Author: Contribution

By Jos Blaise Mbanga Kack There are moments when one would be tempted to smile. But the subject is too serious to be left to the bursts of the podium. Through repeated slogans to exhaustion, Africa ends up confusing incantation and strategy. The consecrated expression – “local transformation of products” – has become a totem. Yet it deserves to be dissected, supported by figures and structures. Transforming on the spot, very well. But transforming for whom? With what capital? Under what strategic governance? And above all, in what value architecture? Let’s imagine pressing a button: industrial chains are established in…

Professors Sanni Yaya, Jude Eggoh, and Blaise Gnimassoun are mobilizing a network of over 200 scholars and researchers around the world (see list below) in support of Romuald Wadagni’s candidacy. We, the signatory academics of this platform, deeply believe that there are moments when a nation does not simply choose between men, but between trajectories. Benin is at a crossroads today. After a decade of profound transformations, our country has shown that it can break with fatalism, restore the credibility of public action, and lay the foundations for solid and inclusive development. However, this trajectory, promising as it may be,…

By Moussa Sylla During its December 2024 session, the Council of Ministers of the UEMOA adopted Regulation 06/2024/CM/UEMOA on external financial relations of the Union. This third version replaces Regulation 09/2010/CM/UEMOA. Chronology of the RFE The regulation 06/2024 is a major regulation within the UEMOA zone. It governs the execution of international transfers, the repatriation of export revenues, the opening of accounts for non-residents, and the opening of foreign currency accounts for residents. An importer who wishes to pay its suppliers abroad is required to comply with the provisions of the regulation and its implementing instructions. This requires the submission…

By Dr. Abderrahmane MEBTOUL, Professor at universities, international expert. When analyzing the economic power of a country, several indicators coexist and do not always tell the same story. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) measures the wealth created in a country. Purchasing Power Parity (PPP), on the other hand, compares the cost of the same basket of goods and services between several economies. Gross National Income per capita further refines the reading by giving an idea of the average standard of living, without reflecting inequalities, hence the usefulness of complementary indicators such as the Gini coefficient or the Human Development Index (HDI).…

From March 26 to 29, 2026, Yaoundé will host the 14th Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization (WTO). As a reminder, the Ministerial Conference is the supreme decision-making body of this organization. This major event in international trade is being held for the second time on the African continent, following the Nairobi conference in 2015. However, this meeting takes place in a particularly tense international context, overshadowed by the repercussions of the war in the Middle East, which accentuates economic uncertainties and geopolitical fractures. These tensions are compounded by the increasing fragmentation of value chains, the rise of strategic…

By ANDELY-BEEVE Jr. Founder and CEO of Le Mentor SME Ratings, an agency for economic intelligence and SME rating in the Republic of Congo. In Congo-Brazzaville, SMEs drive the economy but remain invisible to those who should finance them. There are officially more than eleven thousand very small and medium-sized enterprises in the country, in addition to an artisanal sector that officially employs 300,000 people and probably two to three times more in the informal sector. They employ, they produce, they circulate value in local economies that have never been sustainably irrigated by oil revenues alone. And yet, formal financing…

By Kenneth Johnson, President of the Europe-Africa Committee and the International Organization of Merit The recent decision of the African Football Confederation (CAF) to cancel Senegal’s victory on the green carpet in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, played in 2026, has sparked deep and legitimate emotions across the African continent and beyond. This decision comes after a competition followed by billions of spectators, where several key moments, especially during the final, were widely discussed for their arbitrary nature. These images and actions remain etched in the collective memory and fuel a real sense of frustration and injustice. This is…

What the PEFA scores had predicted — and what needs to be done now By Aboubakr Kaira Barry, Managing Director, Results Associates, Bethesda, Maryland, USA In 2019-2020, international evaluators handed Senegal a detailed report card on the health of its public finances. This report card was called a PEFA — an assessment of the performance of public expenditure management and financial accountability. The scores were concerning. And almost no one followed up on them. Four years later, the new Senegalese government discovered around 7 billion dollars of hidden debt. The IMF services then considered that these false declarations were a…

Viewpoint of the agency HARVEST ASSET MANAGEMENT. By Franky BUNANG, Deputy General Manager and Denis NZIFACK, Economic Analyst. Since the outbreak of the conflict between the United States and Israel against Iran, we have witnessed a surge in the price of Brent crude oil. The black gold now hovers above $100 per barrel, an increase of nearly 40% since the start of the war.At first glance, this surge should be a boon for the CEMAC, a historically oil-rich region. However, a fundamental analysis challenges this reasoning. The production of the region is estimated at 38.3 million tons in 2025, down…

Amazon. Nabou Fall is an executive coach, international speaker, and strategist in conscious leadership, soft skills, and human performance. She supports leaders, executive teams, and organizations engaged in transformation, transition, or growth contexts to strengthen their posture, clarify their vision, and exercise aligned and sustainable influence. As the CEO of NFA Group, a pan-African ecosystem dedicated to human leadership, she designs and implements strategic programs for institutions and companies in Africa and internationally. A TEDx speaker, committed to inclusive education, she works towards democratizing human skills, notably through her YouTube channel Nabou Fall Officiel. “There is no strong economy without…

By Aboubakr Kaira Barry, Managing Director of Results Associates, a consulting firm based in Bethesda, Maryland, United States. Guineans are experiencing a cash shortage that seems to defy all logic. Currency exchange dealers in Conakry tell their customers that they have run out of francs. Banks are limiting withdrawals. Merchants and transporters claim that cash has become hard to come by, even for the smallest transactions. The government argues that the population is hoarding cash. In 2025, the Central Bank of the Republic of Guinea (BCRG) acknowledged that about 94% of issued banknotes are circulating outside the banking system. Despite…

Emotional finance at the heart of African women’s realities Director of Institutional Affairs – Syndication & Sales (Institutional Client Services Sales & Syndication) at Hudson & Cie, Linda-Carole Grah explores the world of “emotional finance”, the daily life of African women. “African emotional finance” is a concept rarely named, but it governs a large part of our choices March 8th remains for us, women, a privileged moment to take a break, revisit our journey and remind ourselves that it is essential to go beyond the classic indicators used to measure the economic empowerment of African women. Because this empowerment is…

By Rene Awambeng, Senior Executive Officer, Premier Invest 9 March 2026. The escalating conflict involving Iran has once again exposed Africa’s vulnerability to global commodity and logistics shocks. Brent crude pushing toward $120 per barrel, disruptions to tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, and soaring war‑risk insurance costs have combined to deliver a powerful external shock to the continent. While oil‑exporting countries may briefly enjoy higher revenues, the overwhelming reality for most African economies—still heavily dependent on imported refined fuels, fertilizers, and food—is rising inflation, currency pressure, and deteriorating household welfare. Nowhere is this more acute than in the fragile economies…

By Serge Kouamelan, Executive Director of the Professional Association of Banks and Financial Institutions of Ivory Coast (APBEF-CI) I could have posed a question and considered this article as a contribution to a debate. But it is no longer time to debate, especially when we look with decency at the world today, and recognize that female leadership stands out for a more human and collaborative approach, relying on empathy, active listening, and kindness to unite teams and manage conflicts, without lacking authority. Allow me to convince you, if it was necessary, with the following few lines. Africa has one of…

By Professor Amath Ndiaye, FASEG-UCAD There is much talk of the “March Wall” to describe the significant debt deadlines that Senegal must face. In reality, this image is misleading. It is not a single obstacle. The current management of public debt more closely resembles a 400-meter hurdle race run over several laps, where each quarter represents a significant financial hurdle to overcome. In 2026, the total debt service is estimated at nearly 5,500 billion CFA francs. This burden is spread throughout the year, in the form of successive deadlines that keep the public treasury under constant pressure. First quarter: around…

INVESTING IN WOMEN IS BUILDING THE CAMEROON AND AFRICA OF TOMORROW Afriland First Bank’s vision for the economic empowerment of women Every March 8, the world pauses for a moment to celebrate women. Beyond flowers and speeches, this day should be an opportunity for sincere and measurable commitment. In Central Africa where women represent nearly 52% of the population and are the backbone of the informal economy, the issue is no longer whether we should act, but how we should accelerate social inclusion. At Afriland First Bank, we have made a strategic choice: the economic empowerment of women is not…

By Demba Moussa Dembélé Since the discovery of the hidden debt left by the regime of Macky Sall, Senegal has been caught between the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and major Western rating agencies. This has resulted in the suspension of disbursements from the IMF and the downgrading of the country’s sovereign rating. To loosen the grip, some “experts” claim that the regime has no choice but to sign an agreement with the IMF, which calls for the restructuring of the country’s external debt. Negotiating with the IMF: At What Cost? But it’s not just the “experts” who think this way.…

By Jérémie Wakilongo* As tensions between Iran, the United States, and Israel reach a climax on March 4, 2026, the world is no longer content to observe the risk of a military conflagration; it is witnessing the doctrinal collapse of the multilateral order born in 1945. By refusing to provide a diplomatic “way out” to Tehran, Western strategy of asphyxiation is breaking the very tool of global stability: the United Nations. The paradox of the cornered rat: the failure of strategic planning In military strategy, Sun Tzu already taught that one should never completely block an enemy’s way out, lest…

In a context of accelerated ecological and social transition, Africa finds itself at a crossroads. The needs for infrastructure – energy, transportation, water, telecommunications, responsible mining – are immense, estimated at over $130 billion per year. Yet, a significant portion of these projects struggle to achieve the bankability required to attract international financing. The reason is well known: the gap between global ESG standards and local operational capacities. Faced with this reality, a pragmatic response is necessary: the generalization of so-called “light” ESG frameworks. These proportionate, voluntary, and evolving mechanisms allow for the anchoring of ESG culture from the outset…

By Loïc MPanjo Essembe On March 13, 2026, Senegal will have to honor €333.3 million — equivalent to 219 billion CFA francs — for the eurobonds issued in March 2018. Including principal and interest, the total amount owed to bondholders amounts to $485 million, as confirmed by Reuters and Bloomberg on February 17. The Treasury has raised 510 billion CFA francs on the UEMOA regional market since the beginning of the year. The payment will be made. However, paying in March does not solve the issue for 2026. The total financing needs of the state for the year amount to…

Professor Amath Ndiaye’s Tribune, FASEG-UCAD. The statement released on February 8, 2026, following the statutory meetings of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in Monrovia once again confirms the failure of the strategy adopted for the creation of the West African single currency, the ECO. After more than twenty years of announcements, successive timelines, and repeated delays, the reality is clear: the approach based on the prior respect of macroeconomic convergence criteria does not lead to the creation of a single currency in West Africa. This does not mean that the ECO is an unrealistic ambition. On the…

By Fernand Dagoudo, Risk Management, Internal Control, and Compliance Professional. The international anti-corruption organization Transparency International released on February 10, 2026, its Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) ranking, placing Benin in 8th position in Sub-Saharan Africa and 70th globally with a score of 45 out of 100, identical to that of 2024. This result is in line with the reforms carried out by President Patrice Talon over the past decade, but it also indicates a gap between the actions taken and their recognition in the evaluation by the international organization. Stability that resembles more of a transition phase than a halt…

By Rostand CHOUATAT DANTSE, Systemic Analyst, Heterodox Economist, Expert in frugal innovations for Africa. Rethinking the CFA from its undeniably African DNA Prologue The end of economic innocence Long before the advent of modern currencies, banks, and financial markets, African societies had fully functional economic systems organized around relationships, redistribution, and social recognition. Exchange was first and foremost a mechanism of connection; work produced a sense of belonging; wealth was demonstrated by the ability to redistribute rather than accumulate. Value was based on a form of social energy: relational density, human strength, and community continuity. Money—when it existed—was not an…

By Thierno Seydou Nourou SY, Banker, President and Founder of Nourou Financial Consulting (NFC) Dakar-Senegal As international banking regulation enters a new phase with the finalization of Basel III – often referred to as “Basel 4” by practitioners –, countries in the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA) are faced with a strategic question: is it appropriate to further strengthen prudential requirements in a region where the banking system is already strong, while the need for financing the real economy remains significant? Contrary to popular belief, “Basel 4” is not a new international agreement. It is the latest stage…

By Seynabou Dia Sall*, Founder & CEO, Global Mind Consulting, Strategic Advisory & Public Affairs. Africa – Europe – Middle East. Africa is not only evaluated on its economic performance. It is equally judged on how these performances are perceived, interpreted, and translated into trust. This perception directly influences the cost of capital, investment decisions, institutional credibility, and ultimately, the maneuvering room of states. Mastering its narrative is therefore not a luxury or an exercise in image. It is a major economic and strategic issue, at the heart of the competitiveness and sovereignty of the continent. In my work with…

By Dr. Abderrahmane Mebtoul, University Professor, international expert in strategic management The tensions between the United States and Iran, both members of the BRICS+ and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) — two cosmopolitan groupings bringing together heterogeneous political regimes and strategic alliances — clearly show that the current and likely future architecture of international relations is based not on feelings, but on interests. The recent experience of Venezuela is a striking illustration of this. In this context, the UN appears largely powerless to influence major contemporary world events, often limiting itself to verbal condemnations with limited effects, underpinned by implicit…

Family businesses are the backbone of our economies, generating nearly 70% of the continent’s GDP. However, only a minority of them survive beyond the second generation. When these businesses collapse, the consequences extend far beyond the family realm: jobs disappear, supply chains weaken, and local economies lose essential stabilizing forces. This vulnerability is not inevitable. It is the direct result of two chronic weaknesses that continue to undermine family businesses across the continent: poorly structured governance and the lack of succession planning. As long as these flaws are not addressed, Africa risks facing further business losses. For example, the downfall…

By Benoit S NGOM, President of the African Diplomatic Academy. The year 2026 must be solemnly celebrated as marking the 40th anniversary of the entry into force of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, which occurred in October 1986. This anniversary is a moment of memory, but above all of critical reflection on the African trajectory in terms of promoting and protecting human rights. Indeed, by adopting this fundamental legal instrument, Africa asserted, as early as the mid-1980s, to the world that it was fully sensitive to the issue of human rights, while claiming the right to offer…

In a context where economic relations between Africa and Europe are scrutinized in terms of demand, sustainability, and transparency, Note 35 of SYSCOHADA could well constitute a silent revolution. Still largely unknown, not public and not published, this too discreet specific and unique provision paves the way for a real African extra-financial reporting, focused on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues. However, in a world where investors, regulators, and economic partners demand more transparency, Africa has here a leading normative weapon that the African Union should even seize by generalizing it!!! A unique African proprietary tool to reduce information asymmetry…

By Charles Blondin Since the military junta took power following the Z generation protests in Madagascar, a hardening of the political climate has occurred in recent months. Contrary to a peaceful political transition, the government seems to have embarked on a palace revolution that could harm the interests of the Malagasy people in the long term. In the fall of 2026, protests by the Z generation (Gen Z) erupted on the red island. Denouncing water and electricity distribution issues, the population took to the streets at the urging of opposition members of the Antananarivo Municipal Council, the capital of Madagascar.…