Fintechs Fly Planes of Cash Into Zimbabwe to Meet Demand for Dollars
July 21st, 2024
Via Bloomberg, an article on how African mobile money services are booming as citizens are reluctant to adopt the country’s new currency: At least once a month — and sometimes as often as three times a week — a private plane lands in a secure part of Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport on the outskirts […]
Read more »Rise of Chinese Surveillance Tech in Africa: Development or Espionage?
July 11th, 2024
Courtesy of The Africa Report, commentary on the growing deployment of Chinese CCTV equipment in African cities: Chinese technology companies like Huawei and ZTE are contributing to smart city development on the continent, but analysts warn that their tools provide authoritarian governments with the means to spy on citizens and promote repression. More than a […]
Read more »As China Scrambles for Zimbabwe’s Lithium, Small Miners Are Left Behind
June 16th, 2024
Via Al Jazeera, an article on how small miners in Zimbabwe are impacted by China’s growing role in the market: On a winter’s morning in Shamva, in Zimbabwe’s Mashonaland Central province, Brenda, a single mother of three, is on the hunt for lithium ore. The 39-year-old, who asked that only her first name be used, […]
Read more »Zimbabwe in Talks with China for $533 Million Revamp of State Railway Company
May 21st, 2024
Via Bloomberg, an article on discussions between Zimbabwe and China for a $533 million revamp of its state railway company NRZ and China Rail sign MoU on scope of work needed for revamp Study to assess state railway needs, finance minister says Zimbabwe is in talks with China Railway Group Ltd. to help modernize the state-owned National Railways […]
Read more »China Is Winning the Minerals War
May 21st, 2024
Courtesy of the Wall Street Journal, a look at the race for critical minerals in which Western efforts to make a dent are languishing; ‘China is not just standing still waiting for us to catch up’: For the past few years, the West has been trying to break China’s grip on minerals that are critical […]
Read more »China’s Investment In Africa’s Lithium Beginning To Pay Off
May 3rd, 2024
Via South China Morning Post, an article on how China’s investment in Africa’s lithium mines is beginning to pay off with new mineral supply chains created: China’s investment in Zimbabwe’s Kamativi lithium mine has seen production of the essential mineral increase exponentially It is part of Beijing’s plan to open up lithium supply, with the […]
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.