The most important developments in sub-Saharan Africa. Six days a week.
Prime Meridian Docks Ghana reached financial close on 10 November for a $137 million floating dry dock and ship repair yard at Takoradi port, at a ceremony attended by President John Mahama. The yard will service vessels up to 200 metres long under a 25-year concession from the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority, and its first phase is due within 18 months. Equity comes from the Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG) and the ARM-Harith Infrastructure Fund; lenders led by the African Export-Import Bank include the African Development Bank. Ships working in the Gulf of Guinea now sail to Walvis Bay or Las Palmas for dry-docking, so the yard could keep repair spending and foreign currency in the region.
Sudan has lifted the ban on Kenyan tea imports it imposed in March 2025, President William Ruto announced on 11 November. Trade and Industry Minister Mahasin Ali Yaqoub signed the order on 8 November, after Ruto held talks with Prime Minister Kamil Idris at a regional summit in Harare. Khartoum banned the tea after Nairobi hosted meetings at which the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and allied groups signed a charter for a parallel government. Sudan bought 15.9 million kilograms of Kenyan tea worth $29.6 million in 2023, Business Daily reported, citing official data, and reopening that market supports Kenyan growers and exporters. The decision also shows Sudan's army-led government easing its trade pressure on Nairobi.
Kenya's Konza Technopolis Development Authority and local firm SecureKE launched a shared security operations centre on 10 November to monitor clients' systems, detect threats and respond to cyberattacks. Small businesses, savings cooperatives and government departments can buy the service for about 200,000 shillings ($1,500) a year instead of building their own centres, a model Togo adopted earlier with Cyber Defense Africa. Kenya recorded about 2.7 billion detected cyber threat events between July and September, 14.45% more than in the previous quarter, according to the Communications Authority. Pooled monitoring brings professional protection within reach of smaller firms that handle digital payments, but its impact depends on how many agencies and companies sign up.
Equatorial Guinea's Vice-President Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue has ordered a study on refining part of the country's crude in other African countries instead of importing petrol and diesel, the government said on 11 November. The study, with state oil company GEPetrol and the hydrocarbons and finance ministries, will use crude from the Zafiro and Ceiba fields and calculate how much is needed to cover a year of domestic demand. It follows repeated fuel shortages that have hit drivers, transport firms and businesses, and earlier orders to expand storage and study a national refinery. Refining abroad could secure supply faster than building a plant, but only if tolling and transport costs beat import prices.
