Sustainable

For decades, France and all of Europe have been key partners, providing diverse development support for Africa. But the time has indeed changed. With the heightening of geopolitical threats and tensions, France struggles to sustain its presence in Africa, targeting to increase its business profile by leveraging the Anglophone community of potential investors in the forthcoming investment conference in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, located in East Africa. The France-backed and organized conference marks a distinctive commitment to expanding financing across the continent.

According to authentic reports, Kenya and France will co-host the ‘Africa Forward Summit’ in Nairobi on May 11–12, under the theme ‘Africa-France Partnerships for Innovation and Growth,’ marking the first time this summit is held in an English-speaking African country. President Emmanuel Macron and President William Ruto will lead the summit, focusing on economic partnerships, digital innovation, green industrialization, and global financial reform.

Details of the summit are listed as follows:

Significance: The move signals a shift in France’s Africa strategy beyond Francophone regions. It highlights Kenya’s role as a major diplomatic and regional hub.

Key Topics: Discussions will cover sustainable finance, energy transition, health, agriculture, and AI, aiming for an action-oriented approach to economic growth.

Attendees: Over 30 heads of state and 2,000 CEOs/business leaders from France and Africa are expected to attend.

Structure: The event includes high-level state meetings, a business forum to explore investment, and a sports segment.

Objective: To strengthen the Africa-France partnership and reform global financial architecture to ensure better access to capital and signify a new, balanced economic relationship between the two regions.

French corporate executives are also stepping up their engagement in Africa’s innovation economy, eyeing the wide investment landscape through a new ‘Global Gateway Strategy’ with the EU allocating €300 billion ($340 billion), signaling a deepening of financial ties with Africa. Ready-made funds are a contributing capital to support early- and growth-stage startups, which reflects a broader shift in how European investors view long-term business with Africa today. 

While France indicates a long-term potential driven by demographics, digital adoption, and expanding urban markets, African entrepreneurs are increasingly positioning themselves to take advantage, teaming up for development priorities, innovation expertise, financial support, and France’s investment strengths. What is important here is that the May conference would offer insights into the growing appetite for Link-Up Africa and signal the involvement of French financial institutions and the expected roles in supporting economic diversification across Africa’s emerging markets.

Malawian President Lazarus Chakwera has acknowledged the drastic changes, proposing a shift from an aid-driven relationship, at least, to win-win investments that are more purposeful, describing it as a new level kind of partnership. “We are saying economic integration on the continent should be prioritized as much as we have bilateral agreements with external nations outside the continent,” Chakwera said. “We need also to find mutual ways of facilitating the implementation of development projects, progressive ways of trading, and attractive policy approaches with the involvement of European investors in economic sectors in Africa.” 

President William Ruto and French President Emmanuel Macron both acknowledged the strategic pathway with a focus on unlocking Africa’s development potential, driving sustainable industrialization, and targeting economic growth across Africa. Harnessing the untapped resources and utilizing the huge human resources is France’s priority in consolidating the existing bilateral engagement and collaboration.

In a statement, President Ruto underlined the summit reflects a shared commitment to strengthening bilateral ties and deepening multilateral cooperation to advance global goals. Ruto further described the summit as part of the renewal of relations between France and Africa, emphasizing genuine partnerships and shared progress. The agenda will focus on key areas including reform of the international financial architecture, energy transition, green industrialization, the blue economy and connectivity, artificial intelligence, sustainable agriculture, and health. It will spotlight the role of young entrepreneurs, civil society, and international organizations in shaping solutions to pressing global and regional challenges.

In addition, the European Union countries are increasingly strong economic partners for many African countries. It therefore behooves African leaders and business people to necessarily explore available possibilities and windows that have been opened. The EU has unveiled a €300 billion ($340 billion) alternative to China’s Belt and Road Initiative—an investment program the bloc claims will create links, not dependencies.

In an official document, it said the European Commission is broadly examining the following:

– Support AfCFTA implementation and the green transition;

– Improve the trade and investment climate between the EU and Africa;

– Reinforce high-level public-private dialogue;

– Enhance long-term dialogue structures between EU and Africa business associations;

– Unlock new business and investment opportunities, including in the areas of manufacturing and agro-processing as well as regional and continental value chain development.

It is further included in the joint communication of the European Commission (EC) entitled “Toward a Comprehensive Strategy with Africa,” which sets forth what the EU plans with Africa. The Joint EU-Africa Strategy takes into cognizance the most common interests, such as climate change, global security, and the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Just as China, India, and the United States do, so also France and other European countries are exploring emerging opportunities offered by the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which provides unique and valuable access to an integrated African market of 1.4 billion people. In practical reality, it aims at creating a continental market for goods and services, with free movement of business people and investments in Africa.

Analysts, however, say deepening economic partnership and investment ties between Europe and Africa could rapidly change the landscape in Africa. But challenges significantly remain, particularly the official state bureaucracy combined with infrastructure and security in the continent. France has currently broadened its scope, moving more toward Anglophone African countries and courting them with trade and investment. According to source EU data 2024, aggregate trade was €355 billion between Europe and Africa.

According to Isabelle Herbert-Collet, a customer insights and market expert, a new approach must factor in what she referred to as “local exchange” in the new relationship. “It’s not only about investment; it is about imagining the right products and services and simply facilitating the intercultural exchange,” she said.

Looking ahead, France intends to capitalize on Africa’s most transformative economic sectors and make strategic moves by collaborating, as mutual partnership remains dynamic and adaptable. Despite growing geopolitical tensions, France’s approach and its long-standing ties still offer an alternative partnership model that many African leaders find very appealing. 

The challenge for the future will be to ensure these ties evolve in ways that serve Africa’s development needs while navigating the increasing complexity of global politics. As Africa is indiscriminately open for business, on May 11-12, African and French heads of state and government meet together to chart a new path for innovation, growth, and mutual cooperation. Kenya will hold this investment summit for France to position Africa as a key partner in innovation and economic development while strengthening bilateral ties with France and advancing further Africa’s collective agenda on the international stage.

The simple answer is that the top management of Aston Martin and Audi have felt things were not working at various junctures and decided to act.

As far as Audi is concerned, it was clear some time ago that not enough investment was being put into Sauber early enough for the team to be in good shape when Audi officially entered F1 in 2026.

Andreas Seidl, the first chief executive officer, had been concerned about that for a while, and there was a bit of a power struggle between him and Oliver Hoffmann, the chairman of the boards of all Sauber companies, through 2023 and 2024.

It was expected one would win out. In the end, Audi decided to remove them both, and appoint Mattia Binotto and Jonathan Wheatley in a dual leadership role, Binotto as chief operating and technical officer and Wheatley as team principal.

Many in F1 raised their eyebrows at that – dual leaderships rarely work. Add in that at Audi there was another senior figure, in chief executive officer Adam Baker, and many felt the leadership of Audi looked unwieldy.

So it was not a massive surprise when that structure was streamlined, with Baker removed, and Binotto made head of the Audi F1 project under Audi CEO Gernot Dollner.

That was supposed to be that. Binotto was in overall charge, Wheatley ran the race team.

But when Wheatley decided that he wanted to come back to the UK, his talks with Aston Martin leaked, and he and Audi agreed to split with immediate effect.

As for Aston Martin, Lawrence Stroll is an ambitious man, he wants success, and he has invested a lot of money in it.

So it’s hardly a surprise that, when he feels things are not working, he takes action.

All the changes he has made have seemed logical on one level or another. There was clearly a problem with car design – after they made a big leap forward in 2023 under new technical director Dan Fallows, the team failed to develop the car effectively in season. They started 2024 less competitively and fell backwards again.

At the same time, Stroll was recruiting Newey. Why wouldn’t he, given he was available having left Red Bull? And with Newey on board, and the team stumbling under Fallows, it’s hardly a surprise Fallows would be considered surplus to requirements.

Same with the leadership. Mike Krack became team principal but the team was not moving in a convincing direction. Hence Stroll looked for change. Andy Cowell is highly regarded; his recruitment made sense.

Stroll would not have expected a clash between Cowell and Newey, but he got one, so another change was made.

Each change is understandable in isolation. But success in F1 is founded on stability not disruption and there has been little evidence of that at either team for the past two or three years.