🔅 Stirring the Hornet's Nest: Uganda's Anti-LGBTQ Law, Nigeria's End to Petroleum Subsidies, Senegal tensions, and More.
M-Kopa's Fundraising Triumph
Photo of the day: Freetown, Sierra Leone
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🔴 US S&P 500: 4,192.74 (-0.30%)
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M-Kopa: The African Financing Platform that's Breaking Records | M-Kopa, the African financing platform that’s helping 3 million people access over $1 billion in credit, just scored some major wins. The company has raised a whopping $255 million in debt and equity from Standard Bank, Sumitomo Corporation, Lightrock, and others. The funds will be used to expand operations in Sub-Saharan Africa, where M-Kopa has already made a huge impact. Customers can use the platform to purchase items like smartphones, solar power systems, and health insurance. The news has got everyone talking about the company’s innovative financing solutions. Could M-Kopa be on its way to becoming the go-to platform for African finance?
*Data accurate as of the close of markets across the continent
Brief & Bright: Africa's Top Five Highlights
🇺🇬 Uganda's President Signs Anti-LGBTQ Law | President Yoweri Museveni has signed a law that makes same-sex relations punishable by death. The move has been condemned by the United Nations, and the US President has said that the US is considering “additional steps”—including sanctions against anyone involved in serious human rights abuses. It’s been reported that Uganda's parliament speaker’s US visa was cancelled after the law was signed. The law stipulates capital punishment for “serial offenders” against the law and transmission of a terminal illness like HIV/AIDS through gay sex, as well as a 20-year sentence for “promoting” homosexuality. LGBTQ Ugandans say that the law has already unleashed a wave of arrests, evictions, and mob attacks, and the U.N. has declared itself “appalled”. Neighbouring countries are watching and some politicians are taking the law as an inspiration for their own anti-LGBTQ bills.
🇸🇩 Sudan's Ceasefire Extension | Warring factions in Sudan have extended a ceasefire for another five days, giving hope to the millions of citizens suffering from the conflict that’s been raging since April 15. The original one-week truce had already allowed some aid to be delivered, but there are still challenges to getting food, medicine, and other essentials to those in need. 700 people have died since the conflict began— though the real figure is probably much higher. At Sudan’s largest orphanage, dozens of babies have died due to staff shortages and power outages caused by the fighting. In the meantime, the WFP is planning to reach 500,000 people in Khartoum, while over 350,000 have already fled to neighbouring countries.
🇳🇬 Nigeria's New President Puts His Money Where His Mouth Is | Nigeria has a new president, and Bola Tinubu is starting his reign with a bang—a policy bang, that is. Tinubu announced that the decades-long government subsidy on petroleum products is no more. That means that the price of petrol will go up, and the cost of other goods could follow. But Tinubu's administration is hoping that the end of subsidies will free up public funds to invest in infrastructure and improve the lives of citizens. It's a bold move, but Tinubu is no stranger to bold moves—he revitalized the country's commercial hub, Lagos, when he was governor. And his allies say he's going to bring that same technocratic, thoughtful approach to running the nation. Meanwhile, Tinubu's opponents are raising questions about his health—he spent months in London last year being treated for an undisclosed illness—but the president has brushed off the criticism, saying he doesn't need to be an Olympic athlete to do his job.
🇸🇳 Senegal's Political Tensions | Senegal’s capital is aflame with tensions over the upcoming court verdict on charges against the main opposition leader, Ousmane Sonko. Sonko himself was apprehended by police because he was taking part in an “unauthorized caravan” from his hometown to Dakar. The streets have been filled with burning cars, and one person was even killed in clashes between police and Sonko supporters last week. Senegal’s government has promised to stand firm against any attempt to disrupt public order, but tensions are running high. The case against Sonko is about rape and death threats against a woman working at a massage parlor, and if convicted, he could face up to 10 years in prison and would be barred from running in next year’s presidential elections. Sonko and his supporters maintain his legal troubles are part of an effort by President Macky Sall’s government to derail his candidacy.
🇰🇪 Safaricom To Set Up Its Own Phone Factory | Remember when Kenyan President William Ruto said he wanted to make $50 (Sh6,850) smartphones a reality? Well, Safaricom is here to make that happen. The telecom company is setting up a factory in Kenya that will assemble 1.2-1.4 million smartphones a year, but they need the government’s help to make it happen. The telco says that the proposed taxes will make the cost of locally assembled phones — Sh11,500 — far too high to meet the President’s target. So, they’re asking the National Assembly’s Finance and Planning committee to scale taxes down to make the final price Sh7,000. Will they be able to pull it off? We think they just might.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
Proverb of the Day
“The chicken that can dig for food will not sleep hungry.”
— Congolese Proverb.
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