From a singer crashing Benin's government website to cobalt reserves, refinery IPOs and the gender gap hiding inside Africa's gig economy, this week's brief is dense with signal. The story underneath it all: who gets to participate in Africa's growth, and on whose terms.
Graphic of the Week
Power Demand, Weak Supply
Source: S&P Global
There are lots of interesting data points in S&P’s breakdown of where the continent is at with energy. As detailed in the report, Africa's population will grow by nearly 1 billion by 2050, set to more than double energy demand, but the continent's infrastructure is already straining under today's load.
The big picture: Investment appetite exists, but bankable projects don't. Too many projects stall at feasibility because the financing case falls apart.
5 pressure points driving urgency:
Demand: Energy consumption will double by 2050, driven by urbanization and demographic growth
Imports: Refined products demand has more than doubled since 1990, while refining capacity grew less than 10%, making Africa increasingly import-dependent
Clean cooking: ~900 million Africans still lack access to clean cooking fuels, with LPG demand already outpacing supply
Electricity access: Sub-Saharan Africa has the lowest per-capita electricity consumption globally; power cuts cost economies 1–5% of GDP
Grid fragility: Aging, single-source power systems leave large areas unserved and force costly diesel self-generation
For those interested in the space, the piece details some concrete solutions.
The bottom line: Africa's infrastructure gap requires execution, policy stability and aligning incentives between governments, private investors and multilateral lenders.
What We Are Reading
African governments are increasingly using complex swap-based borrowing backed by bonds to raise cheap financing but risk hidden debt and tougher future restructurings (FT); Pope Leo XIV is on a 13-day Africa trip across Algeria, Cameroon, Angola and Equatorial Guinea focusing on migration and Christian-Muslim relations (AP News); Energy shocks from global conflict highlighted reliance on imports despite being a major crude oil producer (Bloomberg).
Angola: Floods damaged rail infrastructure and halted operations on the Lobito Corridor (Bloomberg).
Benin: Finance Minister Romuald Wadagni won the presidential election with 94% of the votes (AP News).
Botswana: President Boko is visiting Oman to sign resource and energy deals while seeking support for a bid to increase Botswana’s stake in De Beers (Bloomberg).
Djibouti: President Guelleh won re-election with 97.8% of the vote to secure a sixth term, extending his 27-year rule amid an opposition boycott and recent removal of presidential age limits (Reuters).
DR Congo: The government announced it plans to establish a strategic reserve of cobalt and other critical minerals to stabilize prices and gain more control over global supply (FT); The legacy of Simon Kimbangu (celebrated April 6 each year) endured as his movement has grown into an influential church in Congo, now seen by some as a model amid the country’s ongoing challenges (AP News).
Egypt and Eritrea agreed to deepen industrial and investment cooperation across manufacturing, energy and mining while exploring joint infrastructure and trade initiatives (Daily News Egypt).
Eswatini: Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te will visit Eswatini to meet his country’s last African ally, marking his first overseas trip since 2024 (Bloomberg).
Ethiopia: Rising fuel shortages and food prices linked to the Iran war dampened Fasika celebrations in Ethiopia, making traditional Easter travel and meals unaffordable for many families (AP News).
Kenya: The IMF warned Kenya that billions raised by borrowing against future taxes must be counted as real public debt, not off-books financing, a shift that could constrain spending and complicate funding plans for President Ruto’s infrastructure agenda (Bloomberg).
Nigeria: Former oil minister Diezani Alison-Madueke told a London court that documents proving her expenses were legitimate disappeared as she denied bribery charges (FT); Aliko Dangote planned a pan-African IPO of his oil refinery listing shares across multiple African stock exchanges to deepen regional capital markets and fund expansion (Bloomberg).
Senegal: A court issued the first conviction under a new law increasing prison penalties for homosexuality, drawing rights concerns over rising arrests and restrictions (AP News).
South Africa: Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana said U.S. accreditation issues will bar South Africa from G20 finance meetings amid worsening diplomatic tensions (Bloomberg); Cape Town mayor Geordin Hill Lewis becomes leader of the Democratic Alliance, replacing John Steenhuisen (Bloomberg); SpaceX announced it is pushing to relax South Africa’s Black ownership rules to allow Starlink entry (Bloomberg).
South Sudan: Opposition forces retook Akobo from government troops, raising UN concerns over escalating violence and humanitarian risks (AP News).
Sudan: As Sudan’s war enters its fourth year, a devastating conflict driven by rival military factions’ struggle for power has killed at least 150,000, displaced millions and risks destabilizing the entire region unless external support and fighting stop (a must-read - Mo Ibrahim’s OpEd in FT).
Zimbabwe’s dollar-based Victoria Falls Stock Exchange has overtaken the 132-year-old Zimbabwe Stock Exchange in market value, as companies and investors shift to USD-denominated assets to hedge currency risk (Bloomberg).
Business & Finance in Africa
Big Four Control Large Capital Flow
Source: Renew Capital
We shared the major VC reports with you earlier this year, and since then, we've been digging into the data ourselves. Some interesting trends are emerging.
From 2019 to 2025, non-Big Four markets increased their share of sub-$1M deals from 28% to 43%, signaling rapid expansion of early-stage ecosystems beyond traditional hubs. Meanwhile, Big Four markets (Egypt, Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa) increased their share of $5M+ deals from 75% to 90%, meaning large transactions are concentrating further, not less.
The takeaway: The Big Four still anchor big capital, but the rest of the continent is quietly building its early-stage infrastructure. Watch this space.
Thanks to Renew Capital angel investor and data scientist Maureen O’Shea for her work on this analysis. More to come.
Global Trade: Cracks Appearing
Source: UNCTAD
Global trade hit $35T in 2025, a $2.5T gain. But according to UN Trade and Development numbers, the headline number masks a more fragile story, and developing economies are most exposed.
The bright spots: Africa and East Asia were the standout drivers of trade growth in 2025. “Connector economies,” countries trading with both the U.S. and China amid their decoupling, are capturing new investment and supply chain opportunities.
The risks are mounting: Conflict in the Middle East and shipping disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz are pushing up trade costs. For developing nations with little fiscal room, that means higher import bills, tighter credit and slower growth.
The sector split: Electronics, semiconductors and wind energy are surging. Oil, coal and autos are lagging. Countries that can't plug into the tech and green energy supply chains risk being left behind.
The bottom line: Trade growth is expected to slow in 2026. For wealthier nations, that's a headwind. For developing economies already squeezed by debt and rising energy costs, it could mean a genuine setback.
Africa's Gig Economy Gap
Source: Brookings
Coming back to the Brookings Report, Foresight Africa Top Priorities for the Continent in 2026, this week and the future of work, their analysis on digital gig platforms is relevant. Companies across the spectrum, from Uber to local apps like Kenya's Onesha, are reshaping work across Africa. But women are being left behind, and the reasons why reveal the age-old inequalities.
The numbers: Women make up just 27% of online gig workers in sub-Saharan Africa, despite Africa having some of the fastest-growing gig markets in the world.
Men gig for ambition. Women gig for survival. The chart above tells the story. Men join gig platforms to be their own boss or learn digital skills. Women join because they need extra income or have no other job options in their area. For millions, gig work isn't a side hustle; it's the only hustle.
Source: Brookings
Tech & Society in Africa
Africa's $40 Phone Bet
Source: Rest of World
The $40 smartphone is an initiative that could really move the needle. 960 million Africans live within mobile coverage but don't use mobile internet. The barrier isn't infrastructure, but rather the cost of a smartphone.
What's happening: GSMA is piloting $40 4G smartphones. According to a recent article, the countries of focus are DR Congo, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda in 2026, with the goal of bringing tens of millions online.
The catch: Cheap phone projects have a graveyard. India's $4 Freedom 251 collapsed. Google's Android One fizzled. Mozilla's $25 Firefox phone died. So far, making a phone that's affordable, durable and usable at scale has defeated everyone who's tried.
The bottom line: At $40, just 10% more than the average feature phone, the math is closer than ever. But rising memory costs, razor-thin margins, and stiff competition from Chinese brands mean Africa's digital leap is far from guaranteed.
Explorations in Africa
Homecoming Goes Mainstream
Source: Nkenne.com
A quiet revolution is reshaping African travel. Ghana, Benin, Sierra Leone and Guinea-Bissau are offering diaspora members citizenship through ancestry programs and DNA testing, and a new generation is answering the call.
The numbers: Skyscanner reported a 15% year-on-year rise in UK flight searches to Accra in 2025. Condé Nast Traveller named ancestry travel one of its biggest trends of the year.
The viral moment: Benin's "My Afro Origins" program grants nationality to descendants of enslaved people for $100 online. It crashed the government website when singer Ciara received citizenship last year.
The bottom line: One American traveler granted Sierra Leone citizenship said after her naming ceremony: "You have a family waiting for you somewhere, and you don't know it yet." As writer Vivienne Dovi puts it, conversations have shifted from "Have you visited Africa?" to "When are you moving back?"
It’s been an interesting week in DC, with my first exposure to the World Bank Spring Meetings. Next week, Ghana. If you are in research mode, don’t miss our reports page. See you all next week.
