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Quartz’s Africa in 2016
Here are a few of Quartz Africa’s most read and influential stories and why they mattered.
Our China in Africa obsession dug into the experiences of the growing number of African immigrants in China. In particular, two of our best read stories helped explain the ‘racist’ advert, in which a Chinese woman shoves a black man into a washing machine only for him to emerge as a shiny, clean, Asian man. It raised the ugly prospect of Afrophobia in that part of the world. Then, Gambian immigrants warning their friends back home not to bother coming to China for a better life because of a lack of opportunity.
We had a series of stories on notable Chinese investment in Rwanda, , developing the local agriculture and helping to eradicate a secondhand clothes market by building new garment factories. There are also social issues raised by the growing presence of Chinese on the continent. In Uganda, they worried too many local women seemed to be marrying Chinese men to help them gain residency.
Another theme readers found interesting was the well-intentioned, but often complicated, relationships between African communities and western donor organizations. In that vein, Instagram Barbie was the hilarious meme which became a serious story about how good intentions can go awry. Others included the jaded aid worker board game while Kenya warned NGO workers without the right papers not to continue to expect a free pass. Ugandans and other Africans demanded a charity banish a Justin Timberlake-style video because the video was deemed offensive.
And it isn’t just NGOs, Uganda’s government closed down a controversial World Bank-backed private school chain from the US. The schools have been experimenting with a fast-growing education model in Uganda as well as Kenya and Liberia.
Ease of movement around Africa was another hot topic. It turns out the difficulties of moving around Africa itself for Africans is not that different from what Africans experience when they go to Western countries. This is why there was huge excitement around the idea the African Union is introducing a pan-African passport and that countries like Ghana are planning to introduce visa-on-arrival for all Africans.
Of course, most of Africa’s borders were drawn up in recent colonial history. There are still many tales from that history, and its aftermath, which many readers find fascinating and, at times, disturbing. For instance, Germany’s very late, but welcome, apology to Namibia for its genocide of the Herero people or the story of Ethiopian emperor Haile Selassie’s 1966 visit to Jamaica, which cemented his deification for Rastafarians.
Then there’s weekly reminders of the long-term multi-generational impact of apartheid’s legacy in South Africa. Sometimes it comes in unexpected places or individuals like a 13-year old schoolgirl with a rebellious afro. Sometimes it’s as depressing and crude as calls for separatism on Durban beaches or it’s the never-ending, but important #feesmustfall debate.
Like others around the world, some Africans looked on with disbelief and disappointment as the US presidential campaign unfolded this year. Some did so with a worrying sense of familiarity, as the prospect of a populist Donald Trump presidency became reality. And given Britain’s significant place in modern Africa’s history and long-term trade relationships there were concerns about Brexit too.
Africa’s biggest country, Nigeria had a tough year in terms of its weakened economy and various stumbles, but one Nigerian, the author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie spoke regularly for all of Africa, and for most decent people around the world, on topics such as treating refugees as people, raising a feminist child, being a parent, standing up to bullies and on the missed opportunity of Nigeria’s president Buhari.
We often celebrate innovation at Quartz Africa because we’ve always said we believe it will play a key role in lifting the continent. You can read some of our most influential stories from the team on African innovation here as well as several important thought-provoking pieces from Harvard’s Calestous Juma. Back in the summer, we again recognized a stellar group of inspirational Africans for their leadership as Quartz Africa Innovators and will look forward to doing so again next year.
From everyone at Quartz Africa, we wish all our readers a fulfilling and progressive 2017.
Yinka Adegoke, Quartz Africa editor
What we liked (and didn’t) in 2016
Africa’s favorite memes and trends from 2016. It was a gloomy year for many of Africa’s economies and political realities. Nonetheless, young Africans took in droves to social media to find humor and irony in issues ranging from Brexit and Trump to the eccentricities of their own presidents.
Books, words and music that inspired African innovators this year. Five Quartz Africa Innovators spoke with us about the books, art and culture that inspired them in 2016.
More African governments blocked the internet to silence dissent in 2016. At least 11 African countries blocked the internet to stifle organizers of protests or political opposition, writes Abdi Latif Dahir. More will have to be done to raise awareness.
Africa’s democracies probably did better than you think in 2016. Vera Songwe of Brookings writes that 60% of the elections in Africa went ahead with too much incident of drama, conducted in a free and transparent manner. But there are still issues and Songwe looks at the differing experiences of the three G’s: Gabon, Gambia and Ghana.
Five stories from this week
Digital currency is now available in West Africa. In 2017, Senegal will start using the eCFA, a digital currency that will circulate alongside paper money as legal tender. The roll-out could herald the adoption of the e-currency across West Africa countries and might help bring millions of unbanked people into the fold.
Regulators are worried M-Pesa’s success could disrupt Kenya’s economy. At least 25 million Kenyans used M-Pesa in 2015 to transact $28 billion, some 44% of the country’s GDP. But the service’s success is now a concern to some Kenyan treasury officials, who fret over what would happen to the economy if such an important system were to fail in some way or be compromised.
The ‘quiet’ African American billionaire and Nigeria’s Chibok girls. Robert Smith, who is the second richest African American after Oprah Winfrey, is a “quiet” private equity billionaire and philanthropist. He has offered to sponsor the university education of 21 girls rescued from terrorist group Boko Haram.
South Africa’s bestseller list shows how much citizens worry about the future. Non-fiction books far outsell fiction in South Africa. And if the country’s non-fiction bestseller list is any indication of the zeitgeist of 2016, then it was a year filled with a sense of worry about corruption, crime and political machinations, writes Lynsey Chutel.
A made-in-Kenya vehicle is getting set for mass production. Mobius Motors was rolled out in a 2014 trial as a car fit for many of rural Africa’s off-road locations and potholed roads. Now the company is preparing to produce a more advanced model with better interior and exterior appearance in the latest step towards developing Africa’s first homegrown mass-produced vehicle, writes Joshua Masinde.
CHART OF THE WEEK
Dubai looks to Africa to boast its annual visitors. Around 12 million people visited Dubai in the United Arab Emirates this year. But as the city positions itself to attract more middle-class tourists from Africa, it is encouraging the development of three and four-star hotels. But that might be a hard task to undertake in the short-term given the economic headwinds facing many African countries, writes Yomi Kazeem.
Our very best productive and inspirational wishes for the year ahead. Please send any news, comments, South African books of angst and trillions of eCFA, to africa@qz.com. You can follow us on twitter at @qzafrica for updates throughout the day.
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