Kenya is moving fast to claim a bigger role in Africa’s digital trade, targeting infrastructure gaps and payment hurdles through state and international alliances.
M-KOPA has signed up ten million customers and pushed revenue up 45 percent to $600 million in 2025, growing its pay-as-you-go model from solar into smartphones, digital loans, and electric mobility across Africa.
Kenya’s central bank has left its main lending rate unchanged at 8.75 percent, holding off on more hikes even as inflation pushes higher and household budgets feel the strain.
Kenya’s private sector is feeling the sharpest jump in costs in nearly three years. Inflation and supply snags are putting the country’s economic recovery at risk.
Airtel Money is set to launch a Mastercard virtual card in Kenya. The move will let users pay for international online shopping and digital subscriptions straight from their mobile wallet.
Kenya’s central bank left its main interest rate unchanged for the fourth meeting in a row, even as inflation climbed to its highest level since early 2024.
Finserve Africa is testing Emma, a new mobile wallet app in Kenya. Details on fees and features remain scarce for now.
Ethiopia’s central bank is shaking up the foreign exchange market with scheduled USD 125 million auctions. Banks and businesses now get a clearer shot at hard currency.
Somaliland is stepping up its bid to take charge of its airspace and border entry, openly challenging Somalia’s authority and pressing ahead with its own state functions.
The IMF is pushing South Sudan to freeze non-essential spending and speed up reforms. Sudan’s war is driving up prices and deepening the crisis.
Biogas still struggles to catch on in rural Northern Ethiopia. New research shows social, economic, and behavioral hurdles are blocking the energy shift.
The 25-year prison sentence for Getnet Baye after the rape and murder of seven-year-old Heaven Awot has triggered a wave of anger and demands for harsher justice across Ethiopia.
Ethiopia has secured a currency swap agreement with China, enabling trade in Ethiopian Birr and Chinese Yuan as both countries seek to deepen economic ties and address foreign exchange shortages.
The Port of Lamu just handled its biggest container vessel yet. The MV Hamouna unloaded 5,200 TEUs, putting Lamu ahead of Mombasa for single-vessel throughput.
