World
Victory Day in Moscow, Russia-Africa Relations
By Kestér Kenn Klomegâh
Russian President Vladimir Putin invited 29 world leaders to witness the main military parade at Moscow’s Red Square, and used the high-level occasion to review Russia’s diplomatic priorities with African leaders. The African leaders came from Burkina Faso, Congo, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Guinea Bissau and Zimbabwe.
By taking part in the Victory Parade in Moscow, the African leaders had the unique chance to review their bilateral relations with the Kremlin, and at least, as part of a broader effort to celebrate their bilateral relations built down these years. Their presence in Moscow showcased the irreversible dynamism, political symbolism and rapidly evolving character of contemporary multifaceted ties, especially during this heightening and deepening of the current world’s geopolitical situation.
Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger are undergoing economic resuscitation, transforming their system of state management and governance, projects financing and production. Burkina Faso has nationalized its natural resources by expelling the France and other western corporate miners. Mali instead have bartered its resources in exchanged for Russia’s military-technical cooperation within an agreement signed in 2023.
Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, currently run by military governments that have taken power in coups between 2021 and 2022, have a set of common goals to achieve after removal of their elected governments, accusing them of deep-seated corruption and further the exploitative character of western powers through manipulation.
Concretely the main objectives include reaffirming and securing their regional peace, with narratives pointed at the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) under-performance in this sphere of maintaining security.
In the context of shifting global powers, this regional bloc has to undergo serious restructuring and reforms. The French-speaking members – Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger – and now with Chad, Senegal and Togo threatening to withdraw and join the Alliance of Sahel States (AES). The region is still engulfed with widespread terrorism and violent extremism.That however, the Sahelian States seek to protect their individual political sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Nevertheless, Russia’s growing relations with Alliance of Sahelian States (AES), consisting Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger also provides boundless potential opportunity to recalibrate their foreign policy away from western colonizers. These French-speaking States are strategically collaborating with Russia, and opting for military support within military-technical agreement. The bilateral agreements, a kind of bartering natural resources in exchange for military equipment and modern weaponry to help in enduring the capacity for fighting frequent Islamic attacks and countering terrorism in the region.
The Sahelian leaders appreciated the transformation change and the groundbreaking reality, as Russia is tremendously supporting to raise awareness of the political and economic status, offered them humanitarian packages. Several bilateral agreements have been signed to engage in accelerating economic and trade initiatives, and beyond. On their part, African leaders have also been identifying, monitoring, analyzing strategic threats that may hinder Russian initiatives in Africa. It is in recognition of Russia as a trusted and reliable partner.
Burkina Faso signed a Memorandum of Understanding on nuclear energy with the State Atomic Energy Corporation (Rosatom) during the Russia-Africa summit held in St. Petersburg in July 2023. Russia is teaming up with Mali and Niger to exploit their natural resources for undertaking development projects in their respective countries. Quite essentially, the bilateral agreements signed between Mali and Niger are directed at engaging in development their infrastructure which Russia has expressed strong interest to support, and has also despatched military troops to ensure peace and stability.
Central African Republic (CAR) leader, Faustin-Archange Touadéra, has enjoy tremendous support from the Kremlin. There are estimated 2,500 Russian instructors working there, according to local Russian media reports. Russia is constructing the city’s highways, rehabilitating educational building and exploiting the country’s mineral resources to improve living standards of the estimated 5.6 million.
Despite its significant mineral deposits and other resources, such as uranium reserves, crude oil, gold, diamonds, cobalt, lumber, and hydropower, as well as significant quantities of arable land, the Central African Republic is among the ten poorest countries in the world.
Over the years, Russia and the Republic of Congo have had good bilateral relations and, undoubtedly, there are still prospects for strengthening these relations. At this point, highlighting Russia-Congo partnerships have its own perspectives. Vladimir Putin during a meeting with Sassou-Nguesso, in Novo-Ogaryovo near Moscow, assertively referred to good potential in several industries, such as energy, the processing industry and agriculture.
Leading Russian companies, including LUKOIL and Yandex, operate effectively in the Congo. Rosatom plans to launch a number of large projects, especially those necessary for attaining the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Congo has become the fourth largest oil producer in the Gulf of Guinea, and in 2018, the Republic of the Congo joined the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries.
As significant part of the geopolitics and first-class display of diplomatic symbolism for Russia-Africa relations, President of Equatorial Guinea, Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, was invited as one of the African guests celebrating the Victory Day. Teodoro Obiang Nguema also been visiting Moscow.
He was at the Russian Energy Week 2024 and invited Russian investors to take interest in Africa’s natural resource extraction. Such partnerships should not be limited to the production of resources but should include knowledge transfer, technological training, and the promotion of modern energy infrastructure development. Equatorial Guinean leader, however, explained that Africa exists in an era of major changes and challenges.
Equatorial Guinea, believes that energy cooperation should be guided by a fundamental principle: to ensure the stability of energy markets, protecting the most vulnerable segments of the population from market volatility. Energy should not be a weapon, but as a means to achieve common prosperity. The collective responsibility is to ensure that the least developed countries are safely protected from fluctuations in energy prices and are not excluded from the benefits of energy and advanced technology.
Russia’s bilateral relations with Egypt and Ethiopia, has now transcended into a broader partnership in BRICS, the alliance of major developing countries. BRICS, as a multilateral economic and development-oriented cooperation platform, is at the forefront transforming world politics.
Therefore, Egypt and Ethiopia’s presence in Moscow during the May Day celebrations portrayed, in principle, an inevitable victory over western hegemony. Egypt and Ethiopia, and together with Russia, the position of the three resonates as a key collective player in shaping the emerging the world order. It could not have to be understated – Russia, Egypt and Ethiopia have shared strategic ambitions in this contemporary world.
Russia and Guinea-Bissau has had an excellent evolving relations now. President of the Republic of Guinea-Bissau, Umaro Sissoco Embalo, has visited four times, the lastest was on on February 26, 2025. Embalo participated in the first (2019) and second (2023) Russia-Africa Summits, respectively in southern city of Sochi and cultural capital, St. Petersburg.
On 9th May 2024, Guinea Bissau leader Embalo was one of the special guests to the May Day celebrations at the Red Square and earlier as part of the team to discuss peace initiatives with the Kremlin. That May Day celebrations, Putin stressed that “Africa is now building up capacity and aspires to emerging as an effective powerhouse in a multipolar world with its unique identity by making confident strides in nurturing a genuine sense of political and economic sovereignty.”
It is necessary to remind here that Russia and Guinea-Bissau have previously signed various agreements to bolster trade, economic cooperation and military-technical sphere, and beyond that created working groups on developing and subsequent implementation of programmes and projects particularly in Guinea-Bissau. “There is strong potential and promising opportunities in these areas, as many Russian companies are showing increasing interest in working in the Guinea-Bissauan market,” according to Putin.
Reports indicate that over 70 percent of Guinea-Bissau’s servicemen and civilian officials were trained in the Soviet Union and continued under Russia. Moreover, Russia has increased the quota for Guinea-Bissauan friends for the current year, 2025/26. With population approximately 1.8 million people, Guinea-Bissau faces challenges of ensuring security and more than two-thirds lives below the poverty line. Sharing borders with Guinea (to southeast), Gambia and Senegal (to the north), Guinea-Bissau attained its independence in September 1973.
In terms of Zimbabwe, much has been done. The greatest is Russia involvement in the US$3 billion Darwendale platinum mining project in the sun-scorched location, about 50 km northwest of Harare, the Zimbabwean capital. On 6th March 2025, Zimbabwean Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Amon Murwira, signed comprehensive bilateral agreements, including strengthening trade and economic cooperation.
Additional steps that were agreed upon to identify promising areas for joint engagement, particularly in geological exploration, mineral resource development, nuclear energy, agriculture, space technology, and information and communications technologies. In addition, Russia allocated 125 scholarships for Zimbabwean citizens to study at Russian universities.
The Speaker of the Federation Council of the Russian Federation, Valentina Matviyenko, headed a group of Russian senators went on a reciprocal inter-parliamentary visit to Harare. The delegation delivered a wonderful humanitarian aid to the Angels of Hope Foundation ran by the First Lady, Auxilia Mnangagwa in Harare.
In 2023, President Vladimir Putin despatched tonnes of grains (wheat) under ‘supply at no-cost’ to the people of Zimbabwe. Besides Zimbabwe, other African countries – Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Eritrea, Mali, Somalia and Kenya benefited from this humanitarian aid to these African countries. (For further detailed information on this, read the transcript on the Kremlin’s website).
In a quick review, President Emmerson Mnangagwa expressed invariable commitment to deepening partnership based on agreements reached during his meetings with President Vladimir Putin, including on the sidelines of the St Petersburg International Economic Forum in June 2024. Zimbabwe plans to ascend into BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa), an informal association which guarantees building an inclusive, a more fairer world especially for developing countries. Egypt, Ethiopia and South Africa are members, while Uganda and Nigeria are ‘partner states category’ with BRICS. Notwithstanding that, Algeria last year opted to become a share-holder in BRICS Bank, which was established in 2015.
Down the years, African leaders have emphasized the critical importance of delivering factual historical information about the tremendous role of the USSR and Russia in defeating fascism to the younger generation of Africans. During those years, the Soviet Union never colonized Africa, but instead supported Africa in their fight against colonialism and for the liberation of the continent and exploitation by western powers. In the era of shifting geopolitical powers, Africa is also struggling against existing forms of neo-colonialism, and this presents the basis for building and strengthening comprehensive interaction between Russia and Africa.
Worth reiterating that Burkina Faso, Congo, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Guinea Bissau and Zimbabwe were given, based on the principles of equality and mutual respect, the authoritative opportunity in the Honor of the 80th Anniversary of the Great Victory and the Defenders of the Fatherland. Russia has indicated, several times, its task is to help African peoples rebuild their economies and strengthen their states to prevent future wars. African leaders are reminded of Russia’s assistance in reducing multitude of conflicts in African societies, and weighing in the readiness towards developing a pan-African identity. Without doubts, Russia and Africa share a strong mutual need for speeding up with the creation of a multipolar world.
In conclusion, the significance of their intended interaction, an explicit chance to review the potential opportunities to collaborate in broader economic diversification goals, and possibly forging collaboration through public-private partnerships. Burkina Faso, Congo, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Guinea Bissau and Zimbabwe therefore had unique representation here, in the context of 80th anniversary celebrating Victory Day. For now, at least, this exemplifies noticeable ‘friendship and solidarity’ with Africa. In totality, Russia is consistently renewing its thunderous commitment to enhance relations with Africa.
By Kestér Kenn Klomegâh
One year after launching a continental initiative designed to make excellence in public governance the foundation of a new drive to transform Africa, LEAD, the Africa CEO Forum’s pan-African leadership programme, takes stock of its first cohort and announces the launch of its second class. Built around a community of senior public decision-makers committed to modernising the state and to the continent’s digital transformation, this new cohort gathers for three days, from 28 to 30 August 2026, on the campus of Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P) in Rabat, Morocco.
A second cohort that confirms the programme’s durability
For its second class, LEAD brings together 50 fellows, senior public decision-makers engaged in the design and implementation of the continent’s economic and social policies. Over three days, participants take part in collective and collaborative working sessions, peer exchanges and meetings with figures from the public, business and academic spheres, in order to compare their practices and build shared responses to the major challenges of governance.
Speakers include Mehdi Jomaa, former Head of Government of Tunisia, Donald Kaberuka, Managing Partner & Founder, SouthBridge Group, and former President of the African Development Bank, Serge Ekue, President of the West African Development Bank (BOAD), Sanjay Jain, co-creator of India Stack and Director of Digital Public Infrastructure, Gates Foundation, and Mauricio Cardenas, Professor of Professional Practice in Global Leadership, Columbia SIPA, and former Finance Minister of Colombia (2012-2018).
They share their reform experience, their public policy trade-offs and their view of continental priorities. Throughout the programme, the cohort benefits from the dedicated support of Mohammed VI Polytechnic University, Asafo & Co, BOAD, BCG and the African Development Bank, LEAD partners that have chosen to invest in the transformation of African public action.
LEAD, a pan-African community serving public action
Created by the AFRICA CEO FORUM, LEAD is a leadership programme whose ambition is to reposition Africa’s administrative elite as a driver of reform, of performance and of dialogue with all the continent’s stakeholders.
Designed for senior African public decision-makers, LEAD sets out to build a lasting community of public officials able to share their experience, compare their practices and build common solutions to the major economic, technological and institutional transformations under way in Africa. That community is structured around three pillars: modernizing the state, improving public services, and strengthening cooperation between governments, development institutions and private-sector players.
From fellows to alumni: a long-term initiative
Made up of 36 fellows drawn from a range of administrations and institutions and representing 24 countries across the continent, LEAD’s first cohort demonstrated the quality and the potential of this community from its very first year. In less than twelve months, six of its members have taken a significant step forward: two have been appointed ministers, two have moved into strategic positions at the highest level of the state and two have been promoted to chief executive roles. These moves, which account for 16.7% of the first class, show the role LEAD plays as an accelerator of impact within African administrations.
By bringing together a new cohort of fellows every year, each of them joining the LEAD alumni community, the initiative follows a long-term trajectory: in time, to unite several hundred African public decision-makers around a shared culture of transparency, performance and regional cooperation.
A first year devoted to public service and digital public infrastructure
Throughout the year, the fellows devoted their work to strengthening African public action, to make excellence in public governance a central lever of transformation. An awareness campaign, run as part of Africa Public Service Day, brought to light those who, within the continent’s administrations and institutions, are concretely transforming public policy and improving the services offered to citizens.
Members of the cohort also took part in a special round table held in Kigali during the ACF 2026, in order to carry their thinking to a wider community of public and private leaders. That forum reinforced LEAD’s role as a platform for dialogue between the administrative elite and the continent’s economic players. Digital public infrastructure (DPI) formed the main thread of this first year of work.
Discussions covered issues at the heart of the digital sovereignty of African states: digital identity, payments, secure data exchange, interoperability, governance and the protection of citizens. This work examined the conditions under which African states are developing, in some cases, and can develop, in others, shared, open infrastructure robust enough to improve the quality of public services while supporting local innovation and preserving the capacity of public authorities to set the rules of the game.
A white paper to move from consuming technology to creating value
This year of work concludes with the publication, in collaboration with BCG, LEAD’s Knowledge Partner, of a white paper on Africa’s place in the digital economy and in artificial intelligence. With the digital economy still accounting for around 5% of African GDP, against close to 15% worldwide, the paper calls on the continent to shift from a logic of technology consumption to one of value creation.
The white paper identifies three structuring priorities for African public actors:
- Building shared digital infrastructure that serves as the backbone of public services and private innovation.
- Pooling investment in order to reach critical mass and avoid the fragmentation of efforts across the continent.
- Favouring open and interoperable architectures, with trust and governance built in by design, so as to protect citizens while stimulating the entrepreneurial ecosystem.
The white paper is available here to all public decision-makers, technical partners and institutions concerned.
“LEAD’s first cohort confirms a simple conviction: Africa already has the women and men capable of profoundly transforming public action. Our responsibility, either with our partners, is to give them, at pan-African level, a space in which to compare experience, build common solutions and bring forward a new generation of public policy. With this second cohort, we want to accelerate the move from ambition to execution, in particular on digital public infrastructure and artificial intelligence, two decisive issues for sovereignty, for the effectiveness of the state and for value creation across the continent,” says Amir Ben Yahmed, President of the Africa CEO Forum.
By Kestér Kenn Klomegâh
Africa is set to make history as it hosts the World Public Summit for the first time, with Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, welcoming global leaders and changemakers from July 29–30, 2026, for the landmark gathering under the theme “New World: Africa in Shaping a Shared Future.”
The inaugural African edition of the World Public Summit marks a significant milestone in the continent’s growing role in shaping international dialogue on governance, sustainable development, human-centred leadership and global cooperation.
Hosted by the World Peoples Assembly in partnership with African and international organisations, the summit will convene government officials, diplomats, business leaders, academics, journalists, youth representatives, civil society organisations and cultural leaders from across Africa and around the world.
According to Andrey Belyaninov, General Secretary of the World Peoples Assembly, “the Summit is not just a meeting—it is a space for unity. A space where the ‘values that unite us’ come to life: respect for people, openness to the world, responsibility for the future, and a commitment to creation.
“Today, we understand more clearly than ever: the future cannot be built alone. It is born in dialogue, in trust, in the ability to listen to one another and to act together.”
The programme begins on July 29 with a series of high-level roundtables and expert discussions covering Pan-African economic integration, civil society, education, scientific cooperation, cultural diplomacy and humanitarian partnerships.
The opening plenary, “Values, Development and Partnership as the Basis of a Sustainable and Just World,” will explore how African values—including Ubuntu—can help shape a more inclusive and sustainable global future. Discussions will also focus on youth leadership, innovation, civil society, ethical AI, public initiatives and international partnerships.
The summit will also showcase Africa’s creativity and innovation through the “Innovations for the Future” exhibition, the contemporary African art exhibition “Unity,” and the international exhibition “The World Paints Happiness.”
Another featured initiative is “The Zambezi River: Economy, Society, Soul,” an international interdisciplinary project exploring the river’s socioeconomic importance across Angola, Botswana, Mozambique, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe, highlighting the shared heritage and development potential of one of Africa’s most important waterways.
The event will conclude with the adoption of the African Communiqué, reflecting the summit’s shared vision for stronger international cooperation, sustainable development and people-centred leadership.
Tsegaye Chama, General Secretary of the Global Black Centre, promised that, “The Summit will be delivered with exceptional distinction, reflecting the magnitude and spirit of the World Peoples Assembly. It embodies a unity that is not transactional, but purposeful and conscious, a unity that shapes new contours for a world that works for all peoples of the World.”
As delegates prepare to arrive in Addis Ababa, anticipation continues to build for what promises to be one of Africa’s most significant international gatherings of 2026—one that will place the continent firmly at the centre of global conversations about the future.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigeria regained its position as Africa’s leading destination for equity startup investment in the first half of 2026, raising $214 million in equity financing and a total of $254 million across equity and debt, according to the latest Africa: The Big Deal report.
The report, titled H1 2026: Mapping the Money, showed that Nigeria ranked second on the continent in total funding, behind Egypt, which attracted $327 million, while Kenya and South Africa followed with $126 million and $83 million, respectively.
However, the report noted that Egypt’s top position was largely driven by a single fundraising by electric mobility company Spiro, which secured $327 million, including $270 million in equity and $57 million in debt. Excluding debt financing, Nigeria emerged as Africa’s largest equity funding market in the first six months of the year.
According to the breakdown by Africa: The Big Deal, Nigeria’s equity funding of $214 million was higher than Egypt’s $183 million, while South Africa and Kenya attracted $66 million and $46 million, respectively.
Beyond funding value, Nigeria also led the continent in the number of startups that raised at least $100,000 during the review period, reclaiming the top spot after what the report described as an “underwhelming” second half of 2025.
The publication observed that Nigeria’s fundraising performance has remained relatively stable over the past few years and exceeded the $250 million mark for the first time since 2022, pointing to renewed investor confidence in the country’s startup ecosystem.
It also found that while the Big Four startup markets—Nigeria, Egypt, Kenya and South Africa—continued to dominate Africa’s investment landscape, their combined share of total funding stood at 58 per cent in the first half of 2026.
“Zooming back on the Big Four (110 out of 190 $100k+ deals, i.e. 58%), Nigeria is head and shoulders above its peers, with Egypt and Kenya almost tying, and South Africa in fourth position again,” the report noted.
The report highlighted contrasting performances among the continent’s largest startup ecosystems. While Nigeria and Egypt maintained strong funding momentum, Kenya recorded its weakest funding performance since early 2021 after a strong second half of 2025, and South Africa failed to attract $100 million in funding during the period despite leading the continent a year earlier.
Africa: The Big Deal also noted a broader shift in investor behaviour, with funding increasingly concentrated in larger transactions while early-stage investments continued to decline. According to the publication, the drop in smaller funding rounds reflects growing concerns about limited capital available for early-stage startups across Africa.
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