Author: Contribution

By Paul-Harry Aithnard, Roseline Abé and Aniéla Koffi Managing Director of Ecobank Côte d’Ivoire & Executive Regional Director UEMOA · Managing Director of EDC Investment Corporation · Head of the Ellever Program One year after the first Gender Bond in the UEMOA, it is time for African finance to fully grasp this tool. In finance, there is a category of anomaly that economists struggle to explain without discomfort: that of high-performing assets that the market systematically underfunds. In West Africa, women-led companies belong to this category. Resilient, job creators, anchored in the real economy, they nevertheless remain on the fringes…

By Thierno Seydou Nourou SY, President and Founder of Nourou Financial Consulting The latest report on recent economic developments and prospects in Senegal highlights a paradox that deserves to be at the heart of public debate: the country is improving its major macroeconomic balances, but at the cost of a gradual weakening of its real economy. At first glance, the results are solid. Growth is estimated at 6.7% in 2025, inflation remains contained, the budget deficit is greatly reduced, and external accounts improve significantly. But a closer look shows that this performance is mainly based on the production of hydrocarbons,…

Whenever a conflict breaks out somewhere in the world, energy markets react with remarkable speed. Oil prices change in a matter of hours. Maritime routes suddenly become a central strategic issue. Governments quietly reassess their reserves, supply chains, and vulnerabilities. Markets rediscover, almost overnight, a reality they tend to forget in times of calm: energy remains deeply intertwined with geopolitics. This pattern is nothing new. From the oil crises of the 1970s to more recent supply disruptions, periods of geopolitical tension regularly remind us that energy flows rarely evolve outside the turbulence of international politics. Pipelines cross borders. Tankers pass…

By Alpha Barry* At a time when multilateralism is facing an unprecedented credibility crisis, the next Secretary-General of the United Nations must be more than just an administrator: they must be an authority for dialogue, a conscience of balance, and a trusted actor. In this perspective, the candidacy of Macky Sall, former President of Senegal, deserves great attention. The world is not only experiencing an accumulation of crises. It is facing a crisis of confidence in the mechanisms meant to prevent, contain, or resolve them. Wars are escalating. Geopolitical rifts are deepening. Multilateral institutions remain essential, but their political and…

By Paul Villerac, Economist specializing in development issues. Since April 4, 2026, Cameroonian social networks have been saturated by the dissemination of a supposed presidential decree announcing the appointment of Franck Emmanuel Biya as Vice President and Minister Delegate for Defense. The document, constructed to imitate the forms of official communication, quickly sparked comments, indignation, and speculation. But upon verification, nothing confirms its authenticity. No institutional publication confirms it, and Franck Biya, known for his discretion, holds no official responsibilities in the state apparatus or armed forces. Taken in isolation, this episode could simply be another case of digital manipulation…

By Éric Topona If there is one source of satisfaction for the People’s Republic of China, since Donald Trump returned to the White House, it is undoubtedly the lack of interest of the American president in soft power. Among the first measures taken by Donald Trump as part of his budget austerity policy, the suspension of Voice of America’s activities was one of the most spectacular and astonishing. Certainly, it was a godsend for Beijing and its informational expansion strategy, particularly in West Africa.A recent note from the Institute of International and Strategic Relations (IRIS), entitled The Global South: an…

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…