Dear Friends,

Happy Friday. Here is your latest Africa Briefing. For those art lovers, your requests have been heard. See more in the Graphics of the Week.

Have a great one, Joshua

• Burkina Faso. France is halting development aid and budgetary support to Burkina Faso after the country warned that any military intervention against Niger’s new military rulers would be seen as a “declaration of war” (France24).

• The Central African Republic (CAR). Voters approved constitutional changes to scupper limitations on presidential terms. The BBC reports that Faustin-Archange Touadéra CAR’s President secured 95% of the electorate’s support. The Wagner Group assisted him in this victory. (BBC).

• Ethiopia. Another state of emergency declared for an Ethiopian state, this time in Amhara State which is home to ~22 million people. The announcement follows clashes between the military and rebel groups.

• Food Security. Devex & McKinsey consider Africa’s agricultural possibilities and the acute need to counter continent wide food insecurity (more in Business & Finance).

• GSK. The pharma giant announced new plans to stop doing business directly in Nigeria amid worsening economic pressure, putting the brakes on activity in Africa’s largest economy after more than half a century of operations (Financial Times).

• Malaria. Researchers have discovered a strain of bacteria that could be key to preventing the transmission of malaria from mosquitoes to humans (BBC). This is very welcome news.

• Niger. France gave the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) its commitment to back military action to topple the junta in Niger. France’s Foreign Minister, said that ECOWAS’s ultimatum should be taken “very seriously” — the deadline has since passed (Al Jazeera).

• Nigeria. The World Bank announced a fund to support the rollout of 1000 solar microgrids across Nigeria (Reuters). In April, I penned a piece about how transformative this microgrids are (Business Day)

• Renew Capital. This major African VC is hosting engagement sessions on its Venture Lab — see more in Tech & Society (Renew Capital).

• Uganda. The UN closed its human rights offices in Uganda after 18 years, following the government’s decision not to renew an agreement that allowed it to operate there (AP News).

• Zambia. The UK and Zambia penned deals worth $3.7B investing in clean energy and critical mineral ties. Zambia is a major copper producer and has large deposits of cobalt, manganese, and nickel (TRT Afrika).

In Context: Many African Brief readers requested more “Art in Africa.” The graphic at the top compares individual artist records for several of the best-known African artists according to Art Market Research. After early successes of Post-War South African artists, the evolution of auction records illustrates how the market has since embraced Contemporary African artists.

The Kenyan government has ordered Worldcoin cryptocurrency to stop signing up new users, citing data privacy concerns (BBC). Worldcoin, founded by US tech entrepreneur Sam Altman (who also founded Open AI), offers free crypto tokens to people who agree to have their eyeballs scanned. The report finds that thousands of Kenyans queued up at registration centres last week to scan and get shares worth $49. The Ministry of the Interior has launched an investigation into Worldcoin and called on security services and data protection agencies to establish its authenticity and legality.

The World Bank’s chief has said the Bank is co-funding 1,000 mini solar power grids throughout Nigeria’s underserved communities. Africa’s biggest economy is mainly dependent on natural gas to generate its electricity (Reuters).

Moving into agriculture, Devex considers the world’s population boom (expected to hit nearly 10 billion people by 2050) and the immense pressure this population growth will put on food supplies (United Nations). While most population growth will emerge from Africa, it is also the continent that presents the greatest hope for the future of agricultural output. The continent’s size makes it home to approximately 45% of the world’s remaining arable land and untapped water resources. Looking to the second factor of production, i.e. labour, the continent has an expanding and economical labor force.

Despite these hopes, some 650–670 million people in Africa, roughly half of the population, already face food insecurity, with 250 million of this number considered to be severely food insecure (McKinsey & Company). Moreover, it is characteristic of the continent that raw materials grown by African farmers are exported for processing elsewhere. Chocolate is the classic case. Côte d’Ivoire produces 45% of the world’s cocoa beans, but only receives about 4% of the chocolate industry’s estimated $100 billion in annual revenue.

African states also import vast quantities of high-value processed foods, increasingly demanded by the continent’s growing urban population, which could be supplied by domestic or regional markets instead. A shift towards intra-African processing would create jobs and wealth, as well as diversify local supply chains and reduce food import dependency.

In context: According to McKinsey, agriculture is one of Africa’s most important economic sectors, making up 23% of the continent’s GDP. In sub-Saharan Africa, the sector provides work for ~60% of the economically active population. Africa’s exports of food and agricultural products are worth between $35 billion and $40 billion a year, and some $8 billion a year flows through intra-regional trade in these products.

South Africa is said to be resisting immense pressure from the US government for the country to ban Huawei tech, according to the South China Morning Post. A few weeks back, South Africa's President Ramaphosa opened a Huawei business center in the country.

A fishing ban will be placed around colonies of the endangered African penguin, according to South Africa's Forestry, Fisheries & Environment Minister Barbara Creecy. The closures will be in place for a minimum of 10 years, with a review due in six years after some data has been collected (News24).

Over last weekend, thousands of protesters hit the streets of Luanda calling for the Angolan President Joao Lourenco to step down. The protest was organized by the country's largest opposition party to commemorate its late leader, Jonas Savimbi (News24).

In Niger the standoff continues as Nigeria, ECOWAS’s biggest player, continues to press the country for the return of democratic rule. On Tuesday, however, the junta refused to allow a mediation team from ECOWAS and the UN to enter the country.

ECOWAS has seen Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger all fall to their own militaries. Nigeria itself has a long history of military dictatorship. Coups follow coups. Democratic presidents across the region look on in worry.

Further West and in Sudan, The Economist writes that since the civil war in Sudan broke out some 4m people have fled their homes, including almost 900,000 who have left to neighboring states.

In South Africa leaks from a judicial investigation suggest that the Lady R, a Russian warship, did not load weapons or ammunition when it called at the Simon’s Town Naval Base in December 2022. According to the leaks, there was an alleged exchange of military equipment between South Africa and Russia. The primary cargo was said to be an old arms order that the South African National Defense Force had placed with Russia before the COVID-19 pandemic, consisting largely of lighter weapons and ammunition (News24).

Renew Capital, an African investment house for small and medium African enterprises, is expanding its Venture Lab and is soliciting applications. The firm supports Africa's abundant talent with networks and capital.

In Context: Bullish investors looking for new markets to enter choose the African continent. General trends indicate more and more capital directed to major deals.

United States in Africa

International pressure continues to mount on Niger as the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced the suspension of aid to Niger following the military coup. The Secretary made commitments to ensure that life saving humanitarian and food assistance will continue (Al Jazeera). A senior American official held “extremely frank” and “difficult” talks with Niger’s junta. Victoria Nuland, America’s Acting Deputy Secretary of State, met the coup leaders in Niamey, the capital. There she encouraged the military government to restore democratic order. The junta refused to let Ms. Nuland meet with Mr. Bazoum, who is under house arrest.