The Democratic Republic of Congo is launching an unprecedented case against the American tech giant Apple over conflict minerals. To explore the issues at hand, RFI talked to a former UN expert to discuss whether any progress has been made in curbing illegal mining.

This week, we focus on the fight against the exploitation of 'blood minerals' or 'conflict minerals' in Central Africa, particularly in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Conflic minerals is the term used by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) to describe minerals sourced from conflict-affected and high-risk areas, such as tantalum, tin, tungsten (referred to as the '3Ts'), gold, cobalt, coltan, and lithium.

These minerals are essential for high-tech applications, including smartphones, electric batteries, and other advanced technology such as appliances, cars, and even wind turbines. They are predominantly found in the African Great Lakes region, especially in eastern DRC.

In an effort to combat the illegal and exploitative trade of these minerals, the NGO Global Witness established a transition team several years ago.

The May 2022 a report from Global Witness revealed that these minerals are used in products by international brands such as Apple, Intel, Samsung, Nokia, Motorola, and Tesla.

Now, with a trial underway in France and Belgium accusing Apple, many observers are hopeful that it could bring about meaningful change.

The Democratic Republic of Congo has filed a criminal case against European subsidiaries of the tech giant Apple, alleging the company has illicitly used conflict minerals in its supply chain.

The American company claims it no longer sources conflict minerals from Central Africa, but is it doing enough?

DRC case against Apple brings new hope in conflict minerals crisis

The complaints filed against Apple have been described by lawyers involved as a matter of significant public interest.

European countries, consumers, and non-governmental organisations are increasingly scrutinising the international supply chains of minerals, with calls for highly profitable companies to be held accountable.

This complaint could mark the beginning of a broader wave of legal actions targeting technology companies linked to the sourcing of conflict minerals.

To examine the implications of this trial, this week's guest is Gregory Mthembu-Salter, a researcher specialising in Africa's political economy and a former consultant to the UN Group of Experts on the DRC on due diligence regarding conflict minerals. He is based in South Africa.

Episode mixed by Erwan Rome.

Spotlight on Africa is a podcast from Radio France Internationale.

During Nigerian President Bola Tinubu’s visit to France in November, he brought a delegation of young leaders to strengthen ties and attract investment in Africa’s largest economy. RFI caught up with some of them.

Kolawole Osinowo, CEO of Baobab Plus in Nigeria – a French-Nigerian energy distribution company – highlighted the challenges of energy access in the country.

"A lot of people in Nigeria don't have access to electricity, so we're supporting the government by bridging the gap," Osinowo told RFI.

"There’s a connection in terms of technological and financial support that is key."

Osinowo said he hopes to shift Africa-Europe relations from being aid-driven to investment-focused, aiming to boost Nigeria’s economy and create jobs.

“This is essential so that people don’t have to migrate and cause different migration issues around the world,” he said.

Uchenna Pedro, founder of the lifestyle platform Bella Naija and named one of Forbes Africa's 50 Most Influential Women, emphasised France’s potential as a partner in Nigeria’s creative industries.

“French industries in my domains bring high value, and France’s belief in the arts makes it a great partnership,” said Pedro. Her platform already collaborates with French companies like L'Oréal in the beauty and fashion sectors.

Pedro is also a member of the French Africa Foundation’s young leaders group, which supports initiatives connecting France with African nations.

Nigerian businesses court French investors during Tinubu's landmark visit

Singer-songwriter and activist Chioma Ogbonna, known as Cill, also praised France’s prioritisation of the arts and its thriving creative industry.

"Because of how the arts and the creative industry thrive here in France and how it is prioritised, it is an important destination for Africans and Nigerians especially," she said.

Tinubu’s visit underscored the potential for deeper collaboration between Nigerian businesses and French investors, particularly in energy, culture, and creative sectors.

Episode recorded and mixed by Erwan Rome.

Spotlight on Africa is a podcast from Radio France Internationale.

Harmful stereotypes about Africa in the global media are costing the continent billions each year and shaping damaging perceptions, campaigners are warning. A recent report explored the economic impact of biased media narratives, linking them to lost investment opportunities and higher borrowing costs for African nations.

“Negative narratives about Africa have real consequences for people’s lives and futures,” said Abimbola Ogundairo, campaign lead for the NGO Africa No Filter, which produced the report and works to promote balanced storytelling about the continent.

The organisation's latest research found these biases cost African economies $4.2 billion annually in lost investment opportunities.

It found that persistent portrayals of poverty, conflict and corruption have far-reaching consequences, from deterring investment to increasing borrowing costs for African nations.

Stories of success, innovation, and resilience were overlooked.

Using case studies and data analysis, the report examined how media narratives influence investment, particularly during election periods. It compared African countries to their global peers and quantified the costs of misrepresentation.

The report also quantified how biased media coverage correlates with sovereign bond yields – a critical financial indicator.

It found that even nations with strong democratic institutions are often framed through lenses of instability and corruption – reinforcing negative stereotypes and overshadowing progress.

The Spotlight on Africa podcast explores this issue, featuring interviews with both Ogundairo, who is from Nigeria, and the acclaimed filmmaker Abderrahmane Sissako, from Mauritania.

Both emphasise the need for African voices to take control of the continent’s narrative.

Episode mixed by Vincent Pora.

Spotlight on Africa is a podcast from Radio France Internationale.

This week's Spotlight on Africa dives into Cop29’s critical discussions on climate change – focusing on food systems, green energy funding and who should pay for climate disasters. With talks underway in Baku, Azerbaijan, negotiators and experts are grappling with solutions to the growing crisis.

Zitouni Ould Dada, representing the FAIRR Initiative – a network raising awareness of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) risks in the food sector – underscores the need to transform global food systems.

“Since Cop15 in Paris and Cop26 in Glasgow, good progress has been made towards building sustainable and resilient agri-food systems,” he said. “Cop29 is a key moment to accelerate the transformation of food production.”

He calls on policymakers to strengthen climate commitments, integrate agriculture into national plans, and create policies to attract sustainable investment.

Financing green energy and addressing climate disasters are key issues at this year’s summit.

Seyni Nafo, spokesperson for the African negotiators group and chair of the Green Climate Fund, coordinates the African Union Adaptation Initiative. He shared his perspective with RFI’s Christophe Boisbouvier.

Speaking from Baku, Nafo explored the question of responsibility for funding climate recovery in the most affected regions.

The negotiations come during what is expected to be the hottest year on record, underscoring the urgency of Cop29’s agenda.

Episode mixed by Erwan Rome.

Spotlight on Africa is a podcast from Radio France Internationale.

African contemporary arts are attracting increasing interest thanks to a packed season stretching from Europe to Africa. Artists and curators from across the continent and the diaspora reflect on the impact of cultural exchanges beyond their borders – from London to Paris, Luanda to Dakar.

October and November are set to host a series of events celebrating African art across the continent, in Europe and even farther afield.

Spotlight on Africa dives into perspectives from diverse African cultures, focusing on the voices and visions of the diaspora.

RFI journalists Ollia Horton and Melissa Chemam take us to the heart of two major art fairs: Paris’s Also Known As Africa (AKAA) and London’s 1:54 Contemporary African Art Fair.

Listeners will hear from Victoria Mann, founder and director of AKAA, and founder of La Maison Gaston gallery, Christelle Clairville, whose work brings Caribbean influences to the dialogue around African identity.

French-Belgo-Congolese artist Tiffanie Delune, exhibiting in London, shares her journey through the art world.

Curators Grada Kilomba and Helio Menezes weigh in from the Sao Paulo Biennial in Brazil. Meanwhile, ahead of the Dakar Biennale, French-Algerian artist Dalila Dalleas Bouzar discusses her preparation and the importance of the event to her work.

Episode mixed by Hadrien Touraud and Erwan Rome.

Spotlight on Africa is a podcast from Radio France Internationale.

This week's podcast focuses on textile waste from fast fashion. As cheap clothes from China, Asia and Europe increasingly end up in West Africa, pollution is rising – particularly in Ghana. RFI spoke to Greenpeace Africa investigators to understand the scale of the issue and how to combat it.

Ghana is being swamped by millions of unwanted clothes from the West, creating an environmental disaster as textile waste piles up across the country.

The scale of damage to public health and the environment has been laid bare in a new Greenpeace report that exposes the devastating impact of discarded clothing on communities and ecosystems in Ghana. 

About 15 million items of second-hand clothing arrive in Ghana each week. Nearly half cannot be resold.

The unsellable clothes end up in informal dumps or are burned in public washhouses, contaminating the air, soil and water.

"The situation is catastrophic. These clothes are literally poisoning our communities," said Sam Quashie-Idun from Greenpeace Africa, speaking to RFI.

The report shows how Ghana has become a dumping ground for the world's unwanted textiles, with devastating consequences for local ecosystems.

"What we're seeing is environmental racism. The Global North is using Ghana as its trash can," said Hellen Dena of Greenpeace Africa.

The flood of cheap, disposable fashion reflects broader problems with global waste management and environmental justice.

To explore this issue further, RFI spoke to Sam Quashie-Idun and Hellen Dena from Greenpeace Africa.  

Episode mixed by Cecile Pompeani.

Spotlight on Africa is a podcast from Radio France Internationale.

Following a month filled with key summits and continued trade negotiations across Africa, this week's edition of Spotlight on Africa examines the growing rivalry between China and Western nations as they vie for business opportunities on the continent.

This week, our focus shifts to the dynamics of Chinese-African-Western relations.

In September, as the United States pursued investments in nuclear energy projects in Ghana and Kenya, the China-Africa forum concluded with a series of new agreements between China and a number of African countries. These deals spanned key sectors, including industry, agriculture, natural resources, and renewable energy.

China’s new strategy in Africa: is the continent getting a fair deal?

Chinese President Xi Jinping also announced that Beijing will allocate $50 billion (€45 billion euros) to Africa over the next three years.

However, China's overall investments in the continent have declined over the past year, creating an opening for both the US and Europe, who are both eager to re-establish their economic presence in Africa.

Russia has also entered the picture.

But what does Africa really need?

To explore this, Jan van der Made and Melissa Chemam spoke with experts, including historians Daniel Large and Michael Dillon, as well as Igor Ichikowitz from the Ichikowitz Family Foundation.

Episode mixed by Erwan Rome 

Spotlight on Africa is a podcast from Radio France Internationale

With a prolonged drought affecting the supply of hydroelectricity all over southern Africa, a growing number of people are turning to solar to fill the energy gap. Spotlight on Africa focuses this week on progress made in Zambia. 

While floods are devastating West Africa, about 68 million people in southern Africa are suffering the effects of an El Nino-induced drought which has wiped out crops across the region. 

Nearly 68 million suffering from drought in southern Africa

Zimbabwe, Malawi, Lesotho, Namibia, and Zambia are facing severe drought conditions, leading to widespread devastation. The impact is stalling economic growth and raising serious concerns about food security in the region. 

Zimbabwe to cull elephants to tackle drought, food shortages

In Zambia, the drought that has gripped southern Africa since early this year has led to rolling power cuts in a country that relies heavily on hydropower.

Some inhabitants, however, have already turned to solar power as an alternative.

To discuss how it can help, we speak this week with John Keane, CEO of the UK-based charity SolarAid, from the Zambian capital Lusaka. 

He explains how sales of solar products have increased by more than 540 percent since the beginning of 2024, and what the social enterprises are doing to spread awareness among Zambians and avoid the use of charcoal or candles.     

Episode mixed by Nicolas Doreau  

Spotlight on Africa is a podcast from Radio France Internationale

Some 24 million Algerians vote on Saturday to elect their next president, with incumbent Abdelmadjid Tebboune the clear favourite of only three candidates. If Algeria has enjoyed economic and social stability during his five years in power, human rights organisations warn of a decrease of freedom and rights.

This week, we focus on the presidential election in Algeria, scheduled for 7 September, with a potential second round two weeks later, if none of the candidate reaches 51 percent in the first round.

The campaign ended on Tuesday, 3 September. Most experts expect incumbent Abdelmadjid Tebboune to win again, while only two challengers have been allowed to run: Abdelaali Hassani of the moderate Islamist party, the Movement of Society for Peace (MSP), and Youcef Aouchiche of the centre-left Socialist Forces Front (FFS). 

• Few surprises in store as Algeria's presidential election nears

The opposition has, however, complained of intimidation with dozens of people arrested last month over alleged election fraud.

Opposition leader Fethi Ghares was even detained  during the last week of the campaign, accused of "insulting the president" and spreading disinformation online.

Meanwhile, Algerian officials are tightening restrictions on civil liberties, Amnesty International reports. The human rights group says that the authorities' actions aim to limit citizens' rights to free speech, peaceful protest, and form associations.

To understand how opponents, political parties and civil society navigate the civic space, RFI spoke to Nadège Lahmar, the consultant on Algeria for Amnesty. 

Episode mixed by Nicolas Doreau. 

Spotlight on Africa is a podcast from Radio France Internationale. 

Decolonising Beauty is a campaign designed by the production company Zikora Media to educate the public and celebrate the rich tapestry of indigenous and local beauty customs across Africa. This week we speak with its founder, Chika Oduah.

In a world increasingly dominated by Western beauty standards promoted through pop culture and the global beauty industry, the Decolonising Beauty campaign seeks to challenge narrow perceptions and showcase the multifaceted beauty traditions in Africa.

The campaign uses a multi-platform approach to reach a broad audience of English and French speakers in Africa and around the world.

A series of initiatives from the campaign will be announced until the end of the year involving photographers, artists, poets, media makers and content creators.

Zikora Media & Arts founder Chika Oduah tells us more.

• Read also: French lawmakers vote in favour of bill to ban hair discrimination

Episode mixed by Cécile Pompéani

Spotlight on Africa is a podcast from Radio France Internationale