World
Mediterranean Migrant Arrivals Hit 101,266 in 2017; 2,297 Deaths
By Dipo Olowookere
A new report by the UN Migration Agency (IOM) has revealed that a total of 101,266 migrants and refugees have entered Europe by sea in 2017 through 5 July, with almost 85 percent arriving in Italy and the remainder divided between Greece, Cyprus and Spain.
It noted that this compares with 234,646 arrivals across the region through 3 July 2016.
According to the spokesperson of IOM Rome, Flavio Di Giacomo, just about 1,129 migrants or refugees landed in Italy during the first five days of July, with no new rescues reported in Italian waters since last weekend. Arrivals to Greece through 5 July totalled 9,379, including 329 arrivals by sea, so far in July.
With the year half over, it is likely that arrivals to Greece this year will be the lowest in four years – well under the 34,442 IOM recorded in 2014, the 853,650 arrivals in 2015 and 173,561 last year.
The IOM Missing Migrant Project also notes that the Eastern Mediterranean route has been fatality-free since 24 April, when 23 drowned (16 dead, seven missing) while two were rescued off the coast of Molyvos, Lesbos. Deaths on this route at this time last year totalled 376 and 37 in 2015.
IOM Spain reported 6,464 migrant arrivals through 25 June along the Western Mediterranean route linking North Africa to Spain. That figure does not include the following rescues: on 5 July, 31 people were discovered at sea near Alboran island and taken to shore at Motril. A second boat, also near Alboran, brought in 32 survivors and taken to Motril, while a third boat brought in 33 survivors (also near Alboran, also taken to Motril). Two more boats brought 42 from Cabo de Trafalgar (survivors were taken to Tarifa); 40 more survivors were taken to Barbate. These data came from Salvamento Maritime, a Spanish rescue agency.
On 6 July, IOM Spain reported 26 men, women and children were rescued near Cabo de Trafalgar. IOM Spain said those survivors included 12 men, seven children and seven adult women, three of them pregnant. All survivors are believed to be from sub-Saharan Africa.
Additionally, on 6 July, the Spanish media stated that 14 more migrants were rescued near Los Caños de Meca: nine women (three pregnant) and five children.
IOM also is following reports of 49 missing after a boat capsized 28 miles southwest of Alboran Island, Spain. The three survivors said 52 people left Morocco last weekend. Remains of the missing individuals have not yet been recovered.
With these latest reports, the IOM Missing Migrants Project (MMP) notes total deaths on the Mediterranean this year are approaching 2,300 (2,297). Although that figure trails the number of deaths (2,963) that were recorded at this time last year, it nonetheless marks the fourth consecutive year migrant deaths on the Mediterranean Sea have exceeded 2,000.
Worldwide, the IOM Missing Migrants Project (MMP) reports that there have been 3,125 fatalities through 5 July this year (see chart below) with the Mediterranean region accounting for the largest proportion of deaths – almost three quarters of the global total.
In the past three days, MMP researchers have added 75 new fatalities to the regional totals: 49 missing after a boat capsized 28 miles southwest of Alboran Island, Spain; 22 cases along the US/Mexico border (18 in Pima County, Arizona, and four in Brooks County, Texas); one death in a vehicle accident in Oaxaca, Mexico, and two other vehicle fatalities in the nearby state of Veracruz. MMP also added one migrant casualty in Higüey, Dominican Republic, believed to be a drowning during a failed attempt by migrants to reach Puerto Rico.
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.
