🔅 African Lit Legend Remembered, Afro Nation's US Debut, and Mining Makeovers
Experience a captivating tour of Africa's recent news - from the profound impact of a literary giant, to a US festival debut of Afro beats, and the quest for fairer mining profits.
Photo of the day: Durban, South Africa
Markets:
🟢 Nigerian SE: 55,808.25 (+0.07%)
🟢 Johannesburg SE: 75,067.47 (+0.76%)
🔴 Ghana SE: 2,510.98 (-0.01%)
Nairobi SE: —
🟢 US S&P 500: 4,219.52 (+0.95%)
🟢 Shanghai Composite: 3,204.63 (+0.002%)
🇷🇼 Rwanda Gets a Financial Boost: Rwanda is getting a much-needed financial boost from the International Monetary Fund. The IMF has approved a $98.6 million disbursement for the country, which has been struggling with recent devastating floods and overlapping crises. The IMF noted that Rwanda has been making strong progress on its reforms, and the country’s commitment to tackling climate change is strong.
*Data accurate as of the close of markets across the continent
Brief & Bright: Africa's Top Five Highlights
🇬🇭 Remembering Ama Ata Aidoo, Feminist Playwright and Influencer | Ama Ata Aidoo, the beloved Ghanaian playwright, poet, and author, passed away this week at 81. A feminist trailblazer, she wrote plays and novels that championed African women's stories, and she was a major influence on the younger generation of writers, including Nigeria's Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Aidoo was born in a small village in 1942, and she wrote her first play at the tender age of 22. When asked by BBC HARDTalk's Zeinab Badawi if she regarded herself as a writer with a mission, she replied, “In retrospect, I suppose I could describe myself as a writer with a mission. But I never was aware that I had a mission when I started to write.” Aidoo was a true artist with a mission, and her work is still being celebrated today—even Afrobeats superstar Burna Boy sampled her words in his song “Monsters You Made” in 2020. She was a powerful force for change in the African literary world.
.jpg){kind=link}
🇨🇩 Congo and China in Hot Negotiations | The President of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Felix Tshisekedi, is in Beijing for a serious pow-wow with China's Xi Jinping. The two countries have had a relationship worth tens of billions of dollars in trade, but Tshisekedi is not impressed with the DRC's cut of the profits. Congo is the world's biggest producer of cobalt (a key battery ingredient) and one of the leading sources of copper, but they're still not getting their fair share.
🎤 Afro Nation Makes its US Debut: A Picture-Perfect Event | If you weren’t one of the lucky ones to attend Afro Nation’s US debut in Miami, don’t worry: we’ve got the next best thing. Photographer Michele Eve Sandberg captured all the highlights from the two-day festival, which featured some of the biggest names in African and diaspora music, including Wizkid, Burna Boy, and Fireboy DML. The event was a long time coming. Afro Nation’s first edition was held in Portugal four summers ago, and since then, African music has only gained more and more traction in the mainstream. Amapiano, the South African music genre, is a huge hit right now, and African pop has even made it to the Billboard charts. No wonder the festival was so popular: if the pictures are any indication, it was a picture-perfect event.
🇰🇪 President Ruto Calls for African Currency Revolution | Kenya's President William Ruto wants African leaders to cut the US dollar cord and switch to a pan-African payments system. This system, called PAPSS, was launched earlier this year to facilitate intra-African trade. And it looks like it could be a serious way to reduce the pressure of currency fluctuations and lengthy payment delays. It's no surprise that the Kenyan leader is pushing for this move. His country has suffered from a dollar crunch for some time now, with a dollar shortage leading to fuel rationing last year. Plus, it's been reported that the country was running an artificial exchange rate market, which only exacerbated the problem.
🇳🇦 Namibia's Mining Makeover: Namibia’s Mines and Energy Minister Tom Alweendo had some big news for lawmakers this week: the African nation is getting serious about reaping more value from its mineral wealth. Instead of relying on subsidies, the minister proposed that the state take a minority stake in mining and petroleum producers. “We are making a case that local ownership must start with the state, which holds ownership of our natural resources,” Alweendo said. The aim is for the country to get the most out of its uranium and diamonds!
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
Proverb of the Day
“One who possesses much wisdom has it in the heart, not on the lips.”
— Ugandan Proverb.
Are we hitting the mark?
Enjoying Baobab's updates? Spread the joy and share us with friends and colleagues — we'd be thrilled to have them join!
Feedback or thoughts? Just hit reply. We're all ears!