It’s late August, so report releases have slowed, but not the news.
This week is a bit of a grab bag: the cost of hunger, Africa’s push to own more of the AI stack, the dollar getting some competition and a worrying Ebola outbreak in DR Congo. Plus, Ghana’s gloriously unhinged movie posters are having a second life as collectible art.
Sometimes the continent refuses to fit neatly into a theme. This is one of those weeks.
Graphic of the Week
Hunger’s Cost Problem
Source: Maximo Torero via LinkedIn
I ran across this graphic on the LinkedIn feed of the FAO’s chief economist. According to Maximo Torero, Africa now has more hungry people than any other region, overtaking Asia. But there is some good news. Hunger prevalence fell globally and in most regions in Africa for the first time in nearly a decade.
By the numbers:
309 million: People facing hunger in Africa, versus 292 million in Asia.
2 in 3: Africans cannot afford a healthy diet.
5.3%: Senegal’s hunger rate, down from 15.8% two decades ago.
The problem: Nutritious food costs too much to grow and move. Low productivity drives up farm costs, while weak logistics and cold chains make getting food to consumers expensive.
The bright spot: Some countries are bucking the trend. Senegal cut hunger from 15.8% to 5.3% over the past 20 years, while Togo more than halved its rate, from 24.6% to 10.2%, despite the pandemic and global food-price shocks.
Bottom line: Africa’s hunger numbers are daunting, but some countries are showing what can be done about it. The next challenge is making healthy food cheaper to grow, move and buy.
What We Are Reading
Angola: Chevron discovered oil and gas condensate offshore Angola, supporting plans to expand production through infrastructure-led exploration (Reuters).
Cameroon won its first Women’s Africa Cup of Nations title after defeating Malawi 3-0 in the final (Reuters).
Central African Republic: An artisanal gold mine collapsed in the Nana-Mambéré prefecture, killing at least thirty workers (AP News).
Chad: President Idriss Déby pardoned opposition leader Succes Masra after more than a year in prison (Reuters).
DR Congo: This year’s Ebola has become the country’s deadliest outbreak with more than 2,300 deaths as conflict and weak healthcare systems hinder containment (FT).
Egypt: A blind Egyptian entrepreneur developed ScribeMe, an AI app using Meta smart glasses to help visually impaired users navigate their surroundings (Reuters). Not my usual fare, but worth an August read.
Ethiopia: A U.S. judge cleared the Trump administration to end deportation protections for more than 5,000 Ethiopians living in the U.S. (Reuters).
Ghana: Russia pledged to stop the illegal recruitment of Ghanaians to fight in Ukraine as the death toll reached 62 with 15 still missing (Bloomberg).
Guinea’s state miner and Resolute Mining launched a joint venture to explore and develop gold projects as the country diversifies beyond bauxite (Reuters).
Kenya: The Nairobi Securities Exchange announced plans to launch 50 ETFs and index products by 2029 to expand investment options across Kenya and Africa (Bloomberg).
Liberia: Government agreed to receive up to 1,200 third-country deportees from the United States (AP News).
Libya needs up to $40B in investment to raise oil production to 2 million barrels a day by 2030 amid political instability (FT).
Mali: A $50M hostage ransom helped fund al Qaeda-linked militants’ offensive across Mali and strengthen the group’s wider operations in Africa (Reuters).
Mozambique: ExxonMobil is reviving its $30B Rovuma LNG project despite ongoing militant threats as Middle East disruptions increase demand for alternative gas supplies (FT).
Namibia: Equinor is buying a 17.4% stake in Chevron’s Orange Basin exploration license as major energy companies pursue Namibia’s emerging oil potential (Bloomberg).
Nigeria: Absa announced plans to convert its representative office into a merchant bank to expand in Nigeria and diversify its African revenue (Bloomberg); Tinubu entered the election race as the frontrunner for the January election despite voter anger over insecurity, high living costs and power shortages (Bloomberg).
Senegal: The IMF will visit Senegal for talks on a new lending program as progress is made toward resolving the country’s debt misreporting issue (Reuters).
Somalia: National airline set to resume flights next month after being grounded since the 1991 civil war (Bloomberg).
South Africa: Inflation fell more than expected to 4.3% in July, strengthening the case for the central bank to hold rates steady (Bloomberg).
Tanzania: The government turned to Vitol for emergency fuel supplies during the Hormuz crisis, but the deal left Tanzania paying some of the world’s highest diesel prices (Bloomberg).
Uganda: The IMF will visit Uganda in September to negotiate a new program as the country faces high debt servicing costs and fiscal pressures (Reuters).
Zambia: President Hichilema secured victory in a general election marked by campaign disputes (AP News).
Zimbabwe: China’s Yahua announced plans to launch a $200M lithium processing plant in 2027 as Zimbabwe pushes to process more minerals locally (Bloomberg).
Innovation in Africa
Own the Stack
Source: BCG
Previously, we’ve covered Africa’s AI adoption gap. To add to that, a new BCG analysis argues that without more locally owned infrastructure, data and technology, Africa risks repeating an old economic pattern with a new raw material: data.
By the numbers:
5%: Digital economy’s share of Africa’s GDP, versus 15% globally.
<1%: Africa’s share of global data center capacity, despite having 18% of the world’s population.
35% more: What African companies can pay for the same software and equipment as peers elsewhere.
62,000: AI specialists in Africa, about 5% of the global AI workforce.
The risk: African data feeds models built abroad, while African businesses pay to access the resulting products and services.
The prescription: Pool investment across countries, build shared digital infrastructure through public-private partnerships and favor open-source systems that local companies can build on.
Bottom line: Adoption is only half the AI story. Africa needs to own more of the stack if it wants to capture more of the value.
Dollar Gets Competition
Source: Africa Brief using IMF data
The Economist is starting to pay attention to something we’ve been watching for a while: African countries are looking for ways to rely less on the U.S. dollar. The yuan is gaining ground, and so are African currencies.
By the numbers:
70%: Africa’s external public debt is still denominated in dollars.
$215M: What Kenya could save annually after converting some Chinese loans from dollars to yuan.
4x: Growth in African cross-border yuan transactions from 2020 to 2024.
$5B: Potential annual savings from settling more intra-African trade in local currencies.
Zoom in: Zambia now accepts some mining taxes in yuan and requires domestic transactions in kwacha. Meanwhile, more than 160 commercial banks and 22 central banks have joined a pan-African system for settling trade in local currencies. Afreximbank developed the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) in collaboration with the AfCFTA Secretariat.
Zoom out: The yuan has plenty of catching up to do. Despite its growing use in African trade and finance, it still accounts for less than 3% of global payments for trade and just 1.99% of global foreign-exchange reserves (IMF 1; IMF 2).
Health in Africa
Ebola Crisis Deepens
Source: FT
DR Congo is battling the deadliest Ebola outbreak in its history, says a FT article. Six months into the crisis, the WHO says the country has entered a phase of “intense transmission,” with conflict, displacement and a fragile health system making containment difficult.
By the numbers:
2,325: Confirmed deaths, a record for DR Congo.
4,945: Confirmed infections, though estimates suggest the real number could be far higher.
620,000: Doses already manufactured of an experimental Oxford vaccine targeting the strain.
Why it matters: The outbreak involves the rare Bundibugyo strain, and there is currently no approved vaccine specifically for it. Two candidates have entered early human trials.
Zoom out: The 2014-16 West Africa epidemic remains far larger, killing more than 11,000 people. But experts warn DR Congo could move in that direction if transmission is not brought under control soon.
Explorations in Africa
Posters Gone Wild
Source: The Guardian
I’m looking forward to getting back to Accra to explore this subculture. For decades, Ghanaian artists painted wildly exaggerated movie posters on old flour sacks to lure audiences into neighborhood video clubs. Accuracy was optional. Imagination was the point.
The backstory: According to an article in The Guardian, the tradition flourished from the late 1970s through the early 2000s, with artists adding blood, monsters and entirely invented scenes to Hollywood films.
By the numbers:
15: Ghanaian artists now working with Deadly Prey Gallery, a Chicago-based group to keep the tradition alive.
$600+: Starting price for a newly commissioned poster.
4 decades: How long artist Heavy J has been painting them. Read his and other artists' bios.
Plot twist: The posters once disappeared as TVs and video players killed off Ghana’s neighborhood video clubs. Now they’re collectible art, with much of the demand coming from U.S. buyers.
Thanks for sticking with us through the dog days of August. Before everyone pretends to get serious again in September, revisit last week’s graphic on Free Trade Surprise. Email us at [email protected].
