World
Filipe Nyusi: Using Regional Military Force the Best Way to Enforce Peace and Stability in Africa
By Kestér Kenn Klomegâh
Top United States officials, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Chief Lloyd Austin, joined several key leaders from Africa to discuss Peace, Security and Governance issues at the US-Africa Leaders’ Summit.
The Biden administration’s three-day gathering brought leaders from across the African continent to discuss ways to strengthen ties and promote shared priorities with the United States. A total of 49 African heads of state and the chairperson of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat, were guests at this high-level meeting.
The continent’s leaders often feel leading economies have given them short shrift but remain crucial to global powers because of its rapidly growing population, significant natural resources and the sizable voting bloc in the United Nations. The summit aimed at reviving US relations with the African continent, suspended by former President Donald Trump, at a time when China and Russia are advancing their pawns in the region.
Hosting leaders and senior officials in a not-so-subtle pitch to convince guests that the US offers a better option to African partners. “We want to understand what’s what’s really important to you,” said U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.
“We want to make sure that we are doing the things to develop and empower your security forces and help you work on your security architecture in ways that you think benefit you and that certainly will promote regional stability,” he explained.
In his contribution, African Union Commission Chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat said the United States is providing bilateral support to a number of African countries, including Niger, Mozambique, Somalia and Chad. But, he said, that African armies are still under-equipped. “No one is listening to the cries of Africa when it comes to the extension of this scourge,” he said.
During the discussion, Somalia’s President, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, spoke about how the terrorist group, al-Shabaab, controlled large portions of Somalia’s rural areas. “Shabaab, or terrorists anywhere they are, cannot be defeated militarily only,” he said.
At the panel discussions, Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi was very outspoken and shared valuable experiences with the audience about the use of well-constituted regional military force for enforcing peace and security in Mozambique.
The Joint Forces of the Southern African Development Community are keeping peace in northern Mozambique. The rules, standards and policies, provision of assistance, as well as the legal instruments and practices, are based on the protocols of building and security stipulated by the African Union. It, therefore, falls within the framework of peace and security requirements of the African Union.
Now, Mozambique has relative peace and stability after the 16-member Southern African Development Community (SADC) finally approved the deployment of a joint military force with the primary responsibility of ensuring peace and stability and for restoring normalcy in the Cabo Delgado province, northern Mozambique.
He told the panellists that there has been “remarkable progress” as businesses have restarted and displaced people began returning to Cabo Delgado. He, therefore, urged adopting ‘African solutions to African problems’ on peace and security, saying further that in their case, it was, above all, necessary to establish the motivation for terrorism in Mozambique in order to respond to the situation in Cabo Delgado.
The Mozambican president said that the partnership with the forces of SADC and Rwanda was an example that “African problems must first seek solutions within the continent itself,” and it was vital to “educate young people” so that “they might not find in poverty a reason” to join the terrorists.
With authority, he called for more external assistance to improve the capacity of African partners to advance regional stability and security and reduce the threat from terrorist groups across Africa.
At the Peace, Security and Governance Forum, with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin, US Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power, Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and the President of Niger Mohamed Bazoum, Filipe Nyusi highlighted the support of Rwandan and SADC forces, saying that Mozambique has created an environment where there is the involvement of the region.
According to the US State Department, the US has reaffirmed its strategic partnership for the promotion of peace, stability and global health security across Africa.
Blinken highlighted the impact of the United States strategy to prevent conflict and promote stability as a complement to government and civil society efforts in northern Mozambique.
“We look forward to our collaboration when Mozambique becomes a member of the UN Security Council in January, but we are also strong partners – strong partners to help Mozambique build stability, strong partners to build global health together, addressing food insecurity, and we welcome that partnership. There is much to discuss tonight,” Blinken told Nyusi, quoted on the website.
The Joint Forces of the Southern African Development Community is part of a regional defence pact which allows military intervention to prevent the spread of conflict. That terrorism is a global threat, a problem that requires joint regional collective intervention, he explained.
The rules, standards and policies, provision of assistance, as well as the legal instruments and practices, are based on the protocols of building and security stipulated by the African Union. It, therefore, falls within the framework of peace and security requirements of the African Union.
What is referred to as Islamic attacks and insurgency caused havoc and devastation in Cabo Delgado province of Mozambique. The insurgency began in 2017 and left an unimaginable negative effect on the settlements of the civilian population and on business and industry operations.
The Joint Forces of the Southern African Development Community are keeping peace in northern Mozambique. It involves troops from Rwanda and the Southern African Development Community Military Mission (SAMIM). Rwanda offered 1,000 in July 2021. South Africa has the largest contingent of around 1,500 troops. External countries are enormously helping to stabilize the situation in Mozambique. Its former colonizer Portugal and the United States both sent special forces to train local troops.
With an approximate population of 30 million, Mozambique is endowed with rich and extensive natural resources. It is a member of the 16-member regional bloc, which collectively promotes sustainable and socio-economic development, forges deeper cooperation and integration, and ensures good governance as well as peace and security so that the region emerges as a competitive and effective player in the southern region, in Africa and the world.
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.
