Courtesy of The Wall Street Journal, an article on Facebook’s efforts to grow its business in Africa: A prominent red sign welcoming visitors to this remote and dusty agricultural city makes the announcement in capital letters: “This is now a 4G zone.” That is thanks in part to Facebook Inc., which, along with Indian telecom giantBharti Airtel Ltd.’s Ugandan unit […]
Read more »Via Bloomberg, a look at renewed hydrocarbon activity in Africa: Africa is finally seeing the benefits from the recovery in crude prices as companies ramp up drilling from Algeria to Namibia. The rigs are returning and wildcatters are getting excited again after a years-long hiatus during the oil-price slump. From majors like Total SA to independents like Tullow […]
Read more »Courtesy of The Economist, a report on Mozambique’s economic malaise: Look at the state of this school,” says Manuel Jaime. It is not a pretty sight: cracked window panes, pockmarked floors and walls etched with graffiti. For this resident of Beira, in central Mozambique, the condition of Amilcar Cabral School, which doubled as a polling station […]
Read more »Via the Wall Street Journal, a look at East Timor’s petro-economy: Sixteen years after East Timor secured its independence, the government in this tiny nation is gambling on a huge new refinery complex to help secure its economic future. But there is a problem, according to critics of the plan: If the project falters, a […]
Read more »Via The Financial Times, an interesting report on how companies from Turkey, India, and China are looking for opportunities in Africa: A Turkish company is generating part of Ghana’s power supply. Another one just this month finished a flashy new terminal at the country’s international airport. A Philippine utility is about to take over running […]
Read more »Via Ozy, an interesting look at at Bahrain: Indian tech entrepreneur Amjad Puliyali had worked for a decade in Dubai, but in 2016, he relocated to tiny Bahrain to launch an online grocery delivery startup called GetBaqala. With just 1.5 million people packed into a 295-square-mile country of 33 islands, Bahrain is the smallest market in […]
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