Global powers are increasingly holding summits with Africa, recognizing its economic potential and resource wealth. Japan pioneered this approach with the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) in 1993, inspiring similar summits.

“Japan has an ageing population but is cash rich. African countries are often young, fast-growing economies, but lack capital. In that regard, it is without doubt a great partnership,” Emma Ruiters, a senior analyst at the Tony Blair Institut, notes.

Absa Group, a Pan-African lender, expects a big rise in trade finance revenue due to their new office in Beijing, China. This office will advise Chinese corporations on trade finance, foreign exchange, and cross-border payments.

Absa aims to double their trade finance contribution from the China-Africa corridor in the next few years. They will focus on documentary trade products and see potential in both state-owned and commercial clients.

This comes as China is shifting its focus in Africa from infrastructure projects to trade.

Singapore has overtaken China as Nigeria's top import partner for the first time in at least 16 years. This is due to a surge in imports of military equipment from Singapore, likely due to Nigeria's ongoing security challenges. However, experts believe that China is likely to reclaim its position as Nigeria's top importer in the long term, due to its significant manufacturing output.

Standard Chartered predicts a potential increase in China's lending to Africa for the first time since 2016, driven by pledges for projects like renewable energy and gas. Although below the 2016 peak, new lending is expected to target countries that haven't borrowed much before. This development, amid a global rise in interest rates, could provide relief to African nations facing challenges in international capital markets. China is likely to focus on francophone West African nations, Tanzania, Uganda, Nigeria, and Egypt, emphasizing private sector investment.

Bilateral trade between Africa and China is estimated to have reached a record $300 billion in 2023.

Amid China's economic slowdown, Southeast Asian companies are exploring investments in African markets for growth and new opportunities, according to Arsjad Rasjid, Chairman of the ASEAN Business Advisory Council. While acknowledging the impact of China's slowdown on the region, Rasjid sees it as an opportunity to focus on nontraditional markets, with Africa being a key target due to its large population. Rasjid highlights the need for ASEAN to assess demand and invest in African infrastructure to facilitate efficient trade. Some Southeast Asian companies, like Indofood and Mega Lifesciences, are already active in Africa.

Singapore-based start-up, Galamad Aerospace, founded by Malawian-born Christopher Luwanga, says it has secured US$1.05m in pre-seed financing to design and build satellites. Luwanga, who did his PhD research in space weather modelling at Nanyang Technological University (NTU), plans to engineer the satellites in Singapore and manufacture them in Malawi.

Jamil Idris Abubakar, a 41-year-old farmer from Jigawa State in northern Nigeria, has been in the sesame-seed business for more than three decades. His four farms span 50 hectares that yield up to 600 metric tons of sesame each year. Five years ago, he started selling crops to Robust International, a Singapore-based agricultural company that deals in specialty crops such as cashews, sesame, and ginger, primarily in Africa and Asia. Robust also gives Idris Abubakar access to a storage warehouse that helps keep his crops from spoiling, a major issue in Nigeria that accounts for roughly five percent of its greenhouse-gas emissions

In the late afternoon of Jun 27, Singaporean Simon Ting wound down his day in a nondescript warehouse at the foot of a dusty slope in Kigali, Rwanda, an east African nation more than 8,000km away.

A big part of the warehouse was filled with neat rows of metal racks, lined with dozens of batteries being charged. A smaller and more haphazard section contained motorcycle spare parts. Mr Ting's desk, spartan with only a laptop, is tucked away in a corner.