The world of data distribution was transformed in April 2008 when two of the biggest names in the industry agreed to merge. So what are the implications of the merger on the competitive landscape? Writer Charlie Corbett.

Minister of post and telecommunications Licínio Tavares Ribeiro tells Charlie Corbett how he is sorting out the communications mess left by Angola’s civil war.

Angola’s central bank was faced with economic chaos at the end of the civil war in 2002. Inflation was rampant and the local kwanza currency was crippled. Charlie Corbett spoke to the bank’s governor in Luanda about rebuilding a shattered economy.

Strong growth and an influx of foreign players mean Angola’s fledgling banking sector is facing many new challenges. Charlie Corbett canvassed the chief executives of some of Angola’s biggest banks to get a taste of how the sector is developing.

The successful transformation of Egypt’s banking sector has hit trouble. Charlie Corbett reports on how global financial turmoil and soaring inflation have hit the banks’ consolidation efforts.

After six years overseeing the phenomenal growth of Angola’s economy, minister of finance José Pedro de Morais can look back on a job well done. He spoke to Charlie Corbett in Luanda about the country’s next phase of growth and the challenges that remain.

Angola has suffered death, displacement, conflict, poverty and hyper-inflation since gaining independence in 1975. But its brutal 27-year civil war ended in 2002 and a booming oil sector is helping the country transform itself. Charlie Corbett reports from Luanda.

The UK faster payments initiative is expected to revolutionise the way consumers and companies do business, and yet it was launched in May with little fanfare. Charlie Corbett explores the impact of the new system and why the trumpets were muted.

While Africa’s oil and mineral-rich western regions dominate the headlines, Mozambique has slowly but steadily been turning investors’ heads towards the continent’s east coast. Charlie Corbett reports.

As the rest of Africa ponders how to feed its inhabitants in the next few years, Zambia’s finance minister Ng’andu Magande tells Charlie Corbett that there is no food crisis in his country – but there are other obstacles to future prosperity.