Africa

1. Fighting resistance
2. Pan-African AI
3. Takedown notices
4. Dakar’s moment
5. Rediscovering Enwonwu

Also, what it takes to buy an iPhone in Nigeria.

Hello! Welcome to Semafor Africa Weekend, where we’re always checking our inboxes for invitations. It’s that time of year when the seasonal parties and year-end celebrations start to come at you fast and you often regret not being able to be in two places at once. But increasingly it’s become a time when contemporary African cultural events kick off. Lagos has had a good run so far this quarter with Lagos Fashion Week, ArtX, and the Lagos International Theatre Festival, followed next week by the Aké Book Festival. The Nigerian culture ministry is also keen to champion the National Festival for Arts and Culture (NAFEST) which takes place in the capital Abuja later this week.

I’ve long believed there’s an opportunity for African countries or cities to help coordinate some of these events so they can be marketed as part of a tourism package, for example. While there is a relatively small number of specialists interested in specific sub-sectors, there are many more casual culture fans around the world who want to learn about African countries through this lens.

I spoke with Oumy Diaw, a Senegalese contemporary art specialist, about the Dakar Biennale which was delayed from May till November. She sees an opportunity for the next Biennale in 2026 to be held in November again because that’s when Senegal will host the Youth Olympics. “The Olympic Games have such a gigantic platform, it would be great for communication about the arts and culture here.”

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Overcoming antimalarial resistance

One in 10 children infected with the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum were found to be resistant to a key antimalarial treatment, according to study in Uganda. It adds to rising concerns over malaria drug resistance in sub-Saharan Africa. Artemisinins, which are rapid-acting antimalarial therapeutic agents, have typically been more effective than previous traditional malarial treatments, such as quinine. But, following the emergence of Artemisinin partial resistance in Southeast Asia in 2008, researchers have found similar cases from clinical trials in countries including Rwanda, Eritrea, and Tanzania.

Wits unveils pan-African AI center

South Africa’s Wits University is set to unveil its first dedicated artificial intelligence institute this week to help drive the technology’s development across the continent. It comes amid growing concerns that AI may widen the existing digital divide between wealthy countries and poorer nations.

Known as the Machine Intelligence and Neural Discovery (MIND) Institute, the program aims to publish impactful research, develop talent, and help to foster innovative applications of AI. Its remit includes informing policy-making on the governance and ethics of AI in Africa.

It is backed by an initial 60 million rand ($3.3 million) investment from Wits, with further funding expected from various technology companies it is in talks with. Wits is also working with other African universities to develop a pan-African MIND fellowship to launch in 2025.

The institute will be inaugurated on Nov. 19, starting with a cohort of 34 research fellows selected in October. It aims to welcome academics from other African universities in 2025.

— Martin K.N. Siele

TikTok takes down 360,000 videos in Kenya

TikTok is deleting more videos in Kenya for violating community guidelines, as the company looks to avoid government scrutiny over content moderation.

TikTok pulled down 360,000 videos in Kenya in the three months to June, according to its newly published Q2 enforcement report. It took down 296,000 videos in all of 2023 in Kenya. The videos removed in the three-month period accounted for 0.3% of videos uploaded in Kenya in that quarter.

The platform was compelled by Kenya’s government in April to share quarterly compliance reports because it faced a petition that threatened to see it banned in the country.

The proliferation of sexual content in particular on TikTok in Kenya fueled the push for stricter moderation. Videos featuring ethnic incitement and violence are also often pulled down for violating guidelines.

— Martin

Dakar Biennale returns in force

When Senegal’s political upheaval saw its elections delayed in February, it didn’t just disrupt the electoral process. It threw the whole country into a (thankfully, brief) period of uncertainty. The 15th edition of the Dakar Biennale, one of Africa’s longest running art festivals, was pushed back from its traditional May-June schedule. For a while, it wasn’t clear when it would happen. But the Biennale finally opened on Nov. 7 and runs till Dec. 7.

It is centered at the Palais de Justice (the old courthouse) with various national pavilions at the Museum of Black Civilizations, where the United States is the guest country of honor. The theme this year is “The Wake, L’éveil, Le sillage.”

With major art from 60 major Senegalese, African and African diaspora artists, most early reviews have been very positive. The highlights include work from Kenyan artist Wangechi Mutu and a special tribute to Senegalese glass painting artist Anta Germaine Gaye. There are also notable side events, including one featuring the work of Senegalese artist Fode Camara (pictured), whose work has attracted huge attention already.

Uncovering an African master (again)

A previously unknown World War II-era water color painting by legendary Nigerian artist Ben Enwonwu has been discovered in the UK’s National Archives.

“Yams” was uncovered among posters commissioned by the UK’s information ministry during the war as part of a propaganda effort aimed at colonial Nigeria to encourage self-sufficiency. The print shows people transporting yams by boat and is signed by “BChas Enwonwu, 1942.”

The print, created when the artist was just 25, has been verified by international auction house Bonhams and Enwonwu’s biographer.

While Enwonwu (1917-1994) has long been respected for his visionary work by art lovers, there has been a resurgence in broader awareness of his impact on modern African art over the last decade. In 2018, his most expensive work “Tutu” sold for $1.6 million. “Christine,” another of his works which was discovered in a Texas attic in 2019, sold for $1.4 million.

Weekend Reads

🇳🇬 To many young Nigerians, owning an iPhone is an enviable status symbol that warrants years of savings for a device that costs more than most working-class citizens earn. Tilewa Kazeem, reporting for Al Jazeera, follows the experience of a student in the Lagos’ Computer Village (pictured) — Africa’s largest technology hub — where the second-hand market for phones thrives. Kazeem notes that while the youth pursue the status, authorities still maintain the stereotype that young Nigerians with expensive devices are fraudsters.

🌍 Nuclear energy development continues to be a contentious subject, even as African nations race to transition to clean energy and attain energy-sufficiency levels. In an African Arguments essay, Wafa Misrar makes a case for and against the idea that Africa does not need nuclear energy. She states that there is no need for “the financial, environmental, and safety risks that come with nuclear,” but acknowledges the benefits of nuclear’s cost efficiency and high power output.

🇰🇪 Hustler Fund, a microloans program aimed at supporting Kenya’s poorest citizens, is falling short of expectations. In The Conversation, Eric Magale explains that the majority of people who took the loans, intended to promote financial inclusion, have since defaulted. And, it hasn’t achieved the stated goal of enabling economic empowerment.

🇨🇳 🇺🇸 China and the United States are investing in land and sea infrastructure in Angola as a way to access critical minerals in sub-Saharan Africa, write Jevans Nyabiage and Ralph Jennings. While Beijing has been in the southern Africa nation for more than two decades, the US entry with significant investments in the Lobito Corridor is a bold move to secure crucial supply chains while keeping Chinese influence in check.

🗓️ Week Ahead

Nov. 17 — Some 7 million registered voters were expected to go to the polls today in Senegal to elect legislators. President Bassirou Diomaye Faye hopes his party wins a clear majority in the National Assembly to implement his promised economic reforms.

Nov. 18 — South Africa’s third biggest mobile operator, Telkom, is set to release interim results.

Nov. 20 — Southern Africa regional bloc SADC will hold a summit to discuss the post-electoral crisis in Mozambique.

Nov. 20 — Kenya’s finance ministry is expected to launch hearings to prepare the 2025/26 (July-June) fiscal budget. Protests against tax hikes led to the dropping of the 2024/25 finance law.

Nov. 20-22 — Africa Food Show Morocco, the B2B platform for global food and beverage suppliers trying to increase their footprint in Africa, will take place in Foire Internationale de Casablanca, Morocco.

Nov. 20-23 — The Aké Arts and Book Festival will take place in Lagos featuring Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka and authors including Nnedi Okorafor, and Nnamdi Ehirim.

Nov. 21 — South African discount fashion retailer Mr Price will report full-year results.

Nov. 23 - 25 — The 2024 African Economic Conference will be held in Gaborone, Botswana, to explore ways to secure Africa’s economic future.

For Your Consideration

Dec. 23 — Early-stage, for-profit technology start-ups leveraging AI or blockchain technologies that have the potential to create radical change for children are invited to apply for the UNICEF Venture Fund.

Billions of dollars of investment in US clean tech factories could be stranded if the incoming Trump administration pares back the country’s climate policies, outgoing President Joe Biden’s national climate adviser told Semafor’s Tim McDonnell.

Ali Zaidi warned that domestic manufacturing, in particular, is at “a fragile inflection point” and that the changes to climate policy could cut new investments short.

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