The Rio Times Africa Intelligence
Monday, October 12, 2026
By Matthias Camenzind, Publisher
Nigeria's OPay files for a New York IPO and plans a Lagos listing
OPay, the Nigerian mobile-payments and lending app, filed on Friday 9 October with the US Securities and Exchange Commission to list on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol OPAY. Its filing says revenue rose to US$536.3 million in 2025 from US$205.7 million a year earlier, and 88.1% of it came from Nigeria. The same filing says its board and shareholders approved a second listing in Lagos, which would come only after New York. It gives no price range and no dates. For US investors, it would be a direct way to hold Nigeria's digital economy in dollars.
Bank Account in Nigeria for Foreigners — What the BVN Rule Really Requires in 2026
Inside: The number the counter asks for first · Biometrics ask you to be standing there · The card that unlocks the rest of the file.
Also in today's brief
Ethiopian Airlines resumed Mekelle flights on Sunday 11 October, the first in nearly three weeks
Togo goes to the IMF and World Bank meetings in Bangkok with more than US$800 million of financing at stake
Ghana's president says Washington wants to review the rejected US$109 million health deal
Kenya has found no new Ebola case since 6 October, and 108 of 122 listed contacts are in quarantine
Rwanda's urban inflation rose to 17.2% in September from 15.7% in August
The state of the continent
If you missed the last few days
On Thursday we led with Ethiopia's call for Eritrea to pull its troops out of Tigray, on Friday with Guinea-Bissau's doubts about its 6 December election, and on Saturday with a drone strike near a displacement camp in Sudan. Today we turn to money and Washington, while the Ethiopian story moves from demands to flights landing in Mekelle.
Good morning. The IMF and World Bank Annual Meetings open today in Bangkok and run to Sunday 18 October, and African finance ministers will be queuing for time with lenders. Togo arrives with more than US$800 million of IMF and World Bank financing at stake, the government's official news portal says, including about US$100 million of its IMF loan that has not yet been released.
In the Horn, Ethiopian Airlines resumed flights to Mekelle on Sunday 11 October, the first in nearly three weeks. Traders on the prediction market Polymarket put the chance that Eritrea invades Ethiopia by 31 October at 18.5%, and by 31 December at 32.5% (12 October, 2:21 a.m. ET, about US$91,000 traded). Those are bets, not forecasts.
In Nigeria, President Bola Tinubu said on Sunday that a new World Bank report confirms his reforms are working. The bank says the economy grew 4.2% in the first half of 2026, up from 3.9% a year earlier. Nigeria votes for president on 16 January 2027.
Why it matters: In our reading, the common thread is Washington's pull: African governments and companies are courting or contesting US decisions on capital, trade and aid. For US investors, the nearest exposures are a possible New York listing of a Nigerian payments app, South Africa's duty-free access under AGOA (the African Growth and Opportunity Act), and the Red Sea route if Ethiopia and Eritrea clash directly. Two things would change the picture: a price range for OPay, and a US decision on AGOA, which a South African union expects by 1 November. Not known: whether the fighting in Tigray has really ended, and when Togo's last IMF payment will be released.
African currencies & commodities
Per US dollar, Friday 9 October close. Reference: EODHD.
BIRR · ET
160.7
little changed
POUND · EG
52.37
unchanged
RAND · ZA
16.51
firmer by 0.6%
OIL · BRENT FUND
US$63.99
BNO, up 0.55%
NAIRA · NG
1,331
little changed
SHILLING · KE
128.86
little changed
CFA FRANC · XOF
583
euro peg
GOLD · GLD FUND
US$384.58
up 1.6%
Where the regions stand
East AfricaRwanda's urban inflation rose to 17.2% in September from 15.7% in August, the national statistics office says, with food prices up 5.3% in the month. Tanzania expects the road to Barrick's Bulyanhulu gold mine, now 89% complete, to be finished in December, Habari Leo reported.West AfricaGhana's bank assets reached GH¢500.2 billion (about US$42.4 billion) at the end of August, up 20.47% in a year, while the share of unpaid loans fell to 15.66% from 20.77%. Niger's junta has raised about US$122 million for security since October 2023, mostly through levies on wages, firms and fuel.North AfricaEgypt's annual urban inflation eased to 13.9% in September from 14.5%, although vegetable prices jumped 15.1% in one month. Morocco's Socialist Union, with 26 of 395 seats, agreed to join the new government, which still needs a vote of investiture in parliament.Southern AfricaForeign contractors did E6.13 billion (about US$371 million) of construction work in Eswatini in 2025/26, the Times of Eswatini reported. They ran 4.5% of registered projects but held 54.5% of the total value.
The big moves · two stories that travel
Ghana's president says Washington wants to review the US$109 million health deal Accra rejected › President John Mahama told a town hall in Goaso on Saturday 10 October that the United States has reached out to review the five-year aid compact. Accra turned it down six months ago over terms on pathogen data, medical records and medicine inspections. The US Embassy says aid is tapering and engagement remains open. Washington has not publicly confirmed any request, so the next step is unknown.
A South African union asks two coalition parties to declare a dispute over US ties › Solidarity, a trade union, wants the Democratic Alliance and FF Plus to challenge the government's handling of Washington. Its chief executive, Dirk Hermann, expects a US decision on AGOA trade benefits by 1 November and says up to 250,000 jobs depend partly or fully on the law. AGOA gives eligible African countries duty-free access to the US market for many goods. No public reply from either party was reported.
Expat & living
Kenya reports no new Ebola case since 6 October › Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale said on Sunday 11 October that 108 of 122 listed contacts are in quarantine and none has shown symptoms. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention rates the risk to Americans as low, and its US entry limits for non-US passport holders cover travellers from Congo, Uganda and South Sudan, not Kenya. If you fly into Nairobi, expect health screening and allow extra time.
A bridge collapse cuts the direct road to two Bwindi gorilla sectors › The River Mucha Bridge in Kisoro District gave way, and a dirt diversion through Rubuguri adds 30 to 45 minutes. No repair date has been announced. If you hold a permit for Rushaga or Nkuringo, ask your lodge to confirm the transfer time.
Kenya warns 1.5 million people are at risk from El Niño rains › The weather service expects above-average rain from October to December in much of the country, and Nairobi, Kisumu, Busia and Mandera top the watch list. If you travel in the rainy season, plan for road delays and flooded routes.
Money, markets & business
Egypt's state-owned Banque du Caire plans to list 30% of its shares in November, subject to approval
The World Bank's private-sector arm targets at least US$300 million of investment in Tunisia this year
Canada's Inkas is in advanced talks on an armoured vehicle plant near Casablanca
The state and its citizens
Ethiopia named 62 state ministers and a new head of its investment commission on 10 October
The Gambia's main opposition party says it will sue the electoral commission over voter data
The wider world, from our desks
Our Global Economy briefing for Monday 12 October · Key market events for the week of 12 to 16 October
Also from our newsroom
We publish the LatAm Market Brief each morning from this same desk, and The Week every Sunday, with both regions in one read.
Today: Mexico's Puerto Vallarta airport stays shut until Tuesday as Hurricane Simon passes ›
Matthias Camenzind
Publisher, The Rio Times
