to choke businesses, pushing many to cut jobs and reduce purchasing activity.

The headline Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) rose to 49.6 from 46.9 in October, marking its fifth consecutive month below the neutral 50.0 threshold. This reading signals an ongoing deterioration in business conditions in Africa’s biggest economy, albeit at a slower pace.

“This less pronounced deterioration was primarily due to the return to growth of new orders in November,” said Muyiwa Oni, Head of Equity …

• Nigeria is pioneering the journey towards getting a strong foothold in the carbon credit market.
• The nation is aligning as part of continental effort under the African Carbon Markets Initiative (ACMI) that aims to mobilize up to $100 billion carbon credits per year by 2050.
• During the COP29 talks, Canada and Nigeria announced an alliance to create an innovative carbon credit model to support Abuja’s economic and ecological development. 

The African continent is facing increasing climate change impacts that are increasingly chocking the life of its struggling economies. With policymakers running out pf options to counter the economic slide, the emergence of the African Carbon Markets Initiative (ACMI) offers innovative options that could help unlock the continent’s carbon credit potential. A number of countries such as Nigeria are emeging as pioneers in tapping the gains that carbon markets present.

At this year’s United Nation Climate Change Conference of Parties …