This week’s Brief is a mix of dollars, dams and antelope. Stablecoins may sound like fintech snooze but they’re fast becoming Africa’s unofficial rails. Ethiopia is busy turning the Nile into megawatts and South Sudan just reminded us that the planet’s greatest migration isn’t in the Serengeti. It’s a vast continent, as fascinating as ever. Read on.

Africa Trivia 

Which African country minted the first coins on the continent?

A) Egypt
B) Ethiopia
C) Tunisia
D) Mali

Graphic of the Week 

Stablecoin Rules, Africa Moves

The chart may be bland but the context deserves attention. I am sure the “wow” graphics on the topic will catch up soon. But in the meantime, for those of us who are focused on Africa, we need to get smart on stablecoins. Across sub-Saharan Africa, on-chain volumes are up around 52% YoY, with stablecoins fueling remittances and payments. Nigeria leads adoption. 

Listen in: Goldman Sachs’ Exchanges podcast (After a Summer of Stablecoins, What’s Next?) dives into the new U.S. GENIUS Act, the first federal framework for stablecoins. Ex-Office of the Comptroller of the Currency chief Brian Brooks is bullish—seeing global dollar demand and cheaper remittances. Economist Barry Eichengreen warns of “wildcat banking” risks. Stablecoins aren’t going away.

Africa’s angle:

• Nigeria: The SEC’s 2025 framework recognizes stablecoins as regulated securities. The cNGN launched this year as Africa’s first regulated stablecoin, built by the African Stablecoin Consortium (IMF). Between July 2023 and June 2024, Nigeria ranked #2 globally in crypto adoption, receiving about $59B in on-chain cryptocurrency value (Chainalysis).

• South Africa: New rules demand issuers prove reserves, audits and AML/CFT compliance (IFWG).

• Sub-Saharan Africa context: The region as a whole accounted for about $125B in crypto value during the same period, with Nigeria driving a large share.

China’s stablecoin play:

• From ban to embrace: Beijing now allows limited offshore experiments. Hong Kong’s new regime drew 40+ applicants, with JD.com and Alibaba testing.

• CBDC first: The e-CNY dominates (7T yuan in circulation). Stablecoins are seen as complements, not competitors.

• Yuan-backed logic: Offshore yuan (CNH) coins could curb capital flight, support remittances and boost “dim sum” bond demand.

• Strategic motive: Some frame it as a dollar challenge, but limits are clear: trust in Chinese assets is low, dollar tokens dominate liquidity and foreigners still want dollars (Atlantic Council).

Dollar’s digital edge: The GENIUS Act may give Washington an edge in keeping the dollar central to global finance. Clear rules for dollar-backed stablecoins build trust and widen adoption abroad. Big e-commerce platforms may help lead the way in practical adoption. 

Africa link: For savers in Lagos or traders in Johannesburg, safer dollar tokens could deepen ties to the greenback as digital finance spreads. It’s early days but stablecoins could nudge Africa’s financial integration closer to the dollar. Listen to the podcast (23 minutes). Thanks John Kriegsman for flagging this! 

What We Are Reading

• Africa: Accion raised a $62M fund to invest in early-stage fintech startups across the continent (Semafor); A commercial ship cut four undersea cables in the Red Sea, disrupting internet access in 10 countries in the region (AP News).

• Cameroon: Four Chinese firms won contracts to rebuild a $397M highway linking Douala to Chad’s capital N’Djamena, with completion expected by 2030 (Bloomberg).

• DR Congo: Residents of rebel-held Bukavu are using damaged banknotes after banks closed, creating a severe cash shortage (AP News).

• Egypt: Inflation slowed to 12.7% in August, down from 13.9% in July as tighter monetary policy and IMF support eased pressure (Reuters).

• Ethiopia inaugurated Africa’s largest hydropower dam on the Blue Nile, while Egypt and Sudan warned it threatened their water security (Financial Times); African leaders at the Africa Climate Summit in Addis spoke of shifting from aid to investment (AP News).

• Côte d’Ivoire: Ex-First Lady Simone Gbagbo was cleared to run for president in the October election (BBC Africa).

• Kenya used U.S.-funded antiterrorism courts to charge young protesters with terrorism after demonstrations over taxes, corruption and unemployment (The Wall Street Journal).

• Senegal: President Faye reshuffled his cabinet, replacing key ministers as he and Prime Minister Sonko pledged to tackle debt and poverty (RFI).

• South Africa: Growth remained stuck below 2% as weak investment and slow reforms weighed on the outlook, the Bureau for Economic Research warned (Bloomberg); Walmart announced it would open its first branded stores by the end of 2025, selling groceries, apparel and local products (Walmart).

• Sudan: The military accused the UAE of recruiting Colombian mercenaries to fight alongside the RSF in its civil war (Financial Times).

• Mali: Jihadists targeted Chinese-run industrial sites with raids and kidnappings to weaken the junta (RFI); Al-Qaida-linked militants set fire to fuel trucks and blocked imports from Côte d’Ivoire to pressure the government (AP News).

• Uganda: The International Criminal Court (ICC) began its first hearing in absentia, presenting evidence of war crimes and crimes against humanity against fugitive warlord Joseph Kony (AP News).

Business & Finance in Africa 

The Flavors of Capital

I found this graphic on LinkedIn to be interesting and self explanatory. Stears dug into 300+ LPs backing Africa and categorized the tribes. For those fundraising, the recommendation is to match LP type and HQ. And don’t forget Japan or South Africa corporates it seems.

The Price of Connectivity

The biggest barrier to internet access in Africa isn’t data — it’s devices. A basic internet phone costs 87% of a poor household’s monthly income, GSMA told Semafor. Taxes make phones pricier; South Africa recently scrapped a duty on cheap handsets to boost access.

Stuck on 3G: Sixty percent of Africa’s mobile internet users rely on 3G or feature phones — the world’s highest share — draining telco budgets and slowing 4G/5G rollout.

Climate in Africa

Dam of Dreams, Risk of Instability

Triumph at home: Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed inaugurated the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), Africa’s largest hydropower project and a unifying national symbol. Built with citizen bonds after donors balked, it should soon generate 6,000+ MW and $1B a year in revenue. Side note: Only 22% of Ethiopians have power today.

Crisis downstream: Since planning and construction began, Egypt and Sudan have been fearful of water loss. Egypt, water-stressed and reliant on the Nile, warned the UN it would “defend its existential interests.” Sudan, despite potential benefits, leans toward Egypt amid its civil war.

Nationalism and geopolitics: The dam stokes nationalist fervor in both Ethiopia and Egypt. Talks collapsed in 2023. Cairo allegedly armed Ethiopian rebels and boosted ties with Eritrea, raising fears Abiy might strike to regain Red Sea access—risking a wider regional conflict.

Bottom line: The GERD could electrify the Horn—but some fear a water war. Read more: The Economist.

Africa holds nearly 10% of global hydropower potential, with mega-dams doubling as symbols of ambition and energy strategy. Ethiopia leads the charge.

Explorations in Africa

World’s Greatest Migration

Each year, six million antelope — white-eared kob, tiang, Mongalla gazelle, Bohor reedbuck — thunder through South Sudan in a migration three times the Serengeti’s. Scientists now call it the planet’s largest movement of land mammals. The WSJ piece on it is worth the time, full of epic photos and videos. To date, the migration is largely unseen as the herds cross a war-torn, roadless wilderness — accessible only by helicopter or ultralight plane. Few outsiders have ever witnessed it.

Conservation stakes: African parks and rangers struggle to protect the migration from poaching, roads and oil drilling. In one month, 14,000 kob carcasses passed through a single town for sale. Once-plentiful zebras have already vanished.

According to the article, South Sudan holds an epic, fragile wonder — the greatest land migration on Earth — but without protection, even herds in the millions could disappear.

Africa Trivia 

Answer: C — Tunisia, then known as Carthage, where coins were minted as early as the 4th century BC. Source: Numismatic News. 

Look back at last week’s newsletter for our graphic of the week on citizen engagement. If you’re finding the Brief useful, help us grow by forwarding it on.

Email us at ([email protected]) with ideas and as always, thanks Shayne, Ruth and Innocent for your help on this week’s Brief. 

See you next week!