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:

1. Structured financial support: Establishing state-backed credit lines, policy bank guarantees, and investment funds to reduce project risks.
2. Incentive realignment: Identifying sectors where Russian expertise aligns with African needs, including energy, industrial technology, and infrastructure.
3. 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 Kestér Kenn Klomegâh

With heightening geopolitical situation, a new wave is entirely blowing from Russia to Africa, fortifying the emerging multipolar world with emphasis on Africa and the Global South. Russia’s policy approach toward Africa is increasingly changing, incorporating most the areas and spheres as ready instruments for consolidating the scale of current bilateral relations. For the first time in the post-Soviet history, a press tour for journalists of African news agencies “TASS – Africa: the Path of Friendship” took place from November 16 to 24 in Moscow, Kazan and St. Petersburg.

The TASS news agency intends to establish news bureaus in all African countries, replicating its presence during the Soviet era, Director General Andrey Kondrashov said. His statement was based on the fact that Africa is becoming “one of the most important areas of focus.” The biggest apparent challenge is how to create an extensive media outreach and maintain a significant information footprint, a replica which was witnessed during Soviet times.

Chairman of the State Duma, Vyacheslav Volodin, meeting with African ambassadors, indicated clearly that Russia is competing with foreign players in Africa. But, as Russia continues invariably working on its long-term cooperation, it has “to move away from intentions to concrete actions.” Russia has a distinctive feature in comparison with other countries: it has always spread to the people of the African continent good things, model-solutions for development problems.

During a meeting with African ambassadors in the State Duma, the issue of greater representation of Russian media in Africa was raised, which ambassadors responded with applause. “It is necessary to take certain steps together for the Russian media to work on the African continent,” Volodin noted before arguably comparing that “the Russian media provide broadcasting in various languages, they work in many countries, although it is certainly impossible to compare this presence with presence of the media of the United States, United Kingdom and Germany.”

Notwithstanding the geopolitical obstacles, Russia has sound instruments for media cooperation. Yet, officials desperately complain over anti-Russian media campaign perpetuated by the western media in Africa. The continent’s biggest challenge among political elite and entrepreneurs is to access opportunities in the Russian Federation for cooperation, yet these vital element has been missing. There is dearth of adequate information on economic and tourism developments between Russia and Africa.

For creating a sustainable partnership—the first in Africa—would require sprawling educational campuses, frequent exchange of specialists and students, promoting visa-free tourism, as well as media practitioners’ engagement with ordinary Russians, visiting interesting tourism spots across the Russian Federation.

And while China, for instance, has granted 53 African nations duty-free access to its market, Russia would simply not just as it does consider it necessary to permit African reporters inside the country. Noticeably, Africans are showing high interest in leveraging their relationships with Russia. On the other side, Russian rules and regulations are restricting Africans, and as result, rather continue balancing their strategic relationship—with varying degrees of success with the United States and Europe.

Experts have consistently argue that lack of two-way media representation exacerbates misunderstanding between Russia and Africa. As a result, African leaders and corporate business executives often rely on Western media for information about Russia, leading to a one-sided view that often reflects Western biases.  As Africa’s middle class estimated at 280 million (twice Russia’s population) continues to grow, representing a vibrant information market, the need for a balanced and comprehensive media coverage from both sides becomes increasingly crucial. The low representation does not reflect the growing diplomatic and economic ties between Russia and Africa. Analysis further shows both realism and symbolism, and Africa repetitive attempts to turn symbolism into real substance at this stage of shifting developments.

Artem Kozhin, is now Russia’s ambassador to Seychelles. During the Russia-Africa Summit, Artem Kozhin, who represented the Foreign Ministry’s Information and Press Department, at the panel discussion on media, explained in an indepth report that some 300 news bureaus from 60 countries were operating in Russia, including 800 foreign correspondents and 400 technical personnel in the Russian Federation. According to his interpretation, this extremely low representation of African media hardly meets the level of current dynamically developing relations between Russia and Africa. “We invite all interested parties to open news bureaus and expand media cooperation with Russia,” Kozhin said at the gathering, inviting Africa media to Moscow.

Professor Alexey Vasiliev, the first Special Representative of Russian President for Relations with Africa (2006-2011) and currently the Head of the Center for African and Arab Studies at the Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia, told the audience in Sochi: “Africa is largely unaware of Russia, since African media mainly consumes information the Western media sources and then replicates them. And all the fake news, the Rusophobia and anti-Russian propaganda, spread by the western media, are repeated in the African media.”

“Measures are needed to enable us to better understand each other,” suggested Professor Vasiliev, who regularly advises the Presidential Administration, the Government of the Russian Federation, both chambers of the Federal Assembly, and the Russian Foreign Ministry.

Critiques have since emerged regarding the level of discrimination in accrediting foreign media. In a parallel plane, policy researchers say Africa’s media absence in the Russian Federation is alarming. In short, Africa Studies Institute’s Director, Professor Irina Abramova has reiterated, at several conferences including at State Duma roundtable discussion, and now at TACC conference with the media group from 10 Francophone African countries, the extremely low of African media presence in the Russian Federation.

She emphasized that Russia’s image is formed by African audiences, influenced by the media, often diverges significantly from reality. The director noted that receiving first-hand information is the foundation for mutual understanding and cooperation. “Information, today, has become a powerful productive force, capable of shaping objective reality. Under the current conditions, the role of journalists is extremely important, because the nature of Russian-African relations, largely depends on how given facts are presented,” Professor Abramova stated, while urging African media practitioners to actively establish their presence in the Russian Federation.

Professor Abarmova regrettably underlined that not a single African news agency has permanent accreditation in the country. The speakers discussed expanding cooperation in the information sphere, pointed to the importance of expanding Russian media offices on the African continent.

For decades, cooperation with Africa has been in line with Moscow’s policy aimed at strengthening media ties. And now, by inviting these African media practitioners, more or less, marked one step toward teaming up, at starting level, to fight anti-Russian propaganda, and the spread of fake information. In addition, Professor Abramova underscored the critical fact that the Africa Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, has to work up to an appreciable expectations, discard uncollaborative approach to issues relating to Africa.

For Africa, officials of the Department for Partnership with Africa at the Russian Foreign Ministry should rather show enthusiasm in facilitating the rules and regulations, among others, in addressing promptly the necessary obstacles hindering bilateral media cooperation. Professor Abramova unreservedly suggested, for example, the significance of establishing Russia-Africa Press Exchange Programme to encourage and promote exchanges and regular visits between Russian and African media.

Tatyana Dovgalenko, Director of the Department for Partnership with Africa at the Russian Foreign Ministry, said that Moscow counts on the active participation of its partners from Africa. In this context, she reiterated the Russia-Africa summits held in October 2019 and July 2023, have described as a true breakthrough by Russian President Vladimir Putin. “These events served as a powerful starting-point for what is commonly referred to as the revival of Russia-Africa relations. And today, Russian-African ties are steadily growing,” Dovgalenko said at the conference dedicated to the launch of the press tour. “It is important that our African friends view Russia as a reliable friend and a partner, capable of acting to protect its own sovereignty and supporting others to do the same.”

“These events served as a powerful starting-point for what is commonly referred to as the revival of Russia-Africa relations. And today, Russian-African ties are steadily growing,” Dovgalenko said at the conference dedicated to the launch of the press tour. “It is important that our African friends view Russia as a reliable friend and a partner, capable of acting to protect its own sovereignty and supporting others to do the same.”

The media initiative was as a follow up to Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s discussions about rolling out a comprehensive roadmap for a more integrated cooperation and to find ways of improving public diplomacy in Africa.

On May 16, Sergey Lavrov chaired the Foreign Ministry Collegium meeting on the theme titled “Concept of the Russian Federation on Cooperation with African Media” which stresses the need to cooperate with African media as Russia looks forward to strengthening relations and intends to share its strategic interests with Africa. According to the MFA report: “the Russian Federation is implementing programmes of cooperation with various African countries which include the media, education, culture, art, and sport.”

In order to overcome these longstanding challenges mentioned above in the article, both Russia and Africa have to take concrete steps toward building a more collaborative media landscape. This includes creating opportunities for African journalists in Russia and increasing the presence of Russian media in Africa. In mid-November 2025, media representatives invited from 10 Francophone African countries, visited key landmarks, museums, and universities, and held meetings with representatives of academic institutions and media.