Spotlight on Africa - podcast: Does the Africa Forward summit signal a fresh start for France on the continent?
This week, Spotlight on Africa takes you to the Africa Forward summit hosted by France and Kenya in Nairobi on 11 and 12 May. It marks the first time France has staged such an event in an English-speaking African country, and comes at a moment of change and challenges.
This new type of summit "illustrates the desire to diversify its alliances, in light of the recent diplomatic crises in the Sahel, by forging closer ties with East African economies," the Élysée press team said.
The event will bring together Presidents Emmanuel Macron and William Ruto, some thirty heads of state, as well as business leaders and investors from both continents, in Nairobi on 11 and 12 May, 2026.
The novelty is to bring in civil society and investors, and not to hold only high level political discussions, Pascal Confavreux, spokesperson for the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, told me on Wednesday (30 April).
"It's a hybrid summit, with a politics and security side, where heads of states will meet, but also an open forum."
The dual, complex organisation, led by both Kenya and France, will offer events where leaders of the private sector are invited, but also young people, artists and athletes.
A packed programme over two different days
Africa Forward will spotlight artificial intelligence and digital transformation ecosystems. Other key areas include health sector investments, local manufacturing of essential commodities, creative and cultural industries, as economic drivers and sports as an emerging frontier for investment and job creation. The energy transition, infrastructure development, regional connectivity systems, agriculture and food systems transformation will also be discussed.
The head of states summit on 11 May will see a series of high-impact engagements and panels take place, designed to drive both policy and people-to-people connections, most of them being held at the University of Nairobi.
The second day, scheduled for 12 May, at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre, will offer several highlights focusing on youth and on sectors of excellence, job creators and unifiers such as sport or cultural and creative industries. These events will be largely devoted to development financing issues and global challenges.
Overall, between 1,500 and 2,000 African and French leaders and decision-makers are expected, invited to participate in high-level discussions on high-potential sectors (energy, agribusiness, tech and AI, etc.) and to generate business opportunities.
"For President Macron, this summit embodies a new start," Confavreux told me. After a difficult period, where there were no France-Africa summits for several years, during Covid notably, we changed these old summit formulad, only between heads of states. Now, we want them to also be between peoples, and not only to address security issues."
A new formula for France
The President wants to show that France has shed its own past that has been analysed.
"He has already initiated reforms," Confavreux added, "such as the restitution of looted artworks and the reform of the CFA franc. He does not see himself as the inheritor of a negative past, but wants to embody a new generation with many shared interests, particularly concerning youth, culture, and the diaspora."
Confevreux points out that 7 million French people are connected to Africa in one way or another, from people of African descent to those married to Africans, or those born on the continent.
President Macron also reiterated his support for Africa to get two seats at the UN Security Council, and to reform the Bretton Woods institutions (the International Moneytary Fund and the World Bank) in favour of the continent.
The Élysée also stated that some conclusions from the Africa Forward summit will inform the preparation for the G7 summit, which France will host in Evian from 15 to 17 June.
For Roland Marchal, senior research fellow at Sciences Po Paris covering Africa, the importance of the event will have to be seen if the promises materialises though, especially in terms of investment and climate justice.
"We shouldn't make this summit as a kind of decision making moment. Global issues will be mentioned, discussed and reminded to the international arena. And this is important as such, especially at the moment when environmental issues are sidelined by new rhetorics by Donald Trump, on international conflicts such as what we witnessed in Gaza or Ukraine, and of course against Iran. Therefore, the simple fact that the conference pay attention on these issues is positive in itself," Marchal told me.
"But Macron may rhetorically commit some money for new climate climate initiative, yet, of course, this will be heard with some skepticism as, African rulers know very well that France is facing its own internal issues."
Marchal adds that William Ruto, the Kenyan president, has been a brilliant advocate of new environmental policies, and that's one of the reasons Kenya was selected as the location for this Africa - France summit, adding credibility to Macron's promises.
An opportunity for Kenya too
For Kenyan authorities, the Africa Forward Summit 2026 is an occasion to showcase as one of the largest Africa–Europe investment convenings in recent years.
Speaking during a press event, the Principal Secretary of State Department for Foreign Affairs, Dr. Korir Sing’Oei, emphasised the need to re-frame the Africa–France relationship in place of old stereotypes and barriers to progress that can limit innovation, constrain partnerships, and ultimately slow down development.
“France is looking for a new relationship with Africa, one that is grounded in mutual respect, shared opportunity, and practical outcomes. We must consciously move away from pre-written narratives that have historically defined this relationship. Africa Forward Summit is about breaking these barriers and focusing on solutions,” said Sing’Oei at a press briefing on 23 April.
France currently ranks as Kenya’s fourth largest foreign direct investment partner as well as the leading bilateral partner in Kenya’s energy sector.
Arnaud Suquet, Ambassador of France to Kenya, Somalia, highlighted France’s sustained commitment to Africa and Kenya.
“Over the past decade, French investments in Kenya have grown significantly, particularly in energy, infrastructure, and services,” said Suquet. "More than 140 French enterprises operate in Kenya. In the past decade, France has invested an estimated €1.8 billion in Kenya in sectors of employability and sustainability for a better future.
According to him, global convergence around key issues such as climate action, digital transformation, and sustainable development are constantly creating new opportunities for deeper Africa–France collaboration.
High expectations in Africa
In the rest of Africa, many voices have already raised interest, especially in Nigeria, where high level representatives are getting ready to travel to Nairobi.
"It's always good to have conferences move around and test what the audience wants," senior infrastructure investment expert Bowale Odumade, based between Lagos and Washington DC, told me.
With experience delivering over $10 billion in climate-resilient infrastructure projects across Africa, having worked in the USA, Nigeria, South Africa, Mauritania, Odumade thinks there are several plausible locations for these events, Nairobi being one of the obvious ones.
"It's a location that is a central hub for transport and logistics," she added. "It has a booming financial industry as well as a technology startup environment. And recently, the government has really started to implement quite a few initiatives relevant to this sort of summit in terms of capitalising private sector investments, with more sort of investments within the various key sectors such as agriculture, infrastructure, and really also harnessing the human capital, resources that Africa has significant a footprint in."
But for others, expectations are about concrete engagement, especially for climate resilience and justice.
Ignatius Juma, a Kenyan independent senior policy advisor, who has previously worked in favour of climate justice, told me that he will be following the Africa Forward Summit closely.
"It arrives at a consequential moment, when the gap between what African countries need on climate adaptation finance and what has been delivered is widening, not narrowing," he said. "Summits like this one are increasingly being judged on whether they close that gap or add to a long list of pledges."
Juma insists there is a need for propositions on energy transition financing, "particularly for countries caught between accelerating renewable buildout and still-unresolved legacy fossil dependencies," according to him.
He adds that there's a dimension that isn't on many summit agendas but absolutely should be: "the current Iran–USA conflict".
"Any escalation affects global oil prices, shipping routes, and the cost of refined imports into African markets," he insists. "That's not just a foreign policy story — it hits household livelihoods directly via transport fuel, food prices, and the operating costs of critical infrastructure."
Kenya's technology sector is booming, driven by digital innovation and artificial intelligence.
To tap into that growth, the French Embassy has launched French Tech Nairobi - a dedicated hub supporting local start-ups and new businesses, with ambitions to extend that backing across the wider continent:
Africa Forward Fest is the cultural festival organised at l'Alliance Française de Nairobi - the French cultural centre in the Kenya capital, ahead of the political and business forum 'Africa Forward'.
The festival showcases writers from all over Africa, creating stories in different languages.
Tracy Ochieng is a moderator at the Africa Forward Fest and hosted a session on Gen Z in Kenya, and another one with Eritrean author Donica Merhazion.
Donica Merhazion left Eritrea as a refugee for Kenya, lived later in the US, then came back to Kenya 15 years ago with her family. 'Born at the End of the World' is her first book.
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More soon on RFI English
Still reporting from Nairobi...
Yesterday's story:
Technology — and in particular digital innovation and artificial intelligence — is booming in Kenya.
To tap into that growth, the French Embassy has set up a dedicated hub called French Tech Nairobi, backing new businesses and start-ups locally, with an eye on expanding that support across the rest of Africa.
Brandon Opondo and Michael Mbae are two of the members. They studied in Paris at Sciences Po and now work back home in Nairobi.
More on our RFI English channels on Monday!
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Hello from Kenya!
I'm working on a first story on electric vehicles production in Nairobi, how it helps bringing cleaner transport in the city but also elsewhere in the country and beyond, in Africa.
I visited the headquarter of eWaka, met with its two co-founder, Celeste and Jimmy...
...as well as the large factory of Roam Electric, near Nairobi National Park.
Friendly, busy people, hard at work to change transport one vehicle at a time!
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More soon in my podcast, articles, videos for RFI English
What to expect from France's 'Africa Forward' summit in Nairobi, Kenya?
Explainer:
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Dear friends and readers,
Hope you’ve been well…
After Senegal, South Africa, Morocco, Côte d’Ivoire, my job is now sending me to Kenya, a place where I was a freelance correspondent over a decade ago, covering aso Uganda, Ethiopia and Somalia.
I learned a lot about how bias our western news cycles are, how enormous and diverse Africa is, how badly represented as well, and these lessons can impact anything we read and enlighten all our leaders decisions…
Yet, a lot has changed between 2012 and 2026.
As Macron’s France promises to be a new form of better partner for the continent, can it convince? Is it even needed?
Let’s dive… then look at other parts of the continent, and of the world.
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In this episode this week, we’re in London to talk about the history of African and Afro-Caribbean music in Britain. Centuries of Black music-making in the country is highlighted at the latest iteration of the world renowned Victoria & Albert Museum, the V&A East, which opened on 18 April in London's neighbourhood of Stratford.
The museum’s first exhibition, titled 'The Music is Black: A British Story', and offers a survey of Black music linked the UK, starting with early drumbeats brought back from Africa and going up to the latest innovations in popular music on the island.
Black British music takes centre stage as London's V&A East opens doors
From Africa to England, via the Caribbean and North America, black music also shows how the contribution of the people of African descent still resonates in the United Kingdom, from reggae to rap and grime, an East-London-born contemporary Black British musical genre that has enabled young people to create a sense of belonging, while connecting to a global audience.
In this episode you hear the director of the museum, Gus Casely-Hayford, about how he imagined a space that would attract visitors from all over the world, including from some of the most popular and multicultural parts of London.
Lovers rock, two-tone, rocksteady, dub, trip hop, garage, drill, dub, ska, drum & bass, jungle, grime... all these music genres emerged in the UK influence by African and Caribbean music after it had travelled to the West Indies and the British Empire in general, then came to the island, especially after WWI and WWII.
But the story began way before then, so, the genres presented in the exhibitions also include classical music, jazz, soul, funk and rock’n’roll.
You can here a longer interview with the head curator of exhibition, Jacqueline Springer, a former music journalist herself turned lecturer and events curator, about how she and her team organised a display that spans centuries of history, up to our days and the latest innovation in music, including the current exchange with African producers and songwriters.
"The stories in Act III are what inspired the title 'The Music is Black: A British Story'. This is the British story," said Springer.
For instance, the sound system culture from Jamaica and reggae came to Coventry and Bristol. "Then that's smoothed out for trip hop, which still has the ingredients of turn-tablism, of singing like lovers rock," Springer adds, "but there's a political undertone, but there's also an emotional interrogation."
The exhibition also shows how musicians from Nigeria, Ghana, Jamaica, Guyana and other former British colonies, found a place to produce their music in Britain, like Sade (born Helen Folasade Adu in 1959 in Ibadan in Nigeria), Seal, the Mad Professor (born in Guyana), or more recently Little Simz, Arlo Parks, Sekpta and Stormzy.
In the episode, we dig into the history of the genres invited outside London, like the Bristol sound, invented in the 1990s, with and around the rapper and producer Tricky, whose family members have roots in Jamaica, Africa and England
Finally, we also go to the city to hear how the producer Tim Norfolk, of the duo The Insects, is releasing a record produced there in 1994 with the late Zimbabwean singer-songwriter Biggie Tembo, leader of the then successful Bhundu Boys, never heard in over 30 years.
Spotlight on Africa is produced by RFI's English language service. Episode edited and mixed by Melissa Chemam and Erwan Rome.
The men of the Russian Africa Corps have now left Kidal, in the north, with their equipment and the city is under the complete control of JNIM and the FLA.
This move has not gone down well with a Malian official, who spoke to RFI's regional correspondent, Serge Daniel, calling it a "failure".
"The Russians betrayed us in Kidal," According to this official, who is claiming that the regional governor warned the Russian mercenaries "three days before the attack", but that "they did nothing."
In reality, they might even have already negotiated their departure.
In other northern locations, the Russians are also reportedly preparing to leave, which would further weaken regular Malian troops.
Swift withdrawal
The simultaneous attacks launched on Saturday by an alliance between JNIM (made of al Qaeda-linked militants) and separatist Tuareg rebels hit multiple targets including the capital's airport and the northern city of Kidal, a Tuareg stronghold.
While Russian paramilitary from the Africa Corps (ex-Wagner) were positioned in the city, they drove out in the desert, over a thousand kilometres away, instead of fighting the assaillants.
The mercenaries of Africa Corps then officially requested and received the green light from the new rulers of Kidal to leave the region, on Sunday.
This withdrawal further weakens the regular troops on the ground, and Kidal is now under rebel control.
The Tuareg had been driven out of the city in November 2023 by the Malian army with the help of similar Russian mercenaries, but had spent years trying to come back.
Russia's foreign ministry said that efforts to eliminate the insurgents were ongoing. But it remains unclear where the fighting leaves Russia's commitment to Mali.
Weak reassurances
Mali's current Prime Minister Abdoulaye Maïga addressed the nation on Monday in an attempt to reassure the Malian population two days after the attacks started.
He also paid tribute to Defense Minister Sadio Camara, killed Saturday in Kati, and asserted that the jihadists' plans had failed.
But the scale of the offensive on the multiple sites - around the capital Bamako and at least three towns across the vast West African country - demonstrated an unprecedented ability to coordinate fighters from different groups with different goals and strike at the heart of the military government, according to analysts.
The rather limited response from the Malian junta also causes concern in Mali. The head of the junta, Assimi Goïta, remains out of sight and silent, supposedly hiding in a secure location.
Jean-Hervé Jézéquel, director of the Sahel project at the International Crisis Group, told RFI that, even if it's necessary to protect the leader, rumours are growing on how the junta could survive the blow.
The attacks clearly demonstrate reach, Justyna Gudzowska, executive director of The Sentry, an investigative and policy group, also told Reuters. "(It) tells every Malian, every regional capital, and every foreign partner that JNIM can operate at will inside the supposedly secure heart of the state."
Threats to power
For now, the Islamists appear focused on consolidating their gains, recruiting fighters and gaining political traction in Mali - as Islamist rebels did in Syria - rather than carrying out attacks abroad or hitting foreign interests in the region.
Corinne Dufka, an expert on the Sahel region, said the weekend offensive had moved the needle on JNIM's military and political demands, exposed Mali's intelligence failures and the efficacy of its partnership with Russia, and also demonstrated the formidable military capacity of JNIM and its Tuareg allies.
"After nearly 20 years of military interventions by the US, French, European, African and Russian partners, the jihadists have only multiplied their areas of operation," Dufka told Reuters, adding that if the situation were to deteriorate and the jihadist groups veered from their current local agenda, they might eventually threaten countries beyond Mali's borders.
Yvan Guichaoua, a Sahel specialist at German research centre bicc, said the attacks on military and government targets were intended to "decapitate" leadership and paralyse the chain of command and decision making.
According to Dufka, JNIM appears increasingly inspired by Syria's transformation and is seeking to distance itself from its al Qaeda core and "terrorist" label by governing with parallel systems of justice, taxation and policing in areas it controls.
As a result, she urged international actors to find ways of engaging in some kind of dialogue. "There appears to be no military solution to this conflict," she said.
(with Reuters)
My latest:
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| Tuareg rebels of the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA) coalition ride on the back of a pickup truck in Kidal, on April 26, 2026 - AFP |
Gunfire was still heard all of Sunday in Kati, a military stronghold for the junta, near the capital, Bamako.
In addition to General Sadio Camara, the junta's Defence Minister, several other people were killed.
According to RFI's information from our regional correspondent, Serge Daniel, at least one civilian was found dead near the northern entrance to the city later on Sunday.
The regional al Qaeda affiliate, Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin, known as JNIM, cooperated with a Tuareg-dominated rebel group to carry out these simultaneous attacks in over half a dozen places across the country, as confirmed officially by both groups.
"The events represent the most coordinated offensive in Mali in recent years, involving fighters from the al-Qaeda-affiliated Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) and Tuareg-led rebels from the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA), who have simultaneously targeted multiple highly strategic locations, including Bamako, Kati, Mopti, Sévaré, Gao, Bourem, and Kidal," Heni Nsaibia, the Senior West Africa Analyst at ACLED (Armed Conflict Location & Event Data), said.
"What stands out is not only the scale, but the deliberate selection of targets, he added. "Kati and Bamako are the heart of the regime, making any militant advances there particularly significant."
Kati is still reeling from the attacks. The assailants used a truck packed with explosives to attack, striking the minister's house and neighbouring homes, including a nearby mosque.
In the north of the country, the city of Kidal has fallen back under rebel control.
These had been driven out in November 2023 by the Malian army and Russian mercenaries, but had spent years trying to come back.
The Russian mercenaries of Africa Corps (ex-Wagner) requested and received the green light on Sunday from the new rulers of Kidal to leave the region.
This withdrawal further weakens the regular troops on the ground.
The populations, for their part, are worried about potential added violence and fear even greater instability.
The African Union (AU) Commission Chairperson Mahmoud Ali Youssouf on Saturday expressed "deep concern" over the attacks. The chairperson is closely following security developments, and "strongly" condemned these acts, "which risk exposing civilian populations to significant harm."
The European Union and the West African regional body Ecowas also condemned these attacks, as well as neighbouring Senegal's President, Bassirou Diomaye Faye.
According to Étienne Fakaba Sissoko, academic and spokesperson for the Coalition of Forces for the Republic (led by Imam Mahmoud Dicko, currently in exile in Algiers), "the junta is disoriented," as he told RFI's Christophe Boisbouvier. "We don't know who is ruling Mali."
"For several years now, we've been saying that the military strategy implemented by the transitional government was flawed," Sissoko continues.
"A purely military approach hasn't yielded tangible results in recent years, and outsourcing the country's security to Russian mercenaries was a danger that needed to be avoided. So, we weren't listened to. And now, unfortunately, the consequences of the government's strategy are being felt on the ground."
General Sadio Camara was the one who had worked to bring Wagner to Mali. He had studied in Russia and spoke Russian.
"He was also the main person responsible for the events of 21 May, 2021, when the second coup took place, therefore he was an important link in the junta's apparatus," the academic added.
Meanwhile, there has been no news of the junta's leader, General Assimi Goïta.
"What is clear is that his silence demonstrates how disoriented he is, how disoriented the government is, and that the country is now adrift, in a state of utter desolation," Sissoko concludes.
The country is currently facing a very uncertain future, with a potential partition of the north, and no real executive power in charge.
"We don't know who is governing; we don't know who is in charge, who is making the decisions, and how it all works," Sissoko underlines.
He also insists that there is a real risk of increased jihadist violence, and insists that "the junta must leave in order to open up new perspectives."
In Kati, economic activity is slow to resume. For a trader in the city's main market, the situation is not reassuring, as the markets remain closed and traders still live in fear.
"We were scared. They started early in the morning. No one dared to go outside. The noise of the explosions was so loud that everyone stayed indoors," he told RFI, anonymously.
Locals then heard that some of the terrorists had escaped. Between Saturday and Sunday, the night was peaceful, but early Sunday morning, the grunfire started again.
"Now things are slowly calming down, but the market is still closed," the trader continues. "No shopkeeper has dared to open their store. No one has gone to the market. People are only just starting to venture out of their homes to go for a walk in town."
Fifteen kilometers away, calm reigns in Mali's capital, Bamako. But people worry.
In Mopti, in the centre of the country, anxiety prevails too, even though activities are gradually resuming, locals told RFI.
Inhabitants urge the military authorities to do everything in their power to restore peace and security to the people of Mopti.
The nationwide spread and importance of the locations attacked point to a "coordinated attempt to seriously challenge state authority", ACLED's
Nsaibia said, at both the centre and the periphery, and potentially to undermine the regime’s hold on power.
"While JNIM and the FLA appear to have gained momentum, the situation remains highly fluid and rapidly evolving."
The attacks represent "a major escalation in the conflict, a new stage reached by armed groups in the strategy that has driven them in recent years to attack Mali’s main urban centres", International Crisis Group also said.
Whether the Malian armed forces and their Russian partners can regain control will be essential—not only militarily, but for the survival of the regime in Bamako, Nsaibia concludes.
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Read also:
Why the Sahel is now the world’s deadliest region for terrorism
Fears for the future in Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso over Ecowas withdrawal
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Spotlight on Africa: Africa faces security worries
