World
Russia Looks More Like A Virtual Great Power Than Genuine Development Partner for Africa
By Kestér Kenn Klomegâh
In its quest to strengthen post-Soviet relations and especially in the context of the emerging new multipolar world, Russia has to focus on its agenda and strategies for implementing promptly expected commitments for Africa.
Long before the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit held in Washington, Russian officials had intensified their criticisms and confrontations in public statements. At this time, Russia has to frankly admit its policy weaknesses and the extremely low level of economic presence and review its social and cultural paradigms in Africa.
Criticisms came from the Kremlin administration to Federation Council and State Duma through the Foreign Affairs Ministry to Russian educational establishments and policy think tanks. Local Russian media regularly publishes such criticisms more than Russia’s visible achievements and unique success stories across Africa.
Instead of the slogans and ear-deafening noises relating to “neo-colonialism” that dominate the scene, Russians should then address the existing Western colonial tendencies by investing in competitive sectors and economic spheres in Africa. Building public perceptions through social and cultural activities with Africa. The reality is that African leaders await practical investment proposals from potential Russian investors.
While one school of thought has expressed little optimism that Russia can really recapture and make a huge recognizable economic impact compared to the Soviet era, the other school thinks that Russia can only make progress if the authorities make conscious efforts at least to deliver on their pledges and on those previous bilateral agreements promptly.
The new scramble for Africa is gaining momentum. While making beneficially-useful choices, African leaders are currently concerned about pushing for sustainable developments, building needed infrastructures and improving the welfare of the impoverished population. Understandably, infrastructure deficits and development questions present themselves as a brisk business for external players. Therefore, African leaders are consistently looking for partners with funds to invest and contribute towards transforming the economy.
At the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit, the overarching message was to focus on “deepening and expanding the long-term US-Africa partnership and advancing shared priorities, amplifying African voices to meet this era’s defining challenges collaboratively.” The United States has seriously indicated its overwhelming support for making the African Union a member of the G-20 and promised $55 billion to Africa over the next three years.
After studying the agenda and results of the deliberations thoroughly, the United States has an ambitious agenda backed by a $55 billion budget. It signalled that Africans want closer ties with the United States desire and aspire to “close-up gaps” and further build mutually-trusted relations with Africa. In fact, China and Russia were not the most significant or prominent focused themes during the discussions there.
“United States remarks at the summit with Africa show an inability to engage in equitable dialogue,” says one headline in a local Russian media. Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that the anti-Russian and anti-Chinese statements made at the U.S.-Africa summit show Washington is incapable of dialogue and fair competition.
“We have taken note of the numerous anti-Russian and anti-Chinese statements by US officials during the US-Africa summit. Once again, Washington has demonstrated it’s incapable of equal dialogue and decent competition, while its assurances that African countries have a freedom of choice testify to double standards,” the diplomat said.
Zakharova also mentioned important questions relating to basic political and economic freedoms, unfair competition, anti-Russian sanctions and Western agenda within the context of a multipolar world.
“Russia is united with its African friends that, despite enormous pressure from the West, including threats to withhold financial support, take an independent position, first of all, in the context of the situation around Ukraine,” she said.
Zakharova underlined the fact that Russia stands for the right of states to choose their political and economic partners, to follow their own values and the civilizational path of development. Russia offers honest, mutually beneficial and equal cooperation. And that Russia favours non-interference in the internal affairs of sovereign states.
Russian International Affairs Council, a non-government organization and policy think tank, also published an opinion article authored by Kirill Babaev, Director of the Institute of Far Eastern Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Professor at the Financial University. He made an excellent analysis of the relations between Russia and Africa.
The article highlighted future perspectives based on the existing successes cloaked in building political dialogues during the previous years. On the other hand, he exposes for serious consideration by authorities some existing obstacles and weaknesses.
He wrote that Russia’s return to Africa had been discussed in the media and at various levels of power for two decades. However, the impetus given to Russian expansion to the African continent by the first Russia-Africa Summit in October 2019 made it the breakthrough event that made it possible to find an entry point for Russian business and Russia’s economic strategy on the continent, which today leads in terms of economic development.
That the African elites, especially those who studied at Soviet institutes and universities, still have memories of the struggle for the freedom of Africa. During the Soviet times, at the height of fighting against Western colonialism, there were economic offerings of the Soviet era.
However, all these cards are a matter of the past, while in the present, it has been difficult for Russia to offer Africa anything of value that could compete with large-scale Western investment or Chinese infrastructure projects (until recently), he wrote in his article.
Today the situation has changed radically, according to his expert assessment. “The main challenges for Russia in this regard are, first, the need to develop new, non-traditional sectors of economic cooperation, and second, an immense lack of personnel for successful work on the African continent and the promotion of this cooperation,” explained Professor Kirill Babaev.
In another publication headlined “Russian Business in Africa: Missed Opportunities and Prospects” appeared in the foreign policy journal Russia in Global Affairs, where Professor Alexei Vasilyev, former Special Representative of the Russian Federation to African Countries and Director of the Institute for African Studies, wrote in that article that Russian companies are pursuing their diverse interests in Africa.
The main reason is that Africa remains an enormous and large market for technology and manufacturing of consumer goods due to the increasing population and the growth of the middle class. Until recently, Russians have been looking at the mining industry, and economic cooperation is steadily expanding. But, Africa still accounts for just 1.5% of Russia’s investment which is a drop in the ocean. It must be admitted that Russia’s economic policy grossly lacks dynamism in Africa.
“African countries have been waiting for us for far too long; we lost our positions in post-apartheid Africa and have largely missed new opportunities. Currently, Russia lags behind leading foreign countries in most economic parameters in this region,” he pointed out in the article.
Consider another Russian media headline: “West seeks to dissuade African states from participating in Russia-Africa summit” which ran this December. Federation Council Deputy Speaker Konstantin Kosachev said Russia’s Western opponents are trying to prevent African states from taking part in the second Russia-Africa summit, scheduled to take place in July 2023 in Russia’s second-largest city of St. Petersburg.
“The second summit will be drastically different from the first one in terms of the atmosphere surrounding it. Our geopolitical rivals, primarily from the West, will do everything within their powers to prevent African partners from taking part in this meeting and to antithesize it to the Africa-US summit, which is currently taking place with wide participation of African states,” the Senator told a roundtable on Russia’s strategic interests in Africa.
In Senator Kosachev’s opinion, the first Russia-Africa summit held three years ago was successful, “but, in many respects, its results remained within the dimension of politics” and were not translated into additional projects in trade, economic, scientific or humanitarian cooperation.
“I’m sure it will be a very serious miscalculation on our part if the next year’s summit is not prepared in a drastically different fashion, providing each of its participants with a concise roadmap of our bilateral relations, with clear incentives to participate and conclude practical agreements,” the Deputy Speaker of Russia’s Upper Chamber said.
“Trade turnover speaks for itself. Roughly, the European Union’s trade with Africa stands at around $300 billion, China’s – at around $150 billion, and the United States – approximately $50-60 billion. Despite the tendency to grow, our current turnover is around $20 billion,” Senator Kosachev added, quoting trade figures to illustrate his argument.
In this sense, it can be expected that the second Russia-Africa summit, expected in July 2023 in St. Petersburg, will open the doors for many large investment projects on the continent.
Unlike Russia with poor relations with its trained professionals and specialists who graduated from Soviet and Russian educational establishments. At the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit, there was an explicit indication to strengthen Africans in the entire structure in the process of re-setting relations and moving it to the next stage. That is an irreversibly strong positive step.
Professor Kirill Babaev also pointed out the necessity of putting together experienced professionals in his article. However, Russia needs to be ready for them, and this requires people. There are still very few Africanists with knowledge of the languages, specifics, and business customs of the continent in the country, and amid the current conditions, the state should pay special attention to this problem. The most important thing is to make efforts more practical, more consistent and more effective with African countries.
But so far, Russia has not pledged funds toward implementing its business projects and other policy objectives in Africa. While the Russian government is very cautious about making financial commitments, Russia’s financial institutions are hardly interested in stepping up their activities and are not closely involved in foreign policy initiatives in Africa.
With the current geopolitical changes, it is, however, hoped that Russian officials will rather focus on addressing all the weaknesses and obstacles seriously in order to enhance practical cooperation and to make a noticeable impact in Africa, as suggested by Kirill Babaev, Director of the Institute of Far Eastern Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
World
Russian-Nigerian Economic Diplomacy: Ajeokuta Symbolises Russia’s Remarkable Achievement in Nigeria
By Kestér Kenn Klomegâh
Over the past two decades, Russia’s economic influence in Africa—and specifically in Nigeria—has been limited, largely due to a lack of structured financial support from Russian policy banks and state-backed investment mechanisms. While Russian companies have demonstrated readiness to invest and compete with global players, they consistently cite insufficient government financial guarantees as a key constraint.
Unlike China, India, Japan, and the United States—which have provided billions in concessionary loans and credit lines to support African infrastructure, agriculture, manufacturing, and SMEs—Russia has struggled to translate diplomatic goodwill into substantial economic projects. For example, Nigeria’s trade with Russia accounts for barely 1% of total trade volume, while China and the U.S. dominate at over 15% and 10% respectively in the last decade. This disparity highlights the challenges Russia faces in converting agreements into actionable investment.
Lessons from Nigeria’s Past
The limited impact of Russian economic diplomacy echoes Nigeria’s own history of unfulfilled agreements during former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration. Over the past 20 years, ambitious energy, transport, and industrial initiatives signed with foreign partners—including Russia—often stalled or produced minimal results. In many cases, projects were approved in principle, but funding shortfalls, bureaucratic hurdles, and weak follow-through left them unimplemented. Nothing monumental emerged from these agreements, underscoring the importance of financial backing and sustained commitment.
China as a Model
Policy experts point to China’s systematic approach to African investments as a blueprint for Russia. Chinese state policy banks underwrite projects, de-risk investments, and provide finance often secured by African sovereign guarantees. This approach has enabled Chinese companies to execute large-scale infrastructure efficiently, expanding their presence across sectors while simultaneously investing in human capital.
Egyptian Professor Mohamed Chtatou at the International University of Rabat and Mohammed V University in Rabat, Morocco, argues: “Russia could replicate such mechanisms to ensure companies operate with financial backing and risk mitigation, rather than relying solely on bilateral agreements or political connections.”
Russia’s Current Footprint in Africa
Russia’s economic engagement in Africa is heavily tied to natural resources and military equipment. In Zimbabwe, platinum rights and diamond projects were exchanged for fuel or fighter jets. Nearly half of Russian arms exports to Africa are concentrated in countries like Nigeria, Zimbabwe, and Mozambique. Large-scale initiatives, such as the planned $10 billion nuclear plant in Zambia, have stalled due to a lack of Russian financial commitment, despite completed feasibility studies. Similar delays have affected nuclear projects in South Africa, Rwanda, and Egypt.
Federation Council Chairperson Valentina Matviyenko and Senator Igor Morozov have emphasized parliamentary diplomacy and the creation of new financial instruments, such as investment funds under the Russian Export Center, to provide structured support for businesses and enhance trade cooperation. These measures are designed to address historical gaps in financing and ensure that agreements lead to tangible outcomes.
Opportunities and Challenges
Analysts highlight a fundamental challenge: Russia’s limited incentives in Africa. While China invests to secure resources and export markets, Russia lacks comparable commercial drivers. Russian companies possess technological and industrial capabilities, but without sufficient financial support, large-scale projects remain aspirational rather than executable.
The historic Russia-Africa Summits in Sochi and in St. Petersburg explicitly indicate a renewed push to deepen engagement, particularly in the economic sectors. President Vladimir Putin has set a goal to raise Russia-Africa trade from $20 billion to $40 billion over the next few years. However, compared to Asian, European, and American investors, Russia still lags significantly. UNCTAD data shows that the top investors in Africa are the Netherlands, France, the UK, the United States, and China—countries that combine capital support with strategic deployment.
In Nigeria, agreements with Russian firms over energy and industrial projects have yielded little measurable progress. Over 20 years, major deals signed during Obasanjo’s administration and renewed under subsequent governments often stalled at the financing stage. The lesson is clear: political agreements alone are insufficient without structured investment and follow-through.
Strategic Recommendations
For Russia to expand its economic influence in Africa, analysts recommend:
- Structured financial support: Establishing state-backed credit lines, policy bank guarantees, and investment funds to reduce project risks.
- Incentive realignment: Identifying sectors where Russian expertise aligns with African needs, including energy, industrial technology, and infrastructure.
- Sustained implementation: Turning signed agreements into tangible projects with clear timelines and milestones, avoiding the pitfalls of unfulfilled past agreements.
With proper financial backing, Russia can leverage its technological capabilities to diversify beyond arms sales and resource-linked deals, enhancing trade, industrial, and technological cooperation across Africa.
Conclusion
Russia’s Africa strategy remains a work in progress. Nigeria’s experience with decades of agreements that failed to materialize underscores the importance of structured financial commitments and persistent follow-through. Without these, Russia risks remaining a peripheral player (virtual investor) while Arab States such as UAE, China, the United States, and other global powers consolidate their presence.
The potential is evident: Africa is a fast-growing market with vast natural resources, infrastructure needs, and a young, ambitious population. Russia’s challenge—and opportunity—is to match diplomatic efforts with financial strategy, turning political ties into lasting economic influence.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Africa Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has urged African governments to lean into structural tailwinds, warning that the global commodity landscape has entered a new phase of deepening split.
In its November 2025 commodity bulletin, the bank noted that markets are no longer moving in unison; instead, some are powered by structural demand while others are weakening under oversupply, shifting consumption patterns and weather-related dynamics.
As a result of this bifurcation, the Cairo-based lender tasked policymakers on the continent to manage supply-chain vulnerabilities and diversify beyond the commodity-export model.
The report highlights that commodities linked to energy transition, infrastructure development and geopolitical realignments are gaining momentum.
For instance, natural gas has risen sharply from 2024 levels, supported by colder-season heating needs, export disruptions around the Red Sea and tightening global supply. Lithium continues to surge on strong demand from electric-vehicle and battery-storage sectors, with growth projections of up to 45 per cent in 2026. Aluminium is approaching multi-year highs amid strong construction and automotive activity and smelter-level power constraints, while soybeans are benefiting from sustained Chinese purchases and adverse weather concerns in South America.
Even crude oil, which accounts for Nigeria’s highest foreign exchange earnings, though still lower year-on-year, is stabilising around $60 per barrel as geopolitical supply risks, including drone attacks on Russian facilities, offset muted global demand.
In contrast, several commodities that recently experienced strong rallies are now softening.
The bank noted that cocoa prices are retreating from record highs as West African crop prospects improve and inventories recover. Palm oil markets face oversupply in Southeast Asia and subdued demand from India and China, pushing stocks to multi-year highs. Sugar is weakening under expectations of a nearly two-million-tonne global surplus for the 2025/26 season, while platinum and silver are seeing headwinds from weaker industrial demand, investor profit-taking and hawkish monetary signals.
For Africa, the bank stresses that the implications are clear. Countries aligned with energy-transition metals and infrastructure-linked commodities stand to benefit from more resilient long-term demand.
It urged those heavily exposed to softening agricultural markets to accelerate a shift into processing, value addition and product diversification.
The bulletin also called for stronger market-intelligence systems, improved intra-African trade connectivity, and investment in logistics and regulatory capacity, noting that Africa’s competitiveness will depend on how quickly governments adapt to the new two-speed global environment.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
A strategic partnership designed to accelerate worldwide enterprise adoption and monetisation of Network APIs has been entered into between Comviva and the global aggregator of standardised network APIs, Aduna.
The adoption would be done through Comviva’s flagship SaaS-based platform for programmable communications and network intelligence, NGAGE.ai.
The partnership combines Comviva’s NGAGE.ai platform and enterprise onboarding expertise with Aduna’s global operator consortium.
This unified approach provides enterprises with secure, scalable access to network intelligence while enabling telcos to monetise network capabilities efficiently.
The collaboration is further strengthened by Comviva’s proven leadership in the global digital payments and digital lending ecosystem— sectors that will be among the biggest adopters of Network APIs.
The NGAGE.ai platform is already active across 40+ countries, integrated with 100+ operators, and processing over 250 billion transactions annually for more than 7,000 enterprise customers. With its extensive global deployment, NGAGE.ai is positioned as one of the most scalable and trusted platforms for API-led network intelligence adoption.
“As enterprises accelerate their shift toward real-time, intelligence-driven operations, Network APIs will become foundational to digital transformation. With NGAGE.ai and Aduna’s global ecosystem, we are creating a unified and scalable pathway for enterprises to adopt programmable communications at speed and at scale.
“This partnership strengthens our commitment to helping telcos monetise network intelligence while enabling enterprises to build differentiated, secure, and future-ready digital experiences,” the chief executive of Comviva, Mr Rajesh Chandiramani, stated.
Also, the chief executive of Aduna, Mr Anthony Bartolo, noted that, “The next wave of enterprise innovation will be powered by seamless access to network intelligence.
“By integrating Comviva’s NGAGE.ai platform with Aduna’s global federation of operators, we are enabling enterprises to innovate consistently across markets with standardised, high-performance Network APIs.
“This collaboration enhances the value chain for operators and gives enterprises the confidence and agility needed to launch new services, reduce fraud, and deliver more trustworthy customer experiences worldwide.”
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