DR Congo Backs $400M Satellite Deal To Tackle Digital Deficit
September 17th, 2025
Via Semafor, an article on DR Congo’s recent $400M satellite deal to tackle its digital deficit: DR Congo is betting on satellite internet to address one of the world’s worst connectivity deficits, with only one in three Congolese connected to mobile internet. Just three months after approving Elon Musk’s Starlink internet service to operate in the country, […]
Read more »Canadian Barrick Gold’s Gamble in Balochistan Meets a Violent Insurgency
September 17th, 2025
Via The Diplomat, a look at how the dream of reopening Reko Diq meets a harsh reality on the ground: a worsening insurgency and continued political instability. When Canadian mining giant Barrick Gold contracted a long-awaited deal in 2022 with the government of Pakistan to revive the Reko Diq copper and gold project in Pakistan’s […]
Read more »What Are China and Central Asia’s Shared Interests in Afghanistan?
September 17th, 2025
Via The Diplomat, a report on how – as neighbors to Afghanistan – both China and the Central Asian states have vested interests in the country, desiring a peaceful, prosperous, and stable Afghanistan: Afghanistan is often referred to as the “Heart of Asia” because of its strategic location at the crossroads of Central and South […]
Read more »Walmart Puts Its Name on the Line for a Reset in South Africa
September 16th, 2025
Via Bloomberg, a report on Walmart’s plans to take on the Africa market: Walmart Inc. is opening its first Walmart branded stores in South Africa this year, after its initial attempt to gain ground in the market about 15 years ago with the purchase of a controlling stake in Massmart. The company is banking on […]
Read more »Syria’s Quest To Build Its Own Silicon Valley
September 16th, 2025
Via Rest of World, a look at how tech founders in Damascus are rebooting a war-torn country: At the end of November, Hamza Hourani’s phone rang. It was a cloudy morning in Damascus, and some Syrians were quietly stocking their cupboards as rebel fighters marched south toward the city after seizing much of the rest […]
Read more »McSpaghetti to McAloo Tikki: Inside the world’s local McDonald’s
September 11th, 2025
Via BBC, a look at a new book called McAtlas which shows that the world’s most global chain is also one of the most local, from paneer wraps in India to ski-through burgers in Sweden: “McDonald’s has a reputation for cultural imperialism, but that’s not 100% true,” declares photojournalist Gary He. In his new book McAtlas, He […]
Read more »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.