The WHO Regional Office for Africa (WHO/AFRO) validated prototype competency-based curricula (CBC) for 10 health occupations in October 2025. This landmark effort seeks to replace outdated systems and close significant competency gaps - such as low clinical diagnosis rates - among African health workers, ensuring graduates are fit for purpose.

Mozambique is advancing the 1,500 MW Mphanda Nkuwa Hydroelectric Project, positioning itself as a regional clean-energy hub. With funding commitments from the African Development Bank and EU, the project aims to supply power domestically and to Southern Africa through the South African Power Pool (SAPP) grid. Its success could cut national reliance on thermal imports and displace millions of tonnes of CO₂ annually.

On October 15, former Prime Minister Raila Amolo Odinga passed away in Kochi, India at the age of 80 while undergoing medical treatment. The nation marked his remembrance with a 7-day mourning period and a 17-gun salute held in his honour as a patriot, commonly revered as ‘Baba’.

OpenAI recently launched its instant checkout feature in ChatGPT, enabling US users to buy products from Etsy sellers with support for Shopify merchants coming soon. Built into chat, the tool allows conversational discovery and payment flows inside ChatGPT. On October 21, the company released ChatGPT Atlas, a browser with ChatGPT embedded to help users browse, ask questions about pages, and complete tasks within a single interface, a move many interpret as a challenge to Google Chrome.

Stanbic Bank Kenya and NCBA Group have entered advanced merger talks, a move that could create Kenya’s second-largest bank by assets - $6 billion (KES 900 billion). Announced on October 14 in Nairobi, the deal reflects mounting pressure for scale and capital efficiency as funding costs rise and non-performing loans tick above 15% industry-wide. It also mirrors a global emerging-market pattern of defensive mergers to preserve profitability.