World
Russia and Africa Yet to Break Multitude of Business Barriers
By Kestér Kenn Klomegâh
The scramble for the entrepreneurial influence and control of the African continental landscape by global players is a geopolitical reality. To be part of this geopolitical arena, foreign corporate business players have been devising different approaches and pathways for revitalizing investment partnerships and strengthening cooperation with potential African partners, says Louis Gouend, founder of Hello Africa and founding Executive Director of the African Business Club.
In this interview taken by Kestér Kenn Klomegâh late May 2024, Louis Gouend gives useful insights into the dynamics of why Russia and Africa ultimately have to forge an engagement in business and economic sectors, to expand cooperation in both regions and further highlights the existing challenges facing the evolving entrepreneurial initiatives in Russia and Africa.
Here are the interview excerpts.
How would you characterize the level of business cooperation between Russia and Africa?
In recent years, business relations between Russia and Africa have acquired new dynamics. Russia is actively seeking opportunities to strengthen economic ties outside traditional Western markets, and Africa is attractive as a region experiencing rapid economic growth and rich natural resources. In this case, special attention is paid to sectors such as energy, mining, agriculture and educational projects. Russian companies are actively investing in mineral resource development projects, and are also entering the agricultural sector of some African countries.
ln your expert point of view, what are the basic challenges that currently confront businesses on both sides?
There are several key difficulties that complicate business interaction between Russia and Africa. These are, first of all, differences in business culture and legal regulation, which complicate the process of doing business. Logistics challenges, including the difficulty of transporting goods over long distances and across multiple borders, also pose additional obstacles. The bureaucracy can be sluggish, and corruption in some African countries makes the situation worse.
Another barrier is a lack of knowledge. On one hand, Russian companies lack knowledge of the environment and available high-quality analytical materials about the African market, its specifics and risks. On the other hand, African entrepreneurs and consumers have virtually no knowledge about Russian products and corporate business services. The main problem now is not funding, but the lack of sufficient knowledge and contacts. One of the options for resolving this issue is to increase Russian business missions to Africa, which will help promote Russian goods and technologies on the African market. And vice versa, in terms of bilateral cooperation.
Another factor limiting exports to Africa is the lack of special investment agreements and lack of regulation in this direction. When we talk about investment activity, the question arises about the lack of investment protection agreements. Their absence prevents Russian companies from insuring investments, which prevents them from exporting to Africa.
Our club members are mainly representatives of various African diaspora who live or studied in Russia and have been operating businesses in Russia or Africa. They know the mentality and culture of both sides, and they have strong ties with both sides, allowing them to be reliable bridges between Africa and Russia.
We work with African chambers of commerce, embassies, diaspora representatives, as well as other regional associations and export companies. Stakeholders include large and small businesses from Russia and Africa, various industry associations, government agencies and diplomatic missions. To improve business cooperation, the club plans to develop knowledge exchange programs, conduct business forums and master classes, and create special working groups to discuss specific issues and problems.
Why did the creation of an African Business Club (ABC) become necessary only now and what are its main goals?
The growth of economic activity and the increase in the number of bilateral projects between Russia and Africa required the creation of a platform to facilitate these interactions. The African Business Club aims to be a platform where entrepreneurs can share knowledge, network, explore new opportunities and solve emerging problems together. The club’s main goals include strengthening trade relations, and stimulating investment and technological exchange.
Our clients value us because, first of all, we help adapt the work of a foreign company to Russian realities, organize and debug many business processes within various aspects and support the foreign company as a reliable partner. Companies planning to invest in African economies will need strong ties to the African government and partnerships with local businesses. How to contact the right people? We are ready to help with this issue.
We offer advisory services to small, medium and global companies that want to invest in the African continent. Thus, we promote entrepreneurship and help create new trade ties between Russia and Africa. We attract potential investors interested in financing projects in the African private sector. We create online access to market research resources and relevant business contacts in Africa. We publish position papers covering issues related to trade with Africa, investment, regulation, policy and industry content.
The number of Russian companies wishing to enter the African market is growing regularly, and this confirms our intentions to promote the development of bilateral economic relations. On the other hand, we can note an increase in the number of African companies wishing to develop close cooperation with their Russian partners.
We offer a wide range of services for Russian companies entering the African market. This includes market research, selection of partner companies, assistance in organizing a business, and personnel search, including offers for Russian citizens to work in African companies.
Who are your current stakeholders and members? And how do you plan to develop a common approach to increasing the level of business cooperation between the two regions?
Our club members are mainly representatives of various African diaspora who live or studied in Russia and have operating businesses in Russia or Africa. They know the mentality and culture of both sides, and they have strong ties with both sides, allowing them to be a reliable bridge between Africa and Russia.
We work with African chambers of commerce, embassies, diaspora representatives, as well as other regional associations and export companies.
Stakeholders include large and small businesses from Russia and Africa, various industry associations, government agencies and diplomatic missions. To improve business cooperation, the club plans to develop knowledge exchange programs, conduct business forums and master classes, and create special working groups to discuss specific issues and problems.
Why is the presence of African business in the Russian Federation extremely low?
A combination of bureaucratic barriers, lack of awareness of the economic environment and opportunities, complex legal and regulatory frameworks, and relatively high market entry costs deter African companies from actively doing business in Russia.
What complimentary roles can African diplomatic missions and business associations play here?
The club has already been negotiating to simplify procedures for African investors and exporters, and assisting in the creation of reliable and effective communication channels between African companies and Russian regulators. As a two-way street, African diplomatic missions can also act as a bridge, helping to overcome cultural and administrative barriers, and actively participate in the club’s activities, supporting its multifaceted initiatives at various levels.
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.
