South Africa’s economy showed signs of stagnation in the first quarter of 2025, recording only a marginal quarter-on-quarter growth of 0.1%, highlighting the ongoing struggles facing Africa’s most industrialized economy. This slow growth came despite some pockets of strength, particularly in the agriculture sector, which grew robustly. However, contractions in other critical sectors, such as […]

In a clarification, the Federal Government of Nigeria explained that President Bola Tinubu’s recent communication of a US $21.5 billion request to the National Assembly is not an immediate borrowing demand, but rather the formal submission of the 2024 – 2026 External Borrowing Rolling Plan. The plan lays out a multi-year framework for both federal […]

South Africa’s central bank surprised markets on May 29 by unanimously cutting its main repurchase (repo) rate by 25 basis points to 7.25%, even as it signalled a stronger commitment to narrowing its inflation target to 3% from the current 3%–6% range (Reuters). In addition to trimming forecasts for economic growth and consumer prices, the […]

A Welcome Rally in a Time of Strain Ghana’s cedi has staged a remarkable comeback in 2025, gaining 42% against the U.S. dollar since January and trading near ₵10.20/$1 as of late May. This surge has surprised many investors and provided a critical lifeline to a country grappling with the aftermath of a sovereign debt […]

During President Cyril Ramaphosa’s visit to the White House on 21 May 2025, South Africa tabled an ambitious trade package aimed at resetting bilateral ties strained under the Trump administration. At its core was an offer to import 75–100 petajoules (approximately 75–100 million m³) of U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) annually over the next decade, […]

Ethiopia’s National Bank (NBE) has announced a cap on all foreign-exchange (FX) transaction fees at 4 percent, effective May 26, 2025. The move—part of a broader series of reforms to modernize the forex market—also bans supplementary service charges and mandates transparent, publicly disclosed pricing on the NBE website from June onwards (National Bank of Ethiopia). […]

Introduction In a landmark decision for Sub-Saharan Africa, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) will officially begin operations in Benin, Côte d’Ivoire and Nigeria from July 2025. This follows the formal amendment to the EBRD’s founding treaty, approved by its shareholders in April 2025, which extends the Bank’s mandate beyond its traditional Eastern […]

On May 22, 2025, Egypt’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) surprised markets by trimming its key overnight deposit rate by 100 basis points to 24 percent, and its lending rate by the same margin to 25 percent. This move, the second rate cut in 2025 following a pause of nearly a year, fell short of the […]

Key Takeaways A Third Time’s the Charm: From VAT Hike to Budget Consensus Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana delivered his third iteration of the 2025 Budget speech on 21 May 2025, having twice postponed the exercise amid coalition wrangling over a proposed VAT rise (Government of South Africa, Xinhua). In March, he had outlined a phased […]

In response to swirling media reports and diplomatic rumblings, South Africa’s Department of Agriculture has officially denied ever imposing a ban on the importation of Tanzanian bananas. Instead, officials emphasize that market access for this staple fruit has simply never been formalized—meaning neither a ban nor approval has been put into effect. The clarification comes […]