Semafor Africa

S. Africa court pauses Ramaphosa impeachment probe South African President Cyril Ramaphosa secured a reprieve after a court decision on Friday temporarily halted a parliamentary impeachment probe into the leader of Africa’s biggest economy. The order pauses what threatened to be

South Africa holds interest rates despite inflation South Africa’s central bank kept its benchmark interest rate on hold, resisting market expectations for another hike after June inflation surged past its target. The decision triggered a market sell off, sending the rand down mo

Ghana’s illegal gold mining poses security risk Ghana’s booming illegal gold mining sector poses a national security threat that risks opening the country up to terrorist activity, a new analysis warned. Revenue generated by small scale gold mining in Ghana topped $11 billion las

US steps up Eritrea, Somalia talks over Red Sea access A widening campaign of attacks on shipping in the Red Sea is forcing Washington to pay renewed attention to the African side of the Bab el Mandeb Strait, where the Trump administration has quietly stepped up engagement with g

Two sustainability bond deals worth at least $100 million each are under discussion for mining projects in DR Congo, an executive told Semafor, as African governments look for new ways to ensure mining investment delivers broader economic benefits. The proposed financing would fu

Chinese firms invest $900 million into new Angolan port Ships off the coast of Luanda. Saul Loeb/Reuters. Angola signed a $900 million deal with two private Chinese investors to help develop its free trade zone, part of Luanda’s efforts to diversify its oil dominant economy. Half

Africa’s biggest fund manager is caught up in an escalating crisis South African Minister of Finance Enoch Godongwana. Nic Bothma/Reuters. South Africa’s finance minister said he was preparing to oust his deputy and fire the remaining board of Africa’s largest fund manager, escal

Inflation in South Africa, Nigeria increasingly diverging A woman shops in Abuja. Afolabi Sotunde/Reuters. Living costs in sub Saharan Africa’s two largest economies are moving in opposite directions, with Nigeria’s consumer price increases cooling off while South Africa’s inflat

Dado Ruvic/Illustration/Reuters An AI driven lending platform backed by one of South Africa’s biggest lenders is expanding into two of Africa’s largest credit starved markets, its CEO told Semafor, betting its machine learning algorithms can maintain a default rate that is a frac

African countries must open up their power markets in order to court the private investors needed to supply the electricity that AI will demand, a data center executive told Semafor, as a new report warned the continent risks seeing little economic benefit from the technology. [.