This week: South Africa tops Africa’s internet speeds, Zambia battles soaring inflation and Mauritius flips leadership in a political landslide. Mozambique faces post-election unrest and sub-Saharan Africa’s private lending plummets, stalling growth. All this and more. But first…

Africa Trivia

Graphic of the Week

Spotted an interesting graphic for a future edition of The Africa Brief? Email us or drop a comment!

Top 10 Stories on Africa This Week

Here are ten of the most-viewed articles on Africa from November 7 to November 14, 2024, based on insights from ChatGPT using Google Trends and Newswhip (Scores: 1 = negative, 2 = neutral, 3 = positive). Our chatbot gave this week’s top news an average score of 1.9. 

1. Mauritius Opposition Wins Country’s Election by a Landslide (Score = 2): The opposition coalition in Mauritius secured a decisive victory, capturing all 62 directly elected parliamentary seats, leading to a change in leadership (AP News).

2. Why Post-Election Violence in Mozambique is a Concern for Southern Africa (Score = 1): Post-election unrest in Mozambique has resulted in at least 30 deaths, prompting regional concerns and an upcoming Southern African Development Community summit to address the instability (AP News).

3. Africa Grapples with Forecasting Challenge as Weather Disasters Loom (Score = 1): African countries face significant challenges in weather forecasting due to outdated equipment and insufficient funding, exacerbating the impact of climate-related disasters (Reuters).

4. Nigeria Signs $1.2B Deal with Chinese State-Owned Company to Revamp Key Gas Plant (Score = 3): Nigeria has entered into a $1.2B agreement with China’s CNCEC to revitalize a crucial gas processing facility, aiming to boost domestic aluminum production (AP News).

5. Fiber Optic Cables Should Be Considered ‘Critical Infrastructure’ in Africa, Google Says (Score = 3): Google advocates for African governments to designate fiber optic cables as critical infrastructure to enhance protection and support technological development (Reuters).

6. Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea Book Cup of Nations Berths Without Playing (Score = 3): Both Ivory Coast and Equatorial Guinea have qualified for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, securing their spots without having to play their final qualifying matches (Reuters).

7. EU Wheat Exports Shift Westwards as Russian Trade Spreads (Score = 2): European Union wheat exports are increasingly directed towards West Africa as Russia expands its trade influence in North African and Middle Eastern markets (Reuters).

8. Russian Power Creeps Across West Africa with Equatorial Guinea Mission (Score = 1): Russia has deployed military instructors to Equatorial Guinea, indicating a growing influence in West Africa amid declining Western presence (Reuters).

9. Mali Arrests Top Politician for Criticizing Burkina Faso’s Ruling Junta (Score = 1): Mali’s ruling junta detained prominent politician Issa Kaou N’Djim for remarks criticizing Burkina Faso’s military leadership. This incident highlights the political tensions and challenges to freedom of expression in the region (AP News).

10. Africa's Need for Enhanced Data to Attract Capital (Score = 2): Experts emphasize that Africa requires more robust data collection to attract capital and improve economic growth. Insufficient data hampers investment and development across the continent (The Economist).

Business & Finance in Africa 

Opportunity in Private Credit

• How strange: Sub-Saharan Africa’s private-sector lending declined by 20% in 15 years, per the European Investment Bank (EIB), while other regions saw growth.

• Why it matters: Unlike other developing regions, credit to Africa’s private sector is constrained by public sector borrowing, stunting private-led growth and foreign investment traction.

• The opportunity: Expanding private-sector credit is key to driving Africa’s economic development and attracting more global investment (Semafor).

Data Needed to Drive Investment

The Economist has an important read this week about the need for better data to reduce risk perceptions and the cost of capital across the continent. It seems many people are talking about an African credit rating agency these days!

• In brief: High debt and equity costs in Africa are partly due to outdated risk perceptions and lack of data, driving up perceived risk.

• But there is a mismatch in reality vs. perception: Despite strong returns and low default rates, African investments often get unfairly high-risk profiles.

• Solution: Improving data transparency and creating an African credit-rating agency could help align investment risk with reality, boosting capital inflows.

• It’s worth a read (The Economist).

Kwacha Crunch & Power Strain

• What’s happening: The Zambian kwacha is not looking good these days nearing record lows as a severe drought cripples agriculture (70% of the population's livelihood), forcing food and power imports that deplete reserves.

• Impact: Essentials like maize and meat are surging in price, pushing inflation to 15.7%, a three-year high. Power cuts leave residents with only seven hours of electricity daily.

• The big picture: With $1.6B in unresolved debt, Zambia’s central bank faces pressure to act as economic challenges deepen (Bloomberg).

Africa's Debt Discount

• Debt premium drops: African sovereign debt premium over U.S. Treasuries hit a five-year low, fueled by country-led restructuring and investor confidence.

• Ghana leads restructuring: Ghana's new dollar bonds earned a CCC+ rating, signaling recovery but high credit risk.

• Trump impact minimal: So far experts see limited effects on sub-Saharan Africa from Trump 2.0 (Fitch Ratings, Bloomberg).

Construction Boom Hammers Jobless Rate

• Context: South Africa’s unemployment rate dropped to 32.1% in Q3 2024, down from 33.5% in Q2, marking its first decline in a year and beating economists’ forecasts of 32.8%.

• Job creation surged by 294,000 positions, bringing total employment to 16.9 million, with the construction sector leading the growth by adding 176,000 jobs.

• The big picture: Business confidence has risen significantly since the establishment of a new coalition government, which has prioritized infrastructure investments and economic stabilization efforts (Bloomberg).

Health in Africa 

Nigeria’s North-South Divide

• Stark contrasts: Nigeria’s South sees lower fertility and higher literacy, while the North faces high fertility and lower education and economic challenges.

• Economic & social gaps: The South leads in GDP, infrastructure and financial access, as the North struggles with poverty, instability and violence.

• Path to unity: Declining fertility and urban migration offer hope, but closing these divides is vital for Nigeria’s future stability and growth (The Economist).

Tech & Society in Africa

• Moniepoint recently joined Africa’s growing list of unicorns, marking the continent’s eighth such startup. 

• Africa’s story of unicorns began when Jumia achieved its 2016 milestone and since then, startups like Interswitch, Flutterwave, OPay and Wave raised funding rounds resulting in valuations exceeding $1B. 

• While fintech dominates, other sectors like energy, mobility and retail now have startups nearing unicorn status, such as TymeBank and Sun King. 

• Read more on the rise of Africa’s startup scene and companies that could soon follow Moniepoint’s lead (Africa: The Big Deal).

Africa’s Internet Race: The 5G Frontier

Despite significant progress in internet infrastructure across Africa, slow download speeds remain a major hurdle. 

• Need faster speed? South Africa leads with the fastest internet speeds at 34.5 Mbps, followed by Zimbabwe (22.9 Mbps) and Morocco (22.6 Mbps). At the start of 2024, South Africa had 45.34 million internet users.

• Why is it so slow? Many countries have outdated 2G and 3G networks, which result in slower speeds and inconsistent quality. 

• As African nations continue to introduce and embrace 5G technology, they aim to improve connectivity across the continent.

And, in case you are wondering, here are the 2024 Global Mean Download Speeds by Country (Mbps).

Democracy in Africa

A Test of Sovereignty and Stability

On Wednesday, November 13, 2024, Somaliland conducted its fourth presidential election since declaring independence in 1991. The election, delayed by two years, saw a significant voter turnout, with more than one million citizens casting their ballots across more than 2,000 polling stations (AP News).

• Who's who? The main candidates were incumbent President Muse Bihi Abdi of the Kulmiye Party, seeking a second term; Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi of the Waddani Party, advocating for democratic reforms; and Faisal Ali Warabe of the Justice and Welfare Party, promoting national unity (AP News).

• Results? The election proceeded peacefully and vote counting is currently underway. Results are expected to be announced by November 21, 2024 (Voice of America). 

The Big Picture: This election may be pivotal for Somaliland's ongoing quest for international recognition. A recent agreement with Ethiopia, granting it access to the Indian Ocean in exchange for potential recognition, has heightened political tensions with Somalia, which views such deals as a violation of its sovereignty (Reuters).

Explorations in Africa

Ivory Coast’s Wine Boom

• In 2023, Côte d'Ivoire became sub-Saharan Africa's top wine importer, importing $64.1M worth, per the USDA.

• 88% of its wine comes from Spain and 7% from France.

• Why it’s growing: A rising middle class, urbanization and a taste for wine with spicy dishes drive demand, despite inflation and currency challenges (USDA).

Jazz & The Congo Crisis

• Need an interesting movie recommendation? Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat blends jazz legends like Miles Davis and John Coltrane with a dramatic retelling of the 1961 assassination of Congo's Patrice Lumumba.

• Geopolitics & music collide: Belgian director Johan Grimonprez uses archival jazz as both score and narrative, weaving 1960's “cool war” diplomacy into Congo's struggle for independence.

• A dizzying archive: The film channels jazz’s improvisational spirit, mixing geopolitical intrigue with intense musical phrasing, tracing a tragic and rhythm-driven journey through Congo’s turbulent past.

• Watch the Official Trailer and read the full review in FT.

Africa Trivia Response

Answer: A, Seychelles. Read more.

P.S. We hope you enjoyed the Brief! Reach out if you have ideas or feedback ([email protected]). See you next week!