Senegal’s cost of living: Dakar prices exceed Paris for essential goods
In a nation grappling with persistent inflation, a striking observation has reignited discussions about the elevated cost of living across Senegal. A video, originally filmed by French content creator Simon Labas and uploaded in December 2025, has recently resurfaced across social media platforms. It vividly illustrates a series of product prices recorded at various retail […]
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Gabon’s manganese industry shifts toward local processing
Logistical hurdles spark manganese production dip The Gabonese manganese sector faced significant challenges in late 2025, with output dropping to 9.1 million tonnes. Repeated railway disruptions along the Transgabonais route to Owendo port created critical bottlenecks, stalling deliveries and slowing operations. Yet, recovery signs emerged in the final quarter of the year, signaling resilience in […]
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Dakar’s surprising cost of living: more expensive than Paris for everyday essentials
Dakar’s surprising cost of living: more expensive than Paris for everyday essentials A widely shared video highlights the surprisingly high prices in Dakar, where staple goods like chicken, costing 2,610 F CFA per kilo, exceed prices in Paris. This situation significantly challenges the purchasing power of Senegalese citizens. Despite being a nation with limited resources, […]
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Côte d’Ivoire charts investment course for stronger local animal and fish production
Côte d’Ivoire is strategically focusing on bolstering its domestic animal and fisheries output to lessen its reliance on imports. This initiative comes as the nation’s expenditure on imported meats and offal reached a staggering 782 billion CFA francs in 2024, as confirmed by Bouadi Beda Paul, the Director of Financial Affairs at the Ministry of […]
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Air Sénégal settles dispute with Carlyle over aircraft lease termination
Legal breakthrough resolves long-standing aircraft lease dispute The long-running legal dispute between Air Sénégal and Carlyle Aviation has reached a resolution, bringing an end to months of negotiations. The conflict stemmed from the early termination of a lease agreement involving four aircraft—two Airbus A319s and two Airbus A321s—leased by the American group to the Senegalese […]
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Mali telecom prices lag far behind Senegal’s affordable data plans
Telecom pricing in Mali has sparked growing frustration among users and regional digital sector observers. For the same expenditure, a subscriber in Bamako receives only a fraction of the data volume available to counterparts in Dakar, highlighting stark disparities in mobile data costs across the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA). Independent analyses reveal […]
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Cameroon cuts EU import tariffs by 70% under APE deal
Cameroon has slashed import duties on European goods by 70%, as confirmed by a communiqué from Finance Minister Louis Paul Motazé. This bold move aligns with the Economic Partnership Agreement (APE) involving Cameroon, the European Union, and the United Kingdom. The reduction targets a critical third category of products, deemed vital for public revenue due […]
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Ivory coast secures cashew supply for local processors with groundbreaking funding deal
Government and industry players join forces to boost local cashew processing The Groupement des transformateurs de cajou ivoiriens (GTCI), representing national processors handling 100,000 tons of raw cashew nuts annually, has applauded a landmark financing agreement signed on June 11, 2026. The deal was struck between the Banque nationale d’investissement (BNI), the Conseil du Coton […]
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Sugar industry shake-up: how Cameroon’s Sosucam shifted ownership
Omer Mbadi Cameroon correspondent Jean-Claude Mimran Castel Compagnie sucrière sénégalaise Somdia Behind the Sosucam ownership transition Cameroon’s Société sucrière du Cameroun (Sosucam) has witnessed a significant shift in its ownership structure, marking a new chapter for one of the country’s key industrial players. The move comes after months of strategic deliberations and negotiations among stakeholders, […]
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Free digital skills training in Lomé by 2026
Lomé emerges as West Africa’s tech training hub Lomé is rapidly becoming one of West Africa’s leading technology training destinations. With businesses increasingly adopting digital solutions and new initiatives like École 42 and Data Lab now operational, opportunities to access cutting-edge training in web development, software engineering, data science and artificial intelligence have never been […]
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Ebomaf’s dominance in Gabon’s public contracting raises transparency concerns
Since the political transition that began in August 2023, the Burkina Faso-based construction group Ebomaf has risen to the top of Gabon’s public procurement rankings. Within less than three years, the company founded by entrepreneur Mahamadou Bonkoungou has secured contracts worth over 700 billion CFA francs, an unprecedented achievement for a single foreign operator in […]
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Cameroon moves to reacquire Globeleq’s power plant stakes
The Cameroonian state is now in active negotiations to repurchase the 56% stake held by the British group Globeleq in two vital electricity generation companies. Yaoundé is engaged in discussions with the London-based investor regarding the acquisition of its shares in Kribi Power Development Company (KPDC) and Dibamba Power Development Company (DPDC). The indicative valuation […]
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