Month: May 2026

How Dangote plans to transform Nigeria from an oil exporter into a global fuel powerhouse

For decades, Nigeria exported crude oil, imported fuel and watched global refining hubs capture much of the value in between. Now, Africa’s richest industrialist wants to change that. Dangote Refinery plans to expand its crude processing flexibility from about 40 grades to as many as 130. The move forms part of a broader strategy to transform the Lagos facility into a global refining, trading and export hub. The refinery is preparing to more than double capacity to 1.4 million barrels per day while increasing imports of crude from international markets.…

Meet Africa’s Creative Trailblazers

Pitcher Awards Announces 2026 Winners, Marking a Landmark Year for Pan‑African Creativity Mozambique Makes a Big Debut with 1 Grand Prix and 4 Gold Wins The Pitcher Awards, the pan‑African benchmark for creative excellence, has announced the winners of its 2026 edition, celebrating groundbreaking work from across the continent and beyond,an official statement issued in Lagos,Saturday disclosed. This year,the statement noted,marks a historic milestone as the festival welcomed entries from Mozambique and the United States of America for the very first time, underscoring its expanding global reach and commitment to celebrating creativity without…

Building Powerful Nations…Industrial Ownership Matters in Africa, Not Just Jobs!!!

By Dr. Benjamin Acheampong Group President/CVO, Wealth Masters Group,UK. Introduction For decades, many African economies have largely focused on producing employees rather than industrial owners, innovators, and enterprise builders. While jobs are important for economic survival, no nation rises to sustainable prosperity merely by creating workers. Nations become powerful when their people own industries, control production systems, build institutions, and create value at scale. Africa is richly blessed with natural resources, youthful talent, creativity, and market potential. Yet much of the continent remains economically vulnerable because ownership of strategic sectors…

Beefing up Military power Competitive edge…Algeria gets Russian Su-34M fighter jets

Olamilekan Okebiorun,First Published,27 May 2026 12:50 PM Africa’s second most powerful military, Algeria, ranked 27th globally according to Global Firepower, has finally gotten its hands on Russia’s advanced Su-34M strike fighter jets amid a growing military buildup and strategic rivalry across North Africa. Algeria, Africa’s second most powerful military, has received its first batch of Russian Su-34M strike fighter jets, marking a major step in its military modernization. The delivery follows years of speculation about the deal and is part of a broader Algeria-Russia weapons agreement signed seven years ago,…

Two Decades In: What It Takes to Build Circular Systems in Africa

This May, SST marks 20 years of advancing solutions to land-based waste and marine pollution across Africa. Throughout this period, one insight has consistently shaped the organisation’s approach: the challenge is not a lack of effort, but rather a lack of connected systems, resulting in fragmented impact and missed opportunities to scale interventions that work. From intervention to infrastructure SST’s early efforts focused on awareness and behaviour change – a necessary foundation. But as work expanded, it became clear that awareness alone cannot shift outcomes at scale. Behaviour change is…

AfDB-Gov’t of Rwanda launch Results Based-Financing II program to accelerate universal energy access

The African Development Bank Group, in partnership with the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and the Government of Rwanda, has launched the Energy Sector Results Based Financing Phase II (RBF II) Program, to drive achievement of universal access to reliable, clean, and affordable energy in the country. With a total program cost of $300 million, phase two will be financed through a loan of $200 million from the African Development Bank and a $100 million loan from AIIB,  reflecting strong multilateral collaboration to scale up impact in Rwanda’s energy sector. RBF II…

Improving mobility, security access…Burkina Faso pumps $70 million into roads

Segun Adeyemi,First Published,27 May 2026 10:04 AM Burkina Faso has inaugurated eight new road infrastructure projects in the capital, Ouagadougou, to improve urban mobility and access to strategic areas amid rapid population growth. Burkina Faso has inaugurated eight new road projects across Ouagadougou worth more than $70 million. The developments cover over 22 kilometres and include the key Northern Ring Road corridor. Officials say the infrastructure aims to improve mobility, security access and urban connectivity. The investment comes as the capital faces rapid demographic growth and increasing traffic pressure. The…

Global Islamic Fintech Transactions to hit USD341Bn by 2029…Says 2025/26 Report

The Global Islamic Fintech Report 2025/26 has been  produced by Dinar Standard and Elipses with Salaam Gateway as Marketing Partner,QFC as an Ecosystem Partner,the Islamic Development Bank Institute(IsDBI) as a Strategic Partner and DDCAP Group as a Fintech Partner. In their  Executive Summary,the producers note that,the reports builds on their  annual review of the Islamic Fintech sector and marks the fifth consecutive edition of the flagship publication. “The report is a collaborative effort between DinarStandard, a global strategy research and advisory firm and Elipses,a specialist advisory and investment firm focused…

Climate action key to affordable housing, but buildings decarbonisation stalls

Buildings’ operational emissions increased by 1 per cent to 9.9 GtCO₂ in 2024 Globally, buildings are becoming more energy efficient, but progress is too slow to meet climate goals USD 5.9 trillion in investment in energy efficiency is needed by 2030 Decarbonisation of the buildings and construction sector has slowed, leaving it both a major emissions source and increasingly vulnerable to climate impacts and energy price shocks, according to a new report from the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Global Alliance for Buildings and Construction (GlobalABC). The tenth edition…

Africa Cannot Drink Potential!!

By: Alice Frimpong Sarkodie,Director – Nobel Heights School Every year on African Union Day, we celebrate our culture, our resilience, our beauty, our resources, and our dreams for the future. We speak proudly of the Africa we want. But this year, the theme of the African Union forces us to confront a painful but necessary truth: A continent rich in rivers should not be thirsty. A continent full of brilliance should not lack sanitation. A continent filled with potential should not still struggle for basic human dignity. The African Union’s…