Hi, Quartz Africa readers!
Betting on the climate
While the global Covid-19 pandemic has overwhelmed us in all kinds of ways many of the challenges we had at the start of 2020 are still very much with us.
The first three months of 2020 were the second-hottest on record going back to 1880, according to NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information. Climate adaptation costs in Africa are predicted to reach up to $50 billion a year by 2050 in the event of the planet warming by an additional 2°C (36°F).
The risks associated with climate change may be at least as great as those posed by Covid-19, note analysts at Brookings Institution.
The hope is that as the input costs of renewable energy fall precipitously it will help make solar and wind energy more competitive in the open market. One way to do this is for policymakers “to create a credible expectation of long-term profits by committing to strong environmental standards and providing a long-term framework for eliminating fossil-fuel subsidies,” says Brookings.
This should in turn encourage investors to take on the fixed costs of green investments.
African investors are already thinking seriously about this, both in terms of assessing risk through a climate lens but also in terms of opportunities, according to a survey by AVCA, the African private equity trade body. This makes sense considering Africa is often cited as the most vulnerable continent to the fast-evolving impact of global climate change. We’re already seeing high-profile challenges in places including Cape Town’s water shortages and floods in several African cities.
Up to 77% of all African and non-African investors consider climate risk when making investments “sometimes” or “regularly”.
The vast majority of investors (95% ) were concerned about the risk their investee companies face from climate change versus 90% who were concerned by their carbon footprint and just over half see as equal an investment opportunity as they see risk mitigation.
Among the majority of investors who see climate-lens opportunities in Africa, up to 95% see the best investments in energy, but also in agriculture (62%) and water (44%).
“We are now shifting from an awareness phase to a measurement phase, that will give businesses the data they need to take better decisions about climate risk and opportunity,” says AVCA.
— Yinka Adegoke, Quartz Africa editor
Five stories from this week
Ghana’s move to curtail MTN’s market share is about mobile money. Ghana’s telecoms regulator is implementing policies to reduce MTN’s market dominance. But while much of the public rhetoric has focused on voice and data subscriptions, Yomi Kazeem writes the government’s concern is likely about stopping MTN’s mobile money service from dominating the economy even as it pushes for financial inclusion.
Ethiopia’s target to plant 5 billion trees to tackle climate change comes at a steep price. Ethiopian prime minister Abiy Ahmed’s reformist plans include building a green climate resistant economy in Africa’s second most populous country. But as Samuel Getachew reports from Addis Ababa, it’s unclear how the government will fund its plan given growing budget deficits and dipping foreign investment.
South Africa is working on a plan to decide which countries’ tourists it allows to visit. South Africa’s tourism industry has been grounded amid the government’s lockdown. Yet, despite concerns about mounting cases, the government is looking to revive the lucrative sector and resume welcoming visitors and it might see tourists from some of its biggest markets left out, reports Brian Browdie in Durban.
One of Africa’s smallest economies is plugging social welfare gaps with digital cash transfers. The lack of social safety nets across many African countries has been laid bare by the impact of lockdowns, particularly on informal workers. In response, Togo has since launched a fast-growing digital cash transfer program which shows the potential of mobile technology to find and reach vulnerable citizens.
Scientists say satellite imagery and machine learning advances will boost African consumer data. The paucity of consumer data in Africa makes it difficult for business, government, and development agencies to make good data-based decisions on the continent. Uwagbale Edward-Ekpu explains how the novel approach of using satellite images and machine learning to measure and predict variation in household consumption can boost consumer data and data-based decision making in Africa.
Dealmaker
•Telecoms infrastructure giant Helios Towers is targeting an expansion into African countries, including Ethiopia, buoyed by $450 million in newly raised funds. The tower company currently owns or operates nearly 7,000 sites across Tanzania, DR Congo, Congo Brazzaville, Ghana and South Africa.
•Harambe Entrepreneur Alliance invested $100,000 each in Nigerian startups MAX, the logistics startup and Releaf Group, an agritech company. The funding for its members comes from the $1 million Harambeans Prosperity Fund.
•Sun Exchange, a South African renewable energy startup, raised $3 million as part of a Series A round from the Africa Renewable Power Fund, Mauritius-based private equity fund.
Chart of the Week
The worsening odds of an African being granted a US visa. In the fiscal year 2019, which ran from October 2018 through September 2019, US visa applicants from the 46 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, led by Nigeria, Chad and Angola were denied 54% of the time. Youyou Zhou shows how the trends have worsened since 2015 with a series of interactive charts.
Other things we liked
Jobs gone, investments wasted: Africa’s deserted safaris leave mounting toll. With borders closed and airlines grounded due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Africa’s multi-billion-dollar safari industry is unravelling, finds Mfuneko Toyana for Reuters. “From Kenya’s Masai Mara to the Okavango Delta in Botswana, rural communities that depend on safaris for income are seeing their livelihoods and dreams shattered. Hundreds of thousands of people rely on the sector, not to mention their dependents.”
A leaked review exposes the scale of aid corruption and abuse in DR Congo. A 70-page review of corruption, sexual assault and fraud risks in the DR Congo is uncovering the vast scale of abuse. For The New Humanitarian, Philip Kleinfeld and Paisley Dodds explain how the UN-commissioned report shows one of the world’s longest-running humanitarian crises has also become a blackhole for siphoned aid funds, a lack of accountability and rampant sexual abuse.
America’s Black diplomats abroad struggle with challenges at home during the George Floyd era. The ripple effects of the murder of George Floyd is being discussed and felt in the corridors of the US state department. As Robbie Gramer writes in Foreign Policy, current and former African American diplomats, many who work in Africa, continue to face difficulties at home and abroad while the leadership’s platitudes remain hollow.
ICYMI
Microsoft4Afrika Internships. The software giant is offering six-month internship positions in South Africa, Angola, Mauritius, Ghana, Egypt, Senegal, Ivory Coast, Nigeria and Kenya. (Ongoing).
Orange Digital Ventures Africa and Middle East Seed Challenge. The fund is seeking seven startups across Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Egypt, Morocco, Senegal, Tunisia and Jordan to back with as much $168,000 (June 26).
Hague Institute for Innovation of Law Innovating Justice Challenge. The institute is accepting applications from African startups working on “scalable solutions to pressing justice needs” to a four-month accelerator program (Aug. 5).
ICT Accessbility Award. A $15,000 award for tech startups that have created accessibility solutions to improve the lives of persons with disabilities (Aug 15).
*This brief was produced while listening to Send Down the Rain by Majek Fashek (Nigeria). Rest in Peace.
Our best wishes for a productive and ideas-filled year ahead. Please send any news, comments, suggestions, ideas, Togo cash transfers and Ethiopian tree seedlings to africa@qz.com. You can follow us on Twitter at @qzafrica for updates throughout the day.
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