Algeria has sent an initial shipment of fuel to Lebanon to help address the country’s severe power outage crisis.

However, the country’s economy remains challenged by high unemployment and poverty.

Last month, the government authorized the state oil company NNPC to start selling crude oil to the Dangote refinery in naira

The 2024/25 cocoa season in Ghana is set to begin earlier than usual, with a reduced target of 650,000 tonnes due to unfavorable weather conditions.

Qatar Airways has acquired a 25% stake in the South African regional airline Airlink, strengthening their existing partnership and expanding their African network.

Azerbaijan has officially applied to join the BRICS bloc of emerging economies, following the recent expansion of the group.

The move is part of the country’s economic reform agenda tied to an IMF loan.  

A price war between Uber, Bolt, and local rivals has pushed Kenyan taxi drivers to the brink.

Bondholders have rejected the government’s proposed debt haircut, setting the stage for tense negotiations.

President Mnangagwa assumes the SADC chair as leaders meet in Harare to discuss strategies for boosting economic growth and addressing regional security concerns.

Namibia, which consumes around 2,500 metric tons of chicken per month, primarily depends on imports from neighboring South Africa to meet its demand

Nigeria and Equatorial Guinea signed a crucial gas pipeline agreement in Malabo, targeting opportunities in gas exploration, employment, and regional stability within africa.

The suspension, imposed in July due to “disorder caused by mining operators,” affected mining operations in the region, which is rich in tin ore cassiterite and coltan

South Africa’s unemplyment rate increased by 0.6 percentage points from 32.9% in Q1 2024 to 33.5% in Q2 2024, the government’s statistics office reported Tuesday. Africa’s most industrialized economy has struggled to create jobs in recent years due to a long recession and most recently the Covid-19 pandemic.  About 8.4 million people were out of work, up from 5.2 million in 2014. The number of employed persons fell by 92,000 to 16.7 million in Q2 2024. The sectors which saw the most job decreases include trade, agriculture and construction.  Only manufacturing, social services and utilities added jobs.  The figures are the first to be released since the May elections which brought in a coalition government which put reviving the ailing economy top of its agenda.  Unemployment was a key political issue in the vote, likely contributing to the loss of an absolute majority by the African National Congress (ANC).  The statistics affice said that the most significant decrease in employment was observed in the Western Cape, Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal provinces.

A group of bondholders holding over 40% of Ethiopia’s $1 billion bond has expressed disappointment with the government’s proposed 20% principal haircut.

The agreement also includes plans for increased economic cooperation between the two nations.

Due to the declining diamond market, Botswana seeks to increase its ownership in HB Antwerp from 24% to 49.9% without injecting additional capital.

Kenya’s aviation workers plan to strike next Monday over a proposed deal with India’s Adani Airport Holdings to develop JKIA, citing concerns over job losses and non-Kenyan workers.

In Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s new exchange rate policy has caused inflation to soar, leading hotels and businesses to frequently update or erase menu prices.

Businesses in Addis Ababa are struggling to keep pace with soaring inflation following the government’s shift to a flexible exchange rate policy implemented late last month. Since the policy change, the Ethiopian birr has lost 60% of its value against the dollar as of Monday, leading to increased prices for basic goods and prompting some businesspeople to hoard supplies. At the Samra Hotel, prices now fluctuate daily, or even hourly, to keep up with the changing market conditions, as noted by Rahel Teshome, an employee at the hotel. Many supermarkets in Addis Ababa are hoarding products in warehouses and selling only small quantities in-store to avoid penalties from city authorities, who are cracking down on hoarders. Consumers seeking bulk purchases face inflated prices and must retrieve products from warehouses. In Merkato, the city’s largest open-air market, guards are stationed to prevent businesses from raising prices. Recently, police raided warehouses, seizing 800,000 liters (210,000 gallons) of edible oil, which was later distributed at previous prices to local cooperatives. Over 3,000 stores accused of hoarding have been closed across the country. The Addis Ababa City Trade Bureau has warned of further actions against those exploiting the floating birr to hike prices. The new exchange rate policy represents a significant shift in Ethiopia, where the government had long controlled foreign currency prices, fostering a black market. Now, commercial banks set foreign exchange rates, and non-bank entities are allowed to operate foreign exchange bureaus. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved a four-year, $3.4 billion credit facility in conjunction with Ethiopia’s reforms. The IMF has committed to disbursing $1 billion immediately to address urgent needs, with Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva calling the reforms a “landmark moment for Ethiopia.” In response to foreign currency shortages, authorities have imported 14 million liters (3.7 million gallons) of edible oil to ease consumer pressure. However, these measures have had limited impact given the rising prices of other essential goods. Experts warn that Ethiopians, particularly those on fixed incomes, face uncertain times ahead. Getachew T. Alemu, a public policy specialist in Addis Ababa, notes that the immediate IMF funding may not be sufficient to alleviate the strain, suggesting that without careful policy actions, conditions could worsen. The government’s efforts to curb price speculation have also been challenged by its own actions. Last week, authorities raised the cost of ordinary passports from 2,000 to 5,000 birr, leaving individuals like Almaz Teferi, who was in the process of obtaining a passport, shocked by the sudden increase. Teferi, who is preparing to work as a domestic laborer in the Gulf states, had been saving to cover the passport fee but found the cost had risen significantly within days.

The refinery reported that it is expecting to receive 15 cargoes for September, of which the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has allocated six

Ripple Labs, a US-based technology company that has developed the Ripple payment protocol and exchange network, said Friday it started testing its stablecoin, RLUSD, on XRP Ledger and Ethereum blockchain networks. “Testing, testing…RLUSD! We’re excited to share that Ripple USD (RLUSD) is now in private beta on XRP Ledger and Ethereum mainnet,” it wrote on X. The company, however, noted that RLUSD has not yet received regulatory approval, and it is not available for purchase or trading. It warned users to be cautious of scammers who claim they have or can distribute Ripple USD. “This is a significant milestone and a step closer to bringing more high-quality assets to the XRPL, driving new opportunities, liquidity, and institutional use cases for users, developers, and applications,” the company said in a statement on its website. The mainnet version of Ripple USD is also available on Ethereum, while there are plans to expand to other blockchains and decentralized finance protocols, it added. Ripple USD is currently in the beta phase, and it is being tested by the company’s partners, which is crucial for ensuring that the stablecoin meets the highest standards of security, efficiency and reliability before it becomes widely available, and after receipt of regulatory approval, said the statement. Stablecoins are designed to be pegged one-to-one with the US dollar to ease exchange for crypto users and investors. Ripple Labs was fined $125 million on Wednesday after four years of litigation with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.  The ruling pushed up the price of XRP, its native cryptocurrency, for a daily gain of 23%.

Ethiopia is building Africa’s largest airport near Addis Ababa to handle increased air traffic and boost the country’s economy.

Businesses in Nigeria are counting the cost of the recent protests sparked by soaring inflation and economic hardship.