Next is Africa

He's the richest African in the world. Aliko Dangote has seen his fortune soar with the commissioning of his colossal refinery on the outskirts of Lagos. This mammoth project is designed to enable Nigeria, an exporter of black gold, to stop importing its fuel... despite opposition from certain all-powerful lobbies.

For over two years now, the Maasai, a pastoral people, have been driven from their ancestral lands. The reasons are political, essentially linked to tourism and an agreement between the government and OBC, a company from the United Arab Emirates. Confronted with this dispossession, the lawyer Joseph Oleshangay is determined to speak up for his people.

The quest for access to the sea via breakaway state Somaliland, energy sovereignty by means of a major dam on the Nile... Ethiopia's Prime Minister, winner of the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize, wants to reassert his country's dominance and give his deeply divided people a common ideal. At the risk of losing investors, falling out with his neighbours and setting the whole region ablaze.

He has become one of the biggest names in Congolese rumba, an ultra-competitive and often brutal musical sphere. By combining tradition and modernity and inventing his own style, DiCap la Merveille has conquered not only his country and Africa, but also a large part of the world. Portrait of a world-class singer.

There it is, in the centre of Kinshasa, a city of nearly 15 million people, and just a stone's throw from the no less famous Palais du Peuple, both urban monuments and testaments to cooperation with China. The Martyrs de la Pentecôte stadium (its official name) is the fourth largest in Africa, with its 80,000-seat capacity.

Little Faustin Ipupa Nsimba has come a long way in forty-six years. Born on 14 December 1977 into a large family in Kinshasa, he grew up in the Bandalungwa neighbourhood  home of legendary group Wenge Musica, kings of soukous. At the time, rumba and dance rhythms chanted in Lingala were all the rage in the capital.

Artist becomes artiste, transcending his talent for painting and music with a highly successful debut album, If I Were to Paint it. Love at first listen!

Gazelle Guirandou is a leading figure on the Ivorian art scene who runs the LouiSimone Guirandou gallery, which she founded with her mother in 2015. She has dedicated herself to promoting artists.

Meshell Ndegeocello's album No More Water is a tribute to the literary and political verve of James Baldwin.

The Hardel le Bihan architectural firm is the coordinator of one of Benin's flagship institutional projects, one which is set to accelerate the development of the local construction industry.

Kokoko's second album, Butu, finds the Congolese collective in better shape than ever, delivering music that’s a hybrid of ancestral African sounds, electro and kwaito.

The Senegalese singer has followed up his promising debut album with ‘Passeport’, a groovy, socially conscious album.

Africa is the continent with the smallest tax base. Given the rising debt, balanced taxation would offset the fluctuating revenues generated by natural resources. Kenya's recent  Finance Bill riots brought to light just how difficult this process can be. And the need for fairness in favour of the lowest earners.

Canal+’s acquisition of the South African parent company of DStv and Showmax will allow the French audiovisual group to create a behemoth with 50 million subscribers, of which 30 million are in Africa. This is good news for African audiovisual production.

By 2030, Africa will be producing half a million tonnes of "white gold", which is twelve times more than it does currently. Producer countries are looking to locally refine this "white gold", which is the linchpin of our energy transition, to carve out a niche for themselves in a highly strategic value chain.

The objective is to become fully involved in promoting sustainable human development, both in Morocco and in the regions of the global South, through skills development and knowledge sharing.

Massive investments by the Emirates and Saudi Arabia are providing temporary relief for an economy in crisis. But there is widespread resistance to what many see as a selling-off of assets.

While the price of this safe-haven commodity continues to rise, there is little return for producer countries. Refining capacity is low and the informal sector still dominates. Ecowas recommends formalising artisanal and small-scale gold mining.

Youth, training, promotion of women, investment in human capital, health, education, transport… The objective is to fight poverty and propose a real model of inclusive growth.

Regional constraints and crises notwithstanding, the country is investing, imagining and preparing for tomorrow.

Firmly at the helm, President Bola Tinubu and his government are carrying out sweeping reforms to raise the bar and restore Nigeria to its rightful place as the continent’s leader.