World
Violence Displaces Over 50,000 in Western Niger
UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is becoming increasingly troubled by
ongoing violence in Niger’s border areas with Mali and Burkina Faso,
which has forced 52,000 Nigeriens to flee their homes this year alone.
Cross-border incursions and attacks by militant groups in Niger’s
Tillaberi and Tahoua border regions have forced many to flee for safety
to other nearby towns and villages.
Those displaced report fleeing horrific violence. Armed groups are said
to be attacking villages, killing and abducting civilians, including
community leaders, burning schools and looting homes, businesses and
livestock.
While a government declared state of emergency continues to take effect
in the Tahoua and Tillaberi border regions and large-scale military
operations by G5 Sahel forces are ongoing, the violence and insecurity
is also hampering humanitarian relief efforts.
Since the beginning of October, the government in coordination with the
humanitarian community has attempted to secure certain zones to ensure
distributions of aid, but ongoing security threats have prevented
humanitarians from reaching all those in need of help.
The situation is both alarming and extremely volatile. In addition to
causing new displacement, the violence is also affecting 53,000 Malian
refugees who are living in the Tillaberi and Tahoua regions. Some have
told UNHCR staff that they are considering fleeing northwards, to other
countries.
UNHCR is leading a coordinated inter-agency protection response to help
those fleeing, including through protection monitoring which enables
humanitarian actors to provide rapid assistance to those identified as
particularly vulnerable and in need.
UNHCR is also working with local NGO partners and a wide network of
community based protection focal points throughout the country who
provide updated information on the needs of displaced Nigeriens. Since
January, more than 375 incidents reported through this mechanism have
been followed-up by UNHCR and partners with tangible protection
assistance.
“Despite having to grapple with violence and insecurity along its
borders, Niger remains a generous refugee host country and it is now the
first African country to incorporate the Kampala Convention, the
African Union Convention for the Protection and Assistance of Internally
Displaced Persons in Africa, into domestic law having adopted a
national law earlier this month,” said UNHCR’s Representative in Niger,
Alessandra Morelli.
There are currently more than 156,000 internally displaced people in
Niger, who have been forced to flee mainly from the western border
regions near Mali and Burkina Faso (33 per cent) and in Diffa, in the
south-east, near Nigeria (67 per cent). In addition, there are also more
than 175,000 refugees mainly from Nigeria (67 per cent) and Mali (32
per cent) in the country.
Despite increasing displacement and mounting humanitarian needs, support
for UNHCR’s humanitarian response in Niger has been limited.
UNHCR has received a little more than half of its appeal to respond to
the needs of internally displaced Nigeriens, as well as Malian and
Nigerian refugees hosted in Niger. Only 58 per cent (USD 54 million) of
UNHCR’s humanitarian response in Niger has been received this year.
In addition to appealing for more support, UNHCR is also calling upon
the international community to address the root causes of displacement
in Niger and the region, and to work towards peace. UNHCR also
reiterates that civilian protection should be central to all
international military interventions.
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.
