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Despite an Angolan-brokered ceasefire signed on 30 July between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda, rebels of the Alliance du Fleuve Congo and their M23 allies are moving north towards Butembo. Their advance along Lake Edward could reach the DRC’s Albertine Graben oil blocks, though these have been unlicensed for several years.

Africa-focused renewable developer Amea Power has announced significant milestones for two projects. The Dubai-headquartered firm has started construction work on a 24MWp PV plant in Uganda and signed a deal to add a further 30MWp of PV and 10MWh of storage to its already-operating 70MWp/5MWh Togolese plant.

Norway’s Scatec is selling a majority stake of its hydroelectric power joint venture with Norfund and British International Investment, which is involved in projects in Uganda, Malawi, and a trilateral Great Lakes development.

Another lesser-known UAE royal has turned up touting business in Africa, with RAK ruling family member Sheikh Ahmed Bin Faisal Al-Qassimi signing deals to develop cable manufacturing and smart electricity meter plants in Zimbabwe and an investment agreement in Uganda, writes Eleanor Gillespie.

Dubai Sheikh Mohammed Bin Maktoum Al-Maktoum’s Alpha MBM Investments has aligned with Abu Dhabi-based Venom Blockchain to develop central bank digital currencies and stablecoins in Uganda, Somalia and CAR, as the ambitious junior member of Dubai’s ruling family and interests in Abu Dhabi move further into African business.

While Gulf national oil companies like QatarEnergy and Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) have focused most of their attention on Africa's upstream oil and gas opportunities there are still openings for investors in Africa’s refining sector.

Solargen has commissioned a solar and battery energy storage system, bringing electricity to Uganda’s Bussi Island on Lake Victoria for the first time.

State utility Uganda Electricity Generation Company Ltd (UEGCL) has synchronised the sixth and final unit of the Karuma hydroelectric power plant to the grid.

The United Arab Emirates has stepped in to finance Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni’s long-desired oil refinery, as the UAE ramps up its sub-Saharan business activity. Junior foreign minister Sheikh Shakhbut Bin Nahyan Al-Nahyan has been making yet more visits around the continent, also taking in Democratic Republic of Congo and Angola’s Cabinda enclave in January.

It is unlikely electric cars will come to dominate African roads for decades, but in the likes of Kenya and Benin battery-powered buses, motorbikes and industrial vehicles could have a radical impact on urban environments and commercial operations. Investors are lining up to support e-mobility projects in the most attractive markets, but in many jurisdictions the lack of capital, infrastructure and policy support and the high cost of vehicles are holding back what could be a revolution, write Tonderayi Mukeredzi and Jon Marks.

UAE-based players have used COP28 to commit – and recommit – to projects that could supply over 12GW of renewables capacity across Africa. Emiratis argue this displays a willingness to push projects forward and shoulder risk, while others have failed to deliver – and if critics complain they are also prominent in the oil lobby, Abu Dhabi can counter that the UAE has assumed a leading role in enabling Africa’s energy transition.

Dodoma and Kampala have signed a bilateral agreement to jointly fund a feasibility study for a new pipeline to send gas from southern Tanzania to Uganda.

With first oil expected from Lake Albert by early 2026, an array of associated infrastructure is under development, including the controversial Eacop pipeline. Shunned by western financiers, Chinese debt is expected to rescue Eacop, with a financing package due to be finalised in the coming weeks. Kampala has also signalled its appetite to intervene in energy markets by taking a majority stake in the Kabalega refinery, writes Marc Howard in Hoima.

Were projects assessed solely on their economic and social impact, the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (Eacop) and Lake Albert would probably be widely praised. Uganda needs both the energy and investment the projects bring. But the projects have drawn fierce criticism from environmental campaigners and NGOs, in Uganda and beyond in a concerted, high-profile campaign that has registered successes.

With oil field developments proceeding at pace, the Kampala government has signalled its intention to play a more robust role in economic management, with plans to renationalise the electricity distribution network and take an expensive majority stake in the Kabalega refinery development. Meanwhile financing for the Eacop pipeline is expected to close soon, with Chinese lenders stepping in where western financiers have refused to go, writes Marc Howard, recently in Kampala and Hoima.