1. Of the 315 students kidnapped in Nigeria, 50 have escaped and reunited with their families.
2. The Ethiopian Investment Holding Company will launch a groundbreaking $85 million digital and fiscal stamp duty project aimed at improving circulation oversight and increasing fiscal revenue by introducing uniquely identified excise tax stamps on locally manufactured and imported goods.
3. Ethiopia will implement strict customs regulations, mandating the use of import valuation schemes (i.e., the actual price paid or payable for goods) compliant with WTO rules, with import duties and taxes calculated at CIF prices.
4. Nigerian fintech company Nomba has launched its remittance product in the Democratic Republic of Congo and has begun recruiting physical agents to handle large-scale remittance inflows from China and Dubai.
5. Google released its "Blueprint for AI Skills in Africa," and Safaricom will soon launch and promote "Starlink services" in Africa.
6. Standard Bank, South Africa's largest bank by assets, became the first African bank to directly access China's Cross-border Interbank Payment System (CIPS). The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), the world's largest bank, is currently Standard Bank's single largest shareholder.
7. Libya's National Oil Corporation plans to hold a public tender for exploration in 22 blocks in February 2026. For the first time in 18 years, US and European oil giants have been qualified to bid, but Libya's resources remain under Moscow's control.
8. In the first half of 2025, Nigeria's exports to Africa grew by 14%, with West Africa remaining its largest export market. The East African air cargo corridor, opened in May, reduced export costs in the region by 50% to 75%.
9. The Pan-African Progressive Front (PAF) announced a radical political and economic strategy. 250 political, social leaders, and trade union representatives from 50 countries aimed to develop the Accra Declaration, proposing the establishment of an "African Solidarity Fund," the expansion of the "Pan-African Payment and Settlement System," the establishment of a "Pan-African Mining Law," and the creation of an "African Logistics Authority," a "Continental Security Framework," and a "United African Defense Command."
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