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Semafor africa

Surge in deepfakes heightens fraud risk for African businesses

Generative AI accounted for more than a third of new biometric fraud cases on the continent last year, a report found.
An illustration of online fraud.Creative Commons

Analysis: Fixing African schools in the kitchen

To change Africa through education, we must feed more than just children’s minds.
School children.Khethukuthula Mbonambi/Wikimedia Commons

Remittance startups ride Africa’s migration wave

Sub-Saharan Africa received an estimated $56 billion in remittances last year, a fourth successive year of increases.
A woman using the LemFi app.LemFi

Somalia pushes back at Somaliland claims

The new Trump administration looks set to recognize the self-governing breakaway region.
Somalia President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud addresses the media following his bilateral meeting with Germany’s chancellor in Berlin in Nov. 2024.Somalia President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud. Annegret Hilse/Reuters.

South Africa insurer readies digital bank

Old Mutual’s new OM Bank will enter a market where around 85% of customers already have accounts, including with other digital-first rivals.
The logos of three South African banks adorn buildings in Cape TownMike Hutchings/Reuters

Shifting investor appetite prolongs fundraising for African startups

The average amount invested in seed-stage African startups rose by 26% year-on-year to $1.6 million in 2024, research shows.
Johannesburg’s skylineArthur Spring/Flickr

Interest payments on debt in sub-Saharan Africa are skyrocketing

Interest payments on long-term debt rose nearly seven-fold between 2010 and 2023.

Trump’s Africa team starts to take shape

A former special envoy for the Sahel and Great Lakes regions is expected to take the State Department’s top Africa job.

East Africa will benefit from West Africa’s mining disputes, top executive says

Ethiopia, Kenya, and Tanzania are among the countries expected to see an uptick in investment.

Ethiopia banks on new stock market to lure investments, revive economy

So far only Wegagen Bank, a mid-sized lender based in Addis Ababa, has listed.

Analysis: Africa’s public sector needs strong corporate governance

African governments would improve lives for their citizens by adopting the approach to accountability, transparency, and risk management seen in the private sector.

US House committee calls for Somaliland office to counter China

The call comes as Somalilanders hope that the incoming Trump administration will improve their chances of international recognition.

Mining companies turn to arbitration over West African disputes

Canadian miner Barrick Gold, Australian gold explorer Sarama Resources, and French uranium giant Orano are among those that have launched arbitration proceedings in the Sahel.

Mozambique inaugurates new president as unrest grows

Daniel Chapo’s victory in a vote international observers said was beset by irregularities raises questions over his legitimacy.

Fewer Africans find their food nutritious, research finds

The fall in perception of nutritious eating coincided with double digit inflation in several African countries in 2023.

Analysis: The risk of outsourcing Africa’s ambition

Africa must not “outsource its ambition” to external powers, the former Liberian Minister of Public Works W. Gyude Moore argues in a new Semafor column.

Ghana fire devastates garment traders

Accra’s Kantamanto Market receives around 15 million used clothes from the Global North every week.

British consumer goods firm Reckitt makes long-term bet on Nigeria

The company’s plans buck a trend in which consumer goods giants have scaled down or shuttered their operations in Africa’s most populous country.