Africa

1. Africa ups AI agenda
2. Startup timescales shift
3. S.Africa’s new bank
4. Somalia hits back
5. Weekend Reads

Why Senegal is removing French colonial-era street names.

Hello from Davos! Africa hasn’t been anywhere near the top of the agenda at this year’s World Economic Forum — but South Africa has made a strong showing.

With the G20 Summit being hosted this year in Johannesburg — the very first on African soil — President Cyril Ramaphosa was in fine form. He laid out a vision that prioritized international cooperation while putting Africa at the heart of the global order.

But most of the conversations I’ve had here have been about a new world order in Trump 2.0. This effectively resets a lot of the language and talking points that have filtered into mainstream development economics discourse over the past couple of decades. Don’t get me wrong, talk of inclusive growth and equality is still very much here — but it is no longer central to the conversation. It feels like a lot of that energy has shifted instead to AI (see below), big data, and even crypto as potential solutions for both African governments and businesses.

AI moves up the African agenda

Artificial intelligence was high on the agenda for African leaders and business executives attending this year’s World Economic Forum. Discussions about the continent at Davos have tended to focus on issues like poverty, debt alleviation, and climate finance. But this year there have been markedly more conversations about deploying AI to boost government and business productivity, veteran Africa investor Wale Adeosun of Lagos-based Kuramo Capital told Semafor.

Yet many of those AI discussions haven’t taken place on the major tech panels in the venues along the central Promenade or during the WEF Congress. Instead they are happening in Africa-focused sideline events in hotels. “When people here speak about Africa they often mention AI, but when AI is being discussed Africa is almost never mentioned,” said Landry Signé, author of Realizing Africa’s Potential.

— Yinka Adegoke

Shifting appetite for African startups

African startups will have to become comfortable with longer fundraising timelines, a new report suggested, as dealmakers flock to early-stage ventures. According to data compiled by Senegal-based investor Partech Partners, the average amount invested in seed-stage African startups rose to $1.6 million last year, up 26% compared to 2023, while that plowed into later growth-stage startups rose 15% to nearly $40 million. But ticket sizes for those at Series A and B rounds — where money is crucial to solidify traction and product-market fit — fell by 18% and 27% respectively. The time it takes for startups to complete fundraising at both stages is increasing too. Rising interest rates worldwide sparked a withdrawal of global venture capital on the continent. Investors who remain active in Africa now fund startups at an early stage where the ticket sizes are smaller.

South Africa insurer readies digital bank

Old Mutual, South Africa’s second largest life insurer, is going through the final regulatory steps to launch its digital-first bank in March. The company has spent around $200 million building the infrastructure to launch OM Bank, CEO Iain Williamson told Semafor, after what he described as a delayed regulatory process.

The new brand will enter a South African banking market where around 85% of customers already have accounts, including with other digital-first rivals such as TymeBank and Discovery Bank. “We think we’re going to have a competitive advantage,” Williamson said on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum, flagging that his 180-year old company has offered customers a mix of non-insurance financial services for several years. While in Davos, he planned to meet with the CEO of Brazil’s Nubank to learn more about their experience of running one of the largest digital-first banks in the world.

— Yinka

Somalia pushes back at Somaliland claims

Somalia is not worried about the future of its territorial integrity, a senior presidential adviser told Semafor, with the Trump administration looking set to recognize the breakaway region of Somaliland. Speaking on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum, Yusuf Hussein said the US and Somalia remained strong allies in a wide range of areas including economic engagement and security. “Nothing has changed since Trump’s first term,” he said. “We’re not sure why anyone would try and raise this about our country.”

J. Peter Pham, a former special envoy for the Sahel and Great Lakes regions during the last Trump presidency, is expected to lead the president’s new Africa team. Pham has been a vocal supporter of Somaliland’s democratic advances and push for US recognition of its statehood. Pham was also a major critic of the Biden White House’s unofficial “One Somalia” policy.

— Yinka

Weekend Reads

• African publishing is undergoing a revival. For decades the main path to success for African writers was to get a book deal with a Western publisher, Abdi Latif Dahir writes in The New York Times. But the rise of the Kenyan literary magazine Kwani? started connecting the continent’s authors. Many are now signing deals with African publishing houses, broadening the range of stories told about Africa.

• South Africa’s ongoing land reallocation project is critical for the country’s efforts at racial reconciliation, argues political scientist Michael Albertus in Foreign Policy. While it’s easy to focus on the shortfalls — the government has transferred only about half the land it had promised to Black farmers following the end of apartheid — he says that it’s an “evolving model” for advancing racial justice through land redistribution.

• Africans are being lured into fighting on the front lines of Russia’s war in Ukraine on false promises, RFI reported. It highlights the story of a Cameroonian man who thought he was going to Russia to work as a caretaker but ended up forced to fight in a military unit. “I want to tell people what’s going on... so that Africans stop coming here to die,” he told the outlet.

• A documentary about the assassination of DR Congo independence leader Patrice Lumumba provides insights into the “crunching, brutal machinery of Western imperialism,” writes Tsogo Kupa in Africa Is a Country. Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat, released in September, explores the Cold War episode that led to musicians Abbey Lincoln and Max Roach crashing the UN Security Council in protest against Lumumba’s murder.

• Africa’s Generation Beta has a lot to look forward to, writes Henry Wilkins in Voice of America. With the first members of the group being born this month, African futurists tell him Gen B’ers will enjoy better life expectancy and economic growth as well as innovations drawn from artificial intelligence.

Business & Macro

🇿🇲 Zambia is looking to revive its economy by opening new mines and investing in old ones to raise copper production to about 1 million tons by 2026.

🇦🇴 A mystery lender has accused Angola of a sovereign default in new arbitration proceedings, arguing that it is entitled to full repayment of its portion of a loan provided to the country by a group of lenders, the Financial Times reported.

Climate & Energy

🇰🇪 US President Donald Trump’s plan to increase domestic oil drilling could slow Kenya’s inflation rate should the plan lead to lower global petrol prices, the African country’s central bank governor said.

Geopolitics & Policy

🇷🇼🇨🇩 M23, a rebel group in DR Congo that the US says is backed by Rwanda, is closing in on the eastern Congolese city of Goma, escalating long-running tensions between the central African neighbors.

🇬🇦 Gabon said it would hold presidential elections on Apr. 12, a move toward reestablishing civilian rule after a 2023 military coup toppled the Bongo dynasty’s decades-long rule.

Tech & Deals

🇳🇬 The US payment giant Visa invested $10 million in Nigerian fintech startup Moniepoint as both look to boost contactless services on the continent.

🇸🇸 South Sudan suspended access to social media platforms for at least 30 days over online videos that showed alleged killings of nationals in neighboring Sudan.

Senegal plans to remove French colonial-era street names, 65 years after achieving independence. About 60% of Dakar’s streets are named for French figures — “administrators and governors, commanders, but also French writers and doctors,” according to Le Monde. President Bassirou Diomaye Faye wants to rename them for Senegalese “national heroes,” including individuals or groups such as the tirailleurs who fought in the French army in the World Wars. The move is part of a broader push in the region to dismantle the Francafrique project. In 2023 alone, French troops were forced to leave Burkina Faso and Niger, while Mali blocked French media, and anti-French sentiment has been rising in the Sahel region.

It may be more difficult than usual for the US Congress to pass legislation to streamline the process for building new energy infrastructure, a senior Democrat who has helped lead recent negotiations over the issue told Semafor’s Tim McDonnell.

President Donald Trump’s aim to speed up energy projects could collide with Democrats’ aversion to slashing environmental oversight, pushing a legislative deal “much further out,” a consultant and lobbyist said.

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— Alexis Akwagyiram, Preeti Jha, Alexander Onukwue, and Yinka Adegoke.