Archive for December, 2021

Fastest Growing Cities In Africa 2021

Via Business Insider Africa, a report on the fastest growing cities in Africa: According to Brahima Coulibaly, director of Brookings’ Africa Growth Initiative, “About half of the world’s fastest-growing economies will be located on the continent, with 20 economies expanding at an average rate of 5% or higher over the next five years, faster than […]

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On the Banks of the Furious Congo River, a 5-Star Emporium of Ambition

Courtesy of The New York Times, an interesting article on how – as the clean energy revolution upends the centuries-long lock of fossil fuels on the global economy – dealmakers and hustlers converge on the DRC’s Fleuve Congo Hotel: The lobby of the Fleuve Congo Hotel was a swirl of double-breasted suits and tailored dresses […]

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Ethiopia’s Innovators: Trying To Find Purpose In A Time of War

Via Quartz, an article on Ethiopia’s innovators are trying to find purpose in a time of war: Early 2020 was a hopeful time for Ethiopia’s startups. Venture capitalists were increasingly eyeing Ethiopian startups, and the country improved its rank on the World Bank’s 2019 Ease of Doing Business report. Just before the start of the war, […]

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North Korea Plans to Dig Deep Into Renewable Energy Alternatives

Courtesy of The Diplomat, an article on North Korea’s plans to expand its use of renewable energy: Pyongyang has signaled an increased interest in using renewable energy to address its national energy crisis and economic challenges, which North Korean leader Kim Jong Un blames mostly on U.S. and U.N. sanctions. However, North Korea has only used its nuclear […]

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ExxonMobil Stares Down China for Vietnam Gas

Via Asia Times, a report on ExxonMobil’s recommitment to it $20 billion ‘Blue Whale’ gas project despite tacit threats from Beijing: Vietnam’s long-delayed Blue Whale offshore gas development project may be closer to pumping after operator and majority owner ExxonMobil said last week it was working on a final development plan for the field, which sits […]

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How China Wrested Control of the DRC’s Critical Minerals

Via the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, a report on how China wrested control of the Congo’s critical minerals: China’s system of bankrolling its state companies may be entrenching great inefficiency in its economy but has delivered it unchallenged dominance in the critical minerals required for advanced technologies. Separate investigations by the New York Times and Bloomberg released in recent […]

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ABOUT
WILDCATS AND BLACK SHEEP
Wildcats & Black Sheep is a personal interest blog dedicated to the identification and evaluation of maverick investment opportunities arising in frontier - and, what some may consider to be, “rogue” or “black sheep” - markets around the world.

Focusing primarily on The New Seven Sisters - the largely state owned petroleum companies from the emerging world that have become key players in the oil & gas industry as identified by Carola Hoyos, Chief Energy Correspondent for The Financial Times - but spanning other nascent opportunities around the globe that may hold potential in the years ahead, Wildcats & Black Sheep is a place for the adventurous to contemplate & evaluate the emerging markets of tomorrow.