Africa

1. Tourism bonanza
2. Seeking support
3. Funding AI
4. Government of disunity
5. The latest scramble
6. Trouble at Transsion

Also, the threat posed by Sudan’s war to the country’s cultural heritage.

Welcome to Semafor Africa, where we’re trying to work out the role artificial intelligence will play in the continent’s future. Saudi Arabia may soon have access to advanced Nvidia chips to run powerful AI models, as my colleague Reed Albergotti recently scooped. It’s a reminder that most African countries must overcome obstacles to avoid being left behind by the world’s wealthiest nations.

African countries need strong digital infrastructure, such as more data centers, to harness the potential of AI. And more African languages need to be represented in the large language models that power generative AI tools. It makes sense to have a plan to achieve these goals. A recently published white paper by Microsoft and a group of academics, about the future of work in Africa, stresses the importance of developing “national and regional AI policies.”

Nigerian officials seem to have reached similar conclusions. In this edition, Alexander reports on a new investment fund intended to complement the national AI strategy devised by innovation and digital economy minister Bosun Tijani.

🟡 Tijani will be among the speakers at our Next 3 Billion event on Sept. 24 in New York, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. AI is certain to feature prominently in discussions about digital connectivity.

🟡 🟡 Follow us on social media here and WhatsApp. And if this email was forwarded to you, sign up here to get it in your inbox too.

Tanzania’s growing tourism revenue

The revenue generated by Tanzania’s tourism sector in the year to July 2024, according to the country’s central bank. The figure was around $500 million more than the preceding year. The revenue growth was attributed to an increased number of tourists, which hit a record 2 million during the same period. It marks a full recovery from the travel restrictions imposed by countries during the COVID-19 pandemic. Visitor numbers fell to 600,000 in 2020. The largest number of tourists visited from the United States, followed by Italy and Germany.

Tracking IMF loans

Only three African countries have never taken a loan from the International Monetary Fund, a tally by consulting firm Development Reimagined shows. Liberia, Kenya, Morocco, Senegal, Mauritania, Madagascar and Mali have each borrowed 20 times or more from the IMF, while Libya, Eritrea and Botswana have yet to. IMF programs often involve conditions for governments to cut spending and restructure existing debt, as is the case with Ghana which agreed a $3 billion extended credit facility program that is being implemented over a three year period. The IMF said Ghana’s “reform efforts are paying off” after its most recent review of the program in June.

Nigeria unveils AI fund

LAGOS — Nigerian officials are banking on a new investment fund for artificial intelligence backed by Google to accelerate interest in deploying the technology.

The hope is that AI will help to solve the country’s development challenges.

The fund was rolled out this week at a conference, co-organized by the US State Department after officials from both countries met in April, to target early-stage entrepreneurs whose services involve AI.

Ten startups will each receive 10 million naira, or about $6,000. It is a “critical step in taking advantage of future technologies to develop homegrown innovation that addresses local challenges,” Nigeria’s innovation and digital economy minister Bosun Tijani, whose office ultimately will supervise the fund, said.

Tijani has made AI advancement the centerpiece of his digital economy agenda since being tapped for the role last year, based on his reputation as a key architect of Nigeria’s startup ecosystem.

He recently published the country’s national AI strategy, a document produced after a year of collaboration between local and international AI researchers of Nigerian descent. A program to train 3 million tech talents is another pillar of his plan.

September 24, 2024 | New York City | Request Invitation

Aliko Dangote, Founder and CEO, Dangote Group, Enoh T. Ebong, Director, U.S. Trade and Development Agency, Dr. Bosun Tijani, Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Nigeria, and Cina Lawson, Minister of Digital Economy and Transformation, Togo will join the stage at The Next 3 Billion summit — the premiere U.S. convening dedicated to unlocking one of the biggest social and economic opportunities of our time: connecting the unconnected.

South Africa’s coalition divided over education bill

A disputed education bill threatens to destabilize South Africa’s coalition government after sparking the first public row between its biggest parties.

President Cyril Ramaphosa’s African National Congress lost its parliamentary majority in the May 29 election, forcing it to form a coalition with nine other parties including the country’s second biggest party, the Democratic Alliance.

Ramaphosa plans to sign the Basic Education Laws Amendment bill into law on Friday. The DA says the move would limit the teaching of pupils in their mother-tongue in a country with 12 official languages. Afrikaans lobby groups, fearing schools teaching in the language could vanish, have sided with the DA.

DA leader John Steenhuisen, the government’s agriculture minister, has called for the bill to be amended. “If the president continues to ride rough-shod over these objections, he is endangering the future of the Government of National Unity, and destroying the good faith on which it was based,” he wrote in a public statement on Wednesday.

The president’s spokesman said disagreements over legislation were to be expected and that parties in the government would meet on Wednesday evening to discuss ways to resolve disputes.

The presidency later posted a picture on X of the coalition party leaders late on Wednesday who attended a “working dinner” hosted by Ramaphosa.

— Sam Mkokeli in Johannesburg

Fixing critical minerals value chains

The value chain for minerals used in the green energy transition should be governed by a set of principles to ensure producer countries are treated fairly, a panel commissioned by the UN secretary-general has said.

The panel on Wednesday said it was important to look at the use of minerals, “from mining to recycling” to ensure countries benefit from “value addition and economic diversification.”

African nations including DR Congo, Zambia, and Zimbabwe are rich in minerals needed to manufacture products that rely on renewable energy, such as electric vehicle batteries. African countries are keen to move up the value chains of that critical industry, as exporting raw minerals can bring as little as 3% of the processed-product market value.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the panel was established “in response to calls from developing countries” who fear that energy transition could “reproduce and amplify inequalities of the past.”

It comes at a time when wealthy nations are increasingly seeking partnerships with African countries — such as the $2.3 billion Lobito Corridor rail project backed by the US — to access critical minerals.

On Tuesday, at a gathering of the World Trade Organization in Geneva, a South African trade minister warned of “a geostrategic competition for stockpiling.” Zuko Godlimpi, addressing reporters, said there was a risk of a new “partitioning of Africa for the purposes of extraction.”

— Joël Té-Léssia Assoko in Geneva

China detains Transsion exec

Transsion, the Chinese company whose smartphones are the dominant choice for buyers in Africa, said its chief financial officer has been detained as part of an investigation.

Xiao Yonghui was taken into custody by authorities in the northeastern Liaoning province, the company said last weekend, without disclosing the investigation for which he is being held. Transsion said it “is not aware of the progress or conclusion of the investigation,” in a filing to the Shanghai Stock Exchange, according to reports. The company’s shares rebounded on Wednesday after an initial sell-off triggered by news of the arrest, according to the China-Global South Project.

Based in Shenzhen, Transsion is the fifth largest smartphone maker in the world and has a market capitalization of $12.8 billion. It began establishing a presence in Africa in the 2010s and the region accounts for more than half its sales volume. Its phone brands Tecno, Itel and Infinix feature similar capabilities as those of brands better known to Western consumers, while being cheaper.

It sells low-end options that cost $100 or less, which is favorable to “a consumer base challenged by low purchasing power due to reduced income and the growing dollar rate,” analysts at the International Data Corporation, a US research firm, say.

Transsion has received millions of dollars in subsidies from the Chinese government, and is regarded as one of the companies in China’s “strategic emerging industries.” From its pole position in Africa’s smartphone market, Transsion is expanding its footprint into other regions where low-end smartphones are in demand, particularly in Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe.

— Alexander

Governance

🇲🇱 Mali’s ruling junta suspended French broadcaster TV5 for three months. The military government said the step was taken in response to a lack of “balance” in its coverage.

🇰🇪 Kenya banned sugar imports from outside the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa and the East African Community regional trading blocs, the country’s agriculture minister said.

Energy

🇳🇦 Oil major Exxon Mobil has withdrawn from a deal to buy half of Galp Energia‘s stake in Namibia’s offshore Mopane discovery, sources told Reuters.

Geopolitics

🇸🇴 Turkey has held talks with Somalia about setting up a launchpad to test space rockets and missiles, Bloomberg reported. The missiles would be fired from the Horn of Africa country toward the Indian Ocean.

Global finance

🇹🇳 Tunisia and the African Development Bank signed a financing package totalling $101.7 millions to support the country’s job creation program.

Elections

🇬🇼 Guinea Bissau’s President Umaro Cissoko Embalo said he would not seek a second term in elections to be held in November. His announcement on Thursday was unexpected.

Deals

🇳🇬 🇰🇪 Nigerian fintech Rise, which makes selected global investments more accessible, has acquired Kenyan investments startup Hisa.

Tech

🇳🇬 Nigerian vehicle manufacturer Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing Company has unveiled its first locally produced electric vehicle.

🇬🇭 Payments platform Chipper Cash has been granted a broker-dealer license by Ghana’s Securities and Exchange Commission.

The Sudan National Museum is a world renowned research institution that houses more than 100,000 items including embalmed mummies dating from 2,500 BC. But it has become a target for looting in the country’s civil war. Mohamed Albdri Sliman Bashir, an archaeology scholar at the University of Khartoum, argues that cultural collections act as an anchor for the region’s identity. Their loss will have profound implications for future generations, writes Bashir in The Conversation, noting that artifacts can play a role in peacebuilding: “The antiquities we lost were not just objects, but expressions of shared experiences that united the different communities in Sudan.”

• US closer to green lighting Nvidia chips for Saudi Arabia.
• Harris finds a new way to outflank Trump on fossil fuels.
• Can the US win over Google in court?

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