Via The Economist, a report on Africa’s retail revolution as it plays out in the supermarket sector: To walk along the main road in Ruaka, a town on the outskirts of Nairobi, is to glimpse the extremes of African shopping. Market stalls selling vegetables and charcoal spill onto the street. In the distance is a […]
Read more »Via The Africa Report, an article on South Africa’s copper ambitions: Major players in South Africa are vying for copper mines across the continent, while local producers explore substantial unmined holdings at home. South Africa’s bid to be the continent’s copper giant within the next 10 years is playing out as a two-pronged approach: outbidding […]
Read more »Via Wall Street Journal, a report on Walmart boosting its online efforts at Massmart as part of renewed bet on fast-growing consumer markets in Africa: Walmart’s investment in Africa tanked. It is responding by doubling down. More than a decade ago, Walmart spent $2.4 billion to buy a controlling stake in South African retailer Massmart, which also […]
Read more »Courtesy of Bloomberg, a report on how traditional economic leaders in sub-Saharan Africa are now falling behind: Sub-Saharan Africa’s economic powerhouses are faltering. While South Africa has pulled back from the brink of an electricity crisis in recent weeks as the government scrambled to keep the state utility’s creaking plants running, energy shortages continue to […]
Read more »Via Bloomberg, commentary that tensions between the Asian rivals will likely prevent the BRICS bloc from ever posing a coherent challenge to the West: For an acronym coined by an investment bank in a decades-old report notable mainly for being wrong, “BRICS” has had a good run. It was once an idea, then a summit, and […]
Read more »Courtesy of The Financial Times, commentary on the BRICS’ lopsided turn towards China: There can’t be many international summits where a head of government stays away for fear of being arrested for war crimes, but the BRICS grouping has managed it. Vladimir Putin will skip next month’s meeting of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South […]
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