Graphite Restart Watch: Total Graphite says infill drilling at its Vatomina graphite project in Madagascar strengthens the case for restarting mining, with a 19-metre intercept at 3.3% total graphitic carbon and a higher-grade 5-metre core at 6.82% TGC, plus signs the “Old Mine” extends east. Digital Finance for Women: AXIAN Group and the AfDB launched a programme to deliver digital financial services to 34,000 women-led businesses across Madagascar, Tanzania, Senegal, Togo and Comoros via MVola and Mixx, combining lending, alternative credit scoring and training to close a reported $49bn financing gap. Mobile Money & Identity Trust: Madagascar is highlighted for strengthening “trust architecture” for national digital ID, while broader Africa coverage points to identity and biometric systems as the next infrastructure layer for payments and verification. Clean Cooking Finance: Carbon credit-backed financing is expanding access to induction cooking across Africa, with households switching for lower costs and safer indoor cooking—an approach framed as a major bet for scaling cleaner energy. Petroleum Governance Move: Liberia’s regulator LPRA joined the African Petroleum Regulators Forum, underscoring a wider push for stronger oil and gas oversight across the region. Madagascar Spotlight in Global Media: AFP photographer Luis Tato won Visa d’Or for his coverage of Madagascar’s 2025 Gen-Z protests, keeping the country’s political and economic pressures in international focus.