Africa / Features
Egypt bets on industry, renewables and fintech to drive the next phase of growth
Structural reforms, renewable energy and a booming digital finance sector are creating new opportunities in Africa's second-largest economy. Egypt is seeking to reposition itself as a manufacturing, energy and technology hub
INTERVIEW: CEO of West Africa's regional stock exchange says it’s time for investors to come to Africa
The BRVM is pitching itself as a gateway to the fast-growing region, as it pursues deeper regional integration and a wave of new listings.
LONG READ: The Post-Pax Americana Interregnum has already started
Empires tend to last about a hundred years, and true to form the Pax Americana has passed its peak. What follows is decades of instability and lower growth as the leading countries of the world vie to fill the void. The Interregnum has started.
The demographic point of no return: the world is running out of mothers
China and the EU have crossed the threshold beyond which population decline is mathematically irreversible. Once the median age of women passes 40, a country no longer has enough potential mothers to keep the population stable.
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COMMENT: Did Israel's Netanyahu lose the war he claims to have won?
The most useful comparison for the Iran war of 2026 is not the Six-Day War of 1967. It is the Suez Crisis of 1956. The point is being made openly in Tel Aviv, by columnists who have lost patience with the Netanyahu camp's victory rhetoric.
The baby bust: how a global demographic crisis crept up on everyone
Just a decade ago, the dominant demographic narrative was of "dying Russia" — a population hollowed out by the chaos that followed the Soviet collapse, shrinking through a combination of low birth rates, high mortality and mass emigration.
World oil inventories falling fast towards hard operational floor
The world's oil buffer is disappearing faster than at any point in recorded history. Two months into the near-closure of the Strait of Hormuz, global inventories are drawing down at a pace that has already exceeded the previous quarterly record.
A world more afraid: Wars fuelling rising fears of foreign attacks
The world is simultaneously more afraid of war and less willing to fight one, according to the 2026 Democracy Perception Index. Governments are spending more on defence, but in the Western world the citizens are increasingly unwilling to go to war.
Global democracy perception of US collapses, behind Russia and China for first time
A survey of nearly 100,000 people across 98 countries has found that global perception of the US has collapsed to its lowest recorded level — placing it among the five most negatively perceived countries in the world, behind both Russia and China,
The Greater Israel theory is a complete farce
While rumours of the pursuit of a Greater Israel are simmering given the IDF's seizure of Lebanese and Syrian territory, Israel's military track record proves that this is nothing more than a conspiracy theory.
US consumers under pressure as Gulf energy crisis expands
US consumers are coming under increasing pressure as the effects of the energy shock from the Gulf War ripple amounts across the world.
Cost of living shock deepens as energy crisis hits G7 spending – Oxford Economics
A surge in energy prices following the escalation of the Iran conflict is intensifying the cost-of-living crisis across the G7, dragging consumer spending growth to its weakest level since 2022.
Africa’s ports and airlines gain as Red Sea crisis reshapes global trade routes
Some African economies are winners from the Iran war. From Kenya to Nigeria, they are registering sharp gains in trade, aviation and energy revenues as the conflict between the US, Israel and Iran disrupts traditional shipping.
LONG READ: Coal is back.
Coal is back. Having become a fuel for most of the last two decades, countries are scrambling to secure supplies of coal in the face of “ The largest supply disruption in the history,” according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).
Refined oil products caught in Iran war energy shock maelstrom
The sharp rise in refined oil product prices is intensifying the economic fallout from the latest energy shock, compounding the effects of disrupted crude flows and tightening supply chains.
African food security threats spike as Iran war strangles fertiliser supplies, prices soar
Disruptions to fertiliser exports via the Strait of Hormuz have pushed urea prices above $700/MT, raising the risk of food inflation – and hunger – across Africa, where application rates are far below global norms.
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Hormuz tensions raise inflation and energy security risks for Africa, says senior investment analyst
A senior investment analyst examines how the ongoing Middle East military conflict and rapidly climbing oil and gas prices are affecting African economies, supply chains and cost of living.