The recent coup in Niger has brought attention to the expansion of private military and security companies (PMSCs) in Africa. Niger's new military rulers have asked Russian PMSC Wagner for help, while the US Secretary of State has warned of the PMSC exploiting instability. PMSCs have gained influence in Africa, evolving from mercenaries to powerful corporate-driven forces. As instability and conflict continue in the Sahel region, the strengthening of PMSCs, both domestic and foreign, will continue to reshape Africa's security in unpredictable ways.

Private military and security companies (PMSCs) have a long history in Africa, dating back to the post-World War II decolonisation period. Mercenaries were used by colonial powers to suppress rebellions and create unrest, with figures like Britain's "Mad Mike" Hoare and France's Bob Denard becoming emblematic of this era.

After the Cold War, PMSCs became more corporate as demobilized soldiers sought employment and civil conflicts increased. Executive Outcomes, a South African PMSC founded in 1989, gained notoriety for protecting energy infrastructure in Angola and fighting in Sierra Leone's civil war.

South Africa's government pressured the disbandment of EO in 1998, but other private military and security companies (PMSCs) emerged, including Sandline International, which helped gain control over mineral rights in Sierra Leone. The taboo of using PMSCs was broken after the US began heavily relying on them during the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Existing in a legal gray zone, PMSCs have leveraged their strategic capabilities worldwide—no more so than in Africa. Fragile government institutions, powerful criminal and militant groups, international power struggles, and competition over Africa’s natural resources have nurtured an environment supportive of a growing network of PMSCs. Across the continent, they are used to secure energy facilities, government buildings, and private infrastructure, protect local actors and foreign personnel, and provide police and military training, intelligence, and active fire support to governments and corporate clients.

Russia is using private military companies like Wagner to gain influence in Africa's security landscape. In the Sahel region, Russian PMSCs have taken advantage of the departure of French military forces and local anti-French sentiment to fill the security void.

Amid shifting allegiances, Wagner underscores how Russia’s indirect power projection allows the Kremlin to wield substantial influence without deploying conventional military forces. Wagner’s activities are believed to span across Mali, Sudan, Zimbabwe, Angola, Madagascar, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, Burkina Faso, Chad, the Central African Republic (CAR), and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Other Russian PMSCs, such as RSB Group, Moran Security Group, and Patriot, also operate across Africa.

Yevgeny Prigozhin, the financier of Wagner, a Russian PMSC network in Africa, celebrated the success of a coup in Niger and claimed that Wagner was capable of handling the situation, despite the Russian government's lack of support. Prigozhin has had conflicts with the Russian military in the past but was recently seen meeting with African dignitaries at the Russia-Africa summit in St Petersburg.

Wagner, a Russian private military company, could act as a proxy for the Kremlin in Niger, filling the security void left by the French military. There are concerns that Niger may halt uranium exports, which are important to French and EU supplies, and this could draw the West's attention to the country. Although Russian officials have downplayed state connections to Wagner's activities in Africa, the ongoing role of Yevgeny Prigozhin, a Russian businessman with close ties to the Kremlin, suggests that the Kremlin is trying to hide its true motivations.

Beyond Russia, numerous Western PMSCs have embedded themselves within Africa’s security. Unlike Russia’s PMSCs, most do not operate on the frontlines of conflict and primarily operate in security and training roles, though do coordinate with official military deployments. French PMSC Secopex made headlines in 2011 when its founder was killed in Libya during the country’s revolution, and it remains unclear as to what the PMSC’s role was.

Secopex had also been involved in the CAR and Somalia, while Corpguard (also created by the co-founder of Secopex, David Hornus) has been involved in training the Cote D’Ivoire’s military.

Other French PMSCs, such as Agemira, are active in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Though French-owned, Agemira is registered in Bulgaria to take advantage of the country’s lack of regulation and transparency. The UK’s Aegis Defence Services is believed to have worked in 18 African countries, while G4S, Erinys, and Olive Group are also active in Africa.

Several private military and security companies (PMSCs), including MPRI, CACI International, Academi (formerly Blackwater), DynCorp, Triple Canopy, and AdvanFort Co, have been active in Africa since the 2000s. Xeless and Asgaard, based in Germany, also have operations in Sudan, Libya, Mauritania, and Egypt. These companies provide training, logistical support, and anti-piracy maritime protection across the continent.

Private military and security companies (PMSCs) are increasingly operating in conflict zones such as Somalia and Libya. In Somalia, PMSCs from various countries have helped train government forces and provide maritime protection. In Libya, PMSCs from multiple countries have been sent to exploit the chaos and advance their interests since 2011.

Active in Libya, Turkey’s SADAT group has also signed deals to train African troops while pitching itself as a Muslim alternative PMSC for Islamic-majority countries. The UAE-based Black Shield Security Company was accused in 2020 of promising Sudanese citizens security contractor jobs but instead sent them to conflict zones in Libya. Other UAE PMSCs have been active in East Africa, including in Somalia, while China has developed a multitude of PMSCs to secure its Belt and Road projects in Africa. Israeli PMSCs have their own African operations.

The Nigerian government hired PMSCs to fight Boko Haram in 2014, including STTEP which was successful and received more contracts. Other South African PMSCs include Osprey, Blackhawk, and Dyck Advisory Group, which was hired by Mozambique to combat Al-Shabaab militants but was accused of killing civilians indiscriminately by the UN in 2020.

The use of PMSCs in Africa is likely to expand. They often offer African governments a quick, relatively inexpensive, and tailored way to manage crises instead of relying on ineffective state forces. PMSCs also enable international companies to protect themselves without relying on the fanfare of official military deployments by working with another corporate entity.

*Nonetheless, this raises questions about sovereignty, a recurring issue in a continent where it has consistently been violated since African countries won their independence. The monopoly on the use of violent force by their police and military institutions has been steadily eroded by criminals, militants, foreign countries, and increasingly, PMSCs.

Commodifying security is dangerous as it allows foreign companies and powerful local actors to afford security while ignoring the core issues of instability. This instability is often exploited by outside forces. Additionally, many Africans end up working for Private Military and Security Companies (PMSCs) outside the continent because they are cheaper than recruits from other parts of the world.

Furthermore, PMSCs, and the governments and companies that employ them, remain largely uncommitted to stronger regulation. The Montreux Document aimed to enforce greater rules for PMSCs, but has been criticized for its limited scope and lack of binding nature. Other countries, including the five members of the UN Security Council, have refused to ratify the UN International Convention Against the Recruitment, Use, Financing, and Training of Mercenaries.

Criticism of PMSCs in Africa is growing. In February 2023, the African Union (AU) commissioner for political affairs, peace, and security, Bankole Adeoye, called for the “complete exclusion of mercenaries from the African continent.” But US PMSC Bancroft Global had already been hired by the AU to assess the risk of Somali forces trained by Blackwater founder Erik Prince to continue operating in the country.

These entities epitomise globalisation. Aegis Defence Services was acquired by Canadian company GardaWorld in 2015, while DynCorp was bought by Amentum in 2020. Academi and Triple Canopy merged in 2014 to form Constellis Group, while Triple Canopy has outsourced work to Peru-based PMSC Defion International. Erik Prince, through the Hong Kong-based Frontier Services Group, has helped China train its own PMSCs for use in Africa and elsewhere. G4S was meanwhile bought by Allied Universal in 2021 and is now North America’s third-largest private employer. Allied Universal itself is owned by institutional investor Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec and private equity firm Warburg Pincus.

Many PMSCs provide legitimate and needed security for civilians and government officials. But considering the wide-ranging motivations, means, and methods of so many PMSCs on the continent—and increasingly in the same spaces—it is critical for Africa’s governments, leaders, and populations to consider how comfortable they are in allowing this rapidly developing global PMSC network to continue expanding in their own backyards.