Author: Contribution

Juliana Amato Lumumba, candidate from the Democratic Republic of Congo for the position of Secretary-General of the International Organization of La Francophonie, believes that “Francophonie must become an economic power”. Read her article. When we talk about Francophonie, we spontaneously think of a language, a shared history, a community of values. We often forget that it also constitutes one of the largest economic spaces in the world. With nearly 390 million speakers, 20% of global merchandise trade, and over 16% of global GDP, Francophonie is already an economic reality. However, it does not yet act as such. At a time…

By Issa Malgoubri, CEO of SGI Image Finances Internationales, Lead arranger and Lead placement manager The first Sukuk of the State of Burkina Faso is not just a financial innovation. It is a national, regional, and international call to finance economic sovereignty through ethics, real economy, and trust. There are operations that mobilize resources. And there are operations that mobilize a Nation. The launch of FCES SUKUK BURKINA RENAISSANCE 6.80% 2026-2035 belongs to this second category. With this issuance of 75 billion CFA francs, structured in the form of a Common Sukuk Issuance Fund, the State of Burkina Faso achieves…

By Ismael Sy, Journalist, correspondent for Financial Afrik in Casablanca In our opinion, the idea that intellectuals should serve the underprivileged has its limitations. The history of the world is nothing but a class struggle and the reproduction of class relations. An intellectual serving the weak can contribute to the construction of a different class system. The history of certain communist regimes has shown how some intellectuals who thought they were supporting a form of social justice woke up with a bitter taste in their mouths. How the weak of yesterday turned into the tyrants of today. These intellectuals thus…

By Prof. Abderrahmane MebtoulUniversity professor, PhD in economics, certified accountant from the Institut supérieur de gestion de Lille, former Director General of Economic Studies and former First Counselor at the Court of Auditors. The decision made on June 19, 2026 by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) marks an important step for Algeria. Meeting in plenary session in Paris, the international organization responsible for combating money laundering and terrorist financing (AML/CFT) officially removed Algeria from its list of jurisdictions under enhanced monitoring, commonly known as the “grey list”. Namibia also benefits from this decision. This development is a positive signal…

By Pr Amath NDIAYE, FASEG-UCAD. The debate on Senegal’s public debt has led to the use of several expressions – hidden debt, undeclared debt, false statistical declarations (misreporting) or odious debt – which do not cover the same realities. The first three generally refer to the same phenomenon: the existence of financial commitments that have not been properly recorded or declared in official statistics. The notion of odious debt, on the other hand, relates to a different issue, more legal and political in nature. *What the Court of Auditors found* The Court of Auditors does not systematically use the term…

By Joëlle TRAORÉ, PhD in tax law from the University Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne. SPECIAL ECONOMIC ZONES IN ETHIOPIA In April 2024, Ethiopia adopted Proclamation No. 1322/2024, repealing the industrial parks regime established by Proclamation No. 886/2015. This text establishes a new legal framework for special economic zones (SEZs), expands their sectoral scope, and strengthens the tax incentives offered to investors. For an investor, the question is not so much about what the text provides, but rather about evaluating the actual impact of the fiscal mechanism on the decision to establish a presence. A change in framework, not just terminology The…

NATION BRANDING AND SOFT POWER: WHY AFRICAN COUNTRIES MUST TAKE CONTROL OF THEIR NARRATIVE In the era of the attention economy, a country’s reputation has become a strategic asset as valuable as its natural resources. STRATEGIC OPTIMISM The Africa we are building – By Thione Niang “Thinking Africa. Inspiring action. Building the future.” Africa possesses the greatest natural wealth on the planet, the youngest population in the world, and exceptional economic potential. Yet, despite these undeniable assets, many of our countries continue to be defined by narratives constructed elsewhere. For decades, we have exported our raw materials while letting others…

By Issa Cheiguer The controversy over fuel prices has at least one merit: it has brought Mauritanian economic policy out of silence. It has forced choices to be expressed, numbers to circulate, positions to be confronted. I joined in with a first contribution. I return today, not to reopen the same file, but to look further: towards the fundamentals of the economy, towards the promises of gas, towards a social safety net whose most recent figures reveal a reality broader than previously thought. I always write as an attentive citizen, with no other legitimacy than that of verified facts. The…

Dr Beringer GLOGLO – Economist, former advisor to the General DirectorateMr. Gilbert NYATANYI – Counsel at Janson, former CEO of the Rwanda Sovereign Fund The financing deficit for development in Africa remains one of the most structuring challenges facing the continent. The social stakes are immense, while the global financial environment is becoming increasingly fragmented and constrained. According to the African Development Bank (AfDB, 2024), Africa will need to mobilize $495.6 billion per year, approximately 17% of its projected GDP for 2024, until 2030 to accelerate its structural transformation and converge towards the most performing emerging economies. By 2063, this…

After showing, in “From the Naira to the Franc, the same servitude,” that the monetary regime does not decide the productive fate of an economy, and then identifying, in “What money cannot do,” the limits of the monetary instrument itself, economist Dr. Chérif Salif SY addresses a question that these two observations leave open: on what grounds does dependence become readable and decidable? This ground has a name, the exchange rate. By Chérif Salif Sy Money is not a neutral instrument that the State uses to stabilize prices: it is a social relationship, and most African disputes over monetary sovereignty…

Towards a Strategic State Orchestrating Capital By Antoine Christian Gomis, Founder, Bridge Africa Capital Senegal is entering a critical phase of its economic development: infrastructure needs continue to grow while the sovereign balance sheet’s capacity to finance them is gradually diminishing. For over a decade, the country’s transformation has relied on a relatively classic model: the State borrows, the State builds, the State bears the majority of the financial risk. This model has led to significant progress in road, port, energy, and logistics infrastructure. But it is now reaching its limits. The Senegalese public debt, revised upwards after the February…

On May 29, 2026, Abdoulaye, “Gorgui,” “the old man” in Wolof, turned 100. On this occasion, the Senegalese government pays tribute to this political figure whose legacy transcends political divisions on June 4 and 5, 2026. The commemoration was postponed because it coincided with Eid al-Adha – the Tabaski festival. By Eric Topona, Journalist, Writer, Former Secretary General of the Chadian Journalists’ Union (UJT). Some birthdays have a particularly symbolic dimension because they celebrate a longevity that we are not accustomed to. This is the case of those rare individuals who can claim and be proud of the exceptional existential…

By Eric Topona, Journalist, Writer, Former Secretary General of the Chadian Journalists Union (UJT). ​On May 31, 2026, an oil tanker named Tagor was intercepted by the French navy in the Atlantic. This ship was associated with the Russian “ghost fleet” (a network of tankers used to circumvent sanctions related to the war in Ukraine). It was sailing under a suspicious or falsified flag, which justified the intervention. Journalist Eric Topona reflects on the “ghost fleets” and the usurpation of African flags. Since the imposition of Western sanctions due to its aggression in Ukraine, Russia has continuously boasted about the…

By Raphael Nkolwoudou, PhD in Law, Senior Lawyer in digital law and Contract Manager, Teragone Solutions – Paris, France. Imagine a field hospital in northern Mozambique, after a cyclone. The roads are cut off, the relay antennas lie on the ground, and the only link with the outside world is a thin beam rising towards a swarm of low-orbit satellites. This scene, experienced recently during cyclone Idai, sums up the promise of satellite constellations: to offer reliable communication when everything collapses around. For Africa, it is not a luxury. It is a necessity. The continent remains highly exposed to violent…

By Soukeyna LY, Energy engineer and macroeconomist; Founder of the think tank PRONA FUTURES; Montreal, June 8, 2026. As Senegal seeks to restore its macroeconomic credibility with its financial partners, the issue of energy subsidies emerges as one of the most sensitive trade-offs in the coming years. The country no longer has time to engage in purely theoretical debates. With public debt now estimated at over 130% of GDP (according to 2026 estimates, after the discovery of undeclared commitments), a debt service that absorbs an increasing share of state revenues, and energy subsidies costing nearly 1,800 billion CFA francs over…

By Abderrahmane Mebtoul, University Professor, international expert, PhD in Strategic Management in 1974 The 2026 World Cup is jointly organized by three countries: the United States, Canada, and Mexico. It is the first time in the history of the competition that three nations have come together to host the tournament, which features a record format of 48 teams. The host countries have gone all out. The infrastructure and logistics have allowed the teams to focus solely on the game. Sport, like music and culture, is a factor for bringing peoples together. If each team proudly and passionately waves its flag,…

By Beatrice Blondin Diop, Founder and CEO of Béaba Senegal’s entry into the circle of oil and gas producing countries marks a historic turning point. With the Sangomar oil project, operated by Woodside, and the Greater Tortue Ahmeyim gas project, operated by BP on the Senegal-Mauritania border, our country is not only discovering a new source of public revenue. It is also discovering a strategic question: how can we ensure that the exploitation of our natural resources does not only result in exports, tax revenues, and performance reports, but in a real transformation of the local economic fabric? This is…

By Dr Mohamed H’MIDOUCHE As the World Bank reopens the door to responsible nuclear energy financing, Africa must not remain on the sidelines of the new geopolitics of dispatchable low-carbon power. Small Modular Reactors could become a strategic option for industrialization, digital sovereignty and energy security — provided they are financed, regulated and secured with the highest standards. In a previous article published by Financial Afrik on 22 March 2026, I argued that Small Modular Reactors — SMRs — could become one of the strategic instruments of Africa’s new geopolitics of dispatchable energy. That analysis now carries renewed relevance.…

By Dr. Ananou Foly, Economist & Dr. Gloglo Beringer, Economist The initial paradox By the end of 2024, Senegal and Benin offer two radically different macroeconomic trajectories. Senegal reveals one of the largest debt concealments in the continent’s history: a real debt-to-GDP ratio of 99.7% compared to the reported 74.4%, an average budget deficit of 11% of GDP over 2019-2023 compared to the stated 4.9%, and approximately $7 billion of hidden debt according to the IMF. On the other hand, Benin shows a growth rate of 7.5%, a deficit reduced to 3% of GDP, an S&P rating of BB- with…

By Ghislain KAPSSU, Managing Partner – Kompt Capital West Africa S.A. For several decades, the debate on financing infrastructure in Africa has focused on large structuring projects: hydroelectric dams, highways, ports, airports, or national energy networks. These assets naturally play an essential role in the continent’s economic transformation and attract the attention of international donors, multilateral development banks, and capital markets. However, this focus on mega-projects tends to overshadow another issue, equally crucial for economic and social development: that of local infrastructure. A deficit that is not only measured in billions of dollars When discussing the African infrastructure deficit, the…

By Abd’El Kader NDIAYE, President of CNES Senegal talks about sovereignty. Senegal talks about rebuilding. But Senegal forgets its businesses. Since the advent of the new regime, one observation is clear: public authorities are neglecting the private sector at all levels of the hierarchy. This silence is all the more deafening as the current situation demands attention. Economic operators are facing, alone, a triple burden: the state’s domestic debt, whose payment promises pile up without follow-up; social unrest, fueled by the non-compliance with the commitments of the National Pact for Social Stability; and the total lack of visibility for our…

By Seydina Alioune NDIAYE, Economist, Investment Banker, SENQUANT Briefing. In trading rooms and among financial analysts focused on the case of Senegal, the debt crisis is not only playing out on the front of external debt, but increasingly on that of domestic debt: Total Return Swaps (TRS) have become a central concern. The issue is no longer just technical; it touches on the transparency of debt, the cost of public financing, and the sustainability of the active debt management strategy. An increasingly domestic debt crisis After the scandal of the “hidden debt” and the closure of access to international bond…

By Aboubakr Kaira Barry, CFA, Managing Director, Results Associates · Bethesda, Maryland, United States. KEY POINTS ▸ In Nigeria, money is primarily created by commercial banks and, to a lesser extent, by the Central Bank of Nigeria. ▸ Between 2015 and 2024, the money supply grew at a rate of 20% per year while real GDP per capita declined by 0.6%, fueling inflation and eroding living standards. ▸ Reforms by the CBN are necessary, but price stability cannot be achieved without fiscal discipline, stronger public financial management, and stricter institutional safeguards. ▸ Sustainable reform requires constitutional budget rules, improved budget…

By Chérif Salif Sy* What we call “monetary policy” in Africa is a convenient fiction, a screen that covers the raw reality of power relations between peripheral states and financial centers in the North. Suzanne de Brunhoff posed this in the early 1970s: money is not a neutral instrument that the state can use at will to smooth out cycles. It is an objective constraint, the material embodiment of the law of value on the global market. In Africa, this constraint takes different forms depending on the areas, but it produces the same effect everywhere, subordination. Whether it’s the Franc…

Opinion | Energy Transition & Sustainable Finance in Africa By Thierno Seydou Nourou Sy, Banker. President and founder of Nourou Financial Consulting (NFC). Dakar, Senegal. www.Nouroufinancial.com Is sustainable finance in Africa truly financing the transformation of our economies? Behind the trendy concepts – ESG, green bonds, climate funds, sustainable taxonomies – it is this uncomfortable but necessary question that must guide our decisions today. Africa finds itself in a unique situation in contemporary history: it represents about 3% of global CO₂ emissions while hosting nearly 18% of the world’s population. The G20 countries, on the other hand, are responsible for…

By Abdoulaye DIOP, President of the UEMOA Commission It is with deep sadness that we learned of the death on June 1, 2026 in Dakar of Professor Moustapha Kassé. A renowned economist, he left a mark on the students we were with his competence and scientific rigor. As the first dean of the Faculty of Economics and Management Sciences at Cheikh Anta Diop University in Dakar, his commitment and daily actions contributed to the development of the teaching of economic and management sciences. A demanding and generous educator, Professor Kassé trained generations of Senegalese and African economists, executives, and decision-makers…

By Ghita LAMRIKI, Director of Studies, Géraldine MERMOUX, Managing Director Associate and Lossani ZINA, Associate Director. FINACTU Group. For the first time in history, over the period 2021-2023, Africa has spent more money on repaying its debt than on educating its children[1]. And the trend is not good: in 2024, 18% of the continent’s public revenues were used to repay debt: three times more than in 2010. No other continent reaches these levels. Behind these figures, a concrete reality: every billion paid in interest is a billion that does not finance a school, a hospital, or a road. This burden…

Testimony of Tidiane WANE, polytechnic engineer at the Presidential Palace Master Abdoulaye WADE, Centenarian on May 29, 2026. Machallah. May God grant him many more years of health. President Wade worked for his country and for Africa. We, the youth of the turbulent years (1988-2000), can testify to this. The master of SOPI, the change, initiated us to Democracy and the fight for self-assertion. Since we were students at the Lycée and then at the University, we have closely followed Master Wade’s epic battles against the excesses of the socialist regime established since independence in 1960. Master Wade fought with…

“The CEO of SGI IFI, Issa Malgoubri, argues that the true sophistication of structured finance lies in the transparency and robustness of risk, not in its complexity. This analysis directly applies to the Senegalese political crisis of 2026, which is testing the credibility of the country’s sovereign signature after an IMF audit in 2025 significantly revised the national debt upwards.” By ISSA MALGOUBRI, CEO of SGI IFI Why useful sophistication always begins with risk transparency, and how a political shock can redefine a state’s debt, market, and structuring strategy. Complexity is not a sign of authority. In structured finance, authority…

The African Cotton Foundation (ACF) reaffirms its unwavering commitment to sustainable, competitive, and inclusive growth of the African textile value chain. As global supply chains evolve and investors seek resilient sources of supply, the next strategic step is clear: Africa must strengthen its local transformation capacities and accelerate value creation on the continent. The main mission of the ACF is to improve the livelihoods of farmers and agricultural communities, while protecting the environment in which they live and work. Cotton remains one of Africa’s most strategic agricultural raw materials (more than 1.2 million tons produced annually), generating income for millions…