World
CNN Explores Africa’s Transport Infrastructure
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Africa is a continent with a huge infrastructure deficit, making the cost of commodities to go high by 60 per cent because of transportation and logistics expenses.
But some African leaders are taking steps to address this issue so as to make life better for their citizens. One of the countries looking for ways to tackle the problem is Kenya.
In 2017, the country launched the Standard Gauge Railway (S-G-R) to help with the movement of tons of cargo along a vital transportation corridor connecting Naivasha and Nairobi with the Port of Mombasa.
In the latest episode of Connecting Africa, CNN International’s Eleni Giokos was in the East African nation to see how this initiative is benefitting the import and export industry.
In a chat, the Senior Director of Transport at TradeMark East Africa, Abhishek Sharma, informed CNN that, “Our whole transport system has been realigned.
“For the longest time, very little cargo was moving by rail, up to 95 per cent of the cargo was moving by road.
“Suddenly, there has been a massive shift where for containerised cargo from Mombasa to Nairobi 60 per cent of the imports are moving by rail. So, it’s a whole different way in which things are being done.”
Continuing, Sharma said, “Any intervention which reduces the cost of logistics in our region, makes a big difference to what the people in our region can achieve in terms of their health outcomes and educational outcomes, as well as, you know, to be able to save a bit more.”
In the future, the S-G-R project is planned to connect Mombasa to Malaba on the border with Uganda and continue onward to Kampala. It will also run to Kigali in Rwanda, with a branch line to Juba in South Sudan.
According to Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary for Transport, Mr James Macharia, this project will enable neighbouring countries to “be able to move the cargo from Mombasa all the way to the border, a distance of about 1300 kilometres in a span of about 18 hours. And this is what will bring efficiency and bring competitive advantage to the entire region.”
Next, Giokos had a chat with the co-founder of UgaBus, an online ticketing app enabling travellers within East Africa buy bus tickets. Ronald Hakiza talks about why he launched UgaBus in 2015, “I’ve been to 207 towns in East Africa. I looked at how we struggled to buy tickets in those different towns, and I said to myself, ‘Really? In this era, something should change.’”
The app allows customers to search, compare and book a bus ticket in under three minutes. Christine Kabazira, a UgaBus subscriber, tells the programme why she uses the service, “The hassle that comes with booking buses, going to the bus and the crowds, especially now in the COVID times, the fact that you don’t have to touch money. It confirms that you have paid via SMS and it confirms that you have booked a certain seat. So, all you need to do is just go to the bus station and show them the SMS.”
Currently, passengers can book over 200 routes on the UgaBus app across five countries in East Africa: Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda, with Zambia being targeted next. Hakiza speaks about the company’s future, “We’re building a bus ecosystem, something that brings together the entire bus online digitally that when you look at the bus, right from luggage, to passenger travel, to ticketing, to experiences, to everything should come online.”
The episode also profiled WhereIsMyTransport, a start-up mapping African cities to provide mobility data and solutions for emerging-market cities, and features GoMetro, a mobile transit information app offering updates to improve the urban commuting experience in South Africa.
Finally, Giokos goes behind the scenes of Sierra Leone’s ferry service Sea Coach Express to find out how they are expanding their routes to neighbouring Guinea.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
For transforming cross-border payments through its deployment with Global Money Exchange, Comviva has been named Best In-Class Cross Border Payments.
The global leader in digital transformation solutions clinched this latest accolade at the IBS Intelligence Global FinTech Innovation Award 2025.
The recognition highlights how Comviva’s mobiquity Pay is helping shape a modern cross-border payment ecosystem that stretches far beyond conventional remittance services.
Deployed as a white label Wallet Platform and launched as Global Pay Oman App, it fulfils GMEC’s dual vision—positioning itself as an innovative payment service provider while digitally extending its core money transfer business.
The solution allows GMEC to offer international money transfers alongside seamless forex ordering and other services. These capabilities sit alongside a broad suite of everyday financial services, including bill and utility payments, merchant transactions, education-related payments, and other digital conveniences — all delivered through one unified experience.
“This award is a testament to Oman’s accelerating digital transformation and our commitment to reshaping how cross-border payments serve people and businesses across the Sultanate.
“By partnering with Comviva and bringing the Global Pay Oman Super App, we have moved beyond traditional remittance services to create a truly inclusive and future-ready financial ecosystem.
“This innovation is not only enhancing convenience and transparency for our customers but is also supporting Oman’s broader vision of building a digitally empowered economy,” the Managing Director at Global Money Exchange, Subromoniyan K.S, said.
Also commenting, the chief executive of Comviva, Mr Rajesh Chandiramani, said, “Cross-border payments are becoming a daily necessity, not a niche service, particularly for migrant and trade-linked economies.
“This recognition from IBS Intelligence validates our focus on building payment platforms that combine global reach with local relevance, operational resilience and a strong user experience. The deployment with Global Money Exchange Co. demonstrates how mobiquity® Pay enables financial institutions to move beyond remittances and deliver integrated digital services at scale.”
“The deployment of mobiquity Pay for GMEC showcases how scalable, API-driven digital wallet platforms can transform cross-border payments into seamless, value-rich experiences.
“By integrating remittances, bill payments, forex services, and AI-powered engagement into a unified Super App, Comviva has reimagined customer journeys and operational agility.
“This Best-in-Class Cross-border Payments award win stands as a testament to Comviva’s excellence in enabling financial institutions to compete and grow in a digitally convergent world,” the Director for Research and Digital Properties at IBS Intelligence, Nikhil Gokhale, said.
By Kestér Kenn Klomegâh
At the end of an extensive consultation with African foreign ministers, Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, has emphasized that Moscow would advance its economic engagement across Africa, admittedly outlining obstacles delaying the prompt implementation of several initiatives set forth in Strategic Action Plan (2023-2026) approved in St. Petersburg during the Russia-Africa Summit.
The second Ministerial Conference, by the Russian Foreign Ministry with support from Roscongress Foundation and the Arab Republic of Egypt, marked an important milestone towards raising bilateral investment and economic cooperation.
In Cairo, the capital city of the Arab Republic of Egypt, Lavrov read out the final resolution script, in a full-packed conference hall, and voiced strong confidence that Moscow would achieve its strategic economic goals with Africa, with support from the African Union (AU) and other Regional Economic blocs in the subsequent years. Despite the complexities posed by the Russia-Ukraine crisis, combined with geopolitical conditions inside the African continent, Moscow however reiterated its position to take serious steps in finding pragmatic prospects for mutual cooperation and improve multifaceted relations with Africa, distinctively in the different sectors: in trade, economic and investment spheres, education and culture, humanitarian and other promising areas.
The main event was the plenary session co-chaired by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Emigration, and Egyptians Abroad Bashar Abdelathi. Welcome messages from Russian President Vladimir Putin and Egyptian President Abdelhak Sisi were read.
And broadly, the meeting participants compared notes on the most pressing issues on the international and Russian-African agendas, with a focus on the full implementation of the Russia-Africa Partnership Forum Action Plan for 2023-2026, approved at the second Russia-Africa Summit in St. Petersburg in 2023.
In addition, on the sidelines of the conference, Lavrov held talks with his African counterparts, and a number of bilateral documents were signed. A thematic event was held with the participation of Russian and African relevant agencies and organizations, aimed at unlocking the potential of trilateral Russia-Egypt-Africa cooperation in trade, economic, and educational spheres.
With changing times, Africa is rapidly becoming one of the key centers of a multipolar world order. It is experiencing a second awakening. Following their long-ago political independence, African countries are increasingly insisting on respect for their sovereignty and their right to independently manage their resources and destiny. Based on these conditions, it was concluded that Moscow begins an effective and comprehensive work on preparing a new three-year Cooperation and Joint Action Plan between Russia and Africa.
Moreover, these important areas of joint practical work are already detailed in the Joint Statement, which was unanimously approved and will serve as an important guideline for future work. According to reports, the Joint Statement reflects the progress of discussions on international and regional issues, as well as matters of global significance.
Following the conference, the Joint Statement adopted reflects shared approaches to addressing challenges and a mutual commitment to strengthening multifaceted cooperation with a view to ensuring high-quality preparation for the third Russia-Africa Summit in 2026.
On December 19-20, the Second Ministerial Conference of the Russia-Africa Partnership Forum was held in Cairo, Egypt. It was held for the first time on the African continent, attended by heads and representatives of the foreign policy ministries of 52 African states and the executive bodies of eight regional integration associations.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Social media platform, TikTok’s Chinese owner ByteDance has signed binding agreements with United States and global investors to operate its business in America.
Half of the joint venture will be owned by a group of investors, including Oracle, Silver Lake and the Emirati investment firm MGX, according to a memo sent by chief executive, Mr Shou Zi Chew.
The deal, which is set to close on January 22, 2026 would end years of efforts by the US government to force ByteDance to sell its US operations over national security concerns.
It is in line with a deal unveiled in September, when US President Donald Trump delayed the enforcement of a law that would ban the app unless it was sold.
In the memo, TikTok said the deal will enable “over 170 million Americans to continue discovering a world of endless possibilities as part of a vital global community”.
Under the agreement, ByteDance will retain 19.9 per cent of the business, while Oracle, Silver Lake and Abu Dhabi-based MGX will hold 15 per cent each.
Another 30.1 per cent will be held by affiliates of existing ByteDance investors, according to the memo.
The White House previously said that Oracle, which was co-founded by President Trump’s supporter Larry Ellison, will license TikTok’s recommendation algorithm as part of the deal.
The deal comes after a series of delays.
Business Post reported in April 2024 that the administration of President Joe Biden passed a law to ban the app over national security concerns, unless it was sold.
The law was set to go into effect on January 20, 2025 but was pushed back multiple times by President Trump, while his administration worked out a deal to transfer ownership.
President Trump said in September that he had spoken on the phone to China’s President Xi Jinping, who he said had given the deal the go ahead.
The platform’s future remained unclear after the leaders met face to face in October.
The app’s fate was clouded by ongoing tensions between the two nations on trade and other matters.
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