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Issue #140 : In recent years, Africa has experienced significant economic growth, which has led to an increase in wealth on the continent.
Photo by Virgyl Sowah on Unsplash
Hello Venturer,
Africa is home to some of the wealthiest people in the world. It is also one of the world's fastest-growing economies.
According to the latest 2022 Africa Wealth Report, the total private wealth currently held on the African continent is USD 2.1 trillion and is expected to rise by 38% over the next 10 years.
One of the factors contributing to the rise of wealth in Africa is the growth of the continent's economies. Several countries, including Ghana, Ivory Coast, and Senegal, have experienced significant economic growth over the last decade.
This growth is driven by sectors such as agriculture, tech, mining, and telecommunications, creating new opportunities for businesses and individuals to generate wealth.
This week we take a look at Africa's top 10 wealthiest people.
Dear compatriot, as we head towards the upcoming Nigerian elections, let us remember that Africa's wealth is not just measured in natural resources or economic growth, but also in the power of our voices and our ability to choose our leaders. By voting in the upcoming election, we can take an active role in shaping the future of our country and contributing to Africa's continued progress and prosperity. So let us exercise our right to vote, and let our voices be heard as we build a brighter future for ourselves and for Africa as a whole.
Boluwatife Areola
Content Developer, Ventures Africa
What’s new
Meet Africa’s top 10 wealthiest people in 2023
Africa has been home to some of the wealthiest people in the world and the past year has been no different. Forbes Africa recently released its list of the top wealthiest people on the continent in 2023, and it’s a mix of familiar names and newcomers. Learn more.
Weekly Economic Index: Microsoft restricts Bing AI chat, Egypt’s state assets for sale, and cash scarcity protests in Nigeria.
Last week, Microsoft announced plans to implement conversation limits to its chatbot- Bing AI to make it more helpful to users. Quoting the tech giant, The Verge reported that data has proven that the “vast majority of people find the answers they’re looking for within 5 turns and that only around 1% of chat conversations have 50+ messages.” The move follows recent reports of the chatbot insulting users, lying to them, and emotionally manipulating people, multiple times. Read more.
African countries are ranking higher in global internet speed
Investments into network infrastructure and deployment have led to several African countries surging in global rankings that gauge internet speeds at telcos and internet service providers. Read more.
Beyond fintech, these emerging tech sectors are fueling growth in Africa’s tech ecosystem.
If there’s one thing we know about trends, it is that they come and go. But sometimes, trends adapt and become the new normal. A good example is the fintech sector in Africa. In 2012, fintech was just starting to gain traction in Africa, between 2014 and 2019, Nigeria’s fintech sector alone raised more than $600 million in funding. Learn more.
My pivot journal: Christian Obi is finding happiness, one product at a time.
Christian Obi (p.k.a. The Igbo Wolf) became Insta-famous in 2021 when he started a series of skits cosplaying an Igbo Professor with Yoruba students. Since then, he has taken on other characters, including “Work Chris” and “RonkeHR.” But it’s not only in content creation he has gotten a breakthrough. Learn more.
Here is why Egypt is selling its state assets to Gulf nations.
Egypt plans to generate more capital into its foreign reserves by selling state assets to strategic private investors. Plans to sell state assets are not new to Egypt. These plans have been on the drawing board since 2016. Learn more.
How South Africa’s power cuts impact everyone globally.
South Africa is Africa’s most industrialised economy. Its inflation hit a new record high of 7.8% year-on-year in July 2022, the highest in 13 years. The inflation is driven mainly by rising electricity, food, and transport costs. The constant power cuts have crippled economic activities in the country- especially in the mining sector. Read more.
Microsoft and Google are having a bumpy ride on the AI wave.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is not new technology. For many years, tech pundits have been predicting an AI boom. However, last year, the emergence of ChatGPT turned that spark into an inferno. After it became the fastest platform to reach 100 million users, everyone else, including big tech firms, is trying not to get left behind. Read more.
Will Ethiopia finally get a buyer for Ethio-Telecom?
Ethiopia is looking to sell a larger portion of its state-owned telecommunications company, Ethio-Telecom. The company has been in operation for 13 years and was the only operator in the country until October 2022 when Safaricom expanded its services in Ethiopia. Read more.
Despite several CBN policies to stabilise the economy, inflation rate soared in January.
There is no doubt inflation has become an economic buzzword in Nigeria. Nigerians have been experiencing a galloping increase in the cost of goods and services for several months now. Last year, we addressed why Nigeria’s inflation defies gravity. In 2022, Nigeria experienced high inflation rates, with the annual inflation rate hovering around 16%. Read more.
Sudanese print media is making way for digital media after a vibrant century.
As the world keeps evolving daily through technology, more people in emerging economies are moving to embrace digital transformation. Many news consumers in Sudan now stick to their mobile phones for news, moving away from traditional news forms like prints to save costs in a dwindling economy. Read more.
Why an $89 million Cloud project matters for Angola.
Angola is taking a big step in its digital transformation journey. The government recently announced a new $89 million project to construct a unified national cloud that offers several services. The project includes building two data centres and updating an existing centre, which will be linked by a fibre optic ring. Learn more.
Holiday Jollof
Read our special holiday issue on the events, businesses, people, and policies that impacted Africa in 2022. Click the image below to read.
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