World
Russian Non-Commodity Exports to Africa Reach $14.4bn
By Kester Kenn Klomegah
In this interview with Alisa Andreevna Prokhorova, the Managing Director for International Activities and Interaction with Business Councils and Group of companies of the Russian Export Center, not only discussed at length but also offers in-depth information with statistics about Russia’s trade with Africa.
The first Russia–Africa Summit has ultimately set the grounds for raising trade collaboration across various areas and work towards a new dynamism in the existing economic cooperation with African countries.
In an emailed discussion with Kester Kenn Klomegah in May 2021, Prokhorova unreservedly stressed that as the African continent undergoes positive transformation, platforms for dialogue trade between Russia and Africa are profoundly emerging too.
She particularly referred to the newly created continental free trade zone in Africa for potential Russian investors and business people, facilitate their quest for interaction with industry organizations and enterprises of the sub-Saharan African countries.
Here are the interview excerpts:
Is the African market promising from an economic point of view? Does Russia play a special role on the African continent?
What is the peculiarity of the African continent? The fact that the demand is very high (a large territory of the continent, 54 countries), but many countries are not creditworthy. In all countries of the world, large corporations plan a strategy to enter the market with a deferred effect. So, they invest.
For example, China enters many African countries and takes major projects, but implements them at its own expense, because at the moment, it’s very difficult to achieve high demand from the African population.
Russian companies do not have enough resources to engage in such investment expansion. The market is potentially the largest, Africa – is the continent of the future, but at the moment, the demand is generally limited.
Secondly, the USSR was very active in Africa. It had built and invested a lot, so since those times Russia has a positive image. Besides the past achievements, it is still necessary to build more business partnerships and form an economic strategy for the future.
What is the dynamics of economic relations between Russia and Africa over the past five years? Which changes are being tracked?
Russian exports to African countries over the past decade have generally shown a steady upward trend (adjusted for a number of specific factors). If in 2010, exports were only $5 billion (less than 1.5 per cent of the total), then in 2019, it was already $14 billion (3.3 per cent).
Due to the low share of fuel in the supplies, the role of Africa in non-commodity exports is much more significant. Over the past 5 years, Russian non-commodity exports to Africa have consistently exceeded $10 billion (2018 was a record year as exports amounted to $14.4 billion).
Speaking about Africa, we need to clearly distinguish the countries of this continent into two groups: the northern and southern parts. Russia traditionally has good economic relations with the countries of North Africa (trade turnover of $11.7 billion in 2019), where there is a dynamic growth of Russian non-resource non-energy exports.
With the South African countries (trade turnover of $5 billion in 2019) the statistics are more inconsistent, where the export of Russian non-commodity goods over the five past years ranges from $1.8 billion in 2015 to $2.2 billion in 2019. In spite of that, 2018 was the most successful year with an export volume of $2.7 billion.
How much does Russia export to African countries on average per year? Which of them have the largest share in the Russian trade balance?
As I have already noted, Russia works most actively with the countries of Northern Africa where Egypt stands out. Algeria and Morocco can also be distinguished.
Non-commodity exports 2019 (USD million): Egypt – 5407, Algeria – 2985, Nigeria – 367, Morocco – 332, Sudan – 271, South Africa – 260, Tunisia – 170, Kenya – 156.
Non-commodity exports for 8 months in 2020 (USD million): Egypt – 1624, Algeria – 1148, Nigeria – 279, Sudan – 203, Morocco – 199, South Africa – 155, Kenya – 115, Tunisia – 102.
As for major export contracts, the following can be noted:
The contract for the supply of 1.3 thousand passenger railcars for Egypt, in the amount of about 1 billion euros, was won by Transmashholding in cooperation with its Hungarian partner (the head contractor is the Tver Carriage Building Plant). Deliveries under this contract have already begun and by October, 117 railcars ($59 million) have been shipped. EXIAR and EXIMBANK of Russia also take part as I know.
What is the role of non-commodity exports in trade with African countries? Moreover, are there any major infrastructure projects with the participation of Russia?
Russian Export Center pays priority attention to the development of the relations with sub-Saharan Africa. The outcome of 2020 the volume of non-commodity export amounted to $432.1 million. There was support for the supply of Russian products in 34 countries of the region.
The main destinations of Russian non-commodity exports were: Rwanda ($165 million), South Africa ($32 million), Zambia ($27.5 million), Tanzania ($17.8 million), Ghana ($17.1 million), Kenya ($16.6 million) and Uganda ($14.6 million).
The main export industries are agriculture, mechanical engineering, chemical industry, timber industry, and metallurgical industry.
At the moment Russian Export Center takes part in the development of prospects for the participation of Russian companies in a number of infrastructure projects, in particular, for the equipment and construction of hydroelectric power plants in a number of countries in East Africa, the construction of a railway in one of the countries in West Africa.
Today, our portfolio also includes projects for the supply of products from the Russian automobile industry to Ghana, Nigeria and Ethiopia. A project for the supply of agricultural and railway equipment to a number of countries in South Africa is being worked out. In total, the work is carried out on projects in 18 countries of the region.
With the participation of the Russian Export Center the implementation of a number of landmark projects of Russian companies in Africa in key industries, whose products are most in-demand on the continent, is being discussed. It’s about the mining industry, metallurgy, chemical industry, agricultural products, infrastructure projects.
Special attention is paid to the development of exports of Russian high-tech products, the possibilities of supplying medical equipment, high-tech solutions in the field of hydro and solar energy, communication and security systems are being worked out. It is important to note that most of these projects are long-term, and their full implementation and delivery of results require long-term collaboration with African counterparts.
Economic partners from which African countries are interested in obtaining accreditation and which of the services are in demand?
We are also stepping up our efforts to expand our foreign network. Since December 2021, the Russian Export Center has accredited partners in countries such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Angola, the Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, and Rwanda. Partners in countries such as Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Ghana, and Senegal are in the process of accreditation.
We record an increase in the interest of Russian exporters in obtaining both financial services (lending and insurance) and non-financial services (search for a foreign buyer, top-level search for a partner) in West Africa (Nigeria, Benin, Ghana, Ivory Coast) and a number of East African countries (Tanzania, Kenya, Ethiopia).
We note an increase in the number of requests to find a Russian supplier from sub-Saharan Africa. Companies from such countries as South Africa, Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Ethiopia, Tanzania, and Benin are most interested in increasing imports of Russian companies’ products. Most frequently, we receive requests to search for suppliers in such industries as mineral fertilizers, food products and petrochemicals.
Are you planning to establish cooperation with regional organizations and, if so, with which ones?
We plan to expand the channels of interaction with industry organizations and business councils of the sub-Saharan African countries. Special emphasis will be placed on cooperation with regional integration groupings (for example, the Southern African Development Community-SADC, the Economic Community of West African Countries-ECOWAS and the East African Community-EAC).
Besides, several projects can be noted: the activities and plans of the Afrocom at the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI) in the direction of Africa, the Russia-Africa Summit 2022, and the possible opening of a tasting pavilion in one of the African countries.
Why African business is extremely low or completely absent, compared to Asian countries, in the Russian Federation? Under the circumstances, what should be done to improve the current situation, to make a two-way trade?
The development of bilateral relations in the business environment depends on the intergovernmental commissions. These commissions work out the terms of cooperation as well as resolve issues of economic, technical and legal nature. In order to improve the situation in two-way trade between Russia and Africa, it is necessary to develop state cooperation.
Moreover, the remoteness and insufficiency of developed transport networks with Africa are also key issues of bilateral cooperation. The elimination of trade barriers and dialogue at the level of intergovernmental commissions will allow countries to improve two-way trade links.
With the adoption of African continental free trade, what is your interpretation of this free trade, and how useful it could be for corporate Russian exporters?
The African free trade zone opens up opportunities for the free movement of services, goods, capital and labour in the region. This reduces costs and facilitates trade between countries, making Africa even more attractive to other states.
Russia supports the concept of the African free trade zone because it is very convenient for exporters who get the necessary certificates and trade permits in one country and then sell their products to other African states. This free trade area allows producers to reduce the costs and time of transportation of goods. It increases the attractiveness of the African market and makes it more significant for Russian exporters.
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.
