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This week, we’re covering the massive growth potential of African entrepreneurship, the power of African creative industries, and a landmark win for the Nigerian government. |
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Top newsGolden Gateway: This week’s Global Gateway Forum in Brussels follows last week’s Belt and Road Forum in Beijing. Presidents from Comoros (the current African Union chair), Namibia, Mauritania, Senegal, and Somalia headed to Brussels for the forum. Cape Verde, DRC, Egypt, Morocco, and Rwanda sent their prime ministers. Meanwhile, leaders of major European countries decided this was not a priority and did not attend. That may further exacerbate growing frustrations amongst African leaders that the West doesn’t see them as equal partners. Also noticeably absent: World Bank President Ajay Banga and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa. Aftershocks has been critical of this EU initiative for its lack of substance — but some substance may be forming. The European Commission signed bilateral deals on critical minerals, green hydrogen, digital deals, and transport corridors. Check out a map of projects. Eight times more health: Nigeria won its UK high court case over a gas contract. If Nigeria had lost the case, the government would have been required to pay a sum eight times the country’s federal health budget to a small group of business people and a Cayman registered hedge fund. The victory is huge given the implications for government spending. Per capita spending on health in Nigeria is just US$70 a year. 75% of that comes out of people’s pockets, with the government covering just 15% and aid donors covering 10%. Doubling spending: The consumption of Black consumers globally will nearly double by 2030 – from US$910 billion in 2019 to US$1.7 trillion in 2030, according to the McKinsey Institute for Black Mobility. That’s equal to more than half of the African continent’s entire GDP today. The African-born diaspora — which is 160 million people globally — sent US$55 billion to the continent in 2023. For comparison, aid to Africa was US$58.4 billion in 2021. These payments support the living costs of over 200 million people. This is not lost on Ghana’s government, which has tapped the diaspora to boost its economy. Meta analysis: Global demand is also creating a massive market for African entrepreneurs. Online platform ANKA, which aims to “unleash African entrepreneurship globally,” says 30% of its buyers are from the African diaspora and 40% are of African American or Caribbean origin. Many use apps to reach their customers: 40% use WhatsApp and 37% use Facebook or Instagram. That means that Meta, which owns all three platforms facilitates about 77% of online sales by African entrepreneurs. Missing a trick: Analysis from LAGO Collective – a new platform to unlock the power of creative industries on global challenges – shows that Africans applying for European visas are more likely to face rejection than those from other countries. For US visas, the average wait for a visitor just to get an interview appointment is 492 days for Nigerians, 455 for Ugandans, and 375 for Ghanians. High-profile African creatives aren’t immune. That includes the associates of Scottish-Ghanaian artist Lesley Lokko, who curated the Venice Biennale this year. Paperwork from the Italian Embassy in Accra claimed there were reasonable doubts on the artists’ “intention to leave the territory, or state, before the expiry of [their] visa,” which led to their visa rejections. African Giant*: In 2022 sub-Saharan Africa was the fastest growing music market in the world, according to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. This summer Burnaboy sold out London’s Wembley stadium. Yet even some of Africa’s biggest up-and-coming music artists struggle to get visas to travel to Europe and North America, says Afrobeats music manager Don Jazzy, who has worked with award-winning artists. They are young, highly creative artists with massive followings and huge potential. But many are also young African men with few financial assets and are therefore considered a “risk” under current visa rules. Not-so-little black book: Three years after the #EndSARS massacre, a new Netflix thriller exposing police brutality in Nigeria has taken the world by storm. “The Black Book” had 5.6 million views 48 hours after its release and was featured amongst the top 10 titles in 69 countries. “Films are made for audiences, and the bigger the audience for a film, the better the chances of your message going out. The reality for us is that we made a film, made by Nigerians, funded by Nigerian money, go global,” said producer Editi Effiong. “The Black Book” is among an average of 2,000 movies released annually from Nigeria. Nollywood is the world’s second-largest film industry based on number of productions, after India. I'm not gonna crack*: Ghana is poised to become one of the world’s leading lithium producers following a deal with Australian miner, Atlantic Lithium Ltd. The 15-year deal is a boon for Ghana’s Sovereign Wealth Fund, which will acquire a 3.06% stake in the company. The firm will refine the mineral in Ghana, adding value, creating jobs, and producing 3.6 million tonnes of spodumene concentrate. It will be the world’s 10th-biggest lithium project. Stamp of approval: The IMF confirmed that a new African Development Bank hybrid capital instrument fits with their rules on the reserve asset characteristics of SDRs. The rules are there to stop governments printing money and using it for their own budgets. The AfDB’s proposal seeks to leverage IMF Special Drawing Rights to lend cheaply to African governments. It is just a pilot, but it could be a game changer because it leverages SDRs at a ratio of 1:4. If the $375 billion SDRs sitting unused in advanced countries were put in, it could unlock $1.5 trillion. F is for...: The Famine Early Warning System (FEWSNET) warns that the El Niño weather pattern will cause heightened food insecurity in 2024. Previous impacts of El Niño in 1982, 1983, 1997, 1998, and 2014 caused severe droughts in Africa, death of livestock, crop losses, forest fires, and pest and disease outbreaks. Historic droughts in the Horn of Africa have already caused severe water shortages and food insecurity for tens of millions of people. *Bonus points to all the music fans who knew the Burna Boy and Nirvana references in this newsletter. From the ONE Team
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What you should read, watch, and listen to:
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The ONE Campaign’s data.one.org provides cutting edge data and analysis on the economic, political, and social changes impacting Africa. Check it out HERE. |
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