World
Russians Acknowledge New Approach Working With Africa
By Kester Kenn Klomegah
For the second round this year, the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry together with the Coordinating Committee for Economic Cooperation with African Countries (AfroCom) have gathered corporate business leaders, urging them to look at the African market with much interest and work more systematically and consistently.
The African market is competitive and complex, Russian business needs to work on it thoroughly and systematically in order to succeed, emphasized Sergey Katyrin, President of the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, opening the meeting with the heads of business councils for cooperation with African countries.
Russia lives in fundamentally new economic realities, supply chains are disrupted, many ties are broken, logistics are disrupted, and businesses are forced to adjust their strategies for working with foreign partners and look for new opportunities for their development.
The logical solution here is the development of cooperation in friendly countries, in particular, on the African continent. The Business Chamber has already received lots of requests from territorial chambers regarding the opportunities for developing trade and economic relations between small and medium-sized businesses with Africa, Katyrin emphasized in remarks at the meeting.
At the same time, while noting the low presence of Russian business footprints on the continent, he also acknowledged that today’s Africa requires new approaches to work from business, and from the state, long-term programs to support entrepreneurship and foreign economic activity.
Chairman of the Coordinating Committee for Economic Cooperation with African Countries, RF Senator Igor Morozov spoke at length about what the organization had already done and about its future plans. His organization established back in 2009, is supposed to help businesses to navigate African realities, find a niche for their work, learn about the conditions for entering certain markets, et cetera.
With the United States and European sanctions currently hitting hard on Russia, the business organization now turns to Africa. It opens its offices in Kampala (Uganda) and in Addis Ababa (Ethiopia), where the headquarters of the African Union is located.
In Africa today there is a great demand for IT technologies, and this must be borne in mind. Companies can turn around there, create their own digital platforms and work successfully. There are many technology parks on the continent, for example, there are ten of them in Ethiopia alone; they offer significant benefits.
Senator Igor Morozov further noted that it is necessary to create a Russia-Africa trading house, through which Russian firms could more successfully in entering African markets. “We really need a specialized investment fund to support entrepreneurs. In general, if we work seriously and with the prospect of working with African partners for many years, more serious state support is needed,” he said.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, many ties in Africa disappeared, much was lost, and new players came to the continent, but Russia can still take its rightful place here. But over the years, Russians oftentimes going forth and back, have been highly inconsistent with business pursuits with African partners.
In attendance was Yaroslav Tarasyuk, Deputy Director of the Department of Asian, African, and Latin American Countries of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation. Among the speakers was also Anton Razlivaev, Deputy Director of the Department for the Development of Bilateral Cooperation of the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation.
Both spoke about the work to promote Russian interests on the African continent while emphasizing the need to revise many current approaches to organizing work in this direction.
In this regard, Sergey Katyrin noted that since many exhibitions in Europe planned by ministries were suspended due to the recent Russia-Ukraine crisis, the money allocated for them should be used to hold exhibitions in African countries.
But at the same time, there is the need to work quickly, since it takes at least six months to organize any exhibition. The situation is changing dramatically, and what is quite possible today may turn out to be difficult to implement tomorrow.
Russian financial institutions are slow in showing interest in Africa. To promote this idea and ask banks to offer financial support, the participation of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation is very important. Another important issue is transaction insurance. Of course, there are more problems, as it always happens in business, but the listed ones are among the most important, the participants of the discussion emphasized.
Sergey Katyrin summed up the meeting, noting that Africa is an extremely interesting and important field of activity for business, and the authorities should prepare and consolidate it into one document supported by the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
By Kestér Kenn Klomegâh
For the first time in its history, the World Public Summit will be held on the African continent. On 29–30 July 2026, Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, will host the World Public Summit. Africa — “A New World: Africa in Shaping a Shared Future.”
The Summit is organised by the World Peoples Assembly in cooperation with African partner organisations. It will bring together leaders of public diplomacy, representatives of international intergovernmental and non-governmental organisations, academics, experts, representatives of the education and cultural sectors, youth leaders, socially responsible businesses, media professionals, and civil society institutions from across Africa and other regions of the world.
The World Public Summit. Africa continues the work initiated during the First World Public Assembly “A New World of Conscious Unity,” held in Moscow in September 2025, and serves as one of the key milestones in preparation for the Second World Public Assembly “A New World: Values That Unite,” which will take place in Moscow on 18–19 September 2026.
Today, Africa is emerging as one of the principal centres of global development. Rapid demographic growth, expanding entrepreneurship, strengthening regional integration, rich cultural heritage, and the growing role of civil society institutions make the continent an increasingly important contributor to the future architecture of international cooperation.
The Summit will focus on issues of genuine sovereignty and sustainable development, public diplomacy, preservation of cultural and historical heritage, international cooperation in education and science, youth engagement, innovation-driven development, creative industries, and the formation of new partnerships among countries and peoples.
The main business programme of the Summit will take place on 30 July 2026 at the headquarters of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) in Addis Ababa. Holding the Summit at UNECA highlights its pan-African dimension and creates opportunities for broad international dialogue on humanitarian cooperation and public diplomacy.
The programme will include plenary sessions, strategic dialogues, and expert panels dedicated to values-based development, education, culture, youth leadership, innovation, and international cooperation.
Participation has already been confirmed by Professor Saidou Madougou, Director of the Department of Education, Science, Technology and Innovation of the African Union; Rita Bissoonauth, Director of the UNESCO Liaison Office to the African Union and UNECA in Addis Ababa; Zuzana Schwidrowski, Director of the Macroeconomics, Finance and Governance Division of UNECA, as well as ministers, leaders of public organisations, and representatives of the business community from a number of African countries.
On the same day, the ADWA Victory Memorial Museum—Ethiopia’s national memorial complex dedicated to the Victory of Adwa and an important centre for preserving the historical memory of the Ethiopian people—will host the award ceremony of the regional stage of the V International Competition “Leader of Public Diplomacy”, followed by a large-scale cultural programme.
One of the key outcomes of the Summit will be the adoption of the African Communiqué, reflecting proposals and recommendations aimed at strengthening humanitarian, educational, cultural, and public cooperation between African countries and other regions of the world.
The outcomes, initiatives, and recommendations were developed during the World Public Summit. Africa will be presented at the Second World Public Assembly “A New World: Values That Unite”, to be held in Moscow on 18–19 September 2026.
According to Andrey Belyaninov, General Secretary of the World Peoples Assembly, “the Addis Ababa Summit is an important step toward building a new world founded on mutual respect, cultural diversity, dialogue and sustainable development.”
By Adedapo Adesanya
The United Kingdom will get its seventh Prime Minister in 10 years as Mr Keir Starmer announced his resignation on Monday.
The Minister said he is stepping down as leader of the governing Labour Party and will leave office within weeks, scarcely two years after being elected in a landslide.
Mr Starmer says he will remain caretaker prime minister until a new Labour leader is chosen by the party.
Mr Starmer made the announcement after facing growing pressure to hand over to a new leader who can try to revive the government’s flagging fortunes.
He led Labour to a landslide election victory in July 2024, but since then, his popularity and that of the party have plummeted.
His departure was triggered by the victory of Mr Andy Burnham in a special election last week. The popular ex-mayor of Greater Manchester planned to challenge the existing PM for the Labour leadership.
Mr Starmer made the announcement outside the prime minister’s 10 Downing St. residence with a brief statement on Monday.
“The question my party is asking now is whether I am best placed to lead us into the next general election,” Mr Starmer said. “I have heard the answer of my parliamentary party to that question, and I accept that answer with good grace.
Mr Starmer is the sixth prime minister in a decade to stand outside 10 Downing Street and announce a premature departure.
It comes the day before Britain marks the 10th anniversary of its vote to leave the European Union, a decision that still affects the country’s economy and politics.
Over the past decade, 10 Downing Street has had six occupants, including Mr David Cameron, who left office in 2016 after the Brexit referendum and was succeeded by Ms Theresa May. She was followed by Mr Boris Johnson, whose tenure covered Brexit and the COVID-19 pandemic. After Mr Johnson came Ms Liz Truss, whose 49-day premiership was the shortest in British history. Mr Rishi Sunak then took office before being succeeded by Mr Starmer, the outgoing occupant of Number 10.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
A financing facility of up to $60 million has been secured by AXIAN Energy, the energy division of the AXIAN Group.
The funding package was provided by MCB, one of the leading financial institutions in the Indian Ocean region.
It comprises a $40 million revolving credit facility with a three-year tenor and extension option, and $20 million in unfunded instruments, providing AXIAN Energy with enhanced financial flexibility, enabling the company to rapidly mobilise resources and seize development opportunities across its target markets.
The energy firm is expected to use the capital to deliver large-scale energy infrastructure projects across Africa.
Over the past two years, AXIAN Energy has significantly accelerated its growth by expanding its renewable energy project pipeline, with solar projects currently under development in Senegal, Benin, Zambia, Côte d’Ivoire, Madagascar, and Burkina Faso.
Building on this momentum, AXIAN Energy now operates a portfolio comprising 350 MW of installed renewable energy capacity, supported by 77 MWh of energy storage capacity, positioning the AXIAN Group as a major contributor to Africa’s energy transition.
The chief executive of AXIAN Energy, Mr Benjamin Memmi, said, “This transaction marks a key milestone in AXIAN Energy’s growth trajectory. It provides us with the financial capacity to sustain the momentum we have built over the past two years, further strengthening our renewable energy portfolio and expanding our presence across new African markets.”
Also commenting, the Global Head of Structured Finance at MCB, Mr Mathieu Delteil, said, “We are proud to support AXIAN Energy in structuring this facility, reaffirming our commitment to enabling transformative projects across Africa.
“By leveraging our sector expertise and deep understanding of regional markets, we have delivered a tailored financing solution that aligns with AXIAN’s long-term renewable energy ambitions.
“This partnership highlights our role as a strategic financial partner, mobilising capital towards investments that drive sustainable growth and accelerate the energy transition across the continent.”
The financing agreement between the two organisations strengthens their long-standing relationship because it is driven by a shared commitment to supporting infrastructure development and economic growth across Africa.
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