Streaming Africa
Africa is experiencing a filmmaking boom. Nollywood is the 2nd largest producer of films in the world, beating out Hollywood. African movies and TV series on Netflix and Hulu, and African films are increasing winning international film festival awards. The expansion of African content is an exciting frontier with new stories and techniques bursting onto the scene, ready to be consumed by a large internal market or streamed anywhere in the world. African content will be only be big business, but also cultural diplomacy and African increasingly curves out a bigger chuck for itself in the global landscape.
Africa and the Dollar
A recent agreement between India and 18 countries, including 6 African nations, announced the creation of the financial infrastructure to trade in their respective currencies instead of using an intermediary, such as the US dollar. This has been a enormously beneficial de facto standard for the US, but at the same time has created problems for countries with smaller currency volumes. With the emergence of other major economies and increasing trade relationships that don’t include the US, many central banks are increasingly looking to see how they can transition away from a reliance on the US dollar.
Homeward Bound – Diaspora Investing
The African diaspora in the US is large, educated, and one of the most successful groups in the country. Recently, they are investing in projects, businesses, and markets throughout the continent, creating investment opportunities like diaspora bonds. With far better understanding of real instead of perceived risks on the continent, they make ideal partners for foreign investors and offer patient capital, while also aiming to achieve development in Africa.
Ripple Effect of SVB on Africa Tech
The recent failure of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) sent shockwaves through the tech ecosystem. The collapse revealed links to Africa in the startup ecosystem where many Africa startups were clients of SVB, a rarity among American financial institutions. The bank saw the potential in African start-ups and facilitated investments between funders in America and founders in Africa. But how will this relationship change now that there are visible cracks in the system?
A Taste of Africa
There is often no better way to connect across cultures than at the dinner table. Food diplomacy is tool that we can use to create mutual understanding and build relationships and Africa has much to offer in culinary delights. Today, there are African culinary entrepreneurs who believe African food is potentially a multi-billion dollar market in the US. Many other places from Asia to South America have had incredible success in exporting their food and culinary traditions to the US, and there’s no reason why Africa can’t be next up.
AI in Africa
AI and other new automation developments will likely be the 4th industrial revolution and change the world, as important as computers are today. If the continent plays its cards right, early adoption of these technologies could change the game economically for the continent and make it a leader in the next industrial revolution. But AI is only as good as its programmers, and many times it’s developed without African input, leading to racial biases and serious consequences. How will Africa strategize its next move in the sector and capitalize on the next technological wave?
Second-Hand Everything: Donating or Dumping?
The continent is inundated with donations and used items from the US, from clothing to electronics to cars. This has become big business, and not as benevolent as it may seem. Millions of garments shipped to Africa have crippled local garment industries, and countries that try to limit the import of second-hand clothing have had serious repercussions. Containers full of end-of-life electronics arrive in Africa daily, labelled “used electronics” to evade the law, and ending up in landfills where they cause environmental and health hazards.
Feeding the Continent, Feeding the World
60% of the world’s arable land is in Africa. The continent could be the breadbasket of the world, but that’s not what we see today. Africa countries imports a significant portion of their food, which means their food supply chains are particularly vulnerable to global shocks. For example, the Russian-Ukraine war is causing food shortages and price increases across the continent. Securing African food supply chains is going to be a difficult, but critical issue going forward.
Enough Talk: Legislating Value Additon
Africa is the richest continent on Earth, but its natural resource wealth often leaves as primary goods, with Africa receiving only a fraction of the cost of finished products while others reap far bigger profits from manufacturing those raw materials. For decades, Africa has asked for more manufacturing and value addition, but now countries are legislating change, banning exportation of raw goods, and spurring on new industries, job creation and increased growth.
