🔅 China-Africa: What’s Next After $50 Billion?
South Africa's Shooting for the Stars & Excavating the Past to Build Africa's Future
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Market Mondays
Year-to-Date Performance:
🟢 Johannesburg SE: 81,364.89 (+5.82%)
🟢 Nigerian SE: 96,433.53 (+28.97%)
🟢 Nairobi SE: 105.58 (+14.62%)
🟢 Ghana SE: 4,337.92 (+38.58%)
🟢 US S&P 500: 5,408.42 (+14.03%)
🔴 Shanghai Composite: 2,765.81 (-6.63%)
🇬🇭 Cocoa farmers in Ghana, the world's number two cocoa producer, are in for a treat. The state-guaranteed price for their crop is set to increase by nearly 45% for the 2024/25 season. The goal? Boost farmers' incomes and stop bean smuggling.
🇳🇬 A US federal court has thrown a red card at the Nigerian businessman, Dozy Mmobuosi, who tried to buy English football club Sheffield United last year. He's been ordered to pay over $250 million in fines and banned from serving as a director of a public company. The US Securities and Exchange Commission had accused him of inflating financial metrics to defraud investors worldwide.
🇳🇬 Nigeria's massive Dangote oil refinery is finally producing gasoline, after previously refining diesel. When running at full capacity, the plant near Lagos will process 650,000 barrels of oil per day, with over half turning into gasoline.
🇿🇼 Zimbabwe's central bank has injected $190 million into the foreign-exchange market to meet dollar demand and maintain economic stability since introducing the new bullion-backed ZiG currency in April. Meanwhile, President Emmerson Mnangagwa announced he'll step down in 2028, despite calls from the ruling party for the 81-year-old to stay longer.
🇮🇩 At the second Indonesia-Africa Forum, Indonesia planned to sign deals worth $3.5 billion with African nations.
🇨🇳 China is buying less African oil, leaving many nations short of much-needed earnings. Among China's top 22 African suppliers, only Chad saw an increase in exports between 2019 and 2023. China's palate has shifted to favor suppliers from the Gulf, Russia, and Asia.
🌍 The UN climate chief warned that global warming is costing African nations up to 5% of their economic output. Despite bearing the brunt of climate change, the 54-nation continent receives just 1% of annual global climate finance.
🇪🇹🇪🇷 Ethiopian Airlines suspended flights to neighboring Eritrea after its bank account there was frozen. The Eritrean Civil Aviation Authority blocked money transfers from the airline's account in Asmara, prompting the suspension.
🇺🇬 The World Bank and French Development Agency (AFD) have given Uganda over $600 million to fund infrastructure development and manage waste in Kampala. The capital city has suffered from chronic underfunding. The World Bank had previously said it would stop lending to Uganda after the country passed a harsh anti-gay law, but this latest credit was approved before the ban. At the same time, A $1 billion International Monetary Fund program for the country expired, denying the East African nation a final disbursement after it failed to meet key program objectives.
*Data accurate as of the close of markets across the continent
Spotlight Stories
China-Africa Summit: We’re Still BFFs Part II
France, the EU, and Russia are all vying for influence in Africa, but they're starting to feel like the awkward wallflowers at the geopolitical dance, while China is the smooth operator gliding across the dance floor, charming everyone with its non-partisan approach and economic allure.
Beijing's strategy is simple yet effective: stay neutral, collaborate with everyone (regardless of their Moscow-leaning or pro-Western stance), and keep the focus on economic self-interest.
And it seems to be working like a charm – over 50 African states sent delegations to the latest China-Africa summit in Beijing. Now that's what we call pulling power!
One of China's key moves in Africa is its willingness to take on big-ticket transport projects that often make international development institutions and Western investors break out in a cold sweat as they consider their returns. But for many African governments, these projects are crucial to their development.
Just look at Niger, for instance. Even after the recent coup, China is still committed to finishing a 2,000km pipeline that will carry the country's growing oil output to an export terminal in Benin. And over in Guinea, the China-based Winning Consortium is making serious progress on a 600km railway that will connect one of the world's largest iron ore deposits to the coast.
And the good news keeps coming: At this week's summit, China announced $50.7 billion in funding for Africa over the next three years. But here's the interesting part – there's a big emphasis on the green energy transition this time, including investments in electric vehicle manufacturing. Looks like China is ready to help Africa put the pedal to the metal.
President Xi didn't stop there. He also pledged to launch 30 clean energy projects and even hinted at cooperation in the nuclear sector. This struck a nerve with some African commentators who are less than thrilled about France mining Niger's uranium for decades to fuel its own nuclear power sector without proposing any generation projects for West Africa.
So, back to that $50.7 billion in financing... It's a big number, but the devil is in the details. It's not entirely clear how this money will be distributed or managed to prevent countries from waltzing their way back into debt.
In the past, Chinese lending has been blamed for contributing to the debt crisis in Africa, although defenders argue that China was willing to finance and build projects when other partners were too cautious to commit. It's a complex dance, and the steps aren't always easy to follow.
As the China-Africa relationship evolves, the big question is whether we're on the cusp of a fundamental shift. Will Beijing's rhetoric translate into genuine diversification into new sectors like green industry, or will the focus remain on the tried-and-true formula of big infrastructure projects?
But one thing is certain – Despite the naysayers, China's pulling power in Africa is showing no signs of waning.
Mariam Issoufou: Excavating the Past to Build Africa's Sustainable Future
Meet Mariam Issoufou, the architect who's taking the African design world by storm with her innovative, sustainable, and culturally-rooted approach to building.
Issoufou's journey to becoming one of Africa's most sought-after architects was anything but straightforward. Growing up near the historic mud-brick city of Agadez in Niger, she was always inspired by the majestic adobe structures around her, but never imagined that becoming an architect was a possibility.
"There were no role models," she says. "I didn't know of any architects in Niger, let alone any women in the field."
So, she became a software engineer instead, working in the tech industry for nearly a decade before realizing that she hated every minute of it. Talk about a career change.
Redefining Sustainability
Today, Issoufou is making waves with her hard-nosed pragmatism and dedication to using locally available materials and skills. Her prize-winning projects, like the earth-walled housing complex in Niamey and the library and mosque complex in Dandaji, are proof that sustainability isn't just about ticking boxes and adding expensive green features.
What’s more, in a world where progress is often equated with emulating the West, Issoufou is on a mission to change the narrative.
"I have to reassure clients I'm not sending them back in time 200 years."
Each of Issoufou's projects begins with a deep dive into the history and heritage of the place, "excavating the past and understanding the practices that are currently thriving."
In Monrovia, Liberia, she's designing the Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Presidential Center for Women and Development, inspired by traditional palava huts and using local materials like earth bricks, fired clay bricks, rubberwood, and palm leaves woven by local women.
And in Senegal, she's reimagining what a museum can be with the Bët-bi museum, burying the galleries underground and making them secondary to a series of inviting public spaces that gradually lead people towards the collections.
"I'm trying to avoid the wilful grandness of a museum, which I feel can be incredibly intimidating," Issoufou explains. "Here, people will hopefully be seduced inside by seeing the content through apertures as they're going down the ramp. But you don't have the pressure of going inside if you don't want to."
How does that sound to you?
South Africa's Stellar Plan to Shoot for the Stars with Astro-Tourism 🚀🌌
South Africa is about to take stargazing to a whole new level with the launch of its astro-tourism strategy.
Astronomy for Development: The Minister of Tourism sees astro-tourism as a catalyst for developing the Karoo region, with opportunities for rural tourism and agri-tourism. It's not just about looking up at the stars; it's about uplifting communities.
South Africa is set to become the first African nation with a National Astro-Tourism Strategy, aiming to position the country as a world-class destination for space enthusiasts.
The strategy focuses on infrastructure development, optimising astronomy-tourism streams, and community transformation… Hopefully a cosmic recipe for success!
The strategy also seeks to create a legacy of mutual understanding between astronomical significance and indigenous celestial narratives.
South Africa has some serious cosmic advantages that make it an ideal astro-tourism destination:
Minimal light pollution
Favourable weather conditions (clear skies for days!)
The Southern sky advantage (a whole new world of constellations)
Four of the world's best-preserved meteorite impact craters (for those who like their astro-tourism with a side of impact)
This astro-tourism initiative comes at a time when the tourism sector is becoming increasingly vital to South Africa's economy. In the first quarter of 2024, the sector contributed 8.8% to the country's GDP, surpassing contributions from transport, mining, and agriculture sectors. By 2030, the tourism industry is projected to contribute 10.4% to GDP.
Meet Mariam Issoufou, the architect who's taking the African design world by storm with her innovative, sustainable, and culturally-rooted approach to building.
Issoufou's journey to becoming one of Africa's most sought-after architects was anything but straightforward. Growing up near the historic mud-brick city of Agadez in Niger, she was always inspired by the majestic adobe structures around her, but never imagined that becoming an architect was a possibility.
"There were no role models," she says. "I didn't know of any architects in Niger, let alone any women in the field."
So, she became a software engineer instead, working in the tech industry for nearly a decade before realizing that she hated every minute of it. Talk about a career change.
Redefining Sustainability
Today, Issoufou is making waves with her hard-nosed pragmatism and dedication to using locally available materials and skills. Her prize-winning projects, like the earth-walled housing complex in Niamey and the library and mosque complex in Dandaji, are proof that sustainability isn't just about ticking boxes and adding expensive green features.
What’s more, in a world where progress is often equated with emulating the West, Issoufou is on a mission to change the narrative.
"I have to reassure clients I'm not sending them back in time 200 years."
Each of Issoufou's projects begins with a deep dive into the history and heritage of the place, "excavating the past and understanding the practices that are currently thriving."
In Monrovia, Liberia, she's designing the Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Presidential Center for Women and Development, inspired by traditional palava huts and using local materials like earth bricks, fired clay bricks, rubberwood, and palm leaves woven by local women.
And in Senegal, she's reimagining what a museum can be with the Bët-bi museum, burying the galleries underground and making them secondary to a series of inviting public spaces that gradually lead people towards the collections.
"I'm trying to avoid the wilful grandness of a museum, which I feel can be incredibly intimidating," Issoufou explains. "Here, people will hopefully be seduced inside by seeing the content through apertures as they're going down the ramp. But you don't have the pressure of going inside if you don't want to."
How does that sound to you?
South Africa's Stellar Plan to Shoot for the Stars with Astro-Tourism 🚀🌌
South Africa is about to take stargazing to a whole new level with the launch of its astro-tourism strategy.
Astronomy for Development: The Minister of Tourism sees astro-tourism as a catalyst for developing the Karoo region, with opportunities for rural tourism and agri-tourism. It's not just about looking up at the stars; it's about uplifting communities.
South Africa is set to become the first African nation with a National Astro-Tourism Strategy, aiming to position the country as a world-class destination for space enthusiasts.
The strategy focuses on infrastructure development, optimising astronomy-tourism streams, and community transformation… Hopefully a cosmic recipe for success!
The strategy also seeks to create a legacy of mutual understanding between astronomical significance and indigenous celestial narratives.
South Africa has some serious cosmic advantages that make it an ideal astro-tourism destination:
Minimal light pollution
Favourable weather conditions (clear skies for days!)
The Southern sky advantage (a whole new world of constellations)
Four of the world's best-preserved meteorite impact craters (for those who like their astro-tourism with a side of impact)
This astro-tourism initiative comes at a time when the tourism sector is becoming increasingly vital to South Africa's economy. In the first quarter of 2024, the sector contributed 8.8% to the country's GDP, surpassing contributions from transport, mining, and agriculture sectors. By 2030, the tourism industry is projected to contribute 10.4% to GDP.
Food for Thought
“In anger there is no intelligence.”
— Tanzanian Proverb
I'm not sure how you should play it. Some entrepreneurs will be hopeless, others worth backing. But you probably can't take the time, and assume the liability, of vetting them. Perhaps just start out with a section where those looking for backing can just tell their stories. Maybe free at first, then charge a fee if it looks like there's traction...