It has been some time since our last newsletter, but this edition is packed with interesting articles and news about some of our recent and upcoming events.

We start with two articles from our Paris office. In the first, Thomas Kendra, a partner in the International Arbitration team and a board member of the Kigali International Arbitration Centre (“KIAC”), takes stock of KIAC’s achievements a decade after its launch. Thomas reflects on KIAC’s beginnings and challenges, and explores its place in the arbitration market. In the second article, Aissatou Sylla looks at recent developments in African data protection laws and the outlook for 2022.

Two lawyers in our Frankfurt team, Camilla Fröhlich and Kristina Laewen, then discuss the surge in demand for green hydrogen generation in the transition to a low carbon future, and the news that many multinationals are now turning to the African continent in their efforts in the area of renewable energy, biofuels and hydrogen production.

One of the programmes we run each year offers African lawyers studying for post-graduate qualifications in the UK, the opportunity to spend two weeks of work experience with us before returning to their home country. The two Nigerian lawyers who participated in this programme last year have written the next article, which looks at eight areas for potential investors into Nigeria to focus on in 2022.

We are always delighted to feature articles written by lawyers from the excellent firms we work with across Africa. In this edition, we have one such article from Robert Apenya, Partner at Engoru, Mutebi Advocates in Uganda. In it, he examines the potential of Uganda’s mining sector, and the opportunities created by recent regulatory developments for foreign investment.

We round up this Africa Newsletter with an introduction to our new Johannesburg partner, some recent and upcoming events, as well as the usual update on recent work.

We hope you enjoy this edition of the Africa Newsletter. As always, please get in touch if you have any questions.

Authored by Andrew Skipper and Alison Diarra.