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Big cities
Millions of people are moving into Africa’s cities every month as most of the continent’s countries go through some of the fastest urbanization rates the world has ever seen. There are many factors behind this, but it’s safe to say economic opportunity is at the top of the list.
But the population expansion has not been matched with economic growth because of a lack of physical, commercial and industrial structures, poor transport networks and the additional costs for investors.
Foreign direct investment could help and Africa is second in the rankings when it comes to the growth of FDI, but that’s because it’s been traditionally low in absolute dollar terms—5% of total FDI volume globally versus 15% of the world’s population.
Cairo, Johannesburg, Tangier, Lagos and Casablanca were the top five cities for FDI between 2003 to 2016, according to the recently published State of African Cities 2018 report by UN Habitat. But viewed globally, Africa’s top five cities rank between No. 64 and No. 111 in terms of FDI inflows. Western and eastern Africa are “likely” to experience sustained investment growth led by Nigeria, Côte d’Ivoire (manufacturing) and Kenya (services). Northern Africa will see services replace manufacturing in attracting the most FDI.
Given the inadequate resources required to finance industrial development in African countries, the authors say FDI isn’t optional. “FDI is vital to igniting industrialization and bolstering industrial diversification, via knowledge and technology transfers, and for stimulating productivity and export performance.”
FDI growth in African countries is expected to continue over the next few years, but there’s uncertainty if it’ll be sustainable because of the “lock-in” on public investment with natural resources which might come at the expense of urban-oriented sectors.
The priority should be to attract foreign investment to local manufacturing, services, hi-tech and knowledge industries, which would complement and boost investments in agriculture and extractive industries.
African countries with large urban populations, trade openness, mobile phone subscriptions, internet bandwidth and full electricity supply, are more likely to attract the most foreign direct investment, the research shows. It’s worth noting, given recent debates about the potential of manufacturing jobs in Africa, low wages are not a key motive for multinational firms looking abroad.
— Yinka Adegoke, Quartz Africa editor
Stories from this week
African regulators are still uncertain about crypto-currencies. While governments try to make up their minds, citizens across several countries are warming up to virtual currencies like bitcoin. Yomi Kazeem reports on how African users and crypto exchanges are stuck in regulatory limbo.
Internet shutdowns aren’t going away. Violence and political tensions in Ethiopia’s eastern Somali region has seen the government switch off the internet there. This is a tactic it uses during times of political unrest writes Abdi Latif Dahir. Meanwhile, a new documentary about Cameroon’s Anglophone regions tells the story of the impact of Africa’s longest internet shutdown for 230 days.
How legal contracts drawn up as comic strips are being used. Traditional contracts can be dense, complex and hard to read even for the literate. Colorful illustrations in the form of comic strips are being used to help replace legal jargon and communicate across language barriers or for contract participants with low reading skills.
Pakistan appoints its first lawmaker of African descent. Tanzeela Qambrani, who believes her great-grandparents were brought from Tanzania to Pakistan, has been nominated to a seat reserved for women in a regional parliament in southern Sindh. It is seen as an important step for the African-origin Sidi minority group who, even after centuries in India and Pakistan, still face racial discrimination.
Reclaiming land in South Africa is also about symbolism. There’s a need to revisit agreements about land in areas deemed important for conservation in South Africa. Agreements tend to only focus on financial compensation and other economic concerns, but can’t afford to ignore the cultural and historical significance of the land to a community.
A pioneering cardiologist’s suicide shows South African universities still isolate black academics. Bongani Mayosi was a globally renown cardiologist and head of University of Cape Town’s department of medicine. Lynsey Chutel explains how the sudden death of a success story like Mayosi should make South Africa’s academia examine how alienating the country’s campuses still are for people of color.
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Chart of the Week
China’s cultural centers in Africa are growing faster than we thought. The French and British have had centers promoting language and culture in Africa since the early 20th century. Despite only launching in 2004 China’s Confucius Institutes are gaining ground, finds Kemi Lijadu. But since Chinese centers often partner with local universities there are concerns they have undue influence over the academic integrity of African universities which don’t have existing East Asian studies programs.
Other Things We Liked
Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o and the tyranny of language. For decades, the Kenyan novelist and author’s work has stood as a gauge to understand the complex realities of colonial and postcolonial Africa. But as Francis Wade reaffirms in this essay in the New York Review of Books, nothing has left a bigger mark than Ngũgĩ’s work on language and its power to divide, unite, demonize and empower.
The company linked to the Flint water crisis might be coming to Lagos next. Veolia—the world’s largest water company—has been under the spotlight for its the role in the Flint water crisis but could soon be winning a lucrative contract to manage nearly two-thirds of the water system in Lagos, Africa’s largest city. But the proposal is already drawing opposition from local activists who fear the arrangement could result in a lack of accountability, Monica Mark writes for BuzzFeedNews.
Everything China does in Africa is great, according to the Chinese media. Western media is often accused of having a dour outlook on Africa’s fortunes but the Chinese media has a completely different take, observes Salem Solomon for Voice of America. Chinese media is often quite positive about Africa, usually because they cover China’s role there. The problem is it sometimes crosses the line between reporting and propaganda.
Keep an eye on
Mali’s second round presidential votes today (Aug.12). The incumbent president Ibrahim Boubacar Keita (IBK), won the first round on Jul. 29 with 41% of the votes, securing a large margin but not enough to win an outright majority. His main opponent Soumalia Cissé got 18% of votes cast.
SADC presidents gather in Namibia (Aug. 17- 18). Leaders will gather on Friday (Aug.17) for the 38th ordinary summit of the Southern African Development Community (SADC). They will discuss promoting infrastructure development and youth empowerment for sustainable development in the region.
*This brief was produced while listening to Marie-José by Lokassa Ya Mbongo (DR Congo)
Our best wishes for a productive and thought-filled week ahead. Please send any news, comments, suggestions, comic book contracts and free Mandarin lessons to africa@qz.com. You can follow us on Twitter at @qzafrica for updates throughout the day. This newsletter was compiled by Kemi Lijadu and edited by Yinka Adegoke.
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