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Intelligence for the New World Economy

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Intelligence for the New World Economy
Bright Simons

Bright Simons

Honorary vice president at IMANI think tank

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The fallacy that unites Trump’s strategists and pan-Africanist champions

Africa has less of the world’s share of critical minerals than many seem to think.
Congolese artisanal miners, among them people internally displaced by the Islamic State-affiliated Allied Democratic Forces rebels, dig in an open-pit mine in Mangaredjipa, near Beni, North Kivu Province, DR Congo, on Aug. 31, 2025. Artisanal miners in DR Congo. Gradel Muyisa Mumbere/Reuters.

The problem with AU’s bigger map proposal

The African Union has prioritized geopolitics over geopolicy and will likely end up not winning its argument.
Equal Earth map projection. Equal Earth map projection. Šavrič/Patterson/Jenny.

Afreximbank downgrade raises questions about bank’s strategy

The African Union has pushed back against the New York-based Fitch Ratings’ downgrade of the continent’s leading development bank.
Outgoing Afreximbank President Benedict Oramah.Outgoing Afreximbank President Benedict Oramah. Luc Gnago/Reuters.

Analysis: How to rethink climate finance for Africa

African countries need to drop complicated strategies aimed at the global development bureaucracy and instead focus on attracting best-fit investors.
An aerial view of a water towers project in Kenya’s Southwest Mau Forest and neighbouring tea estates.Patrick Sheperd/CIFOR