Houthis Tighten Grip on Bab el-Mandeb – and African Ports May Lose Out
September 28th, 2026
Via The Africa Report, a look at how soaring fuel costs are tempting carriers back to Bab el-Mandeb, threatening West Africa’s mega-ship boom. Only a handful of deepwater hubs, and Djibouti, look set to gain. Iran’s Houthi allies have tightened their grip on the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, opening a second front against global shipping just […]
Read more »The Addis Ababa-Djibouti Railway: Still Growing 8 Years Later
February 14th, 2026
Via The Diplomat, an article on how – two years after the handover to local control – the China-built railway is not done transforming the region: After its inauguration on January 10, 2017, in Djibouti City, the Addis Ababa–Djibouti Railway (AADR) – the African continent’s first standard-gauge, electrified, multi-country railway – started its operation in […]
Read more »Saudis In, UAE Out? Why Djibouti Has Become The Gulf’s Indispensable Outpost
January 8th, 2026
Via The Africa Report, commentary on how – in the high-stakes game of influence across the Red Sea – Djibouti is playing the Arabian Peninsula’s rival powers off one another to secure its own sovereignty – and its future: “Officially, Djibouti has no quarrel with the United Arab Emirates, nor with Dubai,” insists a government […]
Read more »Egypt To Develop Djibouti’s Port In Bid To Pressure Ethiopia Over Nile Dam
January 2nd, 2026
Via The National News, a report on Egypt’s deal to develop Djibouti’s port in a bid to pressure Ethiopia over the GERD Nile dam: Egypt’s Deputy Prime Minister Kamel El Wazir concluded a milestone visit to Djibouti this week, where he finalised a deal to develop the Doraleh port on the Gulf of Aden. The Egyptian […]
Read more »Africa’s Silicon Valley? Djibouti Goes Digital
April 25th, 2025
Via The Africa Report, an article on Djibouti which is going digital with 10 submarine cables: Undersea telecom cables run to Djibouti for the same reason that eight big powers came here to put up military bases – the strategic location. The country has been investing in digital infrastructure and sees itself as a springboard […]
Read more »China’s Faith in Djibouti is Paying Off, but Could Red Sea Crisis Muddy the Waters?
December 30th, 2024
Via South China Morning Post, a report on China’s investment in Djibouti: China’s investment in Djibouti is finally beginning to pay off, but the Red Sea crisis has brought mixed feelings about the business outlook among some Chinese executives based in the tiny Horn of Africa nation. Djibouti has been a major East African investment destination for […]
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.