Insights

Africa is becoming the destination of choice for senior officials from the world’s superpowers. Since the beginning of 2023, China’s Foreign Minister Qin Gang, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, and US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen have all visited the continent. French President Emmanuel Macron also embarks on a four-country African tour this week, while US…

This year, a series of high-profile elections will take place across Africa. Voters will decide whether to give incumbents another term to address existing challenges, or take a chance on a new set of leaders. Inflation and interest rates, while improving, remain high, and supply chains are constrained. Progress has been made, but growth in…

Last month, Africa Matters Limited (AML) co-Managing Director Piers Dawson and Associate Joy Kibaki were in Nairobi, Kenya, meeting senior-governments officials and private sector investors. Their engagements came three months after President William Ruto was declared the winner of Kenya’s presidential election by the electoral commission, with his 13 September inauguration marking the end of…

The 27th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27) was held this month in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt. Dubbed “Africa’s COP”, it foregrounded many of the issues that countries on the continent are facing as a result of climate change. COP27 also saw discussions on the interrelation between climate change, agriculture, and food security take a more…

October has been a busy month for the Democratic Republic of Congo’s high-level diplomacy. The government has made efforts to present the country as open for business, as a reliable partner, and as a crucial solution country for the climate crisis. The beginning of the month saw pre-COP27 hosted in Kinshasa, with ministerial delegations flying…

High profile events this year will foreground Africa’s role in the struggle against climate change. Global leaders will come together this November at the UN Climate Change Conference COP27 in Egypt, while preliminary ministerial and scientific meetings are being held in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) at pre-COP27 across September and October. In the…

On 8 August 2022, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken proudly proclaimed that the US has a new strategy for Africa. Blinken made the announcement while delivering a speech in Pretoria, South Africa, on the first stop of a three-country tour which also included the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Rwanda. The announcement…

On 9 August 2022, Kenyans will head to the polls to elect a successor to President Uhuru Kenyatta. The contest is unfolding amidst protracted inflation and unemployment in east Africa’s biggest economy. Record high interest rates are threatening to discredit the government’s claims of economic progress. Concurrently, rising commodity prices, compounded by Russia’s invasion of…

On 24 August, Angolans will head to the polls for a general election. They will elect a parliament, and, by default, the country’s president – the leader of the party with the most votes. Incumbent president and leader of the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), João Lourenço, is seeking a second term…

With the signing of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) in 2018, intra-African trade has been a focal point for governments and investors alike in recent years. However, structural issues and pervasive barriers, including a lack of infrastructure and low digital connectivity, have prevented meaningful progress in increasing trade within the continent. Whilst the…