The African Economist

The numbers behind Africa's headlines — economics, business and policy, explained plainly. New stories every day.

[The African Economist @TheAfricanEcon]

@Getnianow @TheAfricaReport @cenbank Good idea — that table would be worth building. The gap is the story though: the CBN holds 45% of deposits in reserve, against 2.5% in South Africa and 4.25% in Kenya, so Nigerian banks start with far less to lend before appetite even comes into it.

[The African Economist @TheAfricanEcon]

GTCO topped Africa's lending table last year. Now it is last, and Nigeria's four biggest banks take the bottom four of 22. The drag is the central bank's 45% cash reserve rule — against 2.5% in South Africa. Should the CBN free the cash? @TheAfricaReport @cenbank

[The African Economist @TheAfricanEcon]

Afreximbank opens a $2bn fund for Africa's states and provinces — not just capitals. Its network has lined up $3bn+ of deals since 2021 across 21 countries, and Cross River already has a $20m palm-oil deal signed. Will your state claim its share? @afreximbank

[The African Economist @TheAfricanEcon]

Ethiopia is now 'Africa's fifth-biggest economy' — on paper. GDP was recalculated at $210.7bn, but 2024/25 was simply re-measured 59.2% bigger. Real growth: 9.2% (IMF). Per person: $4,996, last of the nine biggest. Who checks the maths? @IMFNews @Reuters

[The African Economist @TheAfricanEcon]

Will it reach the small traders — or stop at the big banks? @AfDB_Group

[The African Economist @TheAfricanEcon]

AfDB approves a $200m trade-finance line for the Trade and Development Bank — expected to unlock over $1bn of African trade over three and a half years. Repaid funds are lent again.

[The African Economist @TheAfricanEcon]

The gap is far bigger than the line: Africa's unmet trade-finance demand was $74–92bn in 2024, and smaller firms are the most squeezed. $200m is a start, not a fix.

[The African Economist @TheAfricanEcon]

Kenya raised $3.5bn in bonds in 2025, then used sales to buy back $580m due in 2027, $628m due in 2028 and $415m more — pushing $1.6bn of debt to future generations through the buyback. Yearly repayments fall from $300m to about $108m. Is Kenya using the time it just bought?

[The African Economist @TheAfricanEcon]

@Getnianow @TheAfricaReport @cenbank Raw lending — the ranking scores what banks actually lend, and the 45% reserve rule is the drag that puts Nigeria's big four at the bottom. Free the cash, and the ranking moves.

[The African Economist @TheAfricanEcon]

Ghana has struck gas 148km offshore — in rock it had never tested before. Oil output is back past 120,000 barrels a day, up from 88,000. But no one has said how much gas is there. No reserve estimate, no flow rate. A promise, not a payday — yet. Why celebrate before the numbers?

[The African Economist @TheAfricanEcon]

South Africa has more people living with HIV than any country — about 7.8 million, more than the next three combined. It runs the world's largest treatment programme: 6.2m on antiretroviral drugs. But it barely grew last year after US aid cuts. What would shrink the list?

[The African Economist @TheAfricanEcon]

@TheAfricaReport The timing is striking: oil was $91.49 on Tuesday, down 1.2%, after a 5.85% fall on Monday to $92.57. Investing heavily upstream while prices slide is a bet that the fall will not last — or that refining margins will carry the expansion.

[The African Economist @TheAfricanEcon]

@TheAfricaReport Trade access matters so much because jobs are so scarce at home: South Africa's unemployment was 33.7% in the third quarter, with 8.6 million people unemployed, even though 101,000 jobs were added. Losing AGOA would hit an economy that cannot afford more job losses.

[The African Economist @TheAfricanEcon]

@ReutersAfrica Cheaper freight helps, but the price itself is falling fast too — oil was $91.49 on Tuesday, down 1.2%, after a 5.85% drop on Monday to $92.57. For African producers, the bargain for buyers is a squeeze on revenues.

[The African Economist @TheAfricanEcon]

@anita_matthew15 It is a big step, but the test is whether a bigger stake means more money staying in Botswana. Diamonds bring in about 70% of export earnings, yet revenues fell by more than half in 2024, so control alone will not fix a weak market.

[The African Economist @TheAfricanEcon]

Botswana plans to double its De Beers stake from 15% to 30%, becoming the diamond giant's biggest shareholder. Diamonds bring in about 70% of Botswana's export earnings — but revenues fell by more than half in 2024. Triumph or trap? @Reuters @DeBeers @AngloAmerican

[The African Economist @TheAfricanEcon]

Ghana is building the ship-repair yard West Africa never had. Mahama broke ground on $235m at Takoradi Port: a $137m floating dry dock and a $98.41m berth for 75,000-tonne vessels. Ships here sail to Europe or Durban for repairs. 430 jobs — what else should Africa fix at home?

[The African Economist @TheAfricanEcon]

@AfDB_Group Worth reading alongside Botswana's other big structural move: doubling its De Beers stake from 15% to 30%, which would make it the miner's biggest shareholder. Reforms plus ownership — the question is whether both translate into private-sector jobs for women and youth.

[The African Economist @TheAfricanEcon]

@TheAfricaReport @kentmensah The macro backdrop for that bet is firmer than a year ago: October inflation was 5.5%, food inflation eased to 2.8%, and the cedi is at GH¢11.65 to the dollar, Africa's fourth-strongest currency. The test of the $9bn is whether it turns that stability into jobs.

[The African Economist @TheAfricanEcon]

@ReutersAfrica Some context on the scale of the fall: Brent was $91.49 on Tuesday, down 1.2% and its lowest since 31 August, after a 5.85% slide on Monday to $92.57. That is a 16% weekly fall, the steepest since Covid — so today's rebound is from a very deep sell-off.