A software developer in East Legon closes out August with three new client contracts and a waitlist. A guesthouse owner in Elmina closes out the same month wondering whether to lay off two of her four staff. Both are running real businesses in the same country, in the same quarter. The Ghana Statistical Service’s latest … Read more
Beatrice registered her import business in January. By June she had a shop in Kikuubo, three staff, and a supplier relationship in Guangzhou that took months to build. By November she had closed. Not because the products did not sell. They did. She closed because every time she checked her bank balance against what she … Read more
Two things happened to Uganda’s fish export market within weeks of each other. On 10 January 2026, the EU’s new digital CATCH system became mandatory for EU importers submitting catch certificates. On 28 January 2026, Uganda’s farmed fish sector was granted EU market access for the first time. Exporters who already had EU buyers are … Read more
The Dangote Petroleum Refinery IPO opened Nigeria’s capital market to retail investors in a way that has not happened before: a fully digital subscription process, built with diaspora and international access in mind from the start. But “digital” does not mean “frictionless.” Between BVN requirements, crypto network mismatches, and the gap between what a platform … Read more
A Lagos seller opens an Instagram page, posts a product, and takes her first order within the hour. She has an online business now. What she does not have yet is a clear answer to three questions: what did it actually cost her to get here, what does every naira collected really keep after payment … Read more