World
African Media Now Telling its Stories
By Kestér Kenn Klomegâh
Under the aegis of the African Union (AU), the continental organisation, the AU Media Fellowship programme, is frog-leaping to create a positive and compelling brand image for the continent on the global landscape. With financial support from the African Union, media groups are constantly retraining and learning the collaborative strategic art and skills in rebranding Africa within the emerging multipolar world and as an integral part of the African Agenda 2063.
The AU Media Fellowship Programme is a newly created platform for cross-border collaborative journalism, which has already been hailed for paving the way for practising media professionals and content creators to break away from the longstanding overreliance on external sources for information about developments on the continent.
For the one-year-long fellowship, groups are broadly chosen from different African countries. Over the past months, media fellows have been exploring ways to not only balance the narrative of developments on the continent but also to operationalize a network and frameworks of exchange with each other in a bid to boost the reach and impact of their content and reporting.
After a successful study tour in Germany and the AU headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, the group moved Phase 3 of the AU Media Fellowship two-week long study tour, to AU organs in South Africa, at the Pan-African Parliament.
The study tour to the AU organs and specialized agencies began at the AU Pan-African Parliament, African Union Development Agency (AUDA- NEPAD), Africa Peer Review Mechanism (APRM), Africa Risk Capacity (ARC) and South African institutions, which include South Africa Broadcasting (SABC), The MultiChoice Group, Brand South Africa, Wits School of Journalism which hosted the 3rd series of the AU Media Roundtable. The study tour concluded with a guided tour to the Republic of South Africa Parliament and Media Lab retreat.
The 4th Vice-President of the Pan-African Parliament (PAP), François Ango Ndoutoume, welcomed the AU Media Fellows to PAP which he described as the home of the African people. He further refers to the role of the PAP’s mandate to ensure the full participation of African peoples in the economic development and integration of the continent.
“The mandate of the PAP as a representation of the peoples of Africa cannot be implemented without engaging and involving citizens and civil society. The media, therefore, remains the most effective tool to achieve this objective,” Ndoutoume said and continued his remarks by highlighting the critical role the media plays in enhancing active citizen engagement.
The PAP depends on journalists to inform the public about its work. It is also important to note that covering the continental parliament requires an understanding of its origin, mandate and rules of procedure, according to his explanation, and finally called on the media to regain control of the editorial line and the media coverage dedicated to Africa, as it is the only way to counter negative narratives about the continent.
According to Leslie Richer, the African Union Director for Information and Communication, cross-border collaborative journalism being shaped through the AU Media Fellowship positions media outlets and journalists across Africa to own the narrative of the continent.
“From your study trip in Germany, Ethiopia, and now in South Africa, this connecting of thoughts will help not only to do your work better but also, as journalists, you are creating a network, you are actually better able to address the issues on the continent and to create narratives that we want. A balanced narrative of developments on the continent, one that is a clear representation of who we are but one that speaks of the situation that we find ourselves in,” Richer said.
“We started this programme so that you can start realizing that you’re not in competition with each other. There’s a bigger challenge for us because we do not even collaborate as journalists, and that must change. So that’s the role the African Union has to play, to bring media houses and journalists together,” she said at the Pan-Africa Parliament last November 2022.
Last December, as part of the Africa Union Media Fellowship programme, Areff Samir and Amira Sayed, both AU Media Fellows -2022, hosted Dr Dinesh Balliah, Acting Director of the Centre of Journalism at Wits University. Naeemah Dudan, Producer at Seen.tv, Veerashni Pillay, founder of news start-up explain.co.za, and Lindokuhle Nzuza, project coordinator at Jamlab Africa and panellists to unpack the changing media landscape, share best practices on how to leverage technology to shape our narratives and discuss sustainable business model’s journalist can adapt to survive in the fast-paced media industry.
Speaking during the meeting, Dinesh Balliah, Acting Director at the Centre of Journalism at Wits University, shed light on the constantly changing needs of media audiences in Africa. She focused on how the needs of media consumers in Africa are fast changing, which calls for new approaches in the media industries in Africa.
She said, “The media ecosystem is changing, and thus the curriculum of journalism has to improve to meet the dynamic, ever-changing needs of the audiences. Today, we give assignments to students, and we instruct them to present them in different formats like podcasting, data visualization etc.”
Telling Africa stories and creating African content will be more successful in the future when media students and practising media personalities embrace the digital ways of practicing journalism. More people can access the internet and search for news and media content online on Podcasts, Twitter, blogs, and Youtube, among other platforms. In the near future, African audiences will rely more on getting news and media content on online platforms. This calls for a necessary and immediate revision of the journalism curriculum in Africa.
In addition, donor companies and funding stakeholders of different media houses are changing their selection criteria. Naeemah Dudan listed ways of getting funders and donors to support media work. She said that media personalities should find better approaches to donors and mentioned that good proposals for any idea are the key to persuading donors. Therefore, media professionals in Africa can thrive when they master the skills of writing persuasive proposals to donors and funding stakeholders.
Lindokuhle Nzuza, the Project Coordinator at Jamlab Africa, an incubator for innovative journalism and media in projects from across Africa, aims to strengthen innovation in African independent journalism and media, to grow the diversity of the continent’s voices in the public space. This is a great contribution to equip media practitioners to counter stereotypes on the digital edge.
There was also a networking session with the Africa Regional Media Hub, which is part of the US Department of State’s Bureau of Public Affairs that works to connect US policymakers and experts with media in Africa. The session took place in December 2022.
The Deputy Director for the US Africa Regional Media, Tiffany Jackson-Zunker, has reiterated the United States’ commitment to working with African media to include and elevate African voices in the most consequential global conversations.
Tiffany Jackson-Zunker said, “The role of the media in a democracy is critical, and our hub’s primary objective is to support journalists, specifically those on the African continent, by providing resources on U.S.-Africa policy, opportunities to engage with U.S. officials, and responding to queries from media representatives, the journalists who work with us have more tools at their disposal to write the stories their audiences want and need.”
The tour provided an opportunity for the media fellows to gain further insights into US-Africa policy, particularly pertaining to its engagement with the media in Africa. The visit to the media hub comes after the AU Media fellows were hosted in Ethiopia by the US Permanent Representative to the African Union Ambassador Jessica Lapenn.
Director for Information and Communication at the African Union Commission (AUC), Leslie Richer, added that “the two organizations have a common goal of ensuring top-quality, balanced narrative on the continent, which will result in equally high-calibre reportage and for us, a crucial step towards achieving this is to provide the fellows with the capacity to deliver through such interactions and tours.”
The AU Media Fellowship program is an excellent platform for African journalists to gain a continent-wide perspective on news creation, media operations, their role in reframing the African narrative, and the power of professional networking. The Africa Regional Media Hub is now a welcomed member of their larger network and remains as a strong supporter of the African Union’s efforts to bolster media professionals across the continent.
Brand South-Africa, Acting Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Sithembile Ntombela, took the AU Media Fellows through the concept of nation branding when the Media Fellows paid a working visit to the offices of Brand South Africa as part of activities for a two-week study trip to South Africa for the 29th November to 10th December.
According to The Brand SA CEO, Africans must accept and embrace the Continentэs uniqueness. “We have to recognize the uniqueness of each and every country’s offering and package it in a way that complements each other in grabbing the attention of the world so that Africa becomes better. The important thing about the concept of branding Africa is the alignment and our intentions for the development and positive impact of the social and economic benefit of all of us in Africa,” she told them.
She concluded her remarks by commending the African Union for being instrumental in taking leadership and being a facilitator of concepts and programmes that promotes regional integration, like the AU Media fellowship. The final phase of the fellowship programme will be at the Continental AU Media roundtable to discuss the future of Media in Africa in May 2023.
The AU Media Fellowship programme is implemented by the AU through the Information and Communication directorate, supported by the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ).
Through the fellowship, the AU seeks to boost ownership of key policies and programmes and accelerate the achievement of goals under its Agenda 2063, which targets delivering on socio-economic and development changes 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.
World
Russia to Support Industrial Growth, Technological Advancement and Supply Chain Resilience across Africa
By Kestér Kenn Klomegâh
With the heightening of geopolitical rivalry and competition, a new Russia-Africa working group has emerged as a significant institutional mechanism and plans to focus on facilitating and monitoring strategic investments, industrialisation, and infrastructural development—the Strategic Action Plan 2023-2026—that was outlined during the second Russia-Africa summit, in St.Petersburg, the second largest city in the Russian Federation.
While substantial progress has, largely, lagged on the multidimensional economic front with Africa primarily due to its internal difficulties and the complexity of relations with its former Soviet neighbours, Russian officials believe there still remains huge untapped potential in strengthening bilateral cooperation. As planned, President Vladimir Putin has already signed an executive order that directs Moscow to host the forthcoming third Russia-Africa summit in October 2026.
On June 30, a regular meeting of the Business Council on Africa was held under the chairmanship of the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry. It was dedicated to issues of trade, economic and investment cooperation with Africa. The group discussed the current state and prospects for the implementation of policy initiatives with an emphasis on assisting the countries of the continent, strengthening their economic, energy, technological and food sovereignty, as well as training specialists for Africa.
Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has reiterated that Russia-Africa relations primarily depend on an understanding of the importance of collective action based on the principles of equality, mutual respect and resolving common tasks. In the past few years, Russia-Africa cooperation has been noticeably strengthening. “We are deepening political dialogues, developing bilateral contacts with African countries, promoting cordial cooperation between ministries and departments, and expanding humanitarian exchanges. We are also continuing the structural diversification of trade partnerships and economic dimensions.”
“Next on the agenda is the launch of diplomatic missions in The Gambia, Liberia, Togo, and the Union of the Comoros,” Lavrov said at a meeting of the Business Council under the Russian foreign minister. Lavrov noted that Russian embassies began operating in three other African countries in 2025: Niger, Sierra Leone, and South Sudan. A new Department for Partnership with Africa was also established. According to the top diplomat, “expanding Russia’s diplomatic presence on the continent contributes to developing relations.”
There are already 45 Russian embassies operating in Africa. The Russian foreign minister noted that Moscow is quickly rebuilding its presence in African countries, which sharply declined during the collapse of the Soviet Union. “There will be literally four or five countries left where we still need to establish full-fledged embassies, and then, we will have 100 per cent coverage of the entire African continent with our diplomatic presence,” Lavrov emphasised.
After the first summit in October 2019, the Foreign Ministry also created the Secretariat of the Russia-Africa Partnership Forum. Its main tasks include controlling the roadmap to Africa’s multidimensional cooperation and guiding potential Russian investors to the continent. This also underscored the priority and post-Soviet solidarity Russia currently attaches to its policy towards Africa, within the growing framework of the emerging new architecture of multipolarity in the Global South.
In an interview in June 2026, the director of the Department of Partnership with Africa at the Foreign Ministry, Tatyana Dovgalenko, shared a few insights in the lead-up to the third summit. Furthermore, Dovgalenko explained that Russia would move away from security to concentrate more on economic issues, especially to team up with African colleagues to streamline mechanisms for implementing projects that will ensure food security and agriculture, and help Africa in installing processing facilities to support its self-sufficiency. She also emphasised energy and vital infrastructures, and the third direction was to simultaneously work more coherently with sub-regional organisations.
Over the past few years, bilateral relations have been increasing. There are positive dynamics in trade turnover, estimated at $30 billion. Steps are being taken to build payment systems, preferably in national currencies, while Russia looks to open four more diplomatic offices, bringing the total to 48 across Africa. Russia is currently training 37,000 African students, but only approximately 1/3 on state scholarships in Russia’s educational institutions. “We are ready to share valuable experiences of building a sovereign development model with African partners to achieve self-reliant economic growth based on their own resources and capabilities. Russia aims at creating processing capabilities and localising production, and provides access to advanced technological solutions,” underlined Dovgalenko in her interview with New Eastern Outlook.
For African countries that have endured difficult decades on the path to political independence, it is now important to take full control over the untapped resources, direct income and revenue toward stimulating the national economic sector, rather than paying for the well-being of the Western “golden billion” during this changing geopolitical era, according to Dovgalenko.
According to reports, the forthcoming Russia-Africa summit will have an economic agenda, including the digital economy, technology, artificial intelligence, healthcare, investment, and settlements in global trade. Of course, the agenda will also cover Africa’s political aspects. But if African friends bring along any specific ideas, Russia will give them serious attention. In addition, with continuity and consistency, pay increased attention to expanding ties with Africa’s regional integration associations.
Going forward, the focus will be on translating strong trade relations into deeper investment partnerships, fostering technology collaboration, strengthening industrial linkages and contributing towards the shared objectives set by the leadership of both African countries and Russia. At the third summit, the above-mentioned specific initiatives will be further designed. In this regard, the key document, the new action plan for the next three-year period (2027-2029), is intended to reflect dynamic realities in the future relations of Russia and Africa
