Africa

1. Backing farmers
2. Risky workplaces
3. Parsing oil deals
4. Return to sender
5. Mobile shares

Also, getting set for Lagos Fashion Week.

Zambian farmers get a boost in US deal

The value of the Zambia Farm-to-Market Compact deal signed between the United States’ Millennium Challenge Corporation and the Zambian government. The amount comprises a $458 million grant from the US and a $33 million investment by the Zambian government. It is aimed at helping develop infrastructure, including improving 210 miles of roads, to assist Zambia’s farmers and rural communities access regional and global markets, and support the agriculture sector growth.

Tackling workplace harm

Experiences of workplace harm across sub-Saharan Africa tend to correlate with income level. For example, in Sierra Leone, one of the poorest countries on the continent, 41% of the workforce reported having experienced workplace harm between 2021 and 2023.

The data, from a survey by Gallup and Lloyd’s Register Foundation, shows that at least 20% of the workforce in 11 sub-Saharan African countries have experienced workplace harm. The survey defines workplace harm as everything from fatal injuries and diseases contracted at work to musculoskeletal conditions caused by sitting at a desk for too long. Fishing, construction and mining jobs are most associated with workplace harm, the report shows.

Specific drivers of workplace harm differ between countries but a common factor shaping trends is the predominance of “less stable forms of employment” and the incomes they produce, said Ed Morrow of Lloyd’s Register Foundation. “We see globally this relationship where as you move up country income groups, the rates of harm decrease,” Morrow said.

Nigeria gives with one hand…

Nigeria has agreed to allow US oil giant Exxon to complete a $1.28 billion sale of some of its onshore assets in the country. But the regulator has declined to approve a similar move by Shell to sell onshore and shallow water assets as part of a $2.4 billion package.

Exxon’s transaction with Seplat had been awaiting approval since February 2022. Seplat, a Nigerian company listed on the London Stock Exchange, expects the assets to triple its oil output to 130,000 barrels per day, says the Financial Times.

But Shell’s plan to sell assets to Renaissance Africa Energy — a group of four Nigerian companies and one foreign partner — did “not scale regulatory test,” said Gbenga Komolafe, chief executive of Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission.

The scramble to sell valuable oil assets in Nigeria underscores the challenges of theft and sabotage being experienced in the sector — challenges that have undercut Nigeria’s oil production volumes and foreign exchange earnings. However, regulators and other stakeholders have appeared cautious to grant these wishes. Among the key considerations are the potential buyers’ capacity to maintain operations and concerns about alleged liability for unresolved environmental impact.

Shell’s intent to divest from assets in the Niger Delta region has faced opposition from local activists and advocacy groups like Amnesty International. Earlier this year, a report by a Dutch non-profit asked Nigeria to prevent the sale until the company takes “responsibility for its toxic legacy of pollution and ensures the safe decommissioning of abandoned oil infrastructure.”

— Alexander Onukwue in Lagos

Kenya is under fire for repatriating Turkish refugees

Kenya’s government is facing growing criticism from global organizations, rights groups and sections of the public following the repatriation of four Turkish refugees.

Kenya’s foreign affairs secretary Korir Sing’oei on Monday confirmed that the four had been repatriated on the Turkish government’s request, adding that Ankara had promised to treat them with dignity. Their whereabouts had been unclear since they were controversially abducted last week by unknown individuals.

The four are alleged to have links to the Gülen movement, an Islamic community with a significant following and presence in Turkey and around the world. The movement runs a global network of schools, including in Kenya. On Monday it was announced that Fethullah Gülen, the Turkish cleric who built the Islamic movement, had died in the US at 83.

Since it was blamed for a 2016 coup attempt against President Recep Tayipp Erdogan, Turkish intelligence authorities have reportedly conducted operations for the forcible return of more than 100 people with alleged links to the movement. Lawyers representing the four after their abduction had described them as “victims of political persecution”.

The United Nations High Commission on Refugees in a statement said it was “deeply concerned” by the repatriation, and urged Kenya to respect the rights of refugees and asylum seekers. The repatriation has also been criticized by the Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC) and Amnesty International among others.

— Martin K.N. Siele in Nairobi

Ethiopia sells stake in telco giant

In anticipation of the launch of its security exchange, the Ethiopian government has been selling shares to citizens for the first time in the state-owned Ethio Telecom.

The shares are being offered through TeleBirr, the telecom’s mobile money platform with approximately 50 million subscribers awaiting the opening of a new securities exchange. Ethio Telecom is trying to sell 10% stake in the company which it values at around $2.5 billion. It comes after the government failed in a previous attempt to privatize the company in 2022 after lukewarm interest from international bidders.

With more than 78 million customers, the company commands a large majority share of the local market in Ethiopia. Its main rival, Safaricom, entered the market in 2022 but it has been an uphill battle to gain market share for the Kenyan company given the incumbent’s dominance.

The Ethiopian Securities Exchange is a $1 billion public private partnership spearheaded by the Ethiopian government which was originally scheduled to launch in mid-2024. It will be the country’s primary securities exchange. Ethiopia hasn’t had a stock exchange since the nationalization of financial institutions and major companies in 1974. A quarter of the seed capital, $250 million, was provided by Ethiopian Investment Holdings (EIH), the country’s sovereign wealth fund. Four state-owned enterprises, including Ethio Telecom and Ethiopian Insurance Corporation, signed a founding agreement a year ago and will contribute portions of the 25% under the EIH umbrella.

— Samuel Getachew in Addis Ababa

Commodities

🇪🇹 Ethiopia’s Coffee and Tea Authority said on Monday the country earned over $519 million from over 115,000 tons of coffee export, a record in volume and revenue in the first three months of the 2024/25 fiscal year.

Macro

🇲🇱 Mali’s economy minister said the country would pay off $332 million of its domestic debt from this week until the end of the year in a bid to ease its debt burden.

🇪🇹 Ethiopia is set to receive $340.7 million from the IMF following the approval of the first review of the four-year $3.4 billion lending program, the fund said on Friday.

Diplomacy

🇿🇦 🇹🇼 South Africa said it has given Taiwan six months to move its unofficial embassy out of its administrative capital, Pretoria and to rename it Taipei’s Trade Office. China claims the self-governing Taiwan as part of its own territory.

🇺🇸 🇦🇴 The United States and Angola signed an open skies agreement to advance bilateral aviation cooperation. The agreement includes unrestricted capacity and frequency of services for both passenger and all-cargo carriers, open route rights, and open charter regime.

Elections

🇲🇿 Police in Mozambique capital Maputo clashed with supporters of opposition presidential candidate Venâncio Mondlane while addressing journalists. Mondlane had called for protests against the Oct. 9 vote and the murder of his lawyer over the weekend.

Health

🇪🇬 The World Health Organization declared Egypt malaria-free after demonstrating its capacity to prevent the re-establishment of transmission, and having the transmission chain interrupted for at least the previous three consecutive years.

Deals

🇳🇬 Nigerian telecoms company IHS Towers secured a $439 million loan to pay off a $430 million debt set to be due in 2025.

🌍 Lapaire Glasses, an eyewear retailer in East and West Africa, received a $2.9 million investment from private equity firm AfricInvest and the French development financier Proparco.

🌍 The US International Development Finance Corporation made a $40 million equity investment into private equity fund, Amethis Fund III.

🇳🇬 Nigerian B2B e-commerce startup OmniRetail acquired Traction Apps, a payments processing startup, for an undisclosed sum. The latter had raised $6 million in August 2023.

Tech

🇹🇬 Togo’s transport ministry last week suspended Russia’s tech giant Yandex-owned ride-hailing app Yango over safety concerns saying it had begun operating in June without authorization.

Lagos Fashion Week is returning this week for its 14th edition from Oct. 23-27. As was the case last year, the multi-day event is expected to be a showcase of diverse apparel, fabric and designers from across Africa, bringing experienced brand name labels in touch with challengers shooting for the top. Organizers set the tone for this year’s edition with a kick-off party held in Lagos on Oct. 10. It featured a runway of curated pieces by designers who were finalists of the show’s Green Access program promoting “environmentally, socially, and ethically conscious production.” The theme for this year’s fashion week is ‘COMMUNE’, to spotlight “collaboration and creativity across the African fashion industry.” An inaugural UNESCO report last year estimated the value of annual African textile, clothing, and footwear at $15.5 billion.

• Trump holds edge with Arab Americans: poll.
• G42’s US compute 4x higher than in the UAE.
• Elite French university Sciences Po revives mandatory entrance test.

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