World
United Kingdom Pursuing Investment Projects in Africa
By Kestér Kenn Klomegâh
At least, during the past few years, including the COVID-19 pandemic period, the United Kingdom has consistently followed its planned agenda with African countries. The UK has an agenda and has decisively been implementing all aspects. It describes “Africa as a reliable partner” during its historic UK-Africa Investment Summit held in January 2020.
Monitoring developments after the summit, despite the COVID-19 pandemic that has caused disruptions and lockdowns including in Africa, the United Kingdom has ultimately achieved some successes in Africa. With our broad and random research, we have noticed different priorities – all of which are supporting and strengthening economic partnerships in a number of countries on the continent. The significance of these is to help unlock opportunity, spread prosperity and thus transform lives in Africa.
Judging from our monitoring research indicates that the visible practical steps aimed at building a more resilient continent, it is simultaneously helping to lay the foundation for sustainable future relations. The United Kingdom has displayed, not only heightened interests but also practically delivered on its plans to engage Africa.
As the UK Minister for Africa, MP Vicky Ford, explained, “the overarching aim of all this work is to try to help, build the resilience of countries and to help them have much more durable prosperity. For far too long, African countries have endured the fallout from global forces outside their control and the compelling task is to build more sustainable economies in African countries.”
Take back nearly a decade and a half ago, the 2008 Global Economic Crisis, Africa suffered contagion from what happened in the global financial markets. And the African businesses and African governments were left with holes in their balance sheets from plummeting commodity prices.
“And right now, since Putin’s war against Ukraine, we’ve seen the most dramatic rise in global food, fuel and fertilizer prices in recent history. The consequences of Russia’s illegal aggression are hitting the poorest the hardest, and many of those most exposed are in Africa,” she underscored this undeniable fact – the level of consequences and impact on Africa as a result of Russia’s “special military operation” in Ukraine since late February.
For the past few months this year, African countries have complained about imports of Russian grain or fertilizers. African leaders have understood that it is Russia’s illegal blockade that is preventing Ukrainian grain from leaving that country, and it’s that blockade that is hurting global supplies.
So, time and time again, African countries find themselves buffeted by these global forces and, therefore, the United Kingdom has set a priority to help African countries to insulate themselves against these pressures. Under the current circumstances, what has Russia done to help Africa, it only contributes to deepening social dissatisfaction throughout Africa.
Over the past 12 months, we have calculated or tallied, at least, 14 African countries visited by the UK Minister for Africa, MP Vicky Ford. In most of these African countries, the partnership agenda is, in practical terms, working. It, at the same time, shows a huge difference between rhetoric and what it takes to deliver all that is listed on agenda with Africa. From our monitoring, we can simply say that the United Kingdom is capitalizing on many qualities that make the continent such an attractive destination for investment and for new business there.
On our part, we have discovered a number of positive impacts of the UK’s policy initiatives. For example, in Kenya in East Africa, a British investment of £75 million, through TradeMark East Africa, has eased trade by improving the capacity and efficiency of the Kenyan Ports Authority.
Back 10 years ago, before this investment, it took 10 days on average for goods arriving at Mombasa Port to then leave the port. That turnaround time is now just three and a half days. More goods moving more quickly means that the costs of trade are dramatically reduced, helping trade from Kenya, but also helping those who are importing into this country.
British investors are strategically leveraging unto trade platforms, working to support the creation of an African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) because trade integration is such a powerful tool to accelerate economic growth, create employment and alleviate or reduce poverty.
The United Kingdom has already trained over 190 African trade negotiators. It is further working closely with the Secretariat to cut red tape on cross-border trade and in March 2022, Minister Vicky Ford and AfCFTA’s Executive Head Wamkele Mene in London announced a package of assistance to get the agreement up and running.
Concretely, it was the launching of a pilot project or programme – the Standards Partnership programme in Ghana and Rwanda. This programme will strengthen supply chains, and reduce barriers to trade by helping both countries meet global standards and regulations.
Then, there’s British International Investment (BII) – the UK’s Development Finance Institution – this continues to be a core part of the economic partnership, offering honest, reliable alternative to financing, to other forms of financing that may come with more strings attached.
Under the G7 presidency, BII pledged to work with its G7 counterparts and multilateral development banks to ramp up the volume of investment into the African private sector – with a collective target of a massive $80 billion available till the year 2027.
BII will target 30% of all new investments into green projects in developing countries over the next 5 years. This will make it one of the world’s largest climate finance providers to African economies.
In Senegal, there is a noticeable transformative impact of the recent BII partnership to expand Dakar’s port infrastructure. This will be Senegal’s largest ever onshore foreign direct investment and will help to drive free trade and to drive economic growth.
In Tanzania, there is also what is referred to as AgDevCo, a UK-funded agribusiness investor. It has transformed ‘Africado’ into a thriving business. They are currently exporting avocados to many British supermarkets. In doing this, it is boosting the livelihood of some 2,000 local smallholders.
Women’s entrepreneurship is a special priority to promote women’s empowerment and support their roles in society. Nigeria, located in West Africa, there are positive results as a result of the impact of £70 million invested in women entrepreneurs and their small businesses.
Our systematic monitoring further shows that the Malindi Solar in Kenya, East Africa’s largest solar plant, was built by the UK firm Globeleq using £32 million of BII financing. It is the sort of green investment British partners need to transition into renewable energy and help them to reduce their exposure to the increasingly unpredictable hydrocarbon markets.
All of these examples proved that development finance is a win-win for African countries and for those who conduct business there. The development finance is not enough, though. But these are very impressive and modest by the range of impactful projects the export credit agency, UKEF has supported across the continent.
UKEF’s very flexible financing rules recognize the global nature of modern supply chains. This flexibility has played a significant role in encouraging oversea buyers to source from UK businesses, whilst also building capacity and creating jobs within developing countries. British companies who use UKEF find these development benefits offer a major competitive advantage when bidding for contracts compared to some of the other external competitors.
Referencing back in January, the launched Growth Gateway is a new business support service to expand trade between the UK and Africa. So far, the Growth Gateway has connected more than 150 African and UK businesses. The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office has expressed readiness to build on this workable economic diplomacy with Africa.
The UK will be collaborating with a newly launched IFC facility to develop more local currency bonds and support its Financial Sector Deepening Platform (FSDA) in expanding to 45 African countries. It is forming regulatory partnerships, such as the Mauritius Africa Fintech Festival and the Bank of England’s partnership with Morocco’s Bank Al-Maghrib.
Our research shows that 112 African companies listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) are worth more than £125 billion. Trade UK-Africa trade is approximately £48 billion. It sets a target of mobilizing more sustainable finance, which would include 600 British companies across the continent by CDC Group.
In summary, all these recounted in this article demonstrate the United Kingdom’s achievements and further its practical commitment to partner with African countries in order to drive growth, trade and investment opportunities all across the continent. African leaders and governments and the private sector operators are continuously embracing these efforts. Creating a resilient future through sustainable economic growth is at the heart of the United Kingdom.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Pan-African multilateral financial institution, the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), has approved a $10 billion Gulf Crisis Response Programme (GCRP) to insulate African and Caribbean economies, financial institutions and corporates from the impact of the ongoing Iran war.
The GCRP builds on a series of timely emergency interventions introduced by the lender in recent years, which have helped cushion most economies from the impact of recent shocks such as the commodity shock of 2015/16, the COVID-19 Pandemic of 2020/2021 and the Ukraine crisis of 2023/24.
The latest conflict, which escalated on February 28, 2026, has sent shockwaves through the global economy, with African and Caribbean economies bearing the largest share of the brunt. These impacts specifically affect nations that heavily rely on fuel, fertiliser, and food imports, alongside those exposed to Gulf shipping corridors, investment flows, tourism and remittance inflows.
According to Afreximbank in a statement on Tuesday, GCRP is designed to, among others, sustain essential imports – including fuel, LNG, food, fertiliser, pharmaceuticals – by providing vital short-term Foreign Exchange (FX) and liquidity to support vulnerable member states. It further aims to empower African energy and minerals exporters to capitalise on elevated prices and rerouted trade flows by scaling productive capacity in strategic commodities through pre-export finance, working capital, and inventory financing. Additionally, it provides short-term relief to African and Caribbean member states whose tourism and aviation industries have been adversely impacted by the crisis.
The programme is also designed to build the medium to long-term resilience of African and Caribbean economies against future shocks by scaling productive capacities for producers and exporters of energy, minerals while accelerating the completion of critical energy, port, and logistics infrastructure projects in African and Caribbean member states, delayed by the conflict.
Commenting on the facility, launched on March 31, 2026, Mr George Elombi, President and Chairman of the Board of Directors at Afreximbank, said: “This crisis response programme is in tune with our DNA. We understand how our economies work and the pain points associated with these transitory crises. The programme will support African countries in adjusting smoothly to the crisis while strengthening their resilience to future shocks through interventions that transform the structure of their economies.”
Through GCRP, Afreximbank has already begun taking proactive steps through partnerships with banks and corporates to secure fuel, other energy supplies, fertilisers, and essential food imports, whose supplies have been interrupted by the elongation of the crisis.
Beyond the financing, Afreximbank will spearhead a coordinated regional response in partnership with the UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), the African Union Commission (AUC), the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat, and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretariat to strengthen regional coordination on energy security, trade resilience, and supply chain diversification.
By Kestér Kenn Klomegâh
At the plenary session under the theme “Development Through Access to Global Markets” organised during the first International Transport and Logistics Forum held in St. Petersburg, both Russian and African speakers have acknowledged, in their high-quality presentations, the importance of fostering understanding of transport innovations, shifting investment and the possibility of addressing current infrastructure challenges for economic growth.
In promoting comprehensive cooperation in the transport and logistics sphere, Deputy Minister of Transport of the Russian Federation, Dmitry Zverev, stressed that the African continent is one of the fastest-growing regions of the world, demonstrating an average GDP growth rate of 4.5% per year.
According to expert projections, by 2050, Africa’s population will reach 2.5 billion people. To ensure logistical links, it is necessary to build a clear and understandable dialogue with partners, working simultaneously at two levels: at the level of governments, through intergovernmental agreements, and at the level of co-business partnerships. Russian transport corridors guarantee the stability of supplies. Today, there are issues of food security, fertiliser supply and formation of new chains, and other emerging geopolitical challenges facing Africa.
As the guest/main speaker, Zverev explained that Russian companies such as FESCO, RZD, GLONASS and Avtodor are actively involved in this process. This is a unique experience sharing technology and infrastructure solutions in significant volumes. “And frankly, that’s an important image distinction of Russia: we’re not just exporting or selling something – we’re offering technologies and cooperation. Together with technologies, we provide training and prepare national personnel who will work on their transport infrastructure in the future,” asserted Zverev.
Minister of Energy and Infrastructure of the United Arab Emirates, Suhail Mohammed Al Mazrouei, spoke of his country’s decision to invest significant money in the development of its railway infrastructure, with work already underway to connect to Oman by rail and open up new opportunities for freight transportation to Africa and Asia.
“We continue to invest in the development of our country’s logistics network and alternative routes. Russia is an important exporter of raw materials, and development in its regions will contribute to economic growth across the globe. Central Asia is also emerging as a key player, and we are investing in the region’s infrastructure and connecting China to the global economy through Russia and the Middle East,” he said.
Minister Delegate for Maritime Economy of the Ministry of Maritime Economy, Fisheries, and Coastal Protection of the Togolese Republic, Kokou Edem Tengue, spoke of the importance of understanding the African perspective on changing maritime routes as the situation around the Suez Canal and the Strait of Hormuz creates new opportunities for West Africa.
The Port of Lomé, the largest container port in Sub-Saharan Africa, handles approximately 30 million tonnes of goods annually, and its importance for the region is difficult to overstate. “We are actively working with Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger; the Port of Lomé is a key logistics hub for the landlocked nations of the Sahel,” he said. “It should be noted that Africa relies on chemical fertilisers and grain produced in Russia. We believe that the Port of Lomé could be a part of new sea routes between Africa and Russia.”
In his speech, Minister of Transport of the United Republic of Tanzania, Makame Mnyaa Mbarawa, reported on the active modernisation of the Dar es Salaam port. Previously, the depth of the water was 9–12 meters; now it has increased to 12–15 meters. An increase in the number of operators operating in the port is planned. Thanks to these measures, cargo turnover increased significantly, and ship handling times decreased from 10 days to 2–3. This is an important achievement, after all, speed is a key factor for investors.
However, the port cannot function in isolation; it needs modern rail infrastructure. Tanzania’s government is leading the construction of a new railway to Kigoma, and then into Burundi and south, creating a reliable transportation artery. Dar es Salaam will become a gateway to Burundi, Rwanda, Malawi and Zambia, which depend on cargo flow through this port. Therefore, the development of the port and associated railway is of strategic importance in the region.
“In parallel, the modernisation of the TAZARA railway is going on – a historic artery that requires an upgrade. The private sector is actively involved in this work. After revitalisation, this line will become a key link between Dar es Salaam port and Zambia, he stated. The Government of Tanzania will make every effort to implement these projects and will work closely with the private sector. We invite Russian companies – both state and private – to participate in logistics projects and port infrastructure modernisation.”
As far as road safety in Niger is concerned, the country is facing various challenges that require finding ways to improve the situation, according to the Speaker from Niger, Abdurakhaman Amadou. Within the framework of the discussion, he also noted that an important step was to upgrade the car park and road network. As Niger has no access to the sea, the emphasis is on road traffic to ensure the country’s supply.
“We have access to the port of Lome in the Togolese Republic, which remains neutral towards us. However, the Caton port is closed for us, which created serious difficulties as 80% of our exports and imports passed through it. Recently, the situation has started to improve due to the construction of a railway by Nigeria, which will provide us with access to its ports,” Abdurakhaman informed.
In addition, diplomatic relations with Algeria have been restored after a long hiatus, which opens an exit to the Mediterranean. The conference of Islamic states confirmed the intention to build a grand railway linking Dakar and Djibouti across the entire continent from west to east. This railway will partially pass through Niger, which will be an important step in the development of the region’s transportation infrastructure.
President Vladimir Putin, in a message to participants, organisers, and attendees of the International Transport and Logistics Forum, says that Russia is ready to share its experience through joint science and technology programmes and, of course, by training specialists able to ensure the development of transport and logistics in the 21st century, using a new technological foundation. The Transport and Logistics forum was held for the first time on April 1-3 in St. Petersburg, the second-largest city in the Russian Federation.
By Kestér Kenn Klomegâh
The Arab Republic of Egypt, a country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and the southwest corner of Asia, has a highly strategic location and attracts multifaceted interests of foreign players. For decades, Russia has established diplomatic relations with Egypt and has consistently sustained diverse ties with this country. It is no secret that Russia’s lust for the region is primarily due to the strategic importance of the Mediterranean Sea for investment and economic cooperation with the Maghreb region.
Determined to strengthen, particularly, economic cooperation, Russian President Vladimir Putin has maintained regular contacts with his colleague, President of Egypt, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, mostly discussing both bilateral cooperation and broader regional developments. The current world’s geopolitical development, for instance, the United States-Israeli war on Iran in the Middle East, constitutes one theme both leaders frequently review, attempting to find long-term solutions.
On April 2, Putin met with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Emigration, and Egyptian Expatriates of the Arab Republic of Egypt, Badr Abdelatty, in the Kremlin – the seat of Russia’s presidency. In attendance during the official talks on the Russian side were Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Presidential Aide Yury Ushakov, while Egypt was represented by Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Russian Federation Hamdy Shaaban. Ultimately, there is no need to overstate the importance of this meeting.
Russia’s footprints are expanding in Egypt, highlighting the growing industrial investment and the strengthening of bilateral manufacturing ties by undertaking projects to ensure energy security. At the same time, maintaining regular dialogue remains very important for both leaders.
Putin, speaking with the three-member delegation in the Kremlin, underlined the fact that there are many promising initiatives underway, many of which are already being implemented. He has previously spoken in detail about the construction of a nuclear power plant and the construction of an industrial zone, and over ten major Russian companies have expressed interest in participating in this project.
Nuclear Plants in El-Dabaa, Egypt
The construction of nuclear plants in the city of El-Dabaa, about 320 kilometres northwest of Cairo, the capital of Egypt. It is the first nuclear power plant in Egypt, and will have four VVER-1200 reactors, making Egypt the only country in the region to have a Generation III+ reactor. On November 19, 2015, Egypt and Russia signed an initial agreement, under which Russia agreed to build and finance Egypt’s first nuclear power plant. These are now being carried out, not as a charity project, but with a loan of $28 billion. According to reports, Russia will finance 85% as a state loan of $25 billion, and Egypt will provide the remaining 15% in the form of instalments. The Russian loan has a repayment period of 22 years, with an annual interest rate of 3%.
At the meeting, Putin also raised the construction of an industrial zone in Egypt. There are many appealing and related opportunities in this, regarding having an industrial zone to be located on the banks of the Suez Canal. The industrial zone is also entering a new phase, as Russian auto-manufacturing enterprises are advancing distinctive plans to expand local vehicle production, reinforcing the country’s role as a regional manufacturing hub. The move reflects broader economic linkages between Russia and Africa, particularly in industrial development and supply chain integration.
Conveying Greetings and Reviewing the Middle East Situation
Naturally, the situation in the region remains a shared concern, according to Putin, and further hope that the ongoing conflict will be promptly resolved. “As you know, President Trump also addressed this issue yesterday. Let me reiterate that we are prepared to make every effort to help stabilise the situation and, as they say in such cases, return it to normal,” he stressed during the meeting. In this context, it is particularly important to know Egypt’s assessment as a key country in the Middle East.
Putin reminded the delegation of another Russia-Africa summit, which is planned for October 2026. With high hopes that Egypt will be represented by a strong, high-level delegation. Should the Egyptian President’s schedule allow, he would, of course, ahead of the summit, be very pleased to welcome him to Moscow. Jointly chaired by Vladimir Putin and Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, the first Russia-Africa summit, an important acute phase of the developments with Africa, under the motto of ‘For Peace, Security and Development’, was held for the first time in October 2019, in Sochi, a city located on the Black Sea coast. The idea to hold a Russia-Africa forum was initiated by President Putin at the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) summit in Johannesburg in July 2018.
The head of the Egyptian Foreign Ministry, as traditionally expected, conveyed greetings from President El-Sisi to the Russian president and handed over a written message. President el-Sisi places great value on all aspects of the bilateral cooperation, and is extremely grateful for constructive collaboration on the El Dabaa Nuclear Power Plant, which represents a key milestone in the partnership. Despite the challenges, it is evident that the project is moving forward and will be completed by 2028.
In summary, as Egypt and Russia are reliable and time-tested partners, Putin plans to promote strategic projects, particularly in trade, economics, energy, and food security. With over 107 million inhabitants, Egypt is the most populous country in the Arab world, the third-most populous country in Africa, and the 15th-most populous in the world.
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