🔅 The African Union Takes On Moody's & Emirates/Nigeria Bury The Hatchet
Plus, Zimbabwe's Parliament Becomes a Family Affair & Africa's Opportunity In The Face of Global Supply Chain Shocks
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The Gambia
Markets:
🔴 Nigerian SE: 66,760.20 (-0.80%)
🔴 Johannesburg SE: 74,086.62 (-0.03%)
🟢 Ghana SE: 3,095.40 (+0.49%)
🔴 Nairobi SE: 98.35 (-1.05%)
🔴 US S&P 500: 4,472.63 (-0.33%)
🔴 Shanghai Composite: 3,137.06 (-0.18%)
*Data accurate as of the close of markets across the continent
Brief & Bright: Africa's Top Five
Global Supply Chain Shocks: Africa's Opportunity
All around the world, companies are scrambling to diversify their supply chains. However, the disruption caused by recent global shocks has created an opportunity for African economies to become key players. They have a growing population, increasingly large consumer markets, and a wealth of critical minerals and natural energy. If you were, say, in the automotive, electronics, or renewable energy industries, Africa should be top of your consideration as a one-stop shop. Take the example of cobalt and manganese, which are critical for the world's low-carbon transition; Africa has 48.1% of global cobalt reserves and 47.6% of global manganese reserves. By relocating to Africa, high-tech industries like electric vehicles and mobile phones would be closer to raw materials. It would also be closer to new markets -- the African single market (AfCFTA) was officially launched in 2021, and when fully realized, it will create the world’s biggest free trade area and market, home to 1.7 billion people. So, industry leaders, if you’re looking for an alternative to your current supply chain, why not look into Africa?
African Union's New Credit Rating Agency: Taking on Moody's and Co.
Credit ratings can be pretty important when it comes to getting people to invest in your own region—so it’s no surprise that the African Union has decided to take matters into its own hands. The AU plans to launch a new African credit rating agency next year, which would craft its own assessment of the risks in lending to African countries. The big three ratings agencies (Moody’s, Fitch, and S&P Global Ratings) are based in the West and have been accused of being unfair when it comes to African countries, as well as quicker to downgrade them during crises like the COVID-19 pandemic. All three ratings agencies have denied bias and say their ratings follow the same formula across continents. This new agency is being billed as a way to “change the narrative” and “widen diversity of opinions.” It’ll be self-funded and private-sector driven with AU oversight, and the AU is already in talks with potential investors and collaborators. Now, investors just have to wait and see what this new agency will bring.
DR Congo: "Few Worse Places to be a Child"
It’s been reported that in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, a few months old twins were found abandoned with explosives strapped to them. And according to the UN Children’s Fund, this is just one of the terrible atrocities that children in the east of the country are facing on a daily basis. This includes rape, abduction, and recruitment by armed groups. The UNICEF representative in the country said that “there are few worse places, if any, to be a child” than in the east of DR Congo. The conflict in the area is rooted in tensions between groups and competition for resources, leading to the worst displacement crisis in Africa and one of the worst globally. As a result, over 2.8 million children are bearing the brunt of the humanitarian crisis, and around 1.2 million of them are at risk of severe acute malnutrition. There have also been reports of increasing numbers of sexual and gender-based violence and rising cases of measles. The violence and conflict have also forced the closure of around 2,000 schools in the area.
Zimbabwe's Presidential Appointments: A Family Affair
Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa is making moves—and he’s not doing it alone. He’s got the whole family with him, appointing his son David Mnangagwa to be Deputy Finance Minister, while Tongai Mnangagwa, a nephew of the president, is also a new entrant as deputy minister of tourism. The 80-year-old leader should be under pressure to save the country’s economy, which is suffering from a lack of foreign investment, unemployment, sky-high inflation, and a currency that’s plummeted by 80% this year. Other than these two new faces, Mnangagwa's cabinet looks largely unchanged. When asked about the lack of opposition officials in the cabinet, Mnangagwa said, “I have a huge majority and I think the opposition would enjoy to be in actual opposition rather than in government.”
Emirates and Nigeria Bury the Hatchet
It looks like Nigeria and the UAE have finally made up. Following a meeting between the two countries’ leaders, Emirates Airlines will be resuming flights to Nigeria and lifting the visa ban on Nigerian travellers. This all comes after President Bola Ahmed Tinubu asked for an immediate resolution to the disagreements between the two countries. It’s no secret that Nigeria has been facing dollar shortages—which ostensibly made it hard for foreign airlines to get their money out of the country. But Tinubu has been pushing for bold reforms in the country, and it looks like investors are taking notice. In addition to lifting the visa ban and restoring flight activity, the two countries have also agreed on a new foreign exchange liquidity program and a framework for new investments.
Food for Thought
“It is the duty of children to wait on elders and not the elders on children.”
— Kenyan Proverb.
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