Welcome to the second issue of the ABNE in Africa publication that highlights the activities/interventions of the African Biosafety Network of Expertise towards building a functional biosafety regulatory system in selected focus countries in Africa: Burkina Faso, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Nigeria, Tanzania, Togo and Uganda. These countries were selected based on a set of criteria such as technological readiness, political will, on-going biotechnology research and development (R&D), and whether national biosafety committees (NBCs) are receiving biosafety applications for permits.