The Nanyang Technological University published on 28 August 2026 an article titled "Growing Chinese Influence in African Fintech" by Rafia Raji.
Two Chinese fintech companies, Opay and PalmPay, focus primarily on Nigeria where they have made significant inroads into the digital financial sector. They are becoming competitive digital banks in Nigeria. African partnerships with Chinese fintechs are adding to China's engagement in digital banking across the continent.
African Arguments posted on 26 September 2026 a commentary titled "Ethiopia's Foretold War Arrives" by Matthew de Waal.
Although the strength of Ethiopia's new anti-government alliance is questionable and the Tigray People's Liberation Front is divided, the current conflict in Ethiopia is occurring during a war in neighboring Sudan, Houthi attacks disrupting shipping in the Red Sea, and ongoing terrorist activity in Somalia. The conflict in Ethiopia could metastasize into a regional conflagration.
Business Insider Africa published on 28 September 2026 an article titled "Kenyan Firms Challenge Alleged Chinese Tax Breaks They Say Give Rivals a 35% Cost Advantage" by Ayodeji Adegboyega.
Kenyan contractors want the government to disclose tax and customs concessions linked to Chinese-financed infrastructure projects. The contractors allege that Chinese companies receive a cost advantage of 25 percent to 35 percent. A court has not yet established that Chinese contractors receive an unlawful advantage.
Ukraine's Defense Express posted on 27 September 2026 an article titled "Ethiopia Gets Chinese Pantsir Clone FK-2000 Despite Having Six Real Ones, UAE May Be Middleman" by Ivan Kyrychevskiy.
Ethiopia received at least two Chinese FK-2000 anti-aircraft missile gun systems, which are essentially clones of Russia's Pantsir system. The systems may have been provided by the UAE. Ethiopia probably intends to use them for drone protection.
Euro News published on 27 September 2026 an article titled "Ethiopia's Army Chief Accuses Egypt and Sudan of Backing Armed Alliance Seeking to Oust Abiy Ahmed" by Mohamed Elashi.
Birhanu Jula, head of Ethiopia's army, accused Egypt and the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) of supporting a new alliance of armed domestic organizations to remove Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed from power. He also accused Eritrea of acting as a link between foreign backers and armed dissidents inside Ethiopia.
Comment: For its part, the Abiy Ahmed government appears to be supporting the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces that is fighting against the SAF in Sudan.
Ecofin Agency published on 28 September 2026 an article titled "Australia's Bannerman Funds Etango in Namibia Without Bank Debt, Gives China Rights to 60% of Uranium Output" by Idriss Linge.
Australian uranium developer Bannerman Energy has secured a $320 million investment package from the state-owned China National Nuclear Corporation Overseas for Namibia's Etango uranium project. The Chinese nuclear group gets a 42.75 percent interest in Etango but rights to buy 60 percent of the mine's uranium production over its operating life.
Journalist Martin Plaut posted on 28 September 2026 a summary titled "A Brief Update on Ethiopia's 2026 War."
Fighting is escalating in Ethiopia. On the Afar front, Tigray Defense Forces and allied Afar militants have gained the upper hand. The military situation remains fluid along the Amhara-Tigray front. Eritrean forces have established an alliance with the ruling party in Tigray. Regional alliances are in flux.
Semafor published on 28 September 2026 an article titled "Democrats Press Trump Administration to Intervene in Ethiopia" by Adrian Elimian.
All Democratic members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Africa panel criticized both sides of the conflict in Ethiopia and faulted the Trump administration for letting sanctions on regional actors lapse days before hostilities resumed.
Reuters published on 25 September 2026 an article titled "Western Miners Can Match China's Speed If African Governments Cut Red Tape, KoBold President Says" by Maxwell Akalaare Adombila and Oliva Kumwenda Mtambo.
California-based KoBold Metals says Western miners can match China's pace in developing critical minerals in Africa as long as governments streamline approvals and improve coordination among regulators.
AEIs Critical Threats Africa File posted on 24 September 2026 an article titled "Ethiopian Rebels Launch Major Offensive" by Michael DeAngelo and Liam Karr.
The Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) launched an offensive against federal forces in northern Ethiopia. The fighting has expanded to the Tigray/Afar border region. The offensive likely aims to consolidate the TPLF's control of Tigray region and its rear supply lines.
The International Crisis Group published on 25 September 2026 a commentary titled "Arresting the Dangerous Descent Back into War in Northern Ethiopia."
Ethiopia's Tigray Region is slipping into renewed war between the Tigray People's Liberation Front and Amhara Fano militias, on one side, and the federal government and allied Tigrayan forces on the other. Fighting is concentrated in the Amhara-southern Tigray border area and along the Tigray-Afar border. The situation could escalate out of control.
The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace published on 23 September 2026 an analysis titled "The Impacts of the Houthis' Advance Could Extend Well Beyond Saudi Arabia" by Andrew Leber and Lesley Anne Warner.
Connections between the Houthis in Yemen and terrorist organizations in Somalia, renewed conflict and insecurity in the Horn of Africa, and a revival of Somali piracy raise the question whether the worsening situation in the Red Sea region will lead to increased US engagement.
The US Department of State issued on 22 September 2026 a statement titled "Efforts to Achieve Peace in Sudan."
The statement said neither the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) nor the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have made any serious effort to achieve peace. Consequently, the Trump administration will raise the cost of continued conflict on all belligerents. Neither the SAF nor the RSF is eligible to govern Sudan.
The American Security Project published on 23 September 2026 an article titled "Two Shores, One Chokepoint: The Houthi-al-Shabaab Nexus" by Joshua Perez.
The alliance between the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen and al-Shabaab in Somalia demonstrates that the Bab el Mandeb chokepoint at the south end of the Red Sea has two gatekeepers.
Business Insider Africa published on 24 September 2026 an article titled "Rwanda's Most Important Bank Joins China's Payment Network as Africa's De-dollarisation Push Grows" by Chinedu Okafor.
Rwanda's Bank of Kigali has joined China's cross border payment network known as CIPS. This is one more indication that African banks are seeking to de-dollarize.
Aljazeera published on 24 September 2026 an article titled "Fighting Widens across Ethiopia as Tigray Clashes Escalate" by Faisal Ali.
Officials in Ethiopia's Tigray Region claim federal government troops have launched a "full-scale offensive" against it while the central government charges that the Tigray People's Liberation Front launched the attack. Whatever the case, the security situation in Tigray Region and neighboring territory has deteriorated.
The BBC posted on 23 September 2026 an article titled "South Sudan's President Dissolves Government Ahead of Country's First Elections" by Nichola Mandil, Akisa Wandera, and Allan Olingo.
South Sudan's President Salva Kiir dissolved the transitional government three months before the country's first election since its independence in 2011. Kiir removed the country's five vice presidents and dissolved parliament, national, and state governments. Kiir has no viable opposition in the December election.
The Club of Mozambique published on 22 September 2026 an article titled "Mozambique Wants to Revise Agreement with China to Strengthen Fight Against Timber Smuggling."
China imports 90 percent of Mozambique's exported timber. Restrictions on the export of raw logs continue to be ignored by timber smugglers. Mozambique wants to strengthen its agreement with China to reduce smuggling and encourage Chinese companies to process raw logs in Mozambique.
Aljazeera published on 22 September 2026 an article titled "Sudan's Historical Famine Echoes Through Latest Hunger Crisis" by Al-Noor Ahmed Al-Noor.
The on-going civil war in Sudan has plunged the country into one of its worst modern food crises, with conditions deteriorating sharply since 2024. Unlike historical famines in Sudan, the current one is man-made. The warring parties are using control over food supplies as a tool of war, while international funding fails to respond to current needs.
Modern Diplomacy published on 20 September 2026 a commentary titled "China-Africa Defense Ties Deepen after Beijing Security Forum" by Nadia Helmy.
The 4th China-Africa Peace and Security Forum took place in Beijing in mid-September. Military representatives and defense officials from the African Union and 41 African nations participated. The event reflects growing interest in security cooperation with China and diversification away from Western countries.
