Markets & Investments

Prospects for Africa’s internet economy and growing demand for top skills is seen supercharging the investment migration industry across Africa and is also fueling a new set of wealth hubs on the continent, according to a report.

Africa now accounts for 70% of the world’s 1 trillion dollar US dollars mobile money value. The value of Africa’s mobile money transactions edged up 39 per cent to 701.4 billion US dollars in 2021 –– its closest to the trillion-dollar mark –– up from 495 billion US dollars in 2020, highlighting the future of African banking is mobile.

While 25.9% of the female adult-population in Africa are entrepreneurs, access to finance remains a persistent challenge, with AFAWA estimating a financing gap of $42 billion, including $15.6 billion in agriculture alone.

Palm oil was, and remains, a key ingredient in West African cuisine, including the simple dish of boiled yam, palm oil and Kanwa salt, and Banga soup.

Wheat and other grains are back at the heart of geopolitics following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Both countries play a major role in the global agricultural market. African leaders must pay attention.

An online storm over the local sourcing of potato chips for fast food outlets like Kentucky Fried Chicken has opened up a hot debate over the sourcing of local raw materials by local and foreign companies operating on the continent.

Electric cars and shared mobility concepts are starting to disrupt Africa’s taxi industry. Just a few years after cab-hailing apps upended the market and made city transportation cheaper and safer, they're now about to get greener.

Financial services are now just a dial away for millions of Africans as it emerged more than half of phone users in a recent survey processed payments and other monetary transactions on their mobile phones and uptake has surged so much that a recent survey called Africa "the epicentre of mobile money".