First Independent Mena Newspaper
In a dramatic pivot away from traditional regional alliances, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger have deepened their collaboration under the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), aiming to reclaim sovereignty and reshape their economic future, including through the planned launch of common currency. Born out of frustration with ECOWAS and external pressures, the AES is fast-tracking […]
Nigerian naira, Malawian kwacha and Rwandan franc have been named the worst-performing African currencies against the US dollar in 2024, according to a latest report, having faced an array of challenges, from persistent trade imbalances, dwindling foreign reserves, to political instability. Some African nations strengthened their currencies, while others faced worsening exchange rates in 2024. […]
A recent report by Sputnik Africa claiming that the use of the Russian ruble for trade between Russia and Africa has more than doubled since 2022 is challenged by other sources that report a sharp dip in the share of ruble payments from 23.7% in mid-2022 to 12.7% in mid-2023. Russian ruble usage in international […]
A pan-African payment system that would allow African nations to trade among themselves, using their own currencies, is gaining momentum, as the platform has recently started commercial operations with nine countries having signed up so far, according to the Afreximbank President Benedict Oramah. The African Export-Import Bank — or Afreximbank — expects 15 to 20 […]
Trade exchanges between Russia and Africa should move away from the US dollar and be facilitated by transition to national currencies, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said, just as Tanzania and India have inked an agreement establishing a platform by which their bilateral trade will be carried out in their own currencies, not the dollar. […]