World
Africa Needs Urgent Action to Meet Agenda 2063—Murombedzi
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Officer in Charge of the Economic Commission for Africa’s African Climate Policy Center (ACPC), Mr James Murombedzi, has disclosed that Africa will not successfully implement the sustainable development agenda and it’s 50-year development plan, Agenda 2063, if urgent climate actions are not taken now.
Speaking ahead of the 7th Climate Change and Development in Africa (CCDA7), which opened in Nairobi on Wednesday, Mr Murombedzi said the continent needs to urgently adopt climate resilient development pathways if it is to survive the adverse impacts of climate change.
The CCDA-VII is being organized in partnership with the Kenyan government and the PanAfrican Climate Justice Alliance (PACJA).
Mr Murombedzi’s comments come in the wake of the Special Report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) on a global warming of 1.5 degrees centigrade published on October 8, 2018.
The report calls for urgent action to phase out fossil fuels and warns that there is only 12 years to be kept to a maximum of 1.5C and avoid catastrophic environmental breakdown.
“Africa is already suffering from the adverse impacts of climate change even though it contributes far less to greenhouse emissions,” said Mr Murombedzi.
“We need a global approach towards climate resilient development pathways to ensure that warming is limited to 1,5 degrees Celsius and hence not derail Africa’s development renaissance and aspirations.”
Mr Murombedzi said the IPCC report means that climate actions are not only urgent for Africa but also for those responsible for the warming.
“This report is particularly important because a global 1.5C warmer world (compared to pre-industrial) will see several regions worldwide experiencing temperature higher warming – 3 degrees in the case of Africa,” he said.
He added concerted efforts are needed globally, especially to ensure the effective implementation of the Paris Agreement.
“That is why at CCDA-VII we believe that that countries have to start planning for a warmer climate than previously expected so this means we need to review all the different climate actions and proposals to ensure that we can in fact not only survive in a 3C warmer environment but still be able to meet our sustainable development objectives and our Agenda 2063,” said Mr Murombedzi.
He added; “We also need urgent action to ensure there’s an enabling environment for the participation of key actors, that is non-state actors, like civil society, private sector and subnational entities in the climate change discourse.”
The CCDA-VII is this year focusing on the theme; ‘Policies and actions for effective implementation of the Paris Agreement for resilient economies in Africa.’
Its main purpose is to explore ways through which State and non-state actors, particularly civil society, private sector, subnational entities and academia, can support the implementation of the Paris Agreement, said Mr Mithika Mwenda, Secretary General of the PanAfrican Climate Justice Alliance
“So for Africa we would really like to explore ways by which state and non-state actors can ensure that the ambition of the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) is increased so that the continent can achieve the sustainable development goals and Agenda 2063,” Mr Mwenda said.
“From this meeting we seek to come up with strategies for increasing the resilience of African economies, particularly in the sectors of agriculture, energy, water, infrastructure and ecosystems in order to reduce impacts of climate change. This means we need to move beyond negotiations between the parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and start focusing on green growth strategies from different stakeholders,” he said.
Mr Murombedzi said the CCDA will look at ways of ensuring that the global climate governance framework becomes responsive to challenges that have already been experienced by Africa in terms of climate change and also focus on building partnerships for coordinated engagement on climate change and sustainable development.
The deliberations from CCDA-VII will also contribute to the 2018 UNFCCC reflection and dialogue on where parties are with climate action, where they want to go and how they get there (Talanoa Dialogue), particularly with regards to means of implementation which are finance, capacity building, technology transfer and partnerships.
Stakeholders who will attend the CCDA-VII include representatives from national governments, local governments, civil society organizations, private sector, farmer organizations, climate scientists, researchers and policymakers.
The youth will also attend the conference as a key constituency that can help in the development of climate policies and strategies at all levels and also exploring potential youth contribution in climate innovations.
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.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Accessing the US Dollar in the East Africa region has now been made easier with the expansion of the stablecoin settlement infrastructure of SCRYPT.
This development enables banks, payment providers and corporate treasury teams to move value into and out of the continent in real time.
Businesses paying international suppliers frequently have to convert local currency into USD before purchasing stablecoins for settlement, incurring FX conversions and spreads before any payment is made.
But SCRYPT is eliminating this intermediate conversion by enabling direct settlement corridors for local African currencies into stablecoins.
This development allows businesses to move from local currency to stablecoin settlement in a single licensed transaction, without first sourcing rationed bank dollars, as stablecoins are increasingly becoming settlement infrastructure rather than an investment product.
The expansion adds settlement support across four African currencies: the Kenyan shilling (KES), Tanzanian shilling (TZS), Rwandan franc (RWF) and Ugandan shilling (UGX). Each corridor is delivered through the same full-stack infrastructure our clients already use for trading, custody and treasury operations.
Speaking on this, the chief executive of SCRYPT, Norman Wooding, said, “Across Africa, stablecoin adoption is driven by economic need, not speculation.
“Businesses here are not chasing yield; they are trying to pay suppliers and manage treasury without losing margin to a banking system that rations dollars. Licensed, fair-rate dollar access is the clearest proof of what this infrastructure is for.”
Also commenting, the Managing Director of Markets & Trading at SCRYPT, Mr Gabriel Titopoulos, said, “Until now, reaching stablecoins from local African currencies meant buying scarce dollars and incurring several layers of conversion costs.
“SCRYPT removes this friction. Firms and payment providers can now settle straight from local currencies through live corridors, with local partners.”
World
African Graduates Association Promoting Multifaceted Initiatives With Russian Educational Institutions
By Kestér Kenn Klomegâh
In preparations for the third Russia-Africa Summit, scheduled for late October 2026, Dr Francois Ngan, deputy chairman of the Union of Associations of African Graduates of Soviet and Russian Universities, during an official working visit, has held a consultative meeting with Professor Vladimir Filippov, the President of the Russian University of Peoples’ Friendship (RUDN), and former Minister of Higher Education of Russia, Chairman of the National Commission for Accreditation of Higher Education.
RUDN is an educational institution established in 1960, primarily to provide higher education to Third World students. It has now become a popular multidisciplinary spot for many students, especially from developing countries. The university offers various academic programmes and has research infrastructure that comprises laboratories and interdisciplinary centres. The university is named after the former Congolese leader, Patrice Lumumba.
Dr Francois Ngan and Professor Filippov discussed the importance of the Graduates Association as a continental platform dedicated to strengthening unity, cooperation, and promoting shared progress among African graduates who studied in the former Soviet Union and in the Russian Federation. They also reviewed multifaceted initiatives that could bring together alumni associations from across Africa, whose members obtained education and professional training, and cultural experiences in Soviet and Russian institutions of higher learning.
Professor Filippov expressed optimism in addressing emerging challenges as a result of shifting geopolitical changes, emphasised strategic cooperation in the educational sphere with Africa, in general, and with the Republic of Cameroon, in particular, and further about the integration of African students during their studies in the Russian Federation.
The meeting also touched on academic and scientific work, the possibility of rewriting a scientific thesis, and the official organisation of transferring versions translated into six languages for the library of RUDN. Significant questions relating to Russia’s educational opportunities, collaborations and partnerships involving African countries were thoroughly discussed.
The Union of Associations of African Graduates of Soviet and Russian Universities was created under one continental umbrella to promote friendship, for professional networking, to engage in cultural exchange, and with particular emphasis on forging strategic cooperation between Africa and Russia.
