Harbors, Wallets, Watts: Africa is constantly rewiring how it moves goods, money and power. From ports pulling in record amounts of cargo and $1T in state assets, to real-time payments hitting a tipping point and solar panels bolstering the grid, the continent’s “plumbing” is changing fast.

This week, we zoom from cranes in Mombasa to instant payment rails, from Nigeria’s electricity gap to the Congo River’s muscle and Gabon’s forest elephants. The through line: as Africa invests in corridors, cash flows and kilowatts, the next decade’s growth story will look very different.

Africa Trivia

What is the North African mountain range that runs from the Moroccan port of Agadir in the southwest to the Tunisian capital of Tunis in the northeast?

A) Tibesti Mountains
B) Atlas Mountains
C) Marrah Mountains
D) Apennine Range

Graphic of the Week 

Harbors on the Move

The AFC State of Africa’s Infrastructure Report 2025 says African ports are modernizing fast, powered by private operators, rising cargo volumes and new global investors, even as weak inland logistics remain the biggest brake on trade.

What’s happening

• Privatization accelerates: With budgets tight, more countries are handing terminals to private operators; only three mainland states still run ports purely publicly.

• New players surge in: Investors from Turkey, the UAE and Morocco are joining the traditional giants and winning major concessions from Luanda to Pointe-Noire.

• Volumes jump: Mombasa hit 40 million tons; Abidjan, Lomé and Maputo all crossed 30 million tons. Red Sea rerouting lifted East African traffic.

• Few global standouts: Only Tanger Med and Port Said rank among the world’s top 20. Most African ports still struggle with dwell times and low connectivity.

• The real choke point: Moving a container inland can cost more than shipping it from China; corridors, not quaysides are the bottleneck.

• Digital lag: Automation and port community systems remain rare, slowing throughput.

• Hinterland fixes rising: One-stop border posts have cut transport costs by up to 87% and dry ports are spreading across East and West Africa.

The bottom line

Africa is building better ports but the gains will stall without faster, cheaper inland links. Trade moves on corridors not just cranes. Read more: AFC State of Africa’s Infrastructure Report 2025 (we highlighted African pensions from this report previously). 

What We Are Reading

• Africa: The U.S. State Department awarded Zipline up to $150M to expand medical delivery drones across five African countries, marking a major shift toward commercial, pay-for-performance foreign aid (FT). President Trump brought Rwanda and Congo’s leaders to Washington to sign new economic and peace agreements aimed at stabilizing eastern Congo and attracting Western mineral investment, though analysts warn the core conflict remains unresolved (Reuters); Afreximbank says Trump’s policies are pushing the continent to focus on internal markets and industrial processing of raw commodities (FT).

• Cameroon: Opposition leader Anicet Ekane died in military detention, worsening the post-election crisis and sparking accusations of neglect (Al Jazeera).

• DR Congo: Ebola outbreak in Kasai province ended after 43 deaths and 45 days with no new cases (AP News); Plans U.S. partnership on minerals and infrastructure tied to peace deal with Rwanda (Bloomberg).

• Egypt aims to reach $20B in annual apparel exports by 2030, leveraging global supply chain shifts and stronger manufacturing competitiveness (Daily News Egypt).

• Ethiopia: Confirmed its first Marburg outbreak on November 14, reporting 13 cases and eight deaths as of December 3 (CDC).

• Guinea-Bissau: ECOWAS visited to mediate after military coup as Nigeria protects opposition leader amid rising tensions (Al Jazeera).

• Kenya is selling a 15% stake in Safaricom to Vodacom for $1.6B, giving Vodacom a controlling 55% stake to raise funds for national infrastructure and a sovereign wealth fund (Reuters).

• Mozambique: UK withdrew more than $1B of financing for TotalEnergies LNG project, citing increased risks (Bloomberg); Government approves taxation of digital and mobile transactions to expand the tax base and modernize the national tax system (360 Mozambique).

• Nigeria: Telecoms sector rebounds, adding ~$5B to GDP as MTN and Airtel report strong profits and rising data demand (Tech Cabal); Google invests $2.1M to boost AI talent through education innovation and cybersecurity programs (Tech Point); Defense minister resigns amid rising kidnappings and security challenges, replaced by retired general Christopher Musa (BBC Africa).

• Rwanda: Kigali launched dedicated bus-only lanes from downtown to Remera to reduce traffic congestion and speed up public transport (New Times Rwanda).

• Senegal: Students at Cheikh Anta Diop University clashed with security forces, demanding financial aid amid the government’s growing debt and fiscal challenges (Reuters).

• South Africa: More than a dozen South African men say they were lured to Russia with promises of bodyguard jobs, only to find themselves on the front lines of the Ukraine war, triggering a political scandal and a criminal investigation into Jacob Zuma’s daughter (New York Times); South Africa is offering 12- and 30-year dollar-denominated bonds for the first time in a year, tapping foreign markets following reforms and a credit rating upgrade (Bloomberg).

• Sudan: As the RSF seizes territory and commits mass atrocities across Darfur and Kordofan, Sudan’s civil war is deepening what the UN calls the world’s worst humanitarian crisis (Financial Times).

• Tanzania: Vodacom Tanzania launched M-Pesa Global Payment to enable 22 million users to make tap-and-pay and cross-border payments worldwide, linking Tanzanian traders directly to Visa, Alipay, Dubai merchants and MTN Uganda (Tech Cabal).

• Zambia: The February collapse of a tailings dam at a Chinese-owned copper mine in Zambia has become a major test of whether African governments will hold Beijing accountable as an $80B lawsuit moves forward (BBC Africa).

Business & Finance in Africa 

Payments Power Shift

Africa’s digital payments infrastructure is hitting a tipping point. The State of Inclusive Instant Payment Systems in Africa 2025 Report shows the continent is racing toward real financial infrastructure even as the inclusion gap remains significant and investable.

What’s new

• Record rollout: Five new instant payment systems launched since 2024, bringing 25 countries online with real-time domestic payments.

• Nigeria leads: It becomes the first African market to reach full inclusivity.

• A new digital foundation: Instant payments are now the core layer linking digital identity, payments and data sharing.

• The gap persists: 42% of Africans still lack an account and 49% have never made a digital payment. (For comparison, 92% of American adults have made one, according to McKinsey.)

• Cross-border links lag: Regional systems remain slow due to regulatory friction and complex governance.

Why it matters

• Adoption is not keeping pace with infrastructure; on-ramps, trust layers and tools for small businesses are the missing pieces.

• Digitizing government-to-person payments is the fastest lever to pull millions into the financial system.

• As digital identity, real-time payments and data systems connect, embedded finance, credit scoring, merchant tools and digital lending will scale quickly. 

The bottom line

Africa has built the rails. The next decade will be shaped by the players who turn real-time payments into everyday use, close the inclusion gap and build trust, credit and commerce on top of the continent’s new digital foundation. Read more: The State of Inclusive Instant Payment Systems in Africa 2025 Report.

Trillion-Dollar Takeoff

Africa’s state-owned investors hit nearly $1T in assets as pension funds, central banks and a fast-growing crop of sovereign wealth funds step up to fill the gap left by shrinking aid and concessional finance.

What’s new

• Five new sovereign wealth funds (SWF) launched this year in Botswana, DRC, Eswatini, Kenya and Nigeria’s Oyo state.

• Africa now counts about 33 SWFs, led by Libya’s $68B Libyan Investment Authority. Despite the growth, sub-Saharan SWFs still manage only 1% of the world’s $14.3T sovereign wealth pool.

Why it matters

• Many of these funds are designed to catalyze Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) into Africa as global capital grows cautious.

• FDI surged 75% in 2024 to $97B, then fell 42% in early 2025 amid geopolitical and rate shocks.

Big picture

Africa’s sovereign investors are maturing fast, signaling a shift toward homegrown capital shaping the continent’s development. Read more: Reuters.

Tech & Society in Africa

Africa’s Power Puzzle

The Economist said yesterday that Africa’s energy crisis is not just about supply; it’s a demand and affordability problem and it’s an essential context for understanding the continent’s energy challenge and opportunity.

The big picture

• Sub-Saharan Africa uses so little electricity that giving every person a 50-watt bulb would double consumption.

• Nigeria, with 240 million people, generates less power than Wyoming (population 0.6 million).

• 600 million Africans still have no electricity.

• Tariffs are too high for consumers yet too low to attract investment, leaving utilities underfunded and unreliable.

What’s shifting

• Solar costs fell 21% in 2024, making solar cheaper than coal in South Africa and heavy fuel oil across the Sahel.

• Africa imported 15GW of Chinese solar panels in one year — equivalent to adding four of Kenya’s daytime capacity.

• Mini-grids and rooftop systems are electrifying places the grid can’t reach profitably.

• Big firms are installing their own solar to escape blackouts, which helps them but drains utilities of their best-paying customers.

• 220 million Africans cannot afford enough power to run a phone charger, radio and a few lights, one reason many households near the grid stay unconnected.

What needs to happen

• Utilities must build demand not just supply; reliable power increases willingness to pay.

• More investment in transmission and regional power trade is key; 14 West African countries already share power on an interconnected grid.

• Rural access still requires subsidies; in 2023, 75% of connection financing came from multilaterals.

• Powering firms first may drive jobs and incomes and ultimately household electrification.

Bottom line

Africa’s energy future depends on solving the demand-and-affordability gap and today’s solar boom, regional grids and transmission investments offer the most realistic path to scalable power.

Climate in Africa

The Congo Advantage

Africa’s Congo River ranks third most powerful in the world, moving more water than every river in Asia except the Ganges system and reminding us how central the continent’s equatorial rains are to global freshwater flows.

What to know

• New ranking highlights the 30 most powerful rivers, measured by average discharge.

• The Amazon dominates globally but the Congo’s 41,400 m³/s cements it as Africa’s unrivaled hydrological engine.

• The Nile is absent due to extreme evaporation across the Sahara, showing why “longest” doesn’t equal “most powerful.”

Big picture

Rivers shape economies. The Congo anchors Central Africa’s rainfall, biodiversity and hydropower potential, a reminder that Africa’s natural infrastructure is among its greatest strategic assets. Read more: Voronoi.

Explorations in Africa

Forest Giants Return

Today, we head back to Gabon, a rare bright spot for conservation. Scientists using DNA “fingerprints” from dung have discovered Africa’s forest elephants number 135,690, about 16% more than earlier estimates.

What’s new

• A breakthrough genetic method lets researchers identify individual elephants in dense jungles.

• The results are far more accurate than past aerial or dung-pile counts.

• The update was unveiled at a U.N. wildlife meeting this week.

Why it matters

• Forest elephants are critically endangered and essential to rainforest regeneration.

• Their fruit-rich diet disperses seeds that keep Congo Basin forests alive.

• Poaching has declined but habitat loss from mining, logging and farming remains a serious threat.

Big picture

However, the interesting story is the one behind Gabon’s conservation movement: vision and leadership. There are 13 national parks and an evident commitment to conservation, as we have covered. This week, I ran across an old but fascinating video on BBC that is worth watching to understand the context and why Gabon anchors the recovery of the forest elephant species across West and Central Africa. Read more on the wonder of elephant dung in Reuters and be sure to watch the BBC video for a quick and wonderful history lesson. 

Africa Trivia Answer

Answer: B) Atlas Mountains. Source: Britannica. My family's adventures last weekend found me deep inside the Atlas Mountains of Morocco. The switchbacks from Tanger-Med Port through to Meknes are legit! 

Happy December! Hoping the holidays are shaping up to be a jolly time for you and your loved ones. A quick heads-up: the Africa Brief team will take a break on December 26 and January 2 but we still have a few weeks to go. In the meantime, take a look back at last week’s graphic on Africa’s Hidden Alpha and email us at [email protected].