World
European-funded Initiative Aims At Creating ‘African Vaccine Market’
By Kestér Kenn Klomegâh
African leaders have teamed up with Europe and Western countries to push for a comprehensive strategic partnership to a new height, this time in the health sector. At this crucial time of rising geopolitical tensions, the leaders reached an agreement to accelerate the rollout of vaccines in Africa, after the coronavirus pandemic exposed gaping inequalities in accessing them from advanced countries. Many African countries learned invaluable lessons, witnessed discriminatory supplies and still have an excellent memory of searching for vaccines during the coronavirus pandemic 2019.
At a Global Forum for Vaccine Sovereignty and Innovation held in Paris, France, in June 2024, the launch of the African Vaccine Manufacturing Accelerator (AVMA) now provided financial incentives to vaccine manufacturers to step up production locally in Africa, which faces numerous health crises including rising cholera outbreaks. “Africa produces only 2% of the vaccines it uses, and the goal that we have set is that by 2040 the production is increased to reach 60%,” French President Emmanuel Macron said at the opening of the summit. “France and Europe have supported this ambition since 2021 with 1.2 billion euros (allocated), and we need to accelerate it.”
Three-quarters of this funding will come from Europe, Macron told the summit, which was also attended by leaders from Botswana, Rwanda, Senegal, and Ghana, as well as visiting ministers, health groups and pharmaceutical firms. Germany will contribute $318 billion to the scheme, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said in a video message. France put in $100 million and the UK $60 million, while other donors include the United States, Canada, Norway, Japan and the Gates Foundation.
Reports said GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance, a public-private partnership that helps get needed vaccines to developing countries around the world, would make up to $1 billion available over the next decade to help increase Africa’s manufacturing base, to improve global vaccine markets and improve preparedness and response to pandemics and outbreaks like HIV, malaria, tuberculosis and COVID-19.
The Geneva-based alliance says the accelerator will inject funds into manufacturers in Africa once they hit supply and regulatory milestones, to use market forces to drive down prices and encourage investment upstream.
Officials say the project will also explore issues like technology transfer — which has been resisted by some Western countries with powerful pharmaceutical companies — as well as the possible creation of an African medicines agency and tackling regulatory hurdles faced in Africa’s patchwork of legal systems.
The scheme “could become a catalyst for promoting the pharmaceutical industry in Africa and fostering collaboration between member states”, Chairperson of the African Union Commission (AUC), Moussa Faki Mahamat, told the summit. Africa imports “99 per cent of its vaccines at an exorbitant cost”, he added.
The new scheme aims to move vaccine production to Africa to give the continent more sovereignty — and avoid history repeating itself. Macron called for cholera to be “consigned to the past” and noted that outbreaks were now affecting “half of Africa”. The expectation was that a production chain for cholera vaccines be launched in Africa by the South African biopharmaceutical firm Biovac.
At the Global Forum for Vaccine Sovereignty and Innovation forum, Gavi announced it is seeking to raise $9 billion to fund its vaccine programmes from 2036 to 2030. The United States will contribute $1.58 billion to the Gavi effort, First Lady Jill Biden said in a video message, with more commitments later expected. GAVI chair Jose Manuel Barroso said that “one million children vaccinated since 2000 is an incredible achievement”.
According to the European Commission, the AVMA funds will purchase more than 800 million vaccine doses produced in Africa over the next decade. “The initiative will diversify the set of global vaccine suppliers with a target of at least four African vaccine manufacturers sustainably entering the market,” the Commission said.
Many parts of Africa have recently seen deadly outbreaks of cholera, which has highlighted the need for more local vaccine producers. Only one firm in the world — South Korea’s EuBiologics — makes cheap and effective oral vaccine doses for the deadly disease. Thanks to the new money, “we are sure that within two years, Africa will be producing the cholera vaccine,” said Jean Kaseya, head of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.
The AVMA is a new financial mechanism that will provide nearly €1 billion over ten years to support African vaccine manufacturers. It was officially launched at a global forum co-hosted by France, the African Union and the international vaccine organization GAVI. The new funds will contribute to the African Union’s goal of manufacturing, at least, 60 per cent of the continent’s required vaccine doses by 2040, according to GAVI. The African Vaccine Manufacturing Accelerator (AVMA) is the brainchild of GAVI and the Centre for African Disease Prevention and Control (CDC-Africa) headquartered in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
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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