Into Africa

With the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) renewed through 2028, the United States has an opportunity to rethink its economic relationship with Africa. While U.S.-Africa trade has not kept pace with the growth of China-Africa trade, African countries are increasingly shaping their own economic future through initiatives such as the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). What would it take for the United States to remain a competitive economic partner, and what should a modern U.S.-Africa trade relationship look like?

In this episode of Into Africa, Oge Onubogu is joined by Enoh Ebong, President of CSIS's Global Development Department, and Navin Girishankar, President of CSIS's Economic Security and Technology Department, to discuss AGOA's legacy, the changing global trade landscape, and what a future U.S.-Africa economic framework must deliver.

The Into Africa podcast is made possible by the generous support of the Andrew Carnegie Foundation.

As leaders gather in New York for the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), Africa sits at the center of many of the world's most consequential debates, from peace and security to climate, development, and global governance.

In this episode of Into Africa, Oge speaks with Bitania Tadesse of the International Peace Institute about what to watch as UNGA unfolds, the prospects for meaningful UN reform, and Africa's evolving role in shaping the international agenda. Together, they explore a central question: as Africa's voice grows louder on the world's stage, is it also gaining the leverage needed to shape outcomes?

As Nigeria prepares for its 2027 elections, the country faces a critical test. Trust in electoral institutions is weakening, young voters are increasingly disillusioned, and demands for accountability are growing louder. These challenges extend beyond Nigeria, as countries across Africa grapple with questions of democratic credibility, governance, and public trust amid declining funding for democracy and governance programs. Despite these challenges, citizens and civil society across the continent continue to push for more accountable and responsive governance. On this episode of Into Africa, Oge Onubogu is joined by Samson Itodo, Executive Director of YIAGA Africa, to discuss Nigeria’s electoral landscape and the governance deficit at the heart of many of its challenges. Can Nigerians trust the 2027 elections, and what will it take to rebuild public confidence in the institutions that underpin democratic governance?

Africa’s economic future will be shaped in part by the movement of people, skills, and labor across the continent. Yet migration remains one of the most debated and politically sensitive issues in Africa and around the world, raising questions about jobs, borders, demographics, and social cohesion. Recent attacks against migrants in South Africa have brought these debates back into sharp focus, even as the African Union and the African Continental Free Trade Area push for deeper regional integration.

In this episode of Into Africa, Oge Onubogu speaks with Amanda Bisong, a policy expert and researcher on migration and labor mobility, and Daniel Yu, founding partner of the Africa Jobs Fund and co-founder and former CEO of Wasoko, about the realities of migration across Africa, the gap between political rhetoric and economic evidence, and what greater labor mobility could mean for the continent’s growth and integration.

The 2026 men's World Cup was a landmark for African football. Nine of ten African sides cleared the group stage, a continental record, yet only Morocco and Egypt reached the round of 16. In this Youth Roundtable, Catherine Nzuki is joined by Janine Anthony, an award-winning broadcaster who founded LadiesMarch, Africa's first all-women women's soccer network, and was the BBC World Service's first African female commentator to run lead commentaries at a major men's football tournament (the Africa Cup of Nations); and Chibuogwu Nnadiegbulam, a journalist with the International Sport Press Association and an editor with LadiesMarch.



Together they unpack what drove the group-stage surge, from expanded participation fees to the competitive edge of AFCON, and why so many campaigns unraveled after the 80th minute. They discuss game management and investment African football needs before 2030. They also discuss WAFCON 2026, where early upsets have already reshaped expectations. Janine and Chibuogwu make the case for why the women's game, long under-resourced and under-covered, deserves the same investment as the men's, with four tickets to the 2027 World Cup in Brazil on the line.