Water & Infrastructure: ECOWAS says Abidjan will host the first West Africa Regional Water Forum on Sept. 24-25, aiming to set a regional roadmap for sustainable water management across transboundary river basins. Oil & Gas Investment: Eni has expanded Saipem’s contract for Baleine Phase 3 offshore Côte d’Ivoire, covering engineering, fabrication, installation of ~50 km of rigid pipelines and subsea systems over a three-year program. Mining Value Addition: Nigeria and the AfDB back a Lagos-to-Dakar minerals processing corridor, with AfDB financing support under an “Abidjan Declaration” to boost beneficiation and reduce reliance on raw exports. Cocoa Industry Push: The Ivory Coast-Ghana Cocoa Initiative (CIGCI) welcomed a cocoa value addition summit in Abuja, focused on raising farmer gains, harmonising farmgate pricing, and expanding local processing. Capital Markets: Awalé Resources says Fortuna Mining exercised participation rights in its Odienné project financing, keeping Fortuna’s equity stake and lifting cash expected after closing to over $35m. Business & Trade Finance: Emerging Africa and Asia Infrastructure Fund highlights blended finance as a way to mobilise long-term capital into West Africa’s energy, transport, telecoms and data centers. Sports Betting Integrity: IBIA reports 76 suspicious betting alerts across nine sports in Q2 2026, including football alerts linked to Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire.