build

Somalia’s development bank taps Deloitte for first-ever audit as it pivots from aid to investment The Somali Development and Reconstruction Bank has hired Deloitte for its first external audit, a landmark step for the state-owned lender as it seeks to cement transparency, strengthen governance and attract global investor confidence. SDRB said the independent audit began in December and will culminate in a published report in early 2026. The engagement with Deloitte covers not only financial statements but also internal…

Monday December 15, 2025 Federal agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, including Homeland Security Investigations officers, stand outside a restaurant during an enforcement operation in Minneapolis, Minnesota. CREDIT: Councilmember Jason Chavez As ICE raids intensify in Minnesota, Somali families in Minneapolis’ Cedar-Riverside, along Lake Street and in Rochester are quietly drawing up “know your rights” plans—teaching children not to open doors to strangers, memorizing key phone numbers and gathering…

As AGOA’s clock runs out, U.S. influence in Africa faces a test After a quarter-century as the marquee U.S. trade tool for sub-Saharan Africa, the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) is poised to expire on September 30 — and with Congress preoccupied and polarized, the chances of a last-minute renewal look slim. The prospect is more than a technical lapse: it is a moment that forces a choice about how Washington wants to engage with a continent where other powers are already deepening economic ties. What AGOA has…

Ethiopia Bets on Homegrown Fertilizer as Dangote Signs $2.5 Billion Deal in Somali Region For a country where seven in ten people make a living from the land, the announcement landed with the weight of a good rain. Ethiopia will partner with Nigeria’s Dangote Group to build one of the world’s largest urea fertilizer complexes in Gode, in the Somali Regional State—an arid corner better known to many Ethiopians as a frontier than a factory town. The deal, framed as a bid for “food sovereignty,” is also a test of whether East…

Ethiopia's plan to build military bases in Red Sea ignites tensions with Egypt NAIROBI, Kenya - The duel between Addis Ababa and Cairo seems far from over, even as the two countries fight for the construction of the Grand Renaissance dam which Egypt wants to fill periodically contrary to Ethiopia's plans. And the battle may now have shifted towards control of the military in the region, with…

How Prime Minister Roble can construct confidence in Somalia's troubled insurance policies MOGADISHU, Somalia - From right this moment , Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble can have a serious process in bringing conflicting teams into Somalia's inner coverage when the nation returns to the negotiating desk, days after the collapse of essential negotiations on forthcoming elections. Surrounded…

Ocean Viking, the boat from the SOS Mediterranean organization, is conducting a new rescue campaign in the central Mediterranean. At sea, the ship rescued 796 people from Libya to Europe in January and February. RFI embarks on this mission. Every day we receive the logbook from our special correspondent. "Please play a game with me," Amias asks me. The 9-year-old boy points to two painted boards on the floor. Wooden puck acts as pawns. Amias has been aboard the Ocean Viking for three days: he has already had the…

MOGADISHU, Somalia - Tensions have continued to build at the Kenya-Somalia border near the fragile Gedo region following a diplomatic spit between the two countries, which was constructed by Jubaland's decision to refuse to hold national elections until the Somali National Army soldiers have been completely withdrawn, Voice of America reports despite ceasefire calls. The Somali federal government has already sent troops to the border town of Beled-Hawo, while forces from Somalia's Jubaland region, which has good…

It is a project that worries Benin and is unanimous in Nigeria. Last Wednesday, the Nigerian director announced that it had released pledges of $ 1.9 billion for the construction of a 250km railway line that will connect Nigeria to neighboring Niger. A project whose foundations were launched in 2015, but whose costs and real interest rates are discussed. The future railway line will connect the city of Kano in Nigeria with Maradi in southern Niger and pass through Jigawa, Katsina and Jibia. But the announcement of this…