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Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana Coordinate Cocoa Strategy
With cocoa prices down more than 56% year on year while chocolate prices continue to rise, Presidents Ouattara and Mahama have agreed to coordinate farm-gate prices and align crop calendars across the two countries, which together produce around 60% of the world’s cocoa. Cameroon and Nigeria have been invited to join. Producer alliances in cocoa and coffee have historically struggled to hold once higher prices created incentives to sell outside agreed arrangements.
Customs data also showed Côte d’Ivoire exported a record 44,403 tonnes of cashew kernels in the first 5 months of 2026, making it the world’s second-largest kernel exporter. A decade ago, most of that crop left the country unprocessed for shelling in Vietnam and India.
De Beers to Pause Venetia Production
De Beers plans to pause production at its Venetia mine in Limpopo for two years as it cuts costs amid continued weakness in the rough diamond market. The company will also rephase spending on the mine’s underground operation, a $2.2 billion project completed in 2023 that extended Venetia’s life into the 2040s. Venetia produced 2.23 million carats in 2025, around 10% of De Beers’ global output and approximately 40% of South Africa’s annual diamond production. The mine employs about 4,400 people, with any job impacts subject to consultation.
The move reflects continued pressure across the diamond industry, with Petra Diamonds’ Finsch mine already in business rescue. Rather than expanding production, South Africa’s diamond sector is increasingly focused on preserving the viability of existing assets.
Flutterwave Brings Stablecoins Closer to the Settlement Layer
Flutterwave has secured a strategic investment from Circle Ventures to support the integration of USDC settlement across its 34 African markets. The announcement follows Visa and M-Pesa’s stablecoin pilot in the Democratic Republic of the Congo last month.
Stablecoins are increasingly being positioned as part of the settlement layer that moves money between financial institutions rather than simply another payment option for consumers.
Telecel Looks Beyond Africa
Telecel Group has submitted a bid worth up to £450 million for TalkTalk’s wholesale business in the United Kingdom. If successful, the acquisition would give the African telecommunications group ownership of fixed-line infrastructure serving British operators.
Transactions of this kind suggest that, in some parts of the sector, capital is beginning to move in both directions.
African telecommunications groups have spent decades attracting foreign investment. Increasingly, some are accumulating enough scale to become overseas investors themselves.
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