First Independent Mena Newspaper
The World Trade Organization (WTO) has warned that Nigeria and other African economies risk being excluded from the next wave of global trade unless they urgently invest in digital infrastructure, skills, and AI governance. According to the WTO’s 2025 World Trade Report, artificial intelligence (AI) could boost global trade by up to 37% by 2040, […]
China’s exports to Africa have soared by 25% in the first eight months of 2025, reaching US$140.8 billion, as Beijing redirects trade flows amid escalating U.S. tariffs under President Trump’s renewed trade war. Faced with U.S. import duties as high as 100% on electric vehicles and 50% on solar products, Chinese firms are finding fertile […]
Africa’s largest telecom operator, MTN Group, is in advanced negotiations with U.S. and European firms to build a network of AI-powered data centers across the continent — a strategic move to close the continent’s infrastructure gap and position it as a key player in the global digital economy. The initiative, led by MTN’s newly formed […]
A recent United Nations report has revealed that nearly 15,000 schools have been shut down across West and Central Africa, affecting the education of over 3 million children — a crisis driven by growing insecurity, conflict, and displacement. The situation is particularly dire in Nigeria and Cameroon, where violent insurgencies and protracted conflicts have forced […]
Leading African economists and policymakers have sounded the alarm on the urgent need for governance reforms, domestic resource mobilization, and strategic partnerships to transform the continent’s fragile “transition states” from crisis to growth. Speaking at a recent high-level policy dialogue during the 66th Annual Conference of the Nigerian Economic Society, experts emphasized that 24 African […]
Governments and businesses in Nigeria, Kenya, and South Africa are grappling with sharply rising borrowing costs, a trend that poses serious risks to economic growth across Sub-Saharan Africa, according to a new report by Moody’s Ratings. Over the past five years, debt servicing costs have surged in all three economies due to weak policy frameworks, […]
Africa’s trade with China has surged 25% in 2025, reaching $122 billion in just seven months — on track to exceed $200 billion for the first time, yet beneath the boom lies a widening trade imbalance and growing concern over Africa’s long-term economic autonomy, experts warn. While U.S.-Africa trade has declined, especially under President Donald […]
Ghana has joined a growing list of African nations cooperating with the United States in its controversial immigration enforcement policy, accepting 14 West African deportees recently removed from the U.S. President John Dramani Mahama confirmed that the arrivals — mostly Nigerians and one Gambian — landed in Accra and were swiftly assisted in returning to […]
African students pursuing education abroad are facing heightened scrutiny as the United States and United Kingdom ramp up enforcement of immigration compliance, raising concerns about travel equity and academic opportunity. In the U.K., the Home Office has launched a campaign warning tens of thousands of international students — many from Africa — about overstaying visas. […]
Africa is emerging as a key manufacturing hub for Indian companies, as record-high U.S. tariffs — now up to 50% — threaten India’s export competitiveness, particularly in textiles, pharmaceuticals, and gems. The penalties, imposed largely in response to India’s continued oil trade with Russia, have forced Indian firms to pivot strategically toward Africa to maintain […]