Africa

1. African languages + AI
2. Tinubu’s French embrace
3. Spending plan
4. Bank eyes exit
5. Biden’s Angola visit

Also, the link between desertification and the Indian Ocean’s green waters.

Partnership targets African language AI models

French telecoms company Orange plans to partner with Meta and OpenAI to develop new artificial intelligence models trained on African languages.

Orange, a major mobile network and internet provider in French-speaking Africa, said the project will create models that allow customers “to communicate naturally in their local languages” with its sales and support teams. The company said it will offer the developed models for third-party health and education uses through a free license.

Wolof and Pulaar — two languages spoken by about 22 million people in and around Senegal and Gambia in West Africa — will be the first to be considered for the project, Orange said on Tuesday.

The partnership will look to “fine-tune” existing models by OpenAI and Meta. It is due to begin next year.

Nigeria’s Tinubu courts Macron in France

Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu on Thursday began a state visit to France aimed at “strengthening political, economic and cultural relations” with the country.

Tinubu and French President Emmanuel Macron will discuss finance, solid minerals, trade, and investments during the three-day visit, Nigeria’s presidency said. Nigeria is France’s top trading partner in sub-Saharan Africa, say French officials. And France was among Nigeria’s top five export destinations in the last quarter of 2023, accounting for a 6% share, according to Nigeria’s statistics office.

Some analysts see the visit as part of Macron’s Angolophone pivot in search of new African allies. France’s influence in the subregion has waned in recent years. Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger — former French colonies — have severed military ties with Paris, forging partnerships with Russia. Popular sentiment in the subregion has also turned against France’s economic and business interests in its former colonies.

— Alexander

Ethiopia’s budget boost

The additional government spending approved by Ethiopia’s lawmakers to be added to the country’s budget for the 2024/25 financial year. The country’s finance minister said the funds would support subsidies of fertilizer, oil, fuel and medicine as the country emerges from shocks including the two-year war in the Tigray region. Planned government expenditure for the year previously stood at 971.2 billion birr ($7.7 billion), representing a 21% increase from the 2023/24 financial year.

Standard Chartered weighs Africa exits

Standard Chartered is considering divesting from its wealth management and retail banking units in Botswana, Zambia and Uganda, the lender disclosed on Wednesday. It is part of a plan to free up cash amid an extensive restructuring of its business.

If undertaken, the company said it would focus its resources in the three countries on “serving the cross-border needs of global corporate and financial institution clients.”

On Wednesday, Nigeria’s Access Bank also announced it had completed the acquisition of Standard Chartered’s subsidiaries in Angola and Sierra Leone.

The London-based lender, which generates much of its earnings in Asia, is shifting its focus towards affluent customers and international companies. The bank aims to invest $1.5 billion in its “fast-growing and high-returning” wealth management business over five years — double the previously planned amount, while scaling back retail banking operations around the world.

— Martin K.N Siele

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Gearing up for Biden’s Angola visit

When US President Joe Biden touches down in Angola’s capital next week for a three-day visit, the big question will be how President João Lourenço’s government’s close relationship with the White House will fare with an unpredictable Donald Trump.

At stake is the US-backed Lobito Corridor project which entails building and revamping railways to connect Angola’s Lobito port to critical mineral hubs in neighboring Zambia and DR Congo. The US has helped mobilize $5 billion so far for the project.

Biden will undoubtedly highlight the corridor, which also includes digital connectivity, agribusiness and green energy projects, as an exemplar of the investment the US should support to counter Chinese influence in Africa.

Angolans and US-Africa watchers who spoke with Semafor Africa believe a Trump White House will keep the Lobito Corridor in place, based on previous comments from likely US-Africa operatives in his orbit. Luis Lelis, chief executive of BAI, Angola’s biggest bank by assets, said the corridor’s implementation would give the country’s agribusiness sector a big boost and “create jobs for the youth.”

— Yinka Adegoke

Governance

🇳🇦 Namibians voted in a presidential and legislative election on Wednesday, with some polling stations extending voting hours due to logistical issues. Early results are expected on Saturday, with the SWAPO party facing a significant challenge to its 34-year hold on power.

Deals

🇿🇦 Mining multinational Anglo American is planning to sell just under 7% of the shares in its South African platinum business to raise about $527 million ahead of the unit’s spinoff, according to Bloomberg.

🇰🇪 Kenyan internet service provider Mawingu raised $15 million in a debt and equity round, and acquired Habari, a Tanzanian internet service provider.

Tech

🇰🇪 Kenya’s Capital Markets Authority granted Safaricom approval to float Ziidi, a money market fund that will be offered to consumers through the M-Pesa mobile money platform.

🇿🇦 MTN signed a partnership with China Telecom and Huawei to improve the South African telecom provider’s 5G, cloud, AI and business solutions.

Energy

🇿🇦 French oil giant TotalEnergies is reportedly seeking environmental clearance to drill up to seven exploration wells in the southern part of its Deep Water Orange Basin block off the west coast of South Africa.

Geopolitics

🇹🇩 🇪🇹 France’s new foreign minister Jean-Noël Barrot on Wednesday began his first trip to sub-Saharan Africa since taking office, and is expected to tour Chad and Ethiopia.

Desertification in parts of southern Africa contributes to the green color of waters in the Indian Ocean, new research suggests. International oceanographers analyzed satellite images that showed how the color of waters south-east of Madagascar had changed over time. They found that desertification, particularly in parts of Namibia and Botswana, caused large amounts of nutrient-rich dust which was carried over long distances by wind and deposited in the ocean. Nutrients found in the dust provided conditions for the growth of phytoplankton — microscopic algae whose green pigment colors the ocean surface.

Sanctions on Iran have kept smugglers busy, operating small boats in broad daylight in one of the world’s busiest waterways, Camilla Wright reports from Oman. Back and forth across the Strait of Hormuz, loading and unloading — “If you’ve ever wondered how ordinary Iranians get around US primary sanctions, this is it. This is smuggling, 2024 style.”

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