Economy
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Mineral Beneficiation: A Pipedream of Prosperity in an Unequal Financial Architecture
Since 2023, 14 African countries have introduced export restrictions on unprocessed critical minerals, requiring “local beneficiation” – or in-country processing and manufacturing – prior ... -
DRC: The INGA Dam Paradox
Congo already has electricity it cannot deliver. Inga’s problem is not the dam. Everyone is arguing about who will finance 44 gigawatts. Almost nobody ... -
Why Lesotho’s remittance ‘safety net’ was never really its own, and why it is failing again in 2026
Lesotho is two years into a national state of disaster: US tariffs have gutted its garment factories, unemployment has passed 30%, and its main ... -
Beyond Projects: Rethinking Agricultural Investment for Sudan’s Post-War Recovery
This essay concludes a three-part series by the author on agriculture in Sudan. Read the previous instalments here and here. A different approach is ... -
Africa’s Pension Funds Are Already Allowed to Invest at Home. They Don’t.
Reformers keep asking governments to raise the ceilings on where domestic institutional capital can go. The ceilings are nowhere near being reached and one ... -
When AI Explains African Crises, Local Knowledge Is Barely Visible
Ask any AI tool about the humanitarian situation in Africa, and you will get all sorts of answers in seconds. Then check closely where ... -
Population Density: A Missing Factor in Development — and Why This Is Africa’s Moment
Explanations of why Africa has lagged behind tend to reach for the familiar: weak governance, corruption, ethnic conflict, the legacy of colonial borders. Joe ... -
Violence, Profit, and the Economy Sustaining Eastern Congo’s Endless War
At a checkpoint between Miba and the Kachanga hill in Fizi territory, soldiers of the Congolese army wave through bicycles loaded with mineral ore, ... -
Ethiopia Counts Coffee at the Wrong End
On July 7, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed told Parliament that Ethiopia had earned a record $3.1 billion from coffee exports. Six days later, the ... -
Malawi’s economic crisis: Can recovery begin?
Almost nine months after Malawian President Peter Mutharika returned to power, his administration finds itself grappling with a severe and protracted economic crisis. The ...
