Business & Economy

Foreign liners may continue to enjoy exclusive rights over Nigeria’s crude oil exports. But, as Francis Ezem reports, Nigerians may soon be able to get in on the act. Nigeria is the world’s sixth largest producer of crude oil, extracting an estimated 2.7 million barrels a day before the pand...

Port Harcourt Nigerian-born Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala became the World Trade Organisation’s (WTO) first African and first woman Director-General when she commenced her role on March 1, 2021. The term of the position runs until August 31, 2025. Her candidacy for the WTO had seen a set-back after c...

It’s the airborne delivery service that’s transformed healthcare provision in Ghana and Rwanda. While many people might think companies like Amazon will be the first to start with drone delivery services, few realize the technology has already been in use in Africa for several years - and f...

Africa’s cities may soon be less noisy and polluted, says Andrea Dijkstra, reporting on a new rent-to-buy electric motorbike taxi service in Nairobi. Motorcycle taxis – known in Kenya as ‘bodabodas’ - are responsible for more than 50 per cent of CO2 emissions in the transport sector, explain...

A new twist in the proposed UK-Ecowas pact may have dashed any hope of a Brexit bonus for West Africa, reports Francis Ezem. Britain may have left the European Union (EU) as planned at the start of the year, but the much-anticipated uptick in trade between West Africa and the newly independent U...

Ethiopian designer Feiruza Mudessir talks to Judy Cogan about her streetwear stylings, and how she’s creating an Ethiopian-inspired oasis amid the bling and skyscrapers of the UAE. Feiruza Mudessir opened her first stand-alone store at The Westin Mina Seyahi hotel in Dubai last October. It ...

There are just days to go before Britain finally severs ties with the EU. But with the UK in chaos, Martins Azuwike asks whether Africa’s UK trade deals will ever happen? Since Britain voted to leave the European Union in June 2016, the former world superpower has been taking scintillating s...

There was no lockdown, no recession, and just 21 official deaths in Tanzania – which goes to the polls this month. But with the country’s main trading partners reeling from lockdown-induced job losses, Zachary Ochieng asks whether economic contagion might be the real threat.  When the world...