Africa

1. Funding creatives
2. Refining billions
3. African artisans
4. Nollywood <3 K-drama

Also, remembering the legacy-shaping economic reforms of Tito Mboweni.

Welcome to Semafor Africa Weekend, where we believe very much in the power of collaboration. That’s certainly been the story of the last two years since our launch. Some of the most interesting partnerships here have been across continents (via Slack) and seeking out stories or sources we can help each other with. What we’ve learned, at times, by doing this is that there are audiences for our stories in other markets outside the ones we typically cover.

That’s the kind of magic some Nollywood producers seem to be hoping for by producing Korean language movies set in Korea but starring Nigerian actors, which we cover in the story below. If this works it could have all kinds of creative ramifications and maybe upend traditional distribution models. Right now this seems to be happening ‘manually’, but artificial intelligence can already carry out translation into major global languages in seconds. So it’s only a matter of time before Nollywood K-dramas add Colombian telenovelas to their mix of offerings.

While there is an element of novelty which is bound to wear off, there’s also a good chance the really great storytellers and creators will enable entirely new markets. What the popularity of K-dramas, Colombian telenovelas, and Bollywood before them, have shown us is that great storytelling is appreciated in any language.

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Doubling down on African culture

The amount Afreximbank says it will extend to its Canex (Creative Africa Nexus) program for the next three years, doubling its current $1 billion financing, according to the bank’s President Benedict Oramah. He said the funding will target infrastructure development in film production facilities, music arenas, sports stadiums, and fashion manufacturing hubs across the continent, with a focus on equipping African creatives with tools and spaces to produce content and goods that can compete internationally.

Dangote’s big jump

Who wants to be a billionaire? It would seem most people do. That is unless it involves wrangling with an awkward government and powerful vested interests determined to keep control of your nation’s oil industry. But that is just what Nigerian industrialist billionaire Aliko Dangote did when he opened a $20 billion refinery last year. It is his most ambitious undertaking and was touted as a solution to one of the big challenges of the country’s struggling petroleum industry. However, it wasn’t welcomed with open arms and has had several run-ins with regulators and other unseen forces.

But don’t feel too sorry for Alhaji Aliko, because his bet has paid off in at least one major way: bragging rights. Bloomberg’s Billionaire Index has added his ownership stake in the refinery to his overall wealth, racking it up by nearly $13 billion. He remains Africa’s wealthiest person, of course, only now by a much larger margin.

Putting African artisans on the world stage

Nasozi Kakembo is a designer, author and journalist whose design practice and import business, xN Studio, launched in New York and Kampala, Uganda, in 2011. She works exclusively with artisans from across Africa. She recently launched her debut book, The African Decor Edit: Collecting and Decorating with Heritage Objects.

💡 What inspired your new book? I use the book to collect and share the stories of culturally significant African objects — from Malian mud cloth to Moroccan rugs — from the source and offer guidance on sourcing, collecting, and decorating with each object. I curated 10 homes from around the globe to showcase interiors appointed with African decor in innovative and meaningful ways.

💡 How did you start working with artisans on the continent? Initially, it was a meaningful way for me to connect more deeply with artisans and Ugandan culture that I grew up with, but not in, having been raised in Washington D.C. It was also a creative outlet and an additional stream of income for me when I was still working at an international philanthropy in NYC.

💡 Which products are the most popular with your customers in the United States?

The most popular products are the ekibbo (Ugandan baskets), any of the bogolan pillows (mud cloth), and the wood carved salad servers (also from Uganda, and Kenya).

💡Which Ugandan artists should we not sleep on? Collin Sekajugo is a fantastic contemporary artist from Uganda. The work of Wamala Kyeyune also caught my eye the last time I was in Uganda.

💡Which dish reminds you of being home in Uganda? Samosas! Ugandan Asians have had a tremendous influence on our cuisine. The Ugandan chapati is also incredible, and we’re known for that throughout East Africa.

— Muchira Gachenge

Nollywood brings ‘sunshine’ to Korea

A few years ago I was chatting with the influential Nollywood filmmaker Kunle Afolayan about what he’d been watching lately and he had one word: K-drama. He later posted on Facebook about how much he had fallen in love with the genre of Korean shows, which Netflix has helped spread around the world. Like Nollywood, K-dramas tend to be somewhat formulaic and soapy, but with higher production values thanks to their much bigger budgets.

Now Nollywood and K-dramas are cross-pollinating in a new Nigeria-made movie called “My Sunshine” set in South Korea. It has dialogue predominantly in Korean and English — or ‘Kenglish,’ as one fan called it — and leans into many of the narrative tropes of your favorite Korean dramas.

The 75-minute feature was directed by JJC Skillz, a veteran Nigerian rapper and producer, and written by Kemi Ikuseedun, a Nigerian actress who plays the lead role.

And it probably won’t be a one-off, suggests Enyi Omeruah, a Lagos-based producer whose credits include ‘God Calling’ and ‘Banana Island Ghost’. “Look, there’s going to be money following this because everyone here is trying to expand the market for Nollywood,” he said. Omeruah also said he’s already heard of at least one other project from an established director raising funds for another Korea-based Nigerian production.

— Yinka

Weekend Reads

🇿🇦 Tributes poured in from across the continent following the passing of Tito Mboweni, one of the continent’s foremost economic minds. The Conversation looked at the legacy-shaping economic reforms Mboweni is credited with delivering in South Africa. Tshwane University’s Professor Tinyiko Maluleke writes that from his time as South Africa’s central bank governor and later as finance minister, “Tito tirelessly orchestrated a policy framework aimed at the creation of an inclusive economy.” Sunday World explored Mboweni’s infamous meals as an ‘unintentional celebrity chef.’

🌍 Is there a common denominator present in every crisis on the continent? Author Howard W. French examines the spread of crises across very different African countries and tries to answer this question in Foreign Policy. He notes that at the heart of it all is a failure of governments to provide even the most basic of public services for their citizens from schools and hospitals to electricity and roads.

🔌 In a photo essay, TechCentral takes its readers on its drive with five electric cars across South Africa. The journey stretched from Johannesburg through “villages in the Eastern Cape and Western Cape and across countless mountain passes.” The four-day road trip was meant to test the feasibility of driving electric cars in the country — including in remote areas.

🇲🇿 A team of young maritime archaeologists has led a project to explore what may be the wreck of an 18th-century slave ship off Mozambique’s northern coast. The team includes a Senegalese, Brazilian, and Mozambican. Carlos Mureithi, for The Guardian, reports on how this project is training Africans and people of African descent in underwater archaeology “to identify, preserve and tell the stories of the wrecks in their waters.”

Week Ahead

Oct. 22-24 — The Africa Regional Platform will bring together government leaders, civil society heads, and the private sector to Windhoek, Namibia.

Oct. 23 — South African restaurant franchiser Famous Brands will post interim results.

Oct. 24 — Mozambique’s election commission is expected to announce the full provisional result of this month’s election, in which the ruling Frelimo party is widely predicted to extend its 49 years in power.

Oct. 24 — South African pharmacy chain Clicks will post full-year earnings.

Oct. 24-25 — The inaugural Africa Football Business Summit will take place in Nairobi. It aims to provide a catalyst for football and sports development in Africa.

Oct. 24-25 — Semafor will host the fall edition of the World Economy Summit on the sidelines of the IMF/World Bank fall meetings in Washington DC. We will host distinguished speakers including Amos Hochstein, White House advisor on energy and investments; Dr. James Mwangi, CEO of Equity Bank; Abdulmajid Nsekela, CEO, CRDB Bank; and Sergio P. Ermotti, Group CEO, UBS among others.

Oct. 25 — The International Monetary Fund will publish its latest economic outlook report for sub-Saharan Africa on the margins of the lender’s joint fall meetings with the World Bank.

For Your Consideration

Oct. 30 — The African Research Fellowship program, launched by the European Space Agency in collaboration with the African Union Commission, is now accepting applications for the 2024/2025 cohort.

Jan. 31, 2025 — The Next Generation Social Sciences in Africa program, which targets early-career faculties in Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, and Uganda, is open for applications.

• Inside a Chinese battery giant’s plan to become ‘more European.’
• No matter who wins, the US is moving to the right.
• South Korea’s next election sets up a classic revenge story.

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— Yinka, Alexis Akwagyiram, Alexander Onukwue, Martin Siele, and Muchira Gachenge