Intra-African cooperation is multifaceted. This chapter will show that with reference to bilateral contacts between states – or often between leaders – that are sometimes close and at others less so and with reference to intergovernmental organizations that are sometimes close and at others less so. At the continental level, those organizations include the Organization of African Unity and its successor organization, the African Union, as well as regional economic communities like the Economic Community of West African States or the Southern African Development Community. The chapter also investigates the drivers and obstacles for political and economic cooperation and integration and shows how leaders benefit from the status quo.

This chapter explores sustainability reporting regimes in six African countries representing sub-regions of the continent – Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Kenya, Nigeria, Botswana and South Africa. It reveals that Africa is catching up on sustainability reporting as each jurisdiction is found to have a sustainability reporting regime with an identified regulatory model(s). However, the conflicting nature of sustainability reporting standards calls for a broader reform strategy or policy harmonisation. It thus argues that the African Peer Review Mechanism, Regional Economic Communities, and new African Continental Free Trade Area present opportunities for sustainability reporting policy harmonisation in Africa. It is further argued that African regimes should jettison self-regulatory sustainability reporting models and opt for sanctions-based models or hybrid models combining mandatory and voluntary approaches. It observes, however, that the future of sustainability reporting in Africa lies in integrated reporting with its impact not just on corporate performance but also on strong sustainability.