Africa

The length of a proposed railway which would connect a new port to coal mines in Tete, Mozambique. Thai Moçambique Logistica (TML) revived plans to build a coal port at Macuse near the mouth of the Zambezi river in Mozambique — a proposal it shelved several years ago. The firm has reportedly secured $500 million to start construction in mid-2024. It remains to be seen whether the project will proceed: Construction has been beset with delays since TML was first awarded a contract in 2013 to build and operate the port. Interest in Mozambique’s coal sector has declined in recent years, and companies like Brazilian miner Vale have sold their mines in the country.

A Diageo subsidiary is accused of a dirty tricks campaign in Kenya

Nairobi-based alcohol startup African Originals faces regulatory hurdles that threaten to push it out of the Kenyan market, following an alleged dirty tricks campaign it claims has been waged by East African Breweries Limited (EABL), a subsidiary of Diageo and the region’s largest brewer.

The seven-year old startup is known for its “Kenyan Originals” range of ciders, gins, and iced teas. EABL launched a competing range of ciders in December last year. Since then, African Originals claims to have faced a barrage of challenges it blames on EABL, prompting it to hire a team of U.K.-based legal advisors this year.

A letter seen by Semafor Africa dated Feb. 19, sent by African Originals to Diageo’s general counsel in London, laid out the allegations in their dispute. African Originals described EABL’s new range of fruit ciders as a “direct copy” of its products. It also claimed EABL staff had maligned their products, and incentivized supermarket workers not to display their goods, citing specific incidents at two supermarkets in Nairobi.

African Originals also questioned the origins of viral tweets in January from users that alleged they became ill after consuming their products. The company claims the tweets are linked to Wowzi, a Nairobi-based platform which connects companies with social media influencers. EABL has previously worked with Wowzi “to partner with nano-creators to effectively connect to consumers in an authentic way,” according to a testimonial on the Wowzi website. Wowzi was selected for Diageo’s inaugural cohort of its growth acceleration program in January.

“We are ready and willing to compete with EABL on merit through the quality and prices of our products but we are not prepared to suffer serious commercial harm as a result of their smear campaign,” African Originals chairman Henry Rudd wrote in the letter.

EABL did not immediately respond to emails or phone calls from Semafor Africa requesting their comments on the allegations.

A legal firm representing Wowzi, in a letter to Semafor Africa, said the claims made about the company were “egregiously false and untrue.”

Happiness inequality in sub-Saharan Africa increased by more than 50% across all age groups over the last 12 years, a survey has found. Gallup’s World Happiness Report examined self-reported levels of happiness between 2021 and 2023 and compared it with data previously collected between 2006 and 2010. While people aged 60 and above were the least happy group in 70% of African countries surveyed in 2010, that age group is now the least happy in about a third, implying that unhappiness is now more common among younger people. Negative emotions in sub-Saharan Africa are equally frequent in males and females under the age of 30, the report noted, but worsen with age more often in women than men. Overall, young people are the happiest group in 28 of the 40 surveyed countries in Africa.

Somalia’s networks are upgrading to 5G

Hormuud Telecom, Somalia’s largest telecommunications provider, has rolled out its 5G network in the country. The network will be accessible in Mogadishu, Kismayo, and several other major centers across the country, including Galkayo, Baidoa and Dhobley.

Somalia’s telecommunications minister, Jama Hassan Khalif, described the launch as a “critical milestone” for Somalia. With Somalia’s economy battered from decades of conflict and ongoing security concerns, the rollout of the 5G network is seen as an important step in efforts to rebuild its economy.

Hormuud becomes the second telco to unveil 5G in the country, following Somtel, which launched its 5G network in January. Approximately 70% of Somalia’s population is already covered by 4G, and data consumption has been rising in the country. Hormuud says its average data user consumes five gigabytes of data monthly, up from a national average of between one and two GB two years ago.

The company, which had a 39% market share in the third quarter of 2023, according to data from global analytic firm Omdia, said its existing infrastructure would enable it to make the 5G network instantly available to users.

Hormuud and Somalia’s government are counting on enhanced connectivity to accelerate economic growth in the country by enabling improved access to digital tools and information. The country has some of the lowest mobile data prices on the continent.

— Martin

Ethiopia’s state owned Commercial Bank of Ethiopia has issued a deadline for anyone who illegally withdrew large amounts of money during a major technical glitch to return the funds or face prosecution.

The bank, the biggest financial institution in the country, reported loss of approximately 2.4 billion Birr (more than $40 million) as a result of the incident on March 16 when the bank’s ATM and digital payment system allowed customers to withdraw and transfer money with no limit for around 12 hours.

The bank had alleged that most of the unauthorized withdrawals were carried out by university students. Officials believe news of the cash withdrawal glitch quickly spread among students on social media. The bank has written to various educational institutions throughout the country asking their students to cooperate in its effort to recoup its loss.

The bank released a statement this week on its plan to start posting names and images of the perpetrators as a way to force them to return the funds, in addition to pursuing legal avenues.

On Thursday it set a deadline of Saturday for clients to return the funds willingly.

Sources inside the bank told Semafor Africa it had so far only managed to recover a small portion of the amount it lost, which was why the institution has been forced to take drastic action.

— Samuel Getachew in Addis Ababa

🇿🇲 Zambia’s international bondholders signed a non-disclosure agreement with the government, signaling that start of formal restructuring talks on its $3 billion debt, according to sources that spoke to Reuters. The finance minister Situmbeko Musokotwane sent a debt restructuring proposal to a group of bondholders last week.

🇿🇦 South Africa’s Johannesburg stock exchange plans to start listing carbon credits. The JSE, Africa’s largest stock market, will partner with U.S.-based company sustainability firm Xpansiv to enable the trading infrastructure. The first credits will be for carbon-absorbing farming and forestry projects, the JSE’s chief executive told Bloomberg.

🇺🇬 Ugandan military officials said on Monday an Islamic State-linked group had entered the country over the weekend and were planning attacks in urban areas, places of worship, schools, and public events. The militants, called the Allied Democratic Forces, originally formed in Uganda in the 1990s and operate from DR Congo.

🇦🇴 Angola will pay lower monthly installments on its loan from the China Development Bank. The reduction will be up to $200 million per month, a government minister said. Angola’s loan payments to the Chinese bank are expected to be about $3.1 billion this year, and the nation’s overall debt to Chinese lenders sits at $17 billion.

🇨🇩 A journalist detained in DR Congo since September was freed on Tuesday. Stanis Bujakera was held in a prison in the capital Kinshasa for allegedly spreading false information about an opposition politician’s death. Prosecutors withdrew an initial appeal against his release.

🇸🇳 Senegal will vote to elect a new president on Sunday (Mar. 25). The contest will be between 19 candidates, some of whom have gained more popularity after President Macky Sall’s attempt to postpone the election by 10 months in February. Sall has served two terms and is not on the ballot.

Bread production by bakeries that use forest-cut wood is contributing to deforestation and climate change in Nigeria, a new study by researchers from the U.K. and Nigeria found. The researchers examined commercial bakeries in two northern Nigerian states and the capital Abuja. They discovered that the practice of fueling masonry ovens with wood is “directly contributing to Nigeria’s deforestation.” Forest cover across the study site had depleted from 71% in 2000 to 49% in 2020, the researchers noted. The group advocated for a shift to cleaner energy sources, and called for more research to engage women wood sellers and others who would have their livelihoods impacted during the green energy transition.

• Finland is the world’s happiest country as U.S. rank drops.
• The senators who could fill Trump’s national security cabinet.
• Biden admin awards $8.5B to Intel for advanced chips.

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Happy 34th Independence Day to the people of Namibia!! 🇳🇦

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— Yinka, Alexis, Alexander Onukwue, Martin Siele, and Muchira Gachenge