🔅 Macron's African Rebranding
Plus: Drama in Nigeria’s elections, Senegal is getting a green makeover, South Africa has been added to the grey list, Twitter undergoes layoffs, And much more... ☕
Photo of the day: Gambia
Markets
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Twitter's Layoffs Keep Coming: Elon Musk isn’t exactly playing the role of the supportive boss these days. Twitter has laid off 10% of its workforce in the latest round of job cuts—200 people—and Musk’s response was a bit of a head-scratcher. “Hope you have a good Sunday. First day of the rest of your life,” he tweeted. Ouch. The Twitter cuts come after similar layoffs at other tech companies, including Amazon, Microsoft, and Alphabet, who’ve all announced tens of thousands of job cuts. Twitter is also dealing with lawsuits over unpaid rent for its London and San Francisco headquarters, and over 100 former employees are launching legal action against the company. Musk has said he’s looking for someone else to run the company by the end of the year. So if you’re looking for a new job, now might be the time to update your resume and start looking.
*Data accurate as of the close of markets across the continent
CULTURE
France's African Rebranding
French President Emmanuel Macron announced Monday that France's military bases in Africa will be co-run with their host nations.
It’s part of a move to ease tensions in the region, where anti-French sentiment is on the rise. And it comes a week after Burkina Faso booted out French troops and ended a military accord.
So, what’s the deal?
The plan is to "africanise" the bases, cut down the number of French troops, and run them in conjunction with African and European partners.
Macron also said that France's role wasn't to "fix all the problems in Africa."
What is France up against?
It's a David and Goliath situation. Russia has proven to be a major player in the West African nation and Central African Republic, sending in the Wagner Group.
"[Wagner] is a group of criminal mercenaries, the life insurance of failing regimes and putschists," is what Macron had to say about them.
In response, France is betting on economic ties:
Macron urged French companies to bid for contracts in African countries, and to be more respectful of them -- to negotiate with top-level execs, not lower-ranking managers.
He also said that African nations would eventually stop turning to the Wagner Group as they would see that it only sows misery.
Macron is hoping France can win back trust in the region, without ever firing a shot.
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OTHER HEADLINES
Across the Continent
🇳🇬 Nigeria's Election Day Drama | The polls have closed in Nigeria and the drama has only just begun. Opposition parties are boycotting the venue where results are being announced, claiming a lack of transparency in the electronic voting system. Meanwhile, the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) is leading with 47% of votes cast, but that number is likely to change with the remaining two-thirds of the 36 states yet to be declared. The Independent National Electoral Commission (Inec) is sticking to its guns and pushing forward with the results, despite the opposition's accusations of fraud and calls for the election to be cancelled and rerun. But here's the kicker: there have been reports of glitches in the electronic voting system, with Inec admitting that a surge in traffic caused the problems. The election is still unpredictable, with the Labour Party’s candidate, Obi, gaining a surprise victory in Lagos and his heartland Eastern Enugu state. With a third of registered voters being young people, and the Igbo population strongly backing Obi’s campaign, his victory isn’t totally unexpected. APC’s Tinubu, who was hoping to use his record as the former governor of Lagos state to secure the presidency, accepted his loss and appealed for calm following reports of violence against traders from the Igbo community.
🇸🇳 Senegal's Green Revolution | Senegal’s biggest cement manufacturer is getting a green makeover, courtesy of the International Finance Corporation (IFC). The World Bank’s investment arm is pumping €242 million ($256 million) into Sococim Industries, to help them reduce their carbon footprint. Most of the money – €214 million – will go towards green activities, like replacing part of their current clinker lines with one new fuel-efficient one. The result? A reduction of 312,000 tons of CO2 equivalent per year by 2030, which will make Sococim one of the lowest-emission cement producers in the world.
🇿🇦 South Africa's Rand Slips as it is Grey-Listed | South Africa’s financial situation is looking a little bleak. The rand weakened against the US dollar after the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) added the country to its “grey list” last Friday, which means that it’s subject to increased monitoring due to concerns over money laundering and terrorist financing. That’s a reputational knock for Africa’s most advanced economy, and it’s likely to increase domestic banks’ cross-border funding costs and raise transactional and administrative costs across the board. It also sent the rand to a new 2023-low against the dollar, but it later regained some ground.
🇸🇴 Tragic Helicopter Crash in Somalia | It was a devastating weekend in Somalia: A helicopter operated by the African Union peacekeeping mission crashed, resulting in the deaths of three people and eight others injured. The chopper was taking part in training drills for casualty evacuation when it went down in the Lower Shabelle region. Investigations are underway to determine the cause of the crash. This tragedy comes as Somalia is fighting the Islamist al Shabaab insurgency and the al-Qaeda-allied group's decade-long attempt to topple the country's government and impose its own sharia law.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
Proverb of the Day
“A debt between children born by the same mother is paid in a clever way.”
— Kenyan Proverb.