Africa

1. Kamala’s team building
2. Moniepoint’s moment
3. Climate capital costs
4. Seeking solutions
5. Differing perspectives

Also, remembering the Rumble in the Jungle.

Hello! Welcome to Semafor Africa, where we’re as receptive to good news as anyone. One country that we’ve talked about recently that’s on a good news run is South Africa. It is extending the afterglow of its Government of National Unity after the May elections. While the narrative is often centered around the political situation being resolved somewhat amicably, one important part of the ‘good news’ story seems to be about how the country appears to have fixed a half a decade or more of power shortages, aka load shedding.

On Monday, I attended a South Africa Tomorrow day in New York where some of the country’s government leaders and captains of industry presented to investors about South Africa’s current economic trajectory. Much time was spent talking about how the electricity challenge had been addressed, alongside assurances that it was not a temporary solution, and insights on the long-term vision for the country’s energy opportunities.

Electricity minister Kgosientsho Ramakgopa said the country is trying to raise $23 billion to build another 14,000 miles of transmission lines for its grid. It was a reminder of the key role of energy in the continent’s development story and the important role of financing. But, as our chart below shows, the average cost of capital for energy projects in African subregions remains way too high.

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Kamala Harris pulls together Africa team

The Kamala Harris campaign has assembled a 25-strong team to devise a comprehensive US-Africa policy if she wins the White House next month.

The team, which includes diplomats, ex-government officials, development finance experts, and diaspora leaders among others, is overseen by former US attorney general Eric Holder, a close Harris campaign adviser. Former assistant secretary of state for African affairs Witney Schneidman and Gabrielle Posner, the Africa lead at Washington DC firm Stonebridge Albright, are coordinating the effort, according to two people familiar with the plans.

People close to the Harris-Walz campaign say US-Africa policy, which is usually low down on US foreign policy priorities, “will get a lot more attention under Harris” if they win the White House and build on the Biden Administration’s attempts to upgrade the status of US-Africa policy.

Judd Devermont, the former White House Africa director who reworked US-Africa policy for Biden at the start of his presidency, told Semafor Africa that a future Harris presidency should build on his former boss’ strategy, by “directing more resources and high-level time and attention to seize on opportunities and respond to the most difficult challenges.”

Moniepoint turns unicorn

The value of monthly transactions processed by Nigerian payments company and digital bank Moniepoint, comprising more than 800 million transactions. The company raised $110 million from Development Partners International, Google’s Africa Investment Fund, Verod Capital, and Lightrock, in a round of funding that valued it at $1 billion. At least seven other African startups have earned billion-dollar valuations in recent years, including Flutterwave, OPay, Wave, Andela, and Chipper Cash. Moniepoint, which began operations in 2015, is now among Nigeria’s leading card payments processors. The company, which says it is profitable, plans to expand operations to other African countries.

The cost of clean energy

The cost of capital to build energy projects in Africa remains too high and could impede efforts at climate change adaptation, says a report by Clean Air Task Force, a US advocacy group for low-carbon energy technologies. On average, the weighted average cost of capital in Africa for clean energy projects is 15.6%, compared to between 2% and 5% in Western Europe and the US, according to the report. The cost of capital in Africa is projected to fall from 18% to 13% by 2070, and there is some variation across the continent, with North Africa showing a steeper fall curve than other regions.

Saudi Arabia sees opportunity to work with Africa

Saudi Arabia sees an opportunity to work with African countries in tackling much needed development rather than simply providing aid, officials said at the New Africa Summit, held in Riyadh on the eve of Saudi Arabia’s annual Future Investment Initiative (FII).

The discussions were dominated by themes of electricity, minerals, and youth. Saudi Minister of Investment Khalid al-Falih stressed Africa’s potential to become a “breadbasket” for surrounding regions, particularly the Gulf. The continent’s mineral wealth will be “the new fuel for the next phase of economic development,” said al-Falih. The solution, he said, is not to “help Africa” but to “work with Africa to create opportunities for investment,” achieved by better governance and transparency.

Saudi Arabia also announced on Monday that it will provide at least $41 billion in funding for low-income sub-Saharan countries in Africa.

With a median age of just 19, Africa’s young population, stifled by a lack of government infrastructure, faces challenges similar to those Saudi Arabia had. Limited support for emerging private businesses, and a scarcity of electricity are “killing business,” said Tony Elumelu, chairman of the United Bank for Africa.

— Sarah Dadouch in Riyadh

East Africa leads growth despite public discontent

East African economies are outperforming the rest of the continent — but while investors are bullish, the public isn’t buying it.

While the World Bank projects economies in the East African Community bloc to grow at 4.7% in 2024 and 5.7% in 2025–26, led by Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda, consumers don’t seem to be feeling the growth. Speaking at the Semafor Fall World Economic Summit, Equity Group CEO James Mwangi said the East African growth was due to regional integration, which had boosted cross-border trade, as well as investments in infrastructure and energy, but that consumer non-performing loans were still “unreasonably high.”

Sim Tshabalala, CEO of Johannesburg-based Standard Bank, Africa’s largest bank by assets, also acknowledged East Africa as the fastest growing region: “Generally the East African region has been acting increasingly on an integrated basis, reducing tariff barriers and non-tariff barriers, making it easier to move stuff in that region — resulting in faster growth,” he said.

But Kenya has been gripped by massive youth-led protests over tax hikes and Uganda has also been rocked by demonstrations over alleged government corruption.

Meanwhile, the World Bank revised Sub-Saharan Africa’s growth down to 3% in 2024 from an earlier forecast of 3.4%.

— Martin K.N Siele

Tech

🇸🇳 US investor 500 Global elevated Mareme Dieng to be a partner overseeing Africa operations. The firm has invested in more than 100 companies in Africa and Senegal-born Diop becomes its youngest partner at 27. She hopes to guide startups to replicate successes from emerging markets. “It is crucial for us to learn and look through a lot of the successful models today from Southeast Asia, Latin America and MENA,” she told Semafor Africa.

🌍 Emerging Africa and Asia Infrastructure Fund, a private investor, invested $28 million in Africa-focused telecoms provider Africell and acted as an impact investor in the telco’s issuance of a $300 million bond, aimed at increasing the supply of mobile and data connectivity for its 14 million subscribers.

Deals

🇿🇦 South African retailer Pick n Pay on Monday said it expects to raise about $452 million on listing Boxer — the country’s fastest growing discount grocery chain — through an initial public offering. It would be the largest African IPO this year. The company also said it will exit Nigeria by selling its 51% share of a joint venture after less than five years in joint venture with A.G. Leventis.

🇿🇦 South African bank Absa secured a $150 million facility from British International Investment to finance trade transactions by small and midsize enterprises founded by youth and women doing intra-African and global trade.

🇲🇦 Orange Maroc, a telecoms company, and Moroccan e-commerce startup Chari entered a partnership to offer payment solutions to the country’s neighborhood retailers.

Geopolitics

🇬🇭 Ghana’s foreign minister Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey was appointed as the incoming secretary-general of the Commonwealth at this year’s summit. Botchwey has supported calls for reparations for transatlantic slavery and colonialism.

🌍 Turkey’s foreign minister will meet representatives from 14 African countries — including Mauritania, Angola, and Ghana — in Djibouti during a Turkey-Africa ministerial meeting, which is set for Nov. 2-3.

Earnings

🇳🇬 Nigeria’s largest company by market value, Dangote Cement, reported 279.1 billion naira ($169.8 million) in profit after tax for the first nine months of the year in its unaudited accounts, issued on Friday.

Energy

🇿🇦 South Africa is in talks with its international partners for loan guarantees in the $9.3 billion Just Energy Transition Partnership program that will help the country reduce its reliance on coal and cut carbon emissions.

🇰🇪 A Kenyan court suspended a $736 million deal for India’s Adani Energy Solutions to build and operate power infrastructure including transmission lines.

Economy

🇿🇼 Zimbabwe’s monthly inflation rate shot up to 37.2%, from 5.8% a month earlier, after the devaluation of its gold-backed currency, Zimbabwe Gold, which was introduced in early April. The ZiG was devalued by 43% on Sept. 27.

Elections

🇧🇼 Over 1 million people in Botswana are expected to cast votes in the general election on Oct. 30. President Mokgweetsi Masisi, seeking a second five-year term, is running against the Umbrella for Democratic Change’s Duma Boko, Dumelang Saleshando of the Botswana Congress Party, and Mephato Reatile of the Botswana Patriotic Front.

The iconic boxing match “Rumble in the Jungle” is being remembered 50 years after it pitted Muhammad Ali against George Foreman for the world heavyweight championship. The boxers fought in Zaire, now the Democratic Republic of Congo, on Oct. 30, 1974, in a contest watched by millions worldwide. Some 60,000 people watched the fight live at the Stade Tata Raphaël in Kinshasa. It grossed an estimated $100 million in worldwide revenue which, adjusting for inflation, is the equivalent of about $600 million today.

Ali’s victory was one of the biggest upsets in boxing history and helped cement his self-proclaimed status as “The Greatest.” The lore surrounding the fight, including the role played by dictator Mobutu Sese Seko in hosting it, continues to generate interest. The bout was the subject of the Academy Award winning documentary film When We Were Kings and Norman Mailer’s critically acclaimed book, The Fight.

• Washington Post non-endorsement prompts crisis at Bezos paper.
• Analysis: Why Abu Dhabi is betting on fusion.
• Greenhouses gases hit record high as countries struggle to meet climate targets.

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