UK visa customers can now choose from a range of optional services, depending on their location, offered by VFS Global to provide enhanced comfort and convenience
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, November 5, 2024/APO Group/ —
UK Visa Applications Centres open in Abidjan,Antananarivo, Banjul, Eden Island, Kinshasa, Libreville, and Port Louis
VFS Global was recently awarded the contract to provide UK visa services in 142 countries worldwide
Residents of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Cote D’Ivoire, Gabon, Gambia, Madagascar, Mauritius, and Seychelles, travelling to the UK can now book appointments to submit their visa applications through VFS Global’s (www.VFSGlobal.com)new state-of-the-art Visa Application Centres.
Effective 22 October 2024, customers applying for a UK visa will be directed to VFS Global to book an appointment to complete their visa application. Customers will also have the option to choose additional services designed to make the application process easier.
Mr Marc Owen, Director for Visa, Status and Information Services at UKVI, said: “The opening of our new Visa Application Centres mark an exciting milestone in the provision of a world-class UK visa service. We’re committed to ensuring our visa services are accessible, efficient, and meet the needs of all applicants.”
Commenting on the launch of the new Centres, Mr. Alok Singhal, Head- Sub-Saharan Africa, VFS Global, said, “We are excited to embark on this new journey with UK Visas and Immigration here across Sub-Saharan Africa. We have enjoyed a long-standing partnership with UK Visas and Immigration since 2003 and look forward to now bringing travellers from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Cote D’Ivoire, Gabon, Gambia, Madagascar, Mauritius, and Seychelles our best-in-class services.”
UK visa customers can now choose from a range of optional services, depending on their location, offered by VFS Global to provide enhanced comfort and convenience. These include document upload assistance, Prime Time for application submission outside of business hours, SMS notifications, document checking service, and courier return of the passport once a decision has been made.
VFS Global’s Keep My Passport While Applying service allows customers in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Cote D’Ivoire, Gambia, Madagascar, and Mauritius to keep their passports once their application is submitted and biometrics have been enrolled. Customer will only need to re-submit their passport when a decision is reached.
The services can be booked in advance on www.VFSGlobal.com or at the Visa Application Centre at the time of the appointment. These services are completely optional and have no bearing on the processing timeline and outcomes of visa applications.
We’re committed to ensuring our visa services are accessible, efficient, and meet the needs of all applicants
As a partner to the UK Visas and Immigration since 2003, VFS Global offered visa services in 58 countries before the new contract and has now been awarded the contract to provide UK visa services in 142 countries worldwide. In the African region, VFS Global will provide Visa Application Centres for the UK in 31 countries, from October 2024.
UK Visa Application CentresDemocratic Republic of Congo: 1st Floor. Office no 104, kiyo Ya Sita Building ,364 boulevard du 30 juin, Gombe, Kinshasa Cote D’Ivoire: Rue des Carrossiers, Treichville zone 3,Centre commercial HLM, 1er étage, Abidjan Gabon: Radisson Blu Okoume Palace Hotel, 5 Boulevard de Nice, Libreville Gambia: 2nd Floor, Plot 948, Brusubi Phase 1, Bertil harding Highway, Banjul Madagascar: Novotel Convention & Spa (TEL), 101 Antananarivo Mauritius: Madeleine House, Third Floor, Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam Drive, Port Louis Seychelles: Eden Bleu Hotel (TEL), Eden Island, Seychelles, Eden Bridge NA
This timely Forum comes on the heels of commitments announced by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, deepening Canada–Africa commercial ties and expanding investment partnerships
TORONTO, Canada, April 29, 2026/APO Group/ –The Canada–Africa Chamber of Business (https://CanadaAfrica.ca) will convene investors, financiers, policymakers, and industry leaders in Cape Town on May 14, 2026 for the Canada–Africa Financing Forum—a high-level platform focused on unlocking capital and accelerating deal flow across African markets.
This timely Forum comes on the heels of commitments announced by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, deepening Canada–Africa commercial ties and expanding investment partnerships. The program connects leaders from venture capital, private equity, and institutional investors to examine where capital is moving—and where the next opportunities lie—supported by Canadian project partners with proven capacity to deliver on-the-ground.
Delegates will engage directly with finance and investment decision-makers, following the program opening, featuring messages from President Cyril Ramaphosa and Prime Minister Mark Carney, in addition to high-level Ministerial representation.
This Forum is about capital deployment, not just conversation
“This Forum is about capital deployment, not just conversation,” said Garreth Bloor, President of the Canada–Africa Chamber of Business. “We are convening investors, institutions, and project leaders who are actively shaping transactions across Africa—and connecting them directly with Canadian partners who are ready to work together.”
The Canada–Africa Financing Forum reflects the Chamber’s role as a privately financed, market-led platform advancing Canada-Africa trade and investment through world-class networking and information-sharing events.
Why Attend
Direct access to active dealmakers and capital allocators
Insights into where capital is being deployed and key players delivering major projects
Opportunities to build partnerships across Canada and African markets
Participation in a curated, high-level environment focused on execution
During the MASA 2026 edition, held from April 11 to 18, 2026, ORUN and 1xBET implemented the We Champion Talent program, an initiative aimed at promoting African talent and advancing the development of Cultural and Creative Industries (CCIs)
ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast, April 28, 2026/APO Group/ –As part of the Innovation Village co-organized with MASA at the Palais de la Culture in Abidjan from April 14 to 18, ORUN (https://ORUN.Africa) announces the rollout of its partnership with 1xBET to support a creative Africa that is structuring itself, professionalizing, and scaling across the continent.
We aim to demonstrate that it is possible to support African talent, narratives, and creative ecosystems over the long term, with ambition and consistency
Designed as a space of convergence between heritage, innovation, and knowledge transmission, the Innovation Village features scenography crafted by Ivorian artisans, a program of panels and masterclasses on creative industries, an immersive experience produced by Orun Studios, and a major institutional highlight on April 17. Its narrative platform is built around three pillars: memory, structure, and transmission. The initiative aims to position cultural and creative industries as an economic driver for the continent.
“The Innovation Village was conceived as an act of construction. By partnering with organizations such as 1xBET, we aim to demonstrate that it is possible to support African talent, narratives, and creative ecosystems over the long term, with ambition and consistency,” said Habyba Thiero, CEO of Africa Currency Network and President of ORUN.
This vision aligns with ORUN’s broader ambition to produce, structure, and internationalize African creative industries through events, content, and strategic partnerships.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of ORUN, part of African Currency Network (ACN).
More than event support, this partnership reflects a commitment to backing platforms capable of structuring value chains, increasing the visibility of talent, and fostering the emergence of strong African creative infrastructures
ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast, April 28, 2026/APO Group/ –On the occasion of MASA 2026, held from April 11 to 18 in Abidjan, MIR Holding (https://MIRHolding.odoo.com) reaffirmed its commitment to supporting the growth of African creative industries by partnering with ORUN as part of the Innovation Village, hosted at the Palais de la Culture in Abidjan. This presence reflects a clear intention to support the scaling of cultural and creative industries so they can fully contribute to job creation and value generation across the continent.
Co-organized by ORUN and MASA, the Innovation Village brought together over several days scenography designed by Ivorian artisans, a program of panels and masterclasses dedicated to creative industries, an immersive experience produced by Orun Studios, and a key institutional highlight on April 17.
At MIR Holding, we believe that Africa’s future will also be shaped by its ability to structure its narratives, its talent, and its creative value chains
Built around three pillars — memory, structure, and transmission — the initiative carried a renewed ambition for culture: positioning it as a concrete lever for economic structuring and African projection.
By supporting this initiative, MIR Holding aligns with a broader dynamic aimed at strengthening connections between creation, entrepreneurship, content, youth, and growth ecosystems. More than event support, this partnership reflects a commitment to backing platforms capable of structuring value chains, increasing the visibility of talent, and fostering the emergence of strong African creative infrastructures. MIR Holding stands among the main partners of the Village, alongside Africa Currency Network and other stakeholders engaged in this vision.
“With ORUN, we are not only seeking to make culture visible. We aim to help provide it with a framework, a reach, and a trajectory. What is at stake here is the continent’s ability to better transform its creative energy into sustainable value, real opportunities, and influence,” said Habyba Thiero, CEO of Africa Currency Network and President of ORUN.
Mouhamed Dieng, President of MIR Holding, added: “Supporting Africa’s creative industries is not about backing a secondary sector. It is about investing in one of the continent’s most powerful spaces for storytelling, youth, innovation, and competitiveness. At MIR Holding, we believe that Africa’s future will also be shaped by its ability to structure its narratives, its talent, and its creative value chains.”
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of MIR Holding.
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