Currencies, capital markets, and the prices that move African economies.
By Yinka Martins & James Winsbury This past June, Nigerian president Muhammadu Buhari announced his decision to let Nigeria’s currency, the naira, float on the free market. The move, interpreted by leading voices in business and academia as too little-too late due to the crashing value of Nigerian crude
For the longest time Africa has been labelled the impoverished continent with unforgivingly big debt corrupt leaders and failed leadership. For our part, we have largely apportioned all the blame on neo-colonialism and forgotten to take responsibility for our own misgivings. However, the greatest failure has been the ignorance of
In July, the IMF forecasted that the Nigerian economy would contract by 1.8%, plunging the country into a recession. The International Monetary Fund was downgrading from its earlier projection of 2.3% made in April. The IMF said, “In Nigeria, economic activity is now projected to contract in 2016,
Paradoxical as it may sound, the cure for higher food prices is more often than not higher food prices. This is, of course, on the assumption that higher food prices incentivise farmers to increase food production, which will eventually lead to lower agricultural commodity prices due to increased supply, and
The answer to Africa’s future in the digital realm will come from creative youth who instead of importing foreign technologies to solve continental problems, will invent tailored solutions for the region. There are many untold stories of African youth who have created tech solutions and are also empowering more
Democracy is the modern god of politics yet the same democracy has been defined by some as a tyranny of the majority. One particular allegory suggested that it is the equivalent of two wolves and one sheep making a decision about what to eat. In the 21st century, there has
Tanzania’s refusal to sign a new trade deal between the East African Community (EAC) and the European Union (EU) has generated anxious reactions. If news reports are to be believed, plans had been made for a signing ceremony to take place during the just-concluded United Nations international conference on
Nigeria's naira fell to an all-time low on Thursday, crossing 300 to the dollar for the first time after the central bank last month lifted its peg on the currency to allow it to trade freely on the interbank market. The naira fell 5.4 percent against the
Now that the British voted to leave the European Union, African economies are already struggling from slowing demand from China. Flat commodity prices have now been thrown into confusion along with the rest of the world. Many emerging markets and frontier asset markets will come under pressure. Much will depend
Who said African art did not pay bills? It may have been true in years gone by that art in Africa was not exactly the most lucrative career out there but the following ten contemporary African art pieces redefined the whole dynamic. They made money in one auction that some
Right from the election season last year, it is known that the ultimate mission of President Buhari is to tackle the Everest height of corruption in the country. And since his emergence, several measures have been taken to flush out corruption out of the face of the nation. It is
I have not run marathons since 2013 yet I have been running my life marathon since then until today! I had to take break after realizing that I needed to take a journey of rediscovery, to liberate my soul. Believe me, running marathons ultra for that matter requires a combination
Kenya is losing a third of its state budget - the equivalent of about $6 billion - to corruption every year, the country's new anti-graft chief told Reuters, saying his agency was badly short of staff and modern equipment to tackle the problem. Philip Kinisu, a retired auditor,
