Africa

1. Uganda’s Saudi solution
2. Green energy minerals
3. Kenya’s floods
4. Nigeria’s diaspora plan
5. Crypto mining investment
6. Ethiopian plastics startup
7. Chadians choose

Also, the monkeys that are helping conservationists.

Hello! Welcome to Semafor Africa. These days, whenever I see the term “critical minerals” used in African geopolitics and trade discussions I am reminded of a friend who once asked, “critical for who?” The point of that quip seemed to be answered in a couple of recent reports which looked at the importance of these minerals in the global energy shift, as more countries move from fossil fuel-based power to renewable energy.

Critical minerals are those essential for building everything from electric vehicle batteries and power storage, to mobile phones and even defense technology. Many of those minerals are found in Africa with leads in certain key minerals as our chart below shows. Demand for these and others including cobalt, manganese, copper, and lithium are expected to increase fourfold by 2030, says the UN’s trade agency.

It isn’t going to be straightforward for African countries to take advantage of the expected energy shift without major investment alongside significant policy shifts. After decades of being exploited for extraction, African governments are keen to move up the value chain by insisting that more of the processing of these minerals takes place in their countries and thereby create more long term industry and jobs. But as we’ve reported, many of the early investments to build processing capabilities are from Chinese players who have inconsistent records on developing locally owned industries.

Another report from the US Institute of Peace sees this moment in Africa as an opportunity for the United States to not only diversify its own green supply chain away from a growing reliance on China, but to also work with partner countries and players across the continent to help them develop processing capacity. USIP stresses the urgency of this moment and calls on US government agencies to coordinate and be more agile to counter Chinese expansion and reach on the continent.

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Uganda turns to Saudis for road project

The size of a loan to Uganda from Saudi Arabia’s Islamic Development Bank. Uganda’s finance minister signed the loan agreement on Tuesday. The money will fund the construction of a bridge crossing the River Nile in northwest Uganda, and 105 kilometers of roads, according to the finance ministry. The World Bank, which is traditionally Uganda’s biggest external lender, suspended new loans to the East African country after it passed an anti-homosexuality law.

The world needs Africa’s critical minerals

More than a fifth of the metals essential to the transition to renewable energy are mined in Africa. Demand for cobalt, a critical mineral for electric vehicles that is most abundant in the DR Congo, could increase by nearly 1,500% by the year 2050, according to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). African countries rich in green energy minerals are generally mere producers and exporters of metal ores, and don’t add value through processing, UNCTAD says. But some nations are starting to see progress. In the DRC, local cobalt refining and processing saw the country export $6 billion worth of processed cobalt in 2022 against $167 million in unprocessed cobalt. China is the DRC’s largest market for both processed and raw cobalt.

Kenya’s president is under pressure over flood response

NAIROBI — Kenya’s president faces mounting criticism over his handling of the country’s worst floods in three decades, even as his government steps up its response to the devastation and subsequent political fallout.

President William Ruto, reacting to flooding in several parts of the country that has killed more than 150 people and displaced over 150,000, is under growing pressure to declare the situation a national disaster. It follows criticism over the speed of the government’s response and its preparedness.

Those calling for the declaration of a national disaster say it would trigger a more efficient government response to the needs of victims nationwide, particularly with the country’s meteorological agency forecasting further heavy rains in the coming days. They argue it would enable more resources to be channeled towards rescue and recovery efforts and an assessment of damage to roads, bridges and railway lines.

Flooding has damaged transport infrastructure including roads and bridges, cutting off access to several areas.

But Ruto has expressed reluctance to declare a disaster, telling the BBC that providing resources for affected areas was the more “urgent priority.” Speaking during Labour Day celebrations in Nairobi on May 1, Ruto said the government would prioritize moving those in the city’s badly hit informal settlements into new housing units currently being built under his administration’s controversial affordable housing programme.

“The government has been talking big on climate change, yet when the menace comes in full force, we have been caught unprepared,” opposition leader Raila Odinga said on Tuesday, questioning why contingency plans were not put in place after the Meteorological Department offered early warnings of potential flooding in at least seven regions in the country.

Apply here: Nigeria’s $10 billion diaspora fund

Nigeria is seeking fund managers for a proposed $10 billion “diaspora fund” as part of its push to attract more foreign direct investment.

Nigeria’s trade and investment ministry said the fund is geared towards “encouraging remittances, attracting investments and facilitating philanthropic endeavors” to fund healthcare, education and other infrastructure projects. The fund is expected to make investments over a three to five year period, and be wound up after 10 years. The ministry has invited interested fund managers to apply to oversee the fund before May 6.

Bola Tinubu’s government has focused on increasing dollar receipts over the past year to provide sources of earnings other than crude oil sales. Theft along pipelines has constrained Nigeria’s ability to earn dollars from selling oil, fuelling a long-running foreign exchange crunch that has partly contributed to decades-high inflation. Foreign exchange inflows into Nigeria appear to be on an upward trajectory: $2.3 billion was received in February, compared with $3.9 billion for the whole of 2023, according to the central bank.

The diaspora fund is also being proposed as a way to strengthen ties with the estimated 17 million Nigerians living abroad. Economic hardship and fears about insecurity have sparked a growing migration wave in recent years.

— Alexander Onukwue in Lagos

Kenya wants crypto miners

Kenya’s government is eyeing potential investments in the crypto mining industry.

Speaking at the American Chamber of Commerce Business Summit in Nairobi last week, Kenya’s President William Ruto said Florida-headquartered crypto mining firm Marathon Digital Holdings was in talks with the government.

Marathon Digital has been brought in to consult with Kenya’s treasury office and the energy ministry to discuss their needs with cryptocurrency mining in Kenya, Ruto told investors.

The energy-intensive nature of crypto mining has seen several companies in recent years approach Kenya’s state-owned power generator KenGen seeking to purchase geothermal energy. The company in 2022 disclosed plans to sell excess energy from its geothermal power plants to bitcoin miners. Kenya is considered a global leader in green energy with more than 80% of its energy mix coming from renewable sources.

Ethiopia in February signed a memorandum of understanding with Hong Kong-based West Data Group’s Center Service to begin mining bitcoin, as part of a larger $250 million data mining and AI project.

— Martin K.N Siele in Nairobi

Ethiopian plastic construction startup raises funding

Ethiopian startup Kubik, which creates construction materials from plastic waste, has completed a $5.2 million raise. The company’s investors include East Africa-focused firm African Renaissance Partners, climate-tech investor Endgame Capital, and American charity group King Philanthropies. The amount includes the $3.3 million the startup raised last year.

Kubik was founded three years ago and sets out to replace cement with sustainable materials, in a push for low-cost housing that helps to reduce carbon emissions. Chief executive and founder Kidus Asfaw said the startup raised seed money to meet “escalating demand,” improve its growth with technology, and add to its workforce of waste collectors. Kubik said its products cost 40% less per square meter than cement-based projects, and produce five times fewer greenhouse gas emissions.

The company opened a new plastics recycling plant in Adama Industrial Park, a Chinese-built park located about 80 kilometers from Ethiopia’s capital city Addis Ababa. Pharo Ventures, a firm with an agro-processing subsidiary in Ethiopia, said Kubik is providing it with “eco-friendly building blocks” for an oils processing facility under construction.

Africa consumes 4% of global plastic but poor disposal comes with a cost. Plastic pollution in West Africa’s coastal areas costs between $10,000 and $33,000 per ton of plastic waste, the World Bank estimates.

— Alexander

Chad braces for its presidential election

Chad is preparing to hold a presidential election on May 6. The interim president, Mahamat Idris Deby, seized power three years ago following the death of his father, former President Idris Deby. The military junta has vowed to oversee a transfer to democratic rule in the landlocked central African country. But the killing in March of the most prominent opposition politician has, along with the electoral body’s barring of two other candidates for “irregularities,” given the sense that the vote is designed to legitimize Deby’s rule.

Deby is one of 10 candidates. The other high-profile contender is Prime Minister Succes Masra. The previously exiled opposition politician took up the position of prime minister at the start of this year after reaching an agreement with the military regime last November. Analysts say it’s unclear whether Masra’s candidacy is a junta-orchestrated bid to falsely present the election as a genuine contest, or a genuine attempt to replicate Bassirou Diomaye Faye’s recent success in Senegal by riding a wave of popular discontent.

Recent history suggests a democratic move away from Deby could be crushed. At least 50 protesters were killed in 2022 during demonstrations against the regime’s move to delay elections. Ulf Laessing, Sahel program director at the Konrad Adenauer Foundation think tank, said the vote is likely to be held in a repressive environment. “​​I don’t think these will really be fair and transparent elections,” he told Semafor Africa.

The first round of voting is due to take place on Monday. If there is no clear winner, a second round will be held on June 22.

— Alexis Akwagyiram

Governance

🇿🇼 Notes and coins from Zimbabwe’s new gold-backed currency, Zimbabwe Gold (ZiG), began general circulation on Tuesday as the country seeks to control inflation. ZiG was introduced by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe last month, replacing the inflation-hit Zimbabwean dollar.

🇳🇬 Nigeria on Tuesday approved a 25% to 35% salary increase for some civil servants, with paramilitary, intelligence community members, and armed forces among the beneficiaries. The Nigeria Labour Congress said the increases should be extended to all civil servants.

🇰🇪 Kenyan President William Ruto said on Monday that the country expected to receive $1 billion from the International Monetary Fund this month in support of its economic recovery efforts.

🇰🇪 Kenya’s poultry farmers have expressed concerns that they could lose about $1.28 billion annually if a proposal to import poultry products from the US goes through. The farmers’ association said it could see a 75% reduction in demand for local poultry products.

Deals

🇳🇦 US energy company Baker Hughes will build a liquid mud plant in Namibia to serve increased oil and gas exploration activities in the country.

🇿🇦 South African investment firm Talent10 will commit $100 million, in partnership with the Industrial Development Corporation, to develop a entertainment and gaming franchise in the country.

🇳🇬 Nigerian ecommerce logistics startup Renda raised $1.9 million in equity and debt to finance expansion in its markets, which includes Kenya.

🇰🇪 The Kenya-headquartered marketing and communication firm WPP-Scangroup on Tuesday announced plans to sell its South African business, months after it ceased operations in Nigeria. The firm said the move was meant to strategically reallocate resources to its primary markets.

Geopolitics

🇬🇧 🌍 The UK’s investment arm British International Investment will increase spending in Africa and its renewable energy sector, its chief executive said. He said BII’s spending would exceed the £1 billion ($1.25 billion) spent last year.

Justice

🇨🇫 The UN-backed special criminal court in the Central African Republic’s capital Bangui issued an international warrant for the arrest of former president François Bozizé. The court said he was wanted for alleged crimes committed by the nation’s military between 2009 and 2013 including murder, enforced disappearance, torture, and rape.

Mining

🇹🇿 Tanzania will no longer issue mining licenses to investors who don’t show plans to add value to the country’s mineral reserves, the mining minister told parliament on Tuesday. Tanzania has strategic and essential minerals including gold, cobalt, titanium, and copper.

Tech

🇿🇦 South Africa’s leading crypto exchange VALR will start operations in Poland, its chief executive told Reuters. He said the exchange has initial approval from Dubai’s regulator, and would look for licenses in Mauritius, Kenya, Ghana and Egypt.

🇸🇳 Senegalese mobile money provider Wave is the only African startup in a list of the top 50 of Y Combinator-funded companies with the highest revenue in 2023.

🇰🇪 Kenyan logistics startup Twiga Foods appointed Charles Ballard as its new CEO, replacing the startup’s embattled founder Peter Njonjo.

Africa’s most endangered monkeys can help promote the conservation of their habitats, a new study has argued. The red colobus, which lives in Africa’s tropical forests in Senegal, DR Congo, and Zanzibar, spend most of their time moving, feeding, and socializing high in the forest canopy. The monkeys often live in the forests’ oldest trees and, as a result, their presence can serve as a key indicator of the forests’ health, the researchers argued. The study noted that a focus on conserving red colobus species would direct conservation resources toward protecting significant African forest habitats. The researchers concluded that the conservation of the monkeys would not only protect Africa’s tropical forests, but could also lead to forest expansion.

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— Yinka, Alexis, Alexander Onukwue, Martin Siele, Muchira Gachenge, and Jenna Moon