Financial Times (March 27)
“The price of cocoa surged past $10,000 a tonne for the first time on Tuesday, as a dizzying rise in prices caused by poor harvests in Africa accelerates. Cocoa futures traded as high as $10,080 in New York, more than double their price only two months ago, as traders warned a global shortage of cocoa beans would herald higher price tags for chocolate bars.”
Tags: Africa, Chocolate bars, Cocoa, Dizzying, Double, Futures, Higher, New York, Poor harvests, Price, Shortage, Surged, Traders
Institutional Investor (December 22)
“Africa may not be the first continent that comes to mind for investing in emerging markets — but given its vast potential, maybe it should be.” Moreover, “Africa is increasingly becoming a critical player in the race to net zero, thanks to its population, infrastructure, and resources.”
Tags: Africa, Continent, Critical, Emerging markets, Infrastructure, Investing, Net zero, Population, Potential
GCaptain (July 11)
“The hurdles African countries face in transitioning to gas or green energy mean millions of people are burning dirtier fuels such as charcoal instead, breathing in deadly fumes and generating more emissions. The IEA estimates that the number of people in sub-Saharan Africa without access to clean cooking fuel will grow by 6% a year from 2020 to 2030.”
Tags: Access, Africa, Breathing, Burning, Charcoal, Clean, Cooking fuel, Deadly fumes, Dirtier, Emissions, Gas, Green energy, Hurdles, IEA, Transitioning
New York Times (December 21)
The Twenty-Teens have “been fundamentally shaped by the technological creations of the young, in the form of social media and mobile apps; by the mass migrations of the young, from Africa and the Middle East to Europe and from Latin America to the U.S.; by the diseases of the (mostly) young, notably addiction and mental illness; and by the moral convictions of the young, from the #MeToo and Black Lives Matter movements in the U.S. to mass demonstrations from Cairo to Hong Kong.”
Tags: #MeToo, Addiction, Africa, Apps, Black Lives Matter, Cairo, Demonstrations, Diseases, Europe, Hong Kong, Latin America, Mental illness, Middle East, Migrations, Moral convictions, Movements, Social media, Technology, U.S., Young
The Economist (March 9)
Interest in Africa is booming. “Outsiders have noticed that the continent is important and becoming more so, not least because of its growing share of the global population (by 2025 the UN predicts that there will be more Africans than Chinese people). Governments and businesses from all around the world are rushing to strengthen diplomatic, strategic and commercial ties. This creates vast opportunities. If Africa handles the new scramble wisely, the main winners will be Africans themselves.”
Tags: Africa, Booming, Businesses, China, Diplomatic, Governments, Population, Strategic, UN
Wall Street Journal (January 18)
“The Trump Administration says Islamic State has been defeated, and it is moving ahead with its withdrawal of U.S. forces from Syria and reducing America’s antiterror commitments in Africa,” but the “world’s terrorists don’t seem to have received this news that they’ve been defeated, as a spate of recent attacks around the globe shows.”
Tags: Africa, Attacks, Commitments, Defeated, Islamic State, Syria, Terrorists, Trump, U.S. forces, Withdrawal
The Economist (September 15)
“Debt stalks Africa once again. Over the past six years sub-Saharan governments have issued $81bn in dollar bonds to investors hungry for yield. Piled on top of this are murkier syndicated loans and bilateral debts, many to China and tied to big construction projects. Public debt has climbed above 50% of GDP in half the countries in sub-Saharan Africa. The risk of a crisis is growing.”
Tags: Africa, China, Construction projects, Crisis, Debt, Dollar bonds, GDP, Investors, Murky, Sub-Saharan, Syndicated loans, Yield
The Economist (July 14)
“Throughout rural parts of South Asia and Africa…mini-grids are increasingly seen as one of the most promising ways of connecting the 1.1bn people in the world who still lack access to electricity.” According to the World Bank, this will also require “microfinance and vocational training” to help users make the best use of electrification.
Tags: Access, Africa, Electricity, Electrification, Microfinance, Mini-grids, Promising, Rural, South Asia, Vocational training, World Bank
The Economist (December 9)
“Under President Jacob Zuma, the state is failing. Contracts are awarded through bribes and connections; ruling-party members murder each other over lucrative government jobs; crooks operate with impunity.” South Africa’s “people deserve better” than the Zuma corruption or his wife who now seeks to replace him as President. “The rainbow nation still has the potential to be a beacon of prosperity and good governance in Africa, but memories of its hopeful birth are a melancholy counterpoint to its dark present. The best chance for recovering that optimism is a victory for Mr Ramaphosa.”
Tags: Africa, Bribes, Connections; Ruling party, Corruption, Crooks, Failing, Governance, Impunity, Ramaphosa, South Africa, Zuma
BBC (June 18)
“Coffee production in Ethiopia, the birthplace of the high quality Arabica coffee bean and Africa’s largest exporter, could be in serious jeopardy over the next century unless action is taken.” According to a study by Kew Gardens, “current coffee growing areas in Ethiopia could decrease by up to 60% given a temperature rise of 4C by the end of the century.”
Tags: Action, Africa, Arabica, Coffee, Ethiopia, Exporter, Global warming, Jeopardy, Serious, Temperature
