Africa

1. China’s zero-tariff offer
2. Ratings agency launch date
3. Economic growth projections
4. EU’s new gray list
5. S. Africa’s EV boom
6. Health care challenges
7. $1 billion hydropower plan

The 36th Bienal de São Paulo announces list of participating artists.

China’s zero-tariff offer for Africa

Beijing said on Wednesday that it was ready to remove tariffs for all 53 African countries with which it shares diplomatic relations, following a meeting between its foreign minister and African officials in central China.

The move comes amid an ongoing trade war between Washington and Beijing, Africa’s largest bilateral trade partner, and is a clear counterpoint to US President Donald Trump’s new tariff regime that could hit some African nations with rates as high as 50%. “We call on all countries, the United States in particular, to return to the right track of resolving trade disputes through consultation,” a statement published by the Chinese foreign ministry said. African countries are also facing uncertainty over the future of the African Growth and Opportunity Act, a 25-year-old preferential trade program with the US that is set to expire in September.

Eswatini, the only African country that supports Taiwan — which Beijing considers a breakaway province — would be left out of any new tariff agreement. The plan is an expansion of China rolling out a zero-tariff treatment to 43 of the world’s least-developed countries, mostly on the continent, last year.

Ratings agency eyes Q3 launch

The African Credit Rating Agency, an initiative set up to provide an alternative to the so-called Big Three ratings agencies, will be launched by the end of September, according to the African Union. It comes amid a deepening row over Fitch’s downgrading of the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), which has reignited a debate about Western institutions’ influence over perceptions of risk around African lending that leads to steep capital costs.

Misheck Mutize, lead expert on credit-rating companies at an AU panel, told reporters a CEO would be appointed for AfCRA in the third quarter. The new agency will be based on the continent, whereas Fitch, Moody’s, and S&P Global Ratings are based in New York.

Afreximbank on Tuesday reacted to Fitch’s downgrade of its rating to BBB-, one step above junk, by saying it operates “very high standards of financial transparency” and that the agency’s move was based on an “erroneous view” of the bank’s mandate. International finance experts told Semafor the downgrade threatened the lender’s ability to enter some funding markets and could seriously damage its credibility.

— Alexis Akwagyiram

World Bank’s growth projections

Growth in sub-Saharan Africa is projected to edge up to 3.7% this year from 3.5% in 2024, the World Bank said.

It is the only region other than the Middle East and North Africa that is expected to see such acceleration, as growth weakens among developing economies, the lender wrote in its latest Global Economic Prospects report. That’s “assuming the external environment does not deteriorate further, inflation declines as expected, and regional conflicts subside,” it cautioned.

However, this growth is lower than the region’s long-term average, the World Bank noted, “and is insufficient to make substantial progress in reducing extreme poverty.”

EU’s money laundering concerns

The European Union added five African countries to its list of nations it determines have poor anti-money laundering controls. Algeria, Angola, Côte d’Ivoire, Kenya, and Namibia were added to the list, while Senegal and Uganda were removed. The EU requires its agencies to apply a higher level of vigilance to countries on the list to protect the bloc’s financial system.

The European Commission, the executive arm of the EU, said it closely followed the listing process of the Financial Action Task Force, an intergovernmental body that aims to combat terrorism financing and money laundering and runs a “gray list” of high risk countries. “The EU remains committed to provide technical assistance to support the efforts of the authorities if deemed useful,” a European Commission spokesperson told Semafor.

— Alexis

South Africa set for EV boom

Chinese electric vehicle maker BYD plans to triple its dealerships in South Africa by next year to take advantage of growing EV adoption in Africa’s largest economy.

The company wants to increase its footprint to up to 35 dealerships to ensure South African consumers “can catch up with the rest of the world,” BYD’s top country executive told Reuters. BYD entered South Africa in June 2023 with its Atto 3 SUV that retails locally for about $37,000, and launched three new models in South Africa in April this year.

Annual sales of EVs — both fully electric and hybrids — in South Africa rose from a little over 400 to more than 7,700 units between 2019 and 2023, according to the Automotive Business Council, an industry trade group. Overall, sales of new cars rose by 22% year-on-year in May to 45,308 units, with dealerships accounting for at least eight in 10 sales. The car market has been “buoyed by relatively stable economic fundamentals earlier in the year,” the ABC said.

Africa’s health care challenges

The challenges facing African health care in the coming years have been highlighted in two new reports. The COVID-19 pandemic reduced Africans’ life expectancy by 0.66 years over a two-year period, according to new World Health Organization data, reversing many of the gains made since the 2000s. The WHO highlighted the success of initiatives targeting HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis in reducing mortality on the continent in recent years but did not address the impact of recent USAID funding withdrawal on such care going forward.

In a separate report, the McKinsey Health Institute noted how Africa was particularly impacted by the global shortage of health care workers. Africa has 17% of the world’s population, but accounts for 52% of the shortage of health care workers, it noted. This is a significant opportunity missed, according to the institute, which estimates that eliminating the continent’s worker shortage has the “potential” to secure a seven-year improvement in life expectancy.

— Paige Bruton

Funding boost for DR Congo hydropower

The amount committed by the World Bank to help DR Congo prepare for the next stage of developing what could be one of the world’s largest hydropower plants. The Grand Inga complex could generate 11,000 megawatts of power once completed, more than triple DR Congo’s current capacity, Bloomberg reported. The $10 billion project on the Congo River is part of the “Mission 300” program that aims to bring electricity to 300 million Africans by 2030: Sub-Saharan Africa has the lowest access to electricity in the world, with around 600 million people without reliable power. The World Bank said the funding will go toward reforming DR Congo’s national electricity company and attracting private sector investors for the new plant.

The most powerful people in the media are gathering in Cannes next week, and we’re on the ground to cover it all. Starting next week, Semafor’s Ben Smith and Max Tani will hop between panels, parties, and yachts to bring you the essential guide to marketing and media’s most consequential event.

Whether you’re jetting to Cannes or just want to stay in the loop, subscribe to our pop-up newsletter, Semafor Cannes.

Business & Macro

🇪🇹 Ethiopia’s government expects economic growth of 8.9% in the fiscal year that begins in July, 50 basis points higher than the current year’s projection.

🇳🇬 Nigeria is struggling to reach an agreement with Saudi Arabia’s Aramco for a $5 billion oil-backed loan as the fall in oil prices deters prospective bank partners, Reuters reported.

Climate & Energy

🇿🇲 Zambia is holding talks with electric vehicle manufacturers for them to consider making vehicle parts in the country, Finance Minister Situmbeko Musokotwane said.

Geopolitics & Policy

🇹🇬 Togo’s President Faure Gnassingbe is facing more pressure from a coalition of opposition parties to resign, following the government’s clampdown on protests against a new position that could see the president stay in power indefinitely.

🇹🇿 A Tanzanian court temporarily halted the activities and froze assets of main opposition party Chadema whose leader Tundu Lissu is facing trial since an April arrest.

Tech & Deals

🇺🇬 MTN Uganda plans to spin off its mobile money unit into a subsidiary fintech company subject to the approvals of regulators and shareholders.

🇳🇬 Africa-focused tech investor Silverbacks Holdings partially divested from its stake in Nigerian logistics startup Omniretail, making five times its initial investment, the investor said.

🇰🇪 Kenyan food logistics company Twiga paused operations in Nairobi as part of a process to overhaul its business.

The world’s second-oldest art biennial announced the 125 artists who will participate in the exhibition beginning in September. The 36th Bienal de São Paulo, conceptualized by Cameroon-born curator Bonaventure Soh Bejeng Ndikung, will feature dozens of works informed by the African continent and its diasporas. The Nigerian-Belgian visual artist Otobong Nkanga, whose sprawling tapestry installation is currently on display at New York’s Museum of Modern Art, is among those listed. Ndikung told Semafor that many of the selected artists “engage with histories marked by rupture — colonial histories, diasporic experiences, environmental destruction.” But they “do so with a view toward transformation,” he added. “There is a powerful commitment to honouring the past while refusing to be defined by it.”

— Preeti Jha

Brad Schneider has a vision for how moderate Democrats can help their party climb out of the wilderness, reported Semafor’s Eleanor Mueller.

“Elon Musk has a reputation: He wanted to move fast and break things,” Schneider told Semafor from his Capitol office on Monday. “The New Dems are looking to move fast and fix things.”

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