UAE's $4B Cairo Deal, US-Kenya Minerals Pact, Zambia's Copper Race
Insights Dispatch - June 22, 2026
Welcome to the Monday edition of Insights Dispatch, our flagship brief of the latest developments bridging Africa and the Gulf
EGYPT: UAE’s Majid Al Futtaim Signs $3.1 Billion Cairo Mega Housing Project
WHAT HAPPENED?
Dubai-based Majid Al Futtaim Group signed a deal with Egypt’s Midar to develop a mixed-use complex in New Cairo’s Mada City. Currently worth $3.1 billion, the deal is expected to reach $4 billion upon completion.
WHY IT MATTERS?
The project adds to a wave of Gulf capital flowing into Egyptian real estate, following the 2024 $24 billion Ras El Hekma deal with Abu Dhabi-based ADQ. It also signals continued confidence in Egypt’s real estate market despite broader economic pressures, and reinforces Cairo’s status as a top regional investment destination for Gulf states.
WHAT’S NEXT?
Construction begins in phases, with the first 840,000 square meter stage–roughly 6,000 homes along with retail and hospitality space–set for completion within four years.
KENYA: US Strikes $62.4 Billion Rare Earth Deposit Deal
WHAT HAPPENED?
The US secured a preliminary agreement with Kenya for access to the Mrima Hill rare earth and niobium deposit, valued at $62.4 billion, with all minerals to be processed domestically rather than exported raw.
WHY IT MATTERS?
The deal marks a strategic win for Washington over Beijing, which dominates mineral processing across Africa. Additionally, the deal reflects a broader shift toward East African critical minerals, as new discoveries are made across the region.
WHAT’S NEXT?
Given the Gulf’s close commercial relations with East Africa, mining organizations in the GCC will aim to expand their presence to countries such as Kenya, which has seen a combined $990.5 billion in foreign investment from both Saudi Arabia and the UAE, according to the Africa Center for Strategic Studies.
ZAMBIA: Vedanta’s US IPO to Accelerate $2.7 Billion Zambia Copper Expansion
WHAT HAPPENED?
ZCCM Investment Holdings announced that Vedanta Resources’ planned American listing of its copper unit, CopperTech Metals, could accelerate the $2.7 billion Konkola Deep Mine project by about three years, completing by 2028.
WHY IT MATTERS?
The expansion is part of Zambia’s wider effort of tripling its national copper output to 3 million metric tons by 2031, driven by the skyrocketing global demand from EVs, renewables, and artificial intelligence.
WHAT’S NEXT?
Vedanta has already expanded its footprint to the GCC; in 2024, it signed a $2 billion investment deal with Saudi Arabia to build major copper processing facilities. Vedanta and the GCC may continue deepening their partnership via joint ventures in Zambia and other parts of Southern Africa.