Uganda has entered the decisive final phase of its latest Ebola response after discharging the last patient from treatment, triggering the internationally recognised 42-day countdown that must elapse before the country can be declared free of the outbreak.

The milestone marks a significant public health achievement. It also offers hope for sectors of the economy that have borne the cost of the outbreak, particularly aviation, tourism, cross-border trade and international travel.

Health Minister Dr Chris Baryomunsi announced that the last patient had been discharged exactly two months after Uganda declared an outbreak of the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola on May 15.

Of the 20 confirmed cases recorded during the outbreak, 18 patients recovered while two died. However, the Minister cautioned that Uganda has not yet reached Ebola-free status.

“Discharging the last patient does not mean Uganda is now Ebola-free. According to international guidelines, once the last patient is discharged, we begin the countdown,” he said.

If no new infections are detected over the next 42 days—equivalent to two Ebola incubation periods—Uganda will officially be declared free of the disease.

Although the outbreak remained relatively contained, its economic impact extended well beyond the health sector.

Several countries issued travel advisories warning their citizens about travel to Uganda, affecting tourism, business travel and investor confidence during the outbreak.

The United States was among the countries that advised travellers to exercise heightened caution, reflecting the broader reputational risks that accompany Ebola outbreaks regardless of their actual scale.

Uganda’s aviation sector also absorbed significant disruption.

Authorities effectively suspended cross-border movement with the Democratic Republic of Congo, the source of most confirmed infections, forcing Uganda Airlines to suspend its Entebbe-Kinshasa service.

The national carrier also experienced reduced traffic on its Dubai route after visas previously issued to travellers from Uganda were cancelled by authorities in the United Arab Emirates, disrupting passenger demand on one of the airline’s key international services.

For airlines, tourism operators and exporters, the start of the 42-day countdown provides the first realistic timeline for restoring normal travel patterns.

Imported outbreak, limited transmission

According to the Ministry of Health, the outbreak remained largely an imported event.

Dr Baryomunsi said 15 of the 20 confirmed cases involved Congolese nationals who were not resident in Uganda. The remaining infections included four health workers who contracted the virus while treating the index patient before Ebola had been confirmed, and a driver who transported one of the patients.

Importantly, health authorities succeeded in preventing widespread community transmission.

After the initial infections, no further transmission occurred within healthcare facilities, a development officials attribute to rapid case identification, isolation and strengthened infection prevention measures.

Officials say Uganda’s response demonstrates the value of sustained investment in epidemic preparedness.

The Ebola Treatment Unit at Mulago National Referral Hospital managed 18 patients during the outbreak, with 17 surviving.

Dr David Kaggwa, who heads the Emergency Medical Team, credited multidisciplinary care involving clinicians, nurses, nutritionists, psychosocial specialists and other healthcare professionals for the high recovery rate.

The World Health Organization described the outcome as evidence that preparedness saves lives.

WHO Country Representative Dr Kasonde Mwinga said Uganda’s pre-positioned medical supplies, trained emergency teams and specialised treatment facilities enabled a rapid response that limited fatalities and interrupted transmission.

The outbreak recorded a case fatality rate of below 10 percent—one of the lowest documented in Ebola response efforts.

Final hurdle

While the discharge of the last patient marks a major milestone, health officials warn that vigilance remains critical throughout the 42-day observation period.

Any confirmed case would restart the countdown.

For Uganda, therefore, the coming six weeks represent more than a public health benchmark. They are the final step towards restoring international confidence, normalising regional travel and allowing sectors affected by the outbreak—from aviation and tourism to trade and investment—to resume full operations.

If the country successfully completes the countdown without another infection, Uganda will not only close another Ebola chapter but reinforce its growing reputation as one of Africa’s most experienced responders to infectious disease outbreaks.

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The busiest air route in Africa carried just 3.4 million passengers in 2025.

That distinction belongs once again to the Cape Town-Johannesburg corridor, according to the latest World Air Transport Statistics (WATS) released by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) today.

On the surface, it is an impressive figure. But beneath the headline lies one of African aviation’s deepest contradictions. A single domestic corridor linking Cape Town and Johannesburg moves more passengers than the entire aviation markets of many African nations—a reminder that Africa’s challenge is not population, but the concentration of economic activity and the absence of broad-based air connectivity.

A continent of nearly 1.5 billion people still generates remarkably little air traffic compared with other regions, depriving airlines of the passenger volumes needed to sustain profitable operations, finance fleet expansion and lower ticket prices.

The Cape Town-Johannesburg route remains Africa’s commercial aviation powerhouse, connecting South Africa’s two largest economic centres with 3.4 million passengers during 2025. Yet globally it barely registers alongside the world’s busiest domestic corridor between Jeju and Seoul, which handled 13.3 million passengers—almost four times Africa’s busiest route.

The comparison is revealing in a number of ways. Air transport is fundamentally a volume business. Airlines become commercially stronger when they can spread fixed costs across millions of passengers. High-frequency domestic and regional routes generate the traffic that keeps aircraft flying, crews productive and airport infrastructure fully utilised. Those same volumes make it possible to expand international services and invest in newer, more fuel-efficient aircraft.

Africa lacks that critical mass. Despite accounting for almost 18 percent of the world’s population, the continent contributes only a small fraction of global passenger traffic. Most African countries have relatively small domestic markets, while cross-border travel remains constrained by restrictive bilateral air service agreements, visa requirements, high airport charges, taxation and fragmented aviation markets.

The result is a vicious cycle. Limited passenger numbers force airlines to spread operating costs across fewer travellers, making African airfares among the highest in the world on a per-kilometre basis. Higher fares, in turn, suppress demand, leaving aircraft flying with lower load factors and reducing the commercial viability of new routes.

The IATA World Air Transport Statistics report underscore this imbalance.

Elsewhere, domestic markets continue to anchor aviation growth. Asia-Pacific dominated the world’s busiest airport pairs in 2025, with every one of the global top ten routes operating within national borders except the Jeddah-Riyadh corridor in Saudi Arabia. Even Latin America’s busiest domestic route between Bogotá and Medellín carried 3.5 million passengers, narrowly exceeding Africa’s busiest connection despite serving a much smaller regional population.

The data reinforce an uncomfortable reality that Africa’s aviation challenge is not primarily a shortage of aircraft but a critical shortage of traffic.

That makes implementation of the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM) increasingly urgent. Liberalising market access, removing regulatory barriers and improving regional connectivity would allow airlines to stimulate demand rather than compete over a limited pool of passengers.

The report also shows the global industry continuing to modernise. New-generation aircraft such as the Airbus A350 and Boeing 787 Dreamliner recorded strong growth in utilisation during 2025, while the Airbus A320/321 family with 12.9 million flights and the Boeing 737 family with 10.8 million flights, remained the world’s workhorse.

African airlines are gradually joining that transition, but fleet modernisation alone will not transform the industry’s fortunes.

For governments investing billions in airports and national carriers, the real objective should be creating dense, connected markets that generate sustainable passenger volumes. Viable airlines are built not simply by owning aircraft, but by ensuring enough people have both the freedom and the economic means to fly.

Until Africa unlocks that demand, its aviation industry will continue to punch well below the weight of its population—and the Cape Town-Johannesburg route will remain a reminder of both the continent’s progress and its unrealised potential.

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United Airlines is extending the battle for premium passengers beyond business class, unveiling a new Economy Plus seating concept that offers travellers something airlines have rarely provided in economy cabins: more personal space without paying for a premium cabin.

The U.S. carrier announced that all 50 of its new Airbus A321XLR aircraft will feature a dedicated Economy Plus row where the middle seat is permanently removed and replaced with a shared table, creating additional elbow room for passengers seated at the window and aisle.

The product, which goes on sale later this year ahead of the aircraft’s commercial introduction, underscores a broader shift in airline strategy as carriers seek new ways to increase revenue while responding to changing passenger expectations on longer narrowbody flights.

The innovation comes only weeks after United unveiled its United Relax Row, an economy seating concept on selected Boeing 787 and Boeing 777 aircraft that converts an entire row into a lie-flat surface, scheduled to enter service in early 2027.

“We’re investing nose-to-tail across our fleet and giving customers choice and value in every cabin,” said Andrew Nocella, United’s Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer.

Unlike traditional economy seating, the new arrangement leaves the middle seat permanently vacant, replacing it with a fixed table finished in a leather-like material complete with integrated cup holders.

Passengers will also retain the additional three inches of legroom already offered in Economy Plus, effectively creating a hybrid product positioned between standard economy and premium economy.

Industry analysts say the concept reflects a growing recognition that comfort has become an increasingly important differentiator as airlines deploy narrowbody aircraft such as the Airbus A321XLR on transatlantic and other medium-haul international routes lasting six to nine hours.

Rather than relying solely on business-class upgrades, airlines are increasingly introducing intermediate products designed to appeal to leisure travellers and cost-conscious business passengers willing to pay modest premiums for additional comfort.

The A321XLR Changes Airline Economics

United’s latest innovation also highlights the strategic importance of the Airbus A321XLR, one of the aviation industry’s most closely watched aircraft.

The long-range narrowbody enables airlines to operate thinner international routes that would be uneconomical with larger widebody aircraft while offering passengers a cabin experience approaching that of long-haul jets.

United’s configuration includes 32 premium seats—double the number found on the Boeing 757s the aircraft will replace—including all-aisle-access Polaris business suites with privacy doors.

Every passenger, regardless of cabin, will have access to 4K OLED entertainment screens with Bluetooth connectivity, larger overhead bins and redesigned cabin interiors.

The airline expects to begin domestic A321XLR operations later this year before launching international services in early 2027.

A Broader Industry Trend

United’s move reflects an industry-wide shift towards product segmentation, where airlines increasingly monetise comfort rather than simply adding more seats.

As aircraft technology allows airlines to fly longer routes with single-aisle jets, passenger expectations are evolving, particularly on journeys lasting several hours.

The introduction of products such as the Economy Plus open-seat concept and the Relax Row suggests airlines now see significant commercial opportunities in creating new categories between standard economy and premium cabins.

For passengers, the result could be more choice—and potentially greater comfort—without the price tag associated with business class.

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By James Sserumaga

Uganda’s bancassurance industry is emerging as one of the strongest drivers of insurance penetration and financial inclusion, demonstrating remarkable growth as more individuals and businesses seek protection against an increasingly complex risk environment.

According to the latest industry performance report, Uganda’s 22 licensed bancassurance providers generated more than UGX 80.8 billion in Gross Written Premiums (GWP) during the first quarter of 2026. Equity Bank Uganda ranked fourth in the market, generating UGX 6.69 billion in premiums and capturing an 8.28 percent market share.

These figures reflect a broader shift in how Ugandans view insurance. Increasingly, insurance is no longer regarded as a product purchased only after a loss occurs. Instead, it is becoming an integral part of financial planning, helping individuals, families and businesses safeguard their future while recovering more quickly from unexpected setbacks.

Whether the risk arises from a medical emergency, an accident, business interruption, property damage, theft or cyber threats, insurance provides the financial resilience needed to preserve livelihoods, protect investments and sustain growth.

One of the key factors driving this transformation has been the rapid growth of bancassurance — the distribution of insurance products through banks. By bringing insurance closer to customers through institutions they already trust, bancassurance is helping overcome many of the barriers that have historically constrained insurance uptake, including limited access, low awareness and perceptions that insurance is complicated or only relevant to high-income earners.

The industry’s first-quarter performance illustrates this growing importance. Of the UGX 80.81 billion generated through bancassurance, UGX 62.89 billion, representing 78 percent, came from life insurance products, while UGX 17.92 billion, or 22 percent, was generated from general insurance. The trend suggests that both households and businesses are increasingly prioritising financial protection as part of their long-term planning.

For Equity Bank Uganda, bancassurance is more than an additional banking service. It is a strategic component of our broader mission to promote financial inclusion by helping customers not only build wealth but also protect it.

At Equity Bank Uganda, we believe that protecting what matters is just as important as creating wealth. Insurance enables customers to manage risk, absorb shocks and recover from unexpected events without losing years of financial progress.

Our own first-quarter performance reflects this growing demand. Of the UGX 6.69 billion generated in premiums, UGX 4.94 billion, representing 74 percent, came from life insurance products, while UGX 1.75 billion originated from general insurance solutions. This growing demand demonstrates that customers increasingly recognise the value of protecting income, assets, businesses and family wellbeing.

Over the past four years, Equity Bank Uganda has expanded access to insurance through its branch network, relationship managers, digital banking channels and the growing Equi-Duuka agency banking network. This integrated model allows customers to access insurance alongside savings, lending, payments and investment services, creating a more holistic approach to financial wellbeing.

Equally important has been the role of customer education. Insurance remains one of the least understood financial products across many developing markets. Yet as financial literacy improves, more customers are beginning to appreciate that insurance is not merely an expense but an investment in stability and resilience.

Today, customers require protection across a broad range of needs. Entrepreneurs seek cover for business assets and operations. Contractors require protection against project-related risks. Schools want safeguards for learners and staff. Families increasingly prioritise medical and life insurance to protect household finances.

To meet these evolving needs, Equity Bancassurance offers a wide range of solutions, including medical, life, personal accident, motor, property, burglary, fidelity guarantee, machinery breakdown, professional indemnity, contractors’ all-risk, public liability and specialised business risk protection products.

Demand is also growing among corporate clients. As Uganda’s economy becomes more sophisticated and interconnected, businesses are increasingly seeking comprehensive risk management solutions covering areas such as professional liability, cyber security, property protection, business interruption and employee medical benefits. These products are becoming essential tools for strengthening governance, protecting investments and enhancing organisational resilience.

Importantly, the role of banks in insurance distribution extends beyond policy sales. Financial institutions have a responsibility to help customers understand risk and make informed decisions about protecting their financial future. The objective is not simply to increase insurance uptake, but to improve financial security and economic resilience across households, enterprises and communities.

Looking ahead, technology is expected to accelerate the next phase of growth. Digital banking platforms, customer analytics and integrated financial ecosystems are making it easier to provide personalised insurance solutions that align with customers’ life stages, financial goals and risk profiles. Insurance is increasingly becoming a seamless component of the overall banking relationship rather than a standalone purchase.

The broader implication is significant. Bancassurance has the potential to play a central role in expanding insurance penetration across Uganda by leveraging trusted banking relationships to reach millions of customers who may otherwise remain underserved.

Financial wellbeing should not be measured solely by the ability to accumulate wealth. It should also be measured by the ability to protect it.

As Uganda’s bancassurance industry continues to mature, the opportunity before us is clear: to make financial protection more accessible, more affordable and more relevant to the needs of ordinary Ugandans. By doing so, we can help individuals, families and businesses build greater resilience, pursue opportunities with confidence and contribute to a more secure and inclusive economy.

 James Sserumaga is the Head of Bancassurance, Equity Bank Uganda

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Michael Wakabi

When Girma Wake accepted the challenge of steering Uganda Airlines through one of the most critical phases in its young history, he chose silence over headlines.

Since assuming office as Acting Chief Executive Officer, Africa’s most accomplished aviation executive has largely stayed out of the public spotlight. That changed this week with the publication of his CEO’s Note in the third quarter of the airline’s Ng’aali in-flight magazine.

On the surface, Flying Forward: A New Chapter for the Crane appears to be a routine welcome message to passengers. Read more carefully, however, it is something far more consequential: the first public articulation of Wake’s leadership philosophy and a roadmap for what could become the most significant strategic reset since Uganda Airlines was revived in 2019.

Unlike the optimistic rhetoric that has often accompanied discussions about the national carrier, Wake begins with an unusually candid acknowledgement.

“Confidence in the institution among passengers, staff and the wider public has been tested.”

For a state-owned airline that has weathered boardroom upheavals, executive turnover, procurement scrutiny and persistent questions over its commercial sustainability, that single sentence is perhaps, the clearest acknowledgement yet from the airline’s leadership that restoring credibility has become as important as opening new routes.

The statement also reveals a fundamental shift in priorities. For much of its existence, Uganda Airlines has measured success through visible milestones: the acquisition of aircraft, the launch of new destinations and the restoration of Uganda’s place on the global aviation map. Wake’s message suggests a different sequence -before growth comes governance.

Instead of promising rapid expansion or imminent profitability, he anchors his vision on four principles: operational integrity, accountability, the right leadership for the long term, and a strategy worthy of Uganda’s potential.

Those are not random management buzzwords. They correspond almost exactly to the areas in which observers have argued Uganda Airlines must improve if it is to mature into a commercially sustainable flag carrier.

The emphasis is hardly surprising coming from a man whose career helped shape Ethiopian Airlines into Africa’s most successful aviation enterprise.

Wake’s six decades in aviation—including his tenure as Chief Executive of Ethiopian Airlines between 2004 and 2011 and later as Chairman of the Ethiopian Airlines Group—were defined less by dramatic announcements than by disciplined execution. Under his leadership, Ethiopian Airlines expanded into a global network carrier while maintaining one of the continent’s strongest operational and financial records.

His philosophy has always been that profitability is the outcome of sound governance rather than the starting objective. That thinking permeates every paragraph of his message.

He speaks directly to pilots, engineers, cabin crew and frontline staff, acknowledging the burden they have carried through uncertain times. Rather than presenting leadership as authority, he frames it as service.

“I am here to serve alongside you, not above you,” he writes. That sentence may prove just as significant internally as his admission about public confidence. Airlines succeed or fail not simply because of aircraft or route networks, but because thousands of employees consistently deliver safe, reliable operations every day.

The timing of the message is equally significant. Uganda Airlines is entering its most ambitious expansion programme since its revival. Following the launch of direct services to London Gatwick, the airline is preparing for a major fleet expansion that includes Boeing 787 Dreamliners, additional narrow-body aircraft and dedicated cargo freighters.

That expansion will inevitably increase financial commitments, operational complexity and public scrutiny.

Wake appears to recognise that acquiring more aircraft without strengthening institutional discipline would simply magnify existing weaknesses.

Perhaps the most refreshing aspect of his message is what it deliberately avoids.

There are no grand declarations that Uganda Airlines will soon become Africa’s leading carrier. No sweeping projections about passenger growth. No promises of instant transformation.

Instead, Wake repeatedly returns to patience, discipline and consistency.

“We are not yet the airline we intend to become,” is an admission that meaningful institutional change cannot be achieved through publicity campaigns or ambitious procurement programmes alone.

Whether this philosophy translates into measurable results will depend on execution. Uganda Airlines still faces the difficult task of improving yields, strengthening its balance sheet, expanding commercially viable routes and demonstrating that public investment is generating sustainable returns.

But the significance of Wake’s first public statement lies less in the specific initiatives he outlines than in the culture it seeks to establish.

For years, Uganda Airlines has largely been defined by the politics of reviving a national carrier. Girma Wake is signalling that the next chapter must be defined by something different – the discipline of building a commercially credible airline.

If his words become reflected in boardroom decisions, operational performance and financial outcomes, this modest CEO’s note may one day be remembered not as a welcome message to passengers, but as the document that marked the beginning of Uganda Airlines’ institutional transformation.

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Uganda’s next generation of innovators is entering the decisive phase of the Stanbic National Schools Championship, with judges beginning nationwide appraisal visits to assess whether student-led innovations can move beyond classroom concepts into commercially viable solutions.

The assessments, which began this week, will evaluate projects developed by 12 regional finalist schools and six student-led enterprises ahead of the Championship’s grand finale scheduled for August.

Unlike traditional academic competitions, the Stanbic National Schools Championship measures how effectively students identify real-world challenges and develop practical, market-oriented solutions, reflecting Uganda’s growing emphasis on innovation-led entrepreneurship under the competence-based curriculum.

This year’s appraisal process follows an intensive entrepreneurship bootcamp hosted at Gayaza High School in May, where hundreds of student innovators refined their business ideas before the field evaluation phase.

According to Stanbic Bank, the judges are now assessing not only the technical quality of each innovation but also its potential social and commercial impact.

“We see this programme as our contribution to building Uganda’s next entrepreneurs, employees and leaders,” said Diana Ondoga, Manager Corporate Social Investment at Stanbic Bank.

She said the appraisal visits are designed to determine whether students are applying creativity, critical thinking and technology to solve genuine community problems rather than merely producing exhibition projects.

One of the first innovations to be evaluated came from Kyebambe Girls’ Secondary School in western Uganda, where students developed an automated smart irrigation system capable of monitoring irrigation needs and sending alerts to farmers. The project demonstrates how emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence, are increasingly finding their way into student-led agricultural solutions.

“This is exactly the kind of innovation we want to see. Young people are developing practical solutions using technology to address challenges within their communities,” Ondoga said.

The Championship has evolved significantly since its launch in 2016.

In a major shift this year, Stanbic Bank replaced its previous teacher-training model with a nationwide innovation challenge that engaged 913 schools directly. Schools were required to work with learners to develop solutions to practical community problems before the selection process for the bootcamp.

The new approach dramatically expanded the programme’s reach, with Stanbic estimating that up to 95 percent of participating schools benefited from entrepreneurship and innovation learning, regardless of whether they progressed to the regional finals.

Education stakeholders increasingly view such competitions as complementing Uganda’s competence-based curriculum, which prioritises Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), innovation, collaboration and problem-solving over rote learning.

Kyebambe Girls’ Secondary School Headteacher Ruth Kwesiga said participation in the Championship has transformed the way students approach learning and innovation.

She noted that the school’s automated irrigation system had demonstrated sufficient practical value that she hopes to adopt it for her own farming activities.

The finalists reflect a broad cross-section of innovations targeting some of Uganda’s most pressing development challenges.

Projects under consideration include converting plastic waste into construction materials, AI-powered livestock disease detection, affordable poultry feed production, smart recycling technologies, post-harvest storage systems, conservation technologies, wearable healthcare devices for women and low-cost agricultural equipment designed for smallholder farmers.

The diversity of the innovations illustrates a growing shift in secondary education from theoretical science projects towards solutions with commercial potential and measurable social impact.

As appraisal teams continue visiting schools across the country, the competition is increasingly serving as a platform for identifying innovations that could eventually progress beyond the classroom and contribute to Uganda’s broader industrialisation and entrepreneurship agenda.

The winning projects will be unveiled during the Stanbic National Schools Championship grand finale in August.

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Africa has overtaken every other region in the world as the leading hotspot for iGaming fraud, with fraud rates now standing 66 percent above the global average, underscoring the growing cybersecurity and identity verification challenges facing one of the world’s fastest-growing online gaming markets.

The findings are contained in the Sumsub iGaming Fraud Report 2026, which analysed more than three million fraud attempts and millions of identity verification checks conducted between 2024 and the first quarter of 2026.

According to the report, Africa’s iGaming fraud rate reached 2.54 percent in the first quarter of 2026, significantly exceeding fraud levels recorded in Europe, Latin America, North America and the Asia-Pacific region. After easing during 2025, fraudulent activity rebounded sharply this year, making Africa the largest contributor to the global rise in online gaming fraud.

For East Africa, however, the picture is mixed.

While Kenya and Uganda registered declining fraud trends towards the end of 2025, suggesting that anti-fraud measures may be gaining traction, fraud levels remain relatively high. Malawi emerged as one of Africa’s highest-risk markets, recording a fraud rate of 4.7 percent, the fourth highest on the continent.

The regional differences indicate that fraud risks are evolving differently across African markets, requiring operators to tailor fraud prevention strategies to local conditions rather than relying on continent-wide approaches.

Globally, the report found that fraud rates increased by nearly 18 percent year-on-year, while suspicious financial transactions surged more than fourfold. The average value of suspicious transactions also climbed to more than USD6,500, reflecting the growing sophistication and financial scale of organised fraud networks.

“Africa’s rapid digital adoption, growing online gaming sector and expanding access to financial services have created enormous opportunities for operators, but they have also attracted increasingly sophisticated fraud actors,” says Jarryd Jensen, Regional Director for Southern Africa at Sumsub.

Perhaps the report’s most significant finding is the changing nature of identity fraud across Africa.

Unlike Europe, where forged identity documents remain a major threat, 97 percent of fraud detected on the continent is intercepted during facial biometric, or liveness, verification. This indicates that fraudsters are increasingly using genuine stolen identities rather than counterfeit documents to open gaming accounts.

The trend points to a growing reliance on identity theft, with criminals exploiting personal information obtained through data breaches, phishing attacks and other illicit channels before attempting to bypass digital verification systems.

The report also highlights the increasing role of artificial intelligence in enabling fraud at scale.

According to Sumsub’s iGaming Product Evangelist Kris Galloway, fraudsters are increasingly deploying AI-generated faces, manipulated identity documents, synthetic identities and automated application processes to overwhelm verification systems.

“AI dramatically lowers the cost and effort required to commit fraud at scale, and professional fraud groups are already taking advantage of it,” he said.

Among African countries, Côte d’Ivoire recorded the continent’s highest fraud rate at 7.8 percent, followed by Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Malawi and the Democratic Republic of Congo. South Africa recorded one of the sharpest deteriorations, with fraud levels more than tripling during the second half of 2025.

The report further found that fraudulent activity across Africa is most likely to occur between 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. (GMT+2), a pattern that differs from fraud cycles observed in Europe, Asia and North America.

Sumsub argues that traditional Know Your Customer (KYC) compliance is no longer sufficient to protect operators.

Instead, gaming companies are being urged to adopt integrated fraud management systems combining biometric identity verification, behavioural analytics, device intelligence and continuous transaction monitoring throughout the customer lifecycle.

As Africa’s digital economy expands and online gaming continues to attract millions of new users, the report suggests that trust, cybersecurity and identity protection are rapidly becoming competitive advantages as much as regulatory obligations.

For East African operators, particularly in Kenya and Uganda, the improving fraud trend offers cautious optimism, but the persistence of elevated fraud levels indicates that investment in advanced fraud detection technologies will remain essential as digital gaming markets continue to mature.

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Uganda has become the 26th nation to join the Invictus Community, marking a significant milestone in the country’s support for the recovery and rehabilitation of wounded, injured and sick military personnel through sport.

The development was revealed in a statement published on the LinkedIn page of Uganda’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, following an announcement by the Invictus Games Foundation during the IGF Conversation: From Policy to Practice held in London. The statement also confirmed that Uganda will make its debut at the Invictus Games Birmingham 2027.

Uganda is only the second African country to join the global movement founded to use adaptive sport as a tool for physical recovery, mental wellbeing and social reintegration of serving personnel and military veterans.

The country’s admission follows an exploratory visit by the Invictus Games Foundation in 2025, during which officials assessed Uganda’s capacity to implement recovery programmes built around sport. A subsequent visit by a Ugandan delegation to the United Kingdom in November 2025 enabled officials to study Britain’s model of integrating sport into rehabilitation services for wounded service personnel.

To support Uganda’s entry into the programme, the Foundation has awarded an initial development grant of £15,000. The funding will be used to procure sports equipment and establish Uganda’s first organised recovery activities for wounded, injured and sick members of the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF).

Invictus Games Foundation Chief Executive Officer Rob Owen OBE said Uganda’s admission reflects the organisation’s commitment to extending recovery opportunities to more countries.

He said expanding the Invictus Community enables more wounded service personnel and veterans to benefit from programmes that use sport to rebuild confidence, resilience and purpose beyond military service.

Uganda’s Minister of Defence and Veteran Affairs, Kiryowa-Kiwanuka, described the partnership as an important step towards strengthening rehabilitation and reintegration services for military personnel.

He said joining the Invictus Community demonstrates Uganda’s commitment to supporting wounded service members while creating opportunities for them to rebuild their lives through competitive sport and international engagement.

The Minister added that Uganda looks forward to participating in the Birmingham 2027 Games and becoming an active member of the global network.

Invictus Games Birmingham 2027 Chief Executive Officer Helen Helliwell welcomed Uganda’s participation, noting that the next edition is expected to be the largest in the event’s history.

Beyond the sporting arena, Uganda’s admission reflects a growing recognition across defence institutions worldwide that recovery from physical and psychological injuries extends beyond medical treatment. Increasingly, adaptive sport is being integrated into veteran support programmes as governments seek to improve long-term wellbeing, social inclusion and post-service reintegration.

For Uganda, participation in the Invictus Community also presents an opportunity to strengthen rehabilitation systems for military personnel while showcasing the resilience of its servicemen and women on an international platform.

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The global aviation industry is betting on artificial intelligence, biometrics and digital infrastructure—not new airports alone—to accommodate an expected 10 billion air passengers annually by 2050, according to SITA’s latest Impact Report.

Released in Geneva, the SITA Impact Report 2025 argues that the future growth of air transport will depend on software-driven innovation capable of expanding airport capacity, accelerating border clearance, improving operational efficiency and reducing carbon emissions without requiring a proportional increase in physical infrastructure.

The report comes as the International Air Transport Association (IATA) projects that annual passenger traffic will double over the coming decades, reaching eight billion within the next 20 to 25 years before climbing towards 10 billion by mid-century.

SITA Chief Executive Officer David Lavorel said the industry’s biggest challenge is finding ways to move twice as many travellers without doubling airports, aircraft fleets or border personnel.

“Airports are scaling capacity within the buildings they already have, avoiding the cost and timelines of new construction. Governments are clearing borders before passengers ever reach a queue or an officer’s booth, while AI is moving from pilot projects into day-to-day airline operations,” he said.

Among the report’s findings is the growing adoption of biometric border management. In Aruba, digital travel credentials and biometric verification have reduced passenger border processing times to as little as eight seconds, while more than 271 million travellers annually now undergo AI-supported risk assessments before arrival, most completed in under four seconds.

Artificial intelligence is also reshaping airline operations. SITA’s OptiFlight platform analysed 2.9 million flights during 2025 for 59 airline customers, using machine learning to recommend more fuel-efficient flight profiles. The system helped airlines save more than 127,700 tonnes of fuel and prevented approximately 403,600 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions.

Major airports are also deploying AI to improve operational efficiency. Toronto Pearson and Abu Dhabi International Airport are using intelligent airport management systems to reduce aircraft turnaround times, while Thai Airways has cut baggage rebooking times from three minutes to just one second through AI-powered automation integrated into SITA WorldTracer.

The report also highlights technology’s growing role in strengthening operational resilience.

During a 2025 trial at France’s Reims Air Traffic Control Centre, shared real-time weather intelligence reduced weather-related delays by up to 65 percent, saving an estimated 105,000 delay minutes over just three weeks of disrupted operations.

Meanwhile, SITA said more than 460 flights continued operating during last year’s global CrowdStrike IT outage through its airport departure control systems, while airline and airport operations supporting the 2025 Hajj pilgrimage recorded zero downtime and no major operational incidents.

Passenger experience is also improving through advances in baggage tracking. Airlines participating in SITA’s collaboration with Apple, recently expanded to include Google, recorded a 90 percent reduction in permanently lost luggage for passengers using Apple AirTags linked to the WorldTracer baggage management platform.

The report points to Europe as an example of the industry’s digital-first approach, with Frankfurt Airport’s new Terminal 3—designed to handle up to 19 million passengers annually in its initial phase—built around shared digital infrastructure rather than traditional standalone airline systems.

Beyond operational performance, SITA reported revenue growth of seven percent to US$1.71 billion in 2025, marking its fourth consecutive year of sustained expansion. The company also reduced its own greenhouse gas emissions by 1.3 percent during the year, bringing total emissions reductions to 32 percent compared with 2019 levels while sourcing 90 percent of its global office electricity from renewable energy.

The findings reinforce a growing consensus across the aviation industry that digital transformation will become as important as airport expansion in meeting future demand, enabling airlines and governments to increase capacity while improving efficiency, resilience and sustainability.

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Ukraine is turning increasingly to foreign recruits with the promise of some of the world’s highest infantry salaries as it struggles to sustain troop numbers in one of the longest and deadliest conventional wars in Europe since the Second World War.

The new recruitment strategy, reported by Business Insider, comes as Kyiv seeks to address mounting manpower shortages after more than four years of attritional fighting against Russia. The policy offers foreign infantry and assault troops fixed-term contracts ranging from six to 14 months, alongside monthly earnings averaging 300,000 Ukrainian hryvnia (about US$7,000) and rising to 460,000 hryvnia (more than US$10,000) for those spending extended periods on the front lines.

Ukraine’s Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov has described the package as offering the world’s highest salaries for infantry soldiers, saying the government hopes foreigners could eventually fill between 30 and 50 percent of the country’s most dangerous front-line positions.

The move reflects a growing reality that modern conflicts are increasingly competing for skilled military personnel in an international labour market rather than relying solely on patriotic volunteers.

Foreign fighters interviewed by Business Insider said financial incentives have become increasingly important as the conflict has evolved. While many early volunteers joined Ukraine following Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022 out of ideological conviction, today’s recruits are more likely to weigh compensation against the risks involved.

“If you want guys, you need to pay,” one foreign infantry fighter told the publication, arguing that Ukraine is competing with other global conflict zones for experienced combat veterans.

Military commanders, however, caution that higher salaries alone may not solve Kyiv’s manpower challenge.

Ryan O’Leary, commander of the volunteer unit Chosen, said improved pay would likely attract more recruits but warned that Ukraine still faces a “revolving door” problem, with many foreign fighters departing once they complete the minimum six-month contract.

According to O’Leary, by the time recruits complete basic training and join operational units, relatively little time may remain for active front-line service, reducing the military’s return on the investment made in training and equipping them.

The introduction of contracts extending up to 14 months is therefore intended not only to recruit more personnel but also to improve retention.

Other serving Ukrainian officers described the foreign recruitment programme as a practical response to battlefield realities. Many of the country’s earliest volunteers have either been killed, wounded or exhausted after years of continuous combat, while newer recruits may be less willing to undertake high-risk assault operations.

Beyond pay, foreign soldiers argue that longer-term retention will depend on broader reforms, including equal access to military administrative systems, improved welfare benefits and clearer pathways to permanent residency and citizenship.

Analysts say Ukraine’s latest recruitment package underscores the growing economic dimension of modern warfare, where governments are increasingly forced to compete globally for specialised military talent as prolonged conflicts strain domestic recruitment pools.

Whether generous financial incentives translate into sustained battlefield strength will likely depend less on attracting new recruits than on convincing experienced foreign fighters that Ukraine offers a worthwhile long-term commitment rather than a short-term contract.

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