Kernel of An Idea: Globalization of Nuts
June 17th, 2025
Via The Economist, an article on a brave and high-tech attempt to export nuts: The lowly cashew is globalisation in a nutshell. The route from cashew tree to tasty snack follows a peripatetic journey. More than half of the world’s cashew nuts are grown in African countries. Most are exported raw, mainly to Vietnam, for shelling […]
Read more »Quiet Renaissace: Cote d’Ivoire Is Africa’s Best Kept Secret
March 26th, 2025
Via The Economist, a report on Cote d’Ivoire: His parents moved to Ivory Coast in the 1980s, towards the end of a period of exceptional economic growth that economists dubbed the “Ivorian miracle”. They came to work, drawn by the country’s openness and wealth. Bernard Ayitee, a 38-year-old hedge-fund manager who combines Nigerian, Beninois, Togolese and […]
Read more »China And The Chocolate Factory: Investment In Cote d’Ivoire Sweetens China’s Access To Cocoa Market
February 24th, 2025
Via South China Morning Post, a look at China’s impact on the cocoa market: In the heart of West Africa, where the world’s finest cocoa beans are cultivated, Chinese investment has built new processing factories in Ivory Coast and Ghana. On the outskirts of Abidjan, Ivory Coast’s economic capital, China Light Industry Nanning Design Engineering […]
Read more »Tax Hikes and Tension: Battle Over West Africa’s Mining Wealth
February 3rd, 2025
Via The Africa Report, a look at how – across the West African Economic and Monetary Union – governments are tightening mining regulations to boost revenue for development. But as Côte d’Ivoire, Mali and Burkina Faso push reforms, investor confidence and regulatory stability are at risk. Fiscal and legislative reforms are sweeping through the mining […]
Read more »Côte d’Ivoire: Fostering Economic Transformation and Adapting to Climate Change
January 18th, 2025
Via IMF, commentary on Côte d’Ivoire’s economy: Côte d’Ivoire has become a pillar of growth and stability for the region, thanks to its impressive economic resilience and commitment to reform, but efforts to address certain challenges need to be maintained. The Ivoirien economy has performed strongly over the past decade, with GDP growth averaging 6.4 […]
Read more »US Doubles Down in Côte d’Ivoire as France Pulls Out
January 11th, 2025
Courtesy of The Africa Report, a look at how the West African nation of Côte d’Ivoire is emerging as a regional hub for American investment as former colonial power France exits: Move over, France. As Côte d’Ivoire’s relations with its former colonial master have continued to deteriorate, culminating with last week’s decision to expel the 600 French […]
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.