Libya’s NOC Chairman Masoud M. Suleman to Speak at LEES 2026
Masoud M. Suleman, Chairman of Libya’s state-owned National Oil Corporation (NOC), will participate as a speaker at the Libya Energy & Economic Summit (LEES) 2026, scheduled for January 24-26, 2026, in Tripoli. Under Chairman Suleman’s leadership, the NOC has embarked on a strategic revitalization of Libya’s oil sector. As of early January 2026, Libya’s production has stabilized at 1.38-1.4 million barrels per day (bpd), with a target of 1.6 million bpd by the end of 2026. “We are honored to welcome Chairman Masoud M. Suleman as a keynote speaker at LEES 2026,” states James Chester, CEO, Energy Capital & Power. LEES 2026 offers a premier platform for partnerships, innovation and sector growth.
Source:The North Africa Journal
January 08, 2026 01:59 UTC
Age of Agility: Key Themes Shaping the MENA Region in 2026
The capacity to sustain and replenish air defense interceptors almost certainly influenced Israeli and the US strategy during the June war. Both governments have recognized AI and data center development as core components of their economic diversification plans. The growth of Saudi Arabia’s data centers is anticipated to support broader Vision 2030 infrastructure objectives, particularly in constructing and expanding desalination plants necessary for cooling. Substantial investments in AI and data centers also come with risks from technological and security perspectives. The ongoing technological rivalry and strategic competition between the US and mainland China is likely to influence GCC access to critical technologies.
Source:The North Africa Journal
January 07, 2026 19:18 UTC
Mitra Article on Trump’s 2025 Trade Policy Published on Moneycontrol.com
“Trump trade policy in 2025 didn’t work as it ignored Economics 101,” written by Professor of Economics Devashish Mitra, was published on Moneycontrol.com. Following is an excerpt:On April 2nd, 2025, which he called Liberation Day, Trump announced “reciprocal tariffs” on imports from every nation. India was slapped with a 25% “reciprocal tariff,” even though its own overall trade-weighted average tariff was 12%. And, finally, there has been no attention to the basic accounting identity that a current account (trade) deficit is always accompanied by a capital account surplus of the same magnitude. Thus, the attractiveness of American financial assets can drive a capital account surplus, and, thereby, a trade deficit.
Source:The North Africa Journal
January 07, 2026 19:10 UTC
Early hominins from Morocco reveal an African lineage near the root of Homo sapiens – Popular Archeology
Published in Nature, this work highlights African populations near the base of the lineage that eventually gave rise to Homo sapiens, providing new insights into the shared ancestry of H. sapiens, Neandertals, and Denisovans. A uniquely well-dated hominin assemblage in AfricaDating Early and Middle Pleistocene fossils is notoriously difficult, due to discontinuous stratigraphies or methods affected by considerable uncertainty. The Grotte à Hominidés is exceptional because rapid sedimentation and continuous deposition allowed capture of a high-resolution magnetic signal recorded within sediments with remarkable detail. It is chronologically valuable that the sediments containing the hominin fossils were deposited precisely during this transition. Paleontological evidence from the Grotte à Hominidés aligns most closely with the older part of this interval.
Source:The North Africa Journal
January 07, 2026 18:32 UTC
Morocco Expands Green Hydrogen Development amidst Infrastructure & Regulation Challenges – The North Africa Post
Morocco’s National Electricity Regulatory Authority expanded its mandate in December 2024, extending beyond electricity sector regulation to encompass strategic sectors including hydrogen, as the kingdom advances its green hydrogen industry development leveraging renewable energy resources and strategic geographic positioning. The Authority monitors economic, regulatory, and technological hydrogen developments nationally and internationally, presiding since 2023 over the green hydrogen task force within Medreg, the Mediterranean energy regulators association. However, Green hydrogen development’s impact on electrical systems figures among identified primary challenges. In fresh water-scarce regions, green hydrogen production may require seawater desalination, an energy-intensive process further pressuring electrical systems. The report underscores strategic importance of green hydrogen production unit location choices, conditioning transport infrastructure needs for electricity or hydrogen.
Source:The North Africa Journal
January 07, 2026 16:32 UTC
Egypt’s Business For Teens raises 6-figure pre-seed funding to expand across Egypt, GCC
Egypt’s Business For Teens, an education startup focused on teaching entrepreneurship and financial literacy to teenagers, has announced the successful closure of a six-figure pre-seed funding round to support its growth and expansion across Egypt and the Gulf region. The funding round comes on the back of strong early traction. The company has also organised multiple student bazaars and exhibitions, where young participants showcased real business projects to hundreds of visitors, turning learning into tangible, real-world experience. The investment will be used to expand operations, enhance programme offerings, and deepen partnerships with schools and educational institutions. This funding round enables us to scale our impact to thousands of teens across Egypt and the region, and to form strategic partnerships with schools and institutions,” said Barakat.
Source:The North Africa Journal
January 07, 2026 11:21 UTC
Small Business Support Program Approves 89 Projects Worth $128 Million – The North Africa Post
Investment Minister Karim Zidane announced that 89 investment projects totaling over 1.28 billion dirhams received approval under the very small, small, and medium enterprise support framework launched six weeks ago. The figures were presented by the official during a parliament question time on business support mechanisms and investment promotion. The government continues deploying business support mechanisms combining basic support with targeted assistance for strategic enterprises and small businesses, Zidane emphasized, noting these mechanisms have generated unprecedented investment momentum in Morocco. The objective involves achieving 100% completion and finalizing remaining initiatives during the current year to complete roadmap implementation. Regional investment centers received responsibility for supervising dedicated small business support framework deployment.
Source:The North Africa Journal
January 07, 2026 11:17 UTC
Senior HSBC executive Sabrin Rahman joins Human Planet as partner
Sabrin Rahman** For the best experience, download the free Africa Private Equity News app Android | iOS **Human Planet, an impact investing advisory firm, has appointed Sabrin Rahman as partner focusing on the Middle East and North Africa. As the former Managing Director – Head of Sustainability for HSBC covering Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, and Turkey, Rahman led major sustainable finance and philanthropy initiatives, helping mobilise billions of dollars in capital towards climate and just-transition goals for over 14 years. “As we widen our global presence, the Middle East and North Africa present a powerful opportunity to design and deploy impactful financial solutions at scale,” said Florian Kemmerich, Managing Partner at Human Planet. Across the Middle East and North Africa, Human Planet aims to:Design and structure scalable financing vehicles aligned with regional and national priorities such as the Saudi Vision 2030 and UAE Net Zero 2050. Get Africa Private Equity News’ monthly Dealmaker’s Log – a database of reported investment deals, exits, and fundraising closes.
Source:The North Africa Journal
January 07, 2026 10:58 UTC
In South Sudan, young musicians refuse to let war divide them
Independent since 2011, South Sudan has been riven by violence for most of its brief history. Why We Wrote This In South Sudan, young people have grown up in the shadow of war and ethnic conflict. After a long civil war with the northern part of the country, South Sudan became independent in 2011. “Once the external enemy [Sudan] was removed, they turned on each other,” explains Daniel Akech, a senior analyst for South Sudan with the International Crisis Group. “Life in South Sudan is very difficult because things these days [have] become very expensive,” she explains.
Source:The North Africa Journal
January 07, 2026 10:20 UTC
North Africa: Egypt's Tactful Ai Partners With Consumer Finance Firm Valu
Egypt-based Tactful AI has partnered with consumer finance company Valu to improve customer engagement across Valu's digital platforms, as financial firms in the region invest in automation and data-driven service tools. Founded by Mohamed Elmasry, Mohammad Hassan, and Sherif Khairallah, Tactful AI provides a unified customer experience platform that allows businesses to manage customer interactions through a single dashboard. Under the partnership, Valu will use Tactful AI to unify and automate customer interactions across WhatsApp, its website, mobile application, and social platforms. Tactful AI was founded in Egypt and acquired in 2022 by European communications company Dstny. Valu is one of Egypt's largest consumer finance platforms, offering buy-now-pay-later and credit products across retail and digital channels.
Source:The North Africa Journal
January 07, 2026 03:22 UTC
AFCON 2025: Morocco’s security expertise sparks FBI’s interest – The North Africa Post
Morocco’s General Directorate of National Security (DGSN) has received an official delegation from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) as part of a visit focused on security arrangements for the Africa Cup of Nations 2025, currently being held in the Kingdom. The FBI delegation, led by Douglas Olson, Director of Operations at the Field Intervention Services Division, and Kevin Kowalski, Deputy Director of the Emergency Response Group, is visiting the Kingdom from January 4 to 6. The FBI delegation’s program began with an on-site visit to Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat during the Morocco–Tanzania match played on Sunday. The FBI officials also visited the African Security Cooperation Center, which serves as a coordination hub between Moroccan security services and police representatives from participating African nations. There, they reviewed the center’s operational model and technical resources and took part in a working session assessing security arrangements for the Morocco–Tanzania fixture.
Source:The North Africa Journal
January 07, 2026 03:04 UTC
The Sahel is the Epicenter of Jihadist Expansion in Africa
The Sahel is the Epicenter of Jihadist Expansion in AfricaIs Africa the next caliphate? There is no doubt that the heart or focus of the spread and expansion of radical Islamic organizations is clearly the Sahel countries. Everyone can see that radical Islamic groups are currently making an effort to spread throughout West Africa and the Gulf of Guinea nations of Benin, Togo, Nigeria, Ghana, and Senegal. Jihadist movements, previously limited to the Sahel region, are now gradually launching incursions into coastal countries. Its capture immediately created an international coalition to drive the Islamic State group from the city in 2014 and 2015.
Source:The North Africa Journal
January 07, 2026 02:45 UTC
Algeria’s slogans go silent after Maduro’s fall – The North Africa Post
Two days after the US arrested and flew Venezuelan autocrat Nicolas Maduro to New York, Algeria went mute as stone, unable to condemn or express solidarity with its ally. Maduro had met Tebboune in Algiers in 2022 and vowed to foster their alliance, coordinate in oil markets and open a direct air route. The two leaders indulged in cold-war era rhetoric voicing similar positions on the Palestinian issue and the Polisario separatist agenda. As Maduro braces for indictment in a US court, talkative Tebboune suddenly discovers the virtues of silence. Algeria discovered through its allies that the myths of “invincible armies” have evaporated in a single afternoon.
Source:The North Africa Journal
January 06, 2026 19:49 UTC
Africa Now a Global Hub for Transnational Crime
After many years on the periphery of transnational crime, Africa has become a global hub and destination point for trafficking in drugs, natural resources and weapons. Porous borders, underfunded law enforcement, government corruption and chronic instability have contributed to Africa’s increasing prominence in global transnational crime, according to researchers with the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime (GI-TOC). In the Africa Organised Crime Index 2025, GI-TOC researchers studied changes in a mix of crimes between 2019 and 2025. Following the so-called Southern Route, traffickers bring their drugs into Africa through Indian Ocean ports in Kenya, Mozambique, South Africa and Tanzania. With high-profile conflicts roiling Somalia and Sudan, East Africa leads the continent and the world in weapons trafficking, according to GI-TOC.
Source:The North Africa Journal
January 06, 2026 19:01 UTC
Algeria seem to be the crowd favourites
Algeria are through to the AFCON 2025 quarter-finals after a last-gasp win against DR Congo. Sub Adil Boulbina’s stunning strike with one minute left of extra time sealed a dramatic late victory. After prevailing in a tight round of 16 contest, Algeria will play Nigeria in the last eight on Saturday. Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso are contesting the final last-16 tie, which you can follow live here.
Source:The North Africa Journal
January 06, 2026 17:15 UTC