<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-topline">TOPLINE</h2>



Only “human creators” can be nominated for Grammy Awards, according to new eligibility requirements released Friday by the Recording Academy, as the music industry adds new limitations for songs produced by artificial intelligence.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">KEY FACTS</h2>



Any work that features elements created by AI must also feature a “human authorship component” that is “meaningful” in order to be considered for a Grammy Award, according to new&nbsp;<a href="https://www.recordingacademy.com/awards/awards-updates" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">requirements</a>&nbsp;released Friday by the Recording Academy.



The Recording Academy previously&nbsp;<a href="https://www.recordingacademy.com/advocacy/news/ai-copyright-protecting-music-creators-united-states-copyright-office" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">said</a>&nbsp;it “embraces advances in technology,” adding it wanted to ensure “human creativity and passion is protected.”



Other eligibility changes require artists to account for at least 20% of a work in order for it to be considered.



The number of people eligible for the Grammy’s “Big Four” categories—best new artist and best new album, song and record—was also decreased from 10 to eight.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tangent">TANGENT</h2>



Paul McCartney&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthart/2023/06/13/ai-you-need-is-love-artificial-intelligence-helps-create-final-beatles-song-paul-mccartney-says/?sh=5c3ce17b1275">announced</a>&nbsp;Tuesday that a “final” Beatles song would be released later this year after it was completed with the help of AI. McCartney—who did not name the song—said the technology was used to “extricate” John Lennon’s voice from a demo tape, while Lennon’s “pure” vocals” were used to complete the song.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-surprising-fact">SURPRISING FACT</h2>



Researchers at Meta&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/FelixKreuk/status/1667086356927901696?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">announced</a>&nbsp;an open-sourced AI program—<a href="https://huggingface.co/spaces/facebook/MusicGen" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">MusicGen</a>—last week that allows users to generate music based on text input.



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<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-background">KEY BACKGROUND</h2>



AI-generated music&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/ariannajohnson/2023/05/03/ai-generated-music-is-here-sung-by-stars-like-drake-and-ariana-grande-but-it-may-be-very-illegal/?sh=42692453aa32">became</a>&nbsp;a social media trend this year, including AI-created songs that featured Drake, Kendrick Lamar, the Weeknd and others. Universal Music Group sent a letter to streaming services—like Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube and TikTok—in April requesting they prevent AI programs from accessing their platforms to train on copyrighted lyrics and melodies,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ft.com/content/aec1679b-5a34-4dad-9fc9-f4d8cdd124b9" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">according</a>&nbsp;to the&nbsp;Financial Times. The U.S. Copyright Office&nbsp;<a href="https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2023/03/16/2023-05321/copyright-registration-guidance-works-containing-material-generated-by-artificial-intelligence#:~:text=And%20in%20the%20current%20edition,any%20creative%20input%20or%20intervention" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">will only</a>&nbsp;offer copyright to works “created by a human being,” adding it will not “register works produced by a machine.” The Recording Academy—which presents the Grammy Awards—<a href="https://www.recordingacademy.com/advocacy/news/ai-copyright-protecting-music-creators-united-states-copyright-office" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">said</a>&nbsp;it is working with the copyright office to discuss possible regulations for AI-generated music, adding it wants to “ensure human creativity is always at the forefront of copyright policy.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-further-reading">FURTHER READING</h2>



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthart/2023/06/13/ai-you-need-is-love-artificial-intelligence-helps-create-final-beatles-song-paul-mccartney-says/?sh=5c3ce17b1275">AI You Need Is Love: Artificial Intelligence Helps Create ‘Final’ Beatles Song, Paul McCartney Says</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/ariannajohnson/2023/05/03/ai-generated-music-is-here-sung-by-stars-like-drake-and-ariana-grande-but-it-may-be-very-illegal/?sh=42692453aa32">AI-Generated Music Is Here—‘Sung’ By Stars Like Drake And Ariana Grande—But It May Be Very Illegal</a> (Forbes)

Chicago Chapter 60th Anniversary Concert

Grammy Awards Restrict AI: Only ‘Meaningful’ Human Work Will Be Recognized

<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-as-international-organizations-push-for-automation-in-social-assistance-programs-a-report-by-the-human-rights-watch-finds-that-the-algorithms-can-t-always-identify-the-most-vulnerable-households">As international organizations push for automation in social assistance programs, a report by the Human Rights Watch finds that the algorithms can’t always identify the most vulnerable households.</h3>



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



The World Bank is increasingly incentivizing countries to develop technologies that can find and rank people in poverty so they can be provided with cash transfer and social assistance programs, according to a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.hrw.org/report/2023/06/13/automated-neglect/how-world-banks-push-allocate-cash-assistance-using-algorithms#_ftn102" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">report</a>&nbsp;by the Human Rights Watch. But an algorithm used by a Jordanian government, which ranked households on 57 socio-economic factors in order to distribute funds from the World Bank, was found to be inaccurate and biased, the report says.



A cash transfer program for low-income households in Jordan, called Takaful, uses an algorithm to track indicators like property, car and business ownership, the number of members in a household, and electricity and water consumption to assess which families qualify for assistance. The program, launched by the National Aid Fund (NAF) in Jordan in 2019, was responsible for the allocation of roughly $1 billion provided by the World Bank and has 220,000 families enrolled as beneficiaries. The Human Rights Watch, a nonprofit that advocates and researches human rights, found that the algorithm failed to take into account the economic complexities faced by Jordanians who are under the poverty line, leading to some people in dire need being excluded.



Lead researcher Amos Toh, whose team conducted 70 interviews with families and business owners in Jordan since late 2021, says some factors took the country’s social realities into account. For instance, because women comprise a small part of the Jordanian labor force, households that are headed by a woman were more likely to qualify for the program. But other indicators that influence the algorithm, such as asset ownership and electricity consumption, are not appropriate measures of poverty and can make the program seem like a “lottery,” he says.



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
“These rigid indicators and measurements that comprise the algorithm lead to a loss of nuance and aren’t able to capture what any family is going through at one point in time.”Amos Toh, researcher at Human Rights Watch
</blockquote>



The study found that some families who were disqualified had recently inherited property but didn’t have the financial means to make ends meet. Other applicants who owned a car that was less than five years old or a business that was worth over $4300 were automatically excluded by the algorithm, even if the car owner couldn’t afford petrol or the business was failing.



Mariam, a woman who lives with her family outside the city and needs a car for commuting and transporting water, was dropped from the Takaful program in 2022, according to her interview with the Human Rights Watch. She says that owning a car, which is one of the criteria factored into the algorithm, affected her chances of getting financial aid. “The car destroyed us,” she told Human Right Watch.



Jordan is not the first country whose government has used an algorithm to make crucial decisions about people’s lives. An algorithm used by&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wired.com/story/welfare-algorithms-discrimination/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Rotterdam</a>&nbsp;that ranked people who received welfare benefits based on their risk of fraud was found to be biased and flawed.&nbsp;<a href="https://themarkup.org/prediction-bias/2021/12/02/crime-prediction-software-promised-to-be-free-of-biases-new-data-shows-it-perpetuates-them" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Crime prediction</a>&nbsp;software used by police departments in the U.S. has been repeatedly found to be racially biased and problematic. In 2016, the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/australia-tech-ai/feature-australian-robodebt-scandal-shows-the-risk-of-rule-by-algorithm-idUKL8N3340SN" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Australian</a>&nbsp;government used an automated system to calculate overpayment and issue debt notices to welfare recipients which wrongly accused about 400,000 people.



“When we were in Jordan and interviewing people, they kept talking about how the algorithm is depriving them of support,” Toh told&nbsp;Forbes.&nbsp;“These rigid indicators and measurements that comprise the algorithm lead to a loss of nuance and aren’t able to capture what any family applying is going through at one point in time.”



The algorithm was developed by the National Aid Fund, a social protection agency in Jordan. It pulls in 80 percent of the application data from the National Unified Registry, a database of applicants’ information that includes their income, employment and education. The World Bank gave a&nbsp;<a href="https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/368601602882565893/pdf/Jordan-National-Unified-Registry-and-Outreach.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">loan</a>&nbsp;of $2.5 million to create the registry with the help of a third-party contractor called&nbsp;<a href="https://naf.gov.jo/EBV4.0/Root_Storage/EN/EB_List_Page/Rapid_Social_Assessment_-_ECT_AF2_c.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Optimiza</a>. Also known as Al-Faris National Investment Company, Optimiza is an Amman-based software provider and tech consultancy that processes the data and manages the database. The company, which said the NAF was a client, declined to comment.



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
“The car destroyed us.”Mariam, applicant of the Takaful program
</blockquote>



Toh says human-induced inaccuracies and inconsistencies in the data compilation could affect the ranking of individuals in the algorithm. Data collected from surveys and mass registration exercises are often conducted infrequently and in limited areas, the study found. Another flaw in the program was that it didn’t accept applications where an individual’s expenses were 20 percent more than their income. To work around it, applicants had to arbitrarily inflate their income or lower expenses, Toh says.



In a detailed&nbsp;<a href="https://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/media_2023/06/thr_jordan0623%20annex%202.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">response</a>&nbsp;to Human Rights Watch, the National Aid Fund said that each of the 57 indicators held a certain weight and the indicators were developed based on the concept of “multidimensional poverty.” NAF said it conducted house visits to verify data collected in the form and that it has a complaints and appeals process for citizens. The World Bank said in response that targeting through algorithms and formulas is an “effective tool… to make the most of constrained fiscal space” and reduce poverty.



The World Bank also has given loans for similar projects to upgrade technologies and databases in seven other countries in the region, including Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, Morocco, Yemen and Tunisia. HRW found that the World Bank has loaned $100 million to Tunisia to develop and integrate&nbsp;<a href="https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/831811560823331664/pdf/Tunisia-GovTech-Digital-Transformation-for-User-Centric-Public-Services-Project.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">machine learning</a>&nbsp;and a targeting AI model into the country’s social registry to detect fraud and improve compliance.



“At the end of the day, the algorithm generates a crude ranking of people&#8217;s poverty that essentially pits one household needs against another for support and generates social tension,” Toh says.

Roman Theater in Amman

An Algorithm Aimed To Help Jordan’s Poor. It Excluded Some In Need, Report Finds

South Africa&#8217;s Youth Day commemorates past struggles faced by a generation under apartheid striving for better education and opportunity. While much has changed, continuing challenges in education and economic opportunity mean that the country still relies far too much on the resilience of its youth.



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
Today’s South African youth are not mere victims of circumstance; they are innovators, pioneers, and activists. They echo the activism of their predecessors, pushing boundaries and creating globally recognized projects and technologies.
</blockquote>



The 16th of June holds a prominent place in South Africa&#8217;s national narrative. It marks the 1976 student uprisings, a watershed moment in the resistance against apartheid, when over 20,000 students stood up against the Bantu education system&#8217;s segregation and inferiority. Fast forward to today, and echoes of these struggles continue to reverberate. Today&#8217;s South African youth grapple with a faltering education system and limited economic opportunities, suggesting that the promises of 1976 remain only partially fulfilled.



In the apartheid era, the Bantu education system notoriously provided substandard education to students of color, preparing them predominantly for manual labor and a life of segregation. The imposition of Afrikaans as the language of instruction sparked the historic Soweto protests, culminating in a tragic police crackdown that left at least 176 students dead and thousands injured. Youth Day now commemorates this resolute spirit of resistance, honoring the role of the youth in overcoming apartheid.



Unfortunately, the battle for quality education continues to this day. The 2021 Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS 2021) reveals that South Africa’s Grade 4 learners rank last in reading comprehension among 42 countries. Particularly concerning is the stark disparity between students tested in English and Afrikaans and those assessed in the nine African languages, indicating an education system still failing black youth.



Centre for Development and Enterprise (CDE) Executive Director Ann Bernstein states: “The truth is we face a silent crisis in our schools: South Africa has one of the worst performing education systems in the world. Are you prepared to condemn another generation of young South Africans to an appalling education?” The CDE published a detailed report on the state of the country’s education system this year, highlighting policy, teaching skills and resources as major contributing factors to declining levels of education and literacy.



Graduation offers little reprieve. As per Statistics South Africa, the youth unemployment rate stands at a staggering 63.9% for those aged 15-24. That’s over 7.7 million young people, many of whom have abandoned hope of finding suitable employment due to sheer discouragement.



Yet, amidst these bleak statistics, the spirit of 1976 lives on. Today’s South African youth are not mere victims of circumstance; they are innovators, pioneers, and activists. They echo the activism of their predecessors, pushing boundaries and creating globally recognized projects and technologies. South African youth in particular have made strides in social activism and renewables, with notable examples being chronic medication delivery as with Sizwe Nzima’s Iyeza Express, or recycled schoolbags in the case of Rethaka–just two examples of thousands of entrepreneurs that are testament to the enduring spirit that marked the youth of 1976.



In recognizing this resilience, both the government and the private sector are stepping up efforts to invest in South Africa&#8217;s youth. Recent efforts have included several provincial job drives, with the Gauteng Provincial Government promoting a new job search platform today, which saw a bustling cohort of young learners signing up and submitting their CVs for opportunities to work within provincial projects.



In this vein, Youth Day is not just a commemoration of past struggles; it&#8217;s a celebration of the ongoing resilience and resourcefulness of South African youth. It&#8217;s also a call to action for all sectors of society to invest in their potential. The challenges of the past and present are formidable, but if the history of 1976 teaches us anything, it is that South Africa&#8217;s youth are capable of extraordinary things when given the opportunity.

Youth Day Is Celebrated in South Africa

South Africa’s Youth Day–Echoes Of 1976 And A Reliance On Resilience

Words and Curation: Chanel Retief and Lillian Roberts Art Director: Lucy Nkosi Photography: Katlego Mokubyane Photography Assistant: Sbusiso Sigidi Studio: NewKatz Studio, Johannesburg CNBC Africa Videographer: Thabo Mathebula Video Editor: Chanel Retief Styling: Bontlefeela Mogoye and Wanda Baloyi Outfits supplied by: Kworks Design; Imprint South Africa; House of Suitability; LSJ Designs Hair &amp; Makeup: Makole Made



&#8220;Our story started with a banana.&#8221;



“Yes, a banana,” Peter Njonjo attests, as he sits down, adjusts his glasses and looks right into the camera reminiscing the beginnings of one of Africa’s most influential companies–according to Time Magazine–Twiga Foods.



“And the key thing here was that bananas in a supermarket in London were cheaper than they were in a supermarket in Nairobi.” This was strange for Njonjo as the banana in the London supermarket had traveled over 4,000 miles from Latin America to the United Kingdom. However, the banana in Nairobi had merely traveled 400 kilometers.



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<iframe loading="lazy" title="MEET COVER STAR Peter Njonjo: &#039;Africans are Spending a Significant Amount on Food&#039;" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/XEE1QrdTaTg?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
</div></figure>



“And we asked ourselves, ‘why is this the case’? And by answering that question, we started uncovering the issue around food inefficiency.” Njonjo’s belief is that in Africa, the retail industry is fragmented by the many “middlemen” involved in the supply chain moving food from farm to the table.



“We realized that sometimes a banana has been touched by five to six people before it gets to the retailer.



In the course of that [time], half the produce is actually lost to poor handling and post-harvest losses. So that level of waste, that level of inefficiency was contributing to the high cost of food on the continent,” says Njonjo.



At least one in five Africans goes to bed hungry and an estimated 140 million people in Africa face acute food insecurity, according to the World Bank Global Report on Food Crises 2022 Mid-Year Update. Furthermore, a 2022 World Resources Institute report found that around a third of food produced globally is lost or wasted, resulting in economic losses of an estimated $1 trillion a year. In sub-Saharan Africa, the estimate is roughly 37% or 120kg-170 kg/year per capita.



“Food loss and waste leads to reduced economic returns for farmers, and the water, fertilizers, energy and land used in production also go to waste. Such loss and waste drives expansion into fragile ecosystems, accelerates deforestation, species extinction and contributes to 8%-10% of annual greenhouse gas emissions,” the report said.



“What we wanted to do is develop an alternative system that allows us to reengineer this whole supply chain to digitize it and get to a point where we can shorten the cycle between the farms, and the retail and also reduce the amount of waste,” Njonjo explains. Twiga Foods uses technology to build supply chains in food and retail distribution on the continent, starting with Kenya.



The company inspired by the banana is now reportedly worth $300 million.



“The amount of food and beverage consumed in informal retail across the African continent is worth $700 billion. And if 50% of Africa&#8217;s disposable income is going to food, it means that that&#8217;s where the bulk of expenditure is at; that&#8217;s a bulk of [what] the opportunity is.”



“So the way we&#8217;re looking at it is we&#8217;re simply fishing where the fish are. The reality is that being in food on the African continent is an amazing space to be.”

Untitled design (24)

MEET COVER STAR PETER NJONJO: ‘Being in Food on the African Continent is an Amazing Space to be’

Zuwaira Isah-Ikharo is endeavoring to meet the needs of new moms in the West African region by providing products that are natural and non-toxic.



Mothers shouldn’t have to choose between what works and what is good for their children. This is reportedly the premise behind American A-lister and self-made entrepreneur, Jessica’s Alba’s Honest Company. During her pregnancy in 2008, the actor realized that she couldn’t find affordable natural baby products. Her response was to fill that gap. In 2015, the Honest Company was valued at about $1.7 billion.



Here, on the African continent, Alba’s success story resonated with another new mom–Amal Botanicals’ founder, Zuwaira Isah-Ikharo.



Born in Kaduna State in Nigeria, Isah-Ikharo was surrounded by entrepreneurship. Although her mother and father worked as a lecturer and immigration controller respectively, they both dabbled in side hustles. Isah-Ikharo’s mother opened a provision shop while her dad co-authored a best-selling book on small business and food processing. Isah-Ikharo, however, took an unconventional path towards realizing her entrepreneurial prowess.



Her early career was in the accounting field where she worked as a chartered accountant for various organizations, including the Federal Inland Revenue Service in Nigeria. Her specialism was taxation as well as forensic accounting. The plan was to build her career in the accounting field and perhaps rise to the top with her own firm. That is until she got pregnant and, like Alba, her maternal, protective instincts for her unborn children kicked in.



“I had my triplets in 2013 and that is when my entrepreneurial career started. My children were born premature and, even when I was pregnant, I had a high-risk pregnancy and I was told to stay away from some products and cosmetics. All the products I had bought for my children, which were conventional baby care products, were not suitable for them. I needed something more natural and toxic-free to use on them because they were in the incubator and they were still receiving therapy,” says Isah-Ikharo.



According to a report by news distribution platform, GlobeNewswire, the global baby care products market is estimated to reach $26.84 billion by 2030. In recent years, the term ‘baby products’, which broadly denotes all products made for infants under the age of three, has become increasingly popular.



In Nigeria, in particular, market and consumer data provider, Statista, estimates that the baby and child market segment is expected to grow annually by 19.15% (CAGR 2023–2027).



The problem for Isah-Ikharo was that there were no products on the market that she felt she could trust. That is when she began to do her own research and, with the help of her personal Instagram page, she started sharing how she dealt with taking care of the triplets and the experimental products she was using.



“I was getting response[s] from people asking me what I was using and this was coming from all over Africa. I also discovered that there were other mothers on my page and they needed to hear more from me.”



To help her formulate her products, Isah-Ikharo took a course with a cosmetic science formulation company in London, with a special focus on children. Once she got her certification, she began creating her own unique formulation, which she shared with family and friends.



“They kept demanding it and I needed to put a price on it to help restock my raw materials because I was giving it [away] for free for a while. And that is how Amal Botanicals actually started,” says Isah-Ikharo.



Her first products, which included a moisturizing cream, soothing shea oil, bubbly bath wash and African black bar soap, were immediate best-sellers.



“When I started, I only had the vision. No one understood what I was trying to do and they thought it would not survive. Starting a business for a delicate niche like babies was risky because people are very careful about what they use on their children. So, trust in [the] brand I was building is very important.”



Today, Amal Botanicals is still self-funded and has grown organically with products being shipped to all 36 states in Nigeria as well as to Ghana. But the growth has not been without its challenges.



“One of the difficult challenges we have had relates to sourcing raw materials and we all know how the exchange rate has impacted businesses globally. Right now, most of our packages are still imported because we want to be able to compete with the global brands out there and hence, there is [a] high cost of importation. Our packages are imported from China and the back and forth from our manufacturers can become very tedious,” says Isah-Ikharo.



With minimal barriers to entry in Nigeria, Isah-Ikharo has her vision cut out for her–of becoming one of the biggest suppliers of quality natural baby care products.



“The beauty industry in Nigeria is plagued by people with substandard products. Because it is easy to enter, we have people with no certification mixing products together without following the due process of formulation and this can be dangerous to customers, and harms our industry,” says Isah-Ikharo.



But like Alba, Isah-Ikharo is determined to build a leading baby care brand in Africa and with sales of her products consistently selling out, the future certainly looks bright.

Zuwaira Isah-Ikharo of Amal Botanicals, image supplied

More Than An Infant Business: How This Nigerian Entrepreneur Is Getting Baby Care Right

<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-topline">TOPLINE</h2>



Beyoncé’s “Renaissance” world tour—which launched with two nights in Stockholm last month—may have contributed to Sweden’s increased inflation rate in May, according to an economist from Danske Bank, after the tour resulted in increased hotel, restaurant and recreation prices.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">KEY FACTS</h2>



Michael Grahn, Danske Bank’s chief economist,&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/MichaelGrahn1/status/1668865814110380033?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">said</a>&nbsp;Beyoncé’s tour “probably” added between 0.2 and 0.3 percentage points to Sweden’s inflation rate, which fell from 10.5% in April to 9.7% in May.



The Swedish government&nbsp;<a href="https://www.scb.se/en/finding-statistics/statistics-by-subject-area/prices-and-consumption/consumer-price-index/consumer-price-index-cpi/pong/statistical-news/consumer-price-index-cpi-may-2023/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">noted</a>&nbsp;in its inflation report that the inflation rate was affected by hotel and restaurant prices, which rose 3.3% over the previous month, and prices for “recreational services,” which include concert tickets.



Grahn—who said the scenario was “very rare”—<a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-beyonce-effect-swedens-inflation-feels-the-hit-417370a6?mod=hp_listb_pos4" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">told</a>&nbsp;the&nbsp;Wall Street Journal&nbsp;that increased prices were most likely affected by Beyoncé’s fans, who “vacuumed hotels around Stockholm” while “bidding” for hotel rates.



The added percentage points are expected to be “reversed” in June as hotel and ticket prices “reverse back to normal,” Grahn&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/MichaelGrahn1/status/1668865816597610496" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">added</a>.



Beyonce performed both Stockholm shows before sold-out audiences of 46,000, including many who flew in from around the world.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-crucial-quote">CRUCIAL QUOTE</h2>



“Beyoncé is responsible for the extra upside surprise this month,” Grahn&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ft.com/content/abc431c4-426d-4a9f-9674-f437ed504eb7" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">told</a>&nbsp;the&nbsp;Financial Times, adding, “It’s quite astonishing for a single event. We haven’t seen this before.”



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By signing up, you accept and agree to our&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/terms-and-conditions" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Terms of Service</a>&nbsp;(including the class action waiver and arbitration provisions), and you acknowledge our&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/privacy" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Privacy Statement</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tangent">TANGENT</h2>



Ticketmaster&nbsp;<a href="https://blog.ticketmaster.com/beyonce/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">warned</a>&nbsp;in February that demand for “Renaissance” tour tickets in “Group A” cities—including Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, Las Vegas, Toronto and Washington D.C.—exceeded the number of tickets available by 800%.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-big-number">BIG NUMBER</h2>



$2.4 billion. That’s how much&nbsp;Forbes&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/petercohan/2023/05/08/beyonc-renaissance-tour-could-outearn-taylor-swift-eras-by-600-million/?sh=4933e31e49bc">estimates</a>&nbsp;Beyoncé’s tour could gross in revenue.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-forbes-valuation">FORBES VALUATION</h2>



Beyoncé has a net worth of $540 million,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/beyonce-knowles/?sh=1d5096693ce7">according</a>&nbsp;to our most recent estimates.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-background">KEY BACKGROUND</h2>



Beyoncé—who has won a record 32 Grammy Awards—announced her long-anticipated “Renaissance” world tour to coincide with the release of her&nbsp;Renaissance&nbsp;album, which&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/marisadellatto/2022/08/08/beyoncs-renaissance-is-a-no-1-album-but-its-not-her-biggest-debut-ever/?sh=525fc48127d5">debuted&nbsp;</a>No. 1 on the&nbsp;Billboard&nbsp;200 last August. The tour—Beyoncé’s first since 2018—opened in May in Stockholm before subsequently reaching other European cities. The tour will start its North American leg in July. “Renaissance” is Beyoncé’s first solo tour since 2016, when she grossed&nbsp;<a href="https://www.billboard.com/pro/beyonce-formation-tour-2-million-tickets-250-million-dollars/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">$256 million</a>&nbsp;with “The Formation World Tour.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-further-reading">FURTHER READING</h2>



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/carlieporterfield/2023/02/01/beyonc-announces-renaissance-world-tour-dates/?sh=2424d9314d9f">Beyoncé Announces ‘Renaissance’ World Tour Dates</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/marisadellatto/2022/08/08/beyoncs-renaissance-is-a-no-1-album-but-its-not-her-biggest-debut-ever/?sh=72337d5d27d5">Beyoncé’s ‘Renaissance’ Is A No. 1 Album—But It’s Not Her Biggest Debut Ever</a> (Forbes)

Beyoncé RENAISSANCE WORLD TOUR – London

Beyoncé Caused Inflation? ‘Renaissance’ Tour May Have Boosted Sweden’s Costs, Economist Says

Gugulethu Mahlangu Founder and CEO, House Harvest South Africa



In 2018, Gugulethu Mahlangu went home to the rolling plains of the Highveld in South Africa. In a landscape dominated by livestock farmers, she planted cabbages, only to soon find them waterlogged.



Counterintuitively, this first failure was the moment she realized she was going to be a farmer.



“I found that there&#8217;s just so many numerous opportunities, especially for young African women. That&#8217;s just what made me cultivate the love for agriculture, because before I really felt like it was roses and sunsets, but when you get in the industry itself, you realize that it&#8217;s a lot of work. It&#8217;s patience, it&#8217;s money, it&#8217;s time, it&#8217;s investing in trying, learning, and picking yourself up back again.”



Mahlangu describes aquaponics as a soilless farming method.



She uses the Deep Water Culture (DWC) method.



In DWC, the nutrient-rich water is circulated through long canals while rafts float on top, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). The plant roots hang through holes, absorbing nutrients and oxygen. According to the FAO, this method is commonly used for commercial aquaponics with a high stocking density of fish.



Mahlangu explains that fish provide 10 out of 13 nutrients plants need.



“It&#8217;s economical once it starts, and can provide you with a system that can employ people all year round, because it runs all year round.”



Mahlangu says aquaponics is a climate smart-solution to agriculture. Unlike traditional agriculture that is seasonal and based on economies of scale, aquaponics requires limited space.



“Global warming isn&#8217;t a regional issue. It&#8217;s not an African problem. It&#8217;s a planet problem. So, we are contributing to that positively.”



Technology like aquaponics can be a method of alleviating food insecurity in densely-populated and urban areas.



“Apparently, they say in South Africa, we are food secure. But we are insecure in the way that food gets accessed. Here comes a solution like aquaponics or vertical farming saying ‘I can meet you where you are, I can meet you on your balcony, I can meet you in your township, in your limited space’.”



She has worked as an aquaponics horticulturist at Finleaf Farms. Now, Mahlangu has returned to her hometown of Witbank in the Highveld of Mpumalanga, South Africa, to build her own facility, named House Harvest, in an urban setting.



Focused on trial and error, she’s going to gather her own data in the South African context before acquiring an investor and scaling. Since aquaponics is a high investment, she wants to produce high value crops to get an ROI as quickly as possible, focusing on restaurants.



As a 29-year-old emerging farmer, she understands the challenges in this sector.



“I think the first thing is because aquaponics is so new, the government doesn&#8217;t know what you&#8217;re talking about. They know aquaculture, they know about tilapia and all sorts of freshwater fish…So, it sometimes feels like I&#8217;m on a tangent on my own.” Mahlangu feels like a pioneer—on a stressful but exciting journey, she concludes.

Gugu (3)

Africa’s Green Economy: ‘THERE’S JUST SO MANY NUMEROUS OPPORTUNITIES, ESPECIALLY FOR YOUNG AFRICAN WOMEN’

It’s been just over six months since ChatGPT was launched on the world. Like every other transformative technology shift, it’s already prompting leaders to question how they do everything from drug discovery and investing to talent management and partnerships. And yet unemployment rates remain near a 50-year low as employers struggle to find and retain the talent they need to get ahead of the next wave in work.



That’s prompting a move towards skills-based hiring, experimentation with AI and other themes that we explored at our<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesliveteam/2023/04/24/2023-forbes-future-of-work-summit-work-disrupted/?sh=6b5d7a007f6e">&nbsp;Future of Work Summit</a>&nbsp;last week. Here is a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/emmylucas/2023/06/01/2023-forbes-future-of-work-summit/?sh=7587326c48d7">summary of highlights from the event</a>, courtesy of Emmy Lucas, and a shout-out to Jena McGregor for creating such a thought-provoking event.



On Tuesday, I had the opportunity to hear from experts at McKinsey about what they’re seeing and doing in this realm at their annual media day. The management consultancy has faced plenty of challenges in the past few years—from paying hefty fines over its&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2021/02/04/reports-mckinsey-has-reached-573-million-settlement-with-states-for-its-role-in-marketing-opioid-drugs/?sh=3f644e1065d1">role in marketing opioid drugs</a>&nbsp;to an embarrassing lack of diversity in its senior ranks. (Full Disclosure: I worked there in 2020.)



And yet McKinsey remains<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/stephaniefillion/2022/08/10/meet-the-worlds-best-management-consulting-firms-2022/?sh=28cea78a2888">&nbsp;the advisor of choice</a>&nbsp;for many of the world’s top leaders, having built a deep bench of expertise in areas like sustainability, organizational health, growth strategies and digital transformation. More than a million people applied for 10,000 jobs last year. What’s more, some among that top 1 percent didn’t come in with traditional four-year degrees—reflecting what chief people officer Katy George describes as a shift towards hiring for potential vs. pedigree. “We used to be the stewards of jobs,” says George. “Now, we are stewards of skills.”



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-ceo-shift-around-ai">The CEO Shift Around AI</h3>



Among the most coveted of skills, of course, is the ability to understand and leverage ChatGPT and other forms of generative AI. Alex Singla, a senior partner and global leader of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/quantumblack/how-we-help-clients" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">QuantumBlack, AI by McKinsey</a>, said that conversations with CEOs have shifted over the past several weeks. Gone are the requests for explanations of how the technology works — and whether it’s over-hyped. Now, Singla says, five questions dominate:



<ul>
<li>What are the specific use cases?</li>
</ul>



<ul>
<li>How do I get started?</li>



<li>What are the risks I need to manage?</li>



<li>What are the implications for present and future employees?</li>



<li>How do I learn fast?</li>
</ul>



The automation that McKinsey had previously predicted would take effect by 2040 has now moved up to 2030. The winners will be those who move fast and quickly figure out how to integrate these new technologies into their IT stacks and work flows, and reimagine how they manage talent and design their operating model as a result.



Jacky Wright, a former chief digital officer of Microsoft US who became McKinsey’s first chief technology &amp; platform officer last fall, also notes that generative AI is already creating new roles around risk and prompting forward-thinking companies to constantly iterate existing job descriptions.



Junior analysts, for example, will no longer need to spend most of their time gathering research, preparing pitch decks and creating content that synthesizes the data. Their focus is instead shifting to more value-added tasks.



Senior Partner Ben Ellencweig of QuantumBlack, in true McKinsey fashion, distills AI’s current impact to four Cs:&nbsp;coding&nbsp;(AI-generated suggestions are already generating productivity gains of up to 55%s),&nbsp;customer engagment&nbsp;(suggesting more personalized ways to engage customers),&nbsp;creative content generation&nbsp;(especially in marketing) and&nbsp;content synthesis&nbsp;(essentially connecting the dots). “All the mundane tasks go away,” he says. “It’s about change management &#8230; just moving at a lightning speed.”&nbsp;<a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/mckinsey-digital/our-insights/what-every-ceo-should-know-about-generative-ai" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Here’s a report</a>&nbsp;that QuantumBlack produced on what CEOs need to know about generative AI,



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-productivity-paradox">The Productivity Paradox</h3>



The current job market is both confounding and heartening to Anu Madgavkar, a McKinsey Global Institute partner who leads global research focused on labor markets and talent trends. Despite economic headwinds, people continue to switch jobs, work schedules and industries, helping job openings go up. That points to resilience and reasons for optimism, in her view. A key lever to keep the momentum going is to accelerate productivity growth, which now lags historical averages. Correcting that could add $10 trillion to US GDP,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/mgi/our-research/rekindling-us-productivity-for-a-new-era#at-a-glance" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">by McKinsey’s calculations</a>.



While technology has the power to accelerate productivity gains, it’s not the only ingredient. Labor mobility, regulations, hiring practices and other factors also play into productivity. About three-quarters of of open job descriptions still ask for a four-year degree but 13 states have removed that criteria as a prerequisite in applying for public-sector roles and momentum is building for a more skills-based approach. As an example, Scott Blackburn, a senior partner &amp; global co-leader of the McKinsey Center for Government pointed out how infantry soldiers are extensively trained in many of the skills needed in managing corporate risk.



Asutosh Padhi, McKinsey’s managing partner for North America, argues that “productivity is the only solution” for America’s continued prosperity. “How do we pay for the energy transition?,” he asked. “It all comes down to productivity at the state level, the sector level.”



And yet, as senior partner Olivia White of The McKinsey Global Institute noted, U.S. productivity gains have halved to an annual rate of 1.1% over the last 15 years. Moreover, those figures vary widely across the country. She cited seven states that were outperforming in terms of gains: North Dakota, California, New York, Texas, Colorado, Massachusetts and Washington. Many more are underperforming, she notes, creating a productivity gap that will only exacerbate the country’s regional divide.



Ezra Greenberg, a partner and global leader in overseeing macro scenarios and trends for the firm, has one piece of advice that almost every company can follow: “Keep your Baby Boomers.” Their institutional knowledge and ability to mentor younger generations could prove to be priceless in the coming years. For Boomers, that could be a recipe to work less and get paid more — if they adapt to new technologies and reimagine their own roles, too.

Students Working On Computer Assignment During Seminar Group

What CEOs Are Asking McKinsey About AI, Talent And The Future Of Work

South Africa grapples with a diplomatic quandary as it hosts this year&#8217;s BRICS summit amidst legal and trade tensions involving Russia, the US, and the International Criminal Court.



South Africa appears to be considering the possibility of transferring its role as the host of this year&#8217;s BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) summit. This effort emerges from a need to avoid enforcing an arrest warrant against the Russian Federation&#8217;s President Vladimir Putin.



The upcoming summit, slated for August, has thrown into relief South Africa’s non-aligned status in the con-flict between Russia and Ukraine. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has been engaged in talks with China&#8217;s President Xi Jinping, showcasing the country&#8217;s active diplomacy in this delicate situation.



The historical relationship between South Africa and Russia is noteworthy in understanding the current sce-nario. The ruling party of South Africa, the African National Congress (ANC), has had long-standing ties with Russia due to Russia&#8217;s support of the ANC against the previous apartheid government. This shared history of resistance against Western hegemony, economic ties, and shared stances on global issues have deepened their bond over the years.



“I do think that there’s a certain puzzlement regarding South Africa’s position,” says Ivor Chipkin, analyst and Executive Director of the New South Institute, a policy think-tank based in Johannesburg, to FORBES AFRICA. “It places us in an awkward position economically… That said, Russia too is placing us in an awk-ward position by very boldly and very loudly proclaiming this relationship.”



Many South African signatories including the commander of the military’s ground forces as well as multiple senior government ministers have visited Russia in recent months.



As a signatory to the Rome Statute, South Africa is obligated to follow the rulings of the International Crimi-nal Court (ICC). The ICC has issued an arrest warrant for the Russian President, who is expected to attend the BRICS summit in Johannesburg. Should Putin attend, it is possible that opposition parties in South Af-rica might seek legal means to compel the South African government to arrest him, thereby further compli-cating the situation.



A failure to arrest President Putin would not only be a breach of the ICC mandate but could also strain the already tense relations between South Africa and the United States (US). Despite these complexities, the practicalities of enforcing such an arrest remain elusive, adding another layer to the diplomatic conundrum.



In response to this diplomatic quandary, the South African government has taken a flurry of diplomatic ac-tions in recent weeks. The ANC sent a delegation to China last week, reportedly to discuss a possible change of venue for the summit.



President Ramaphosa also hosted talks with President Xi Jinping. The discussions included an African-led peace proposal between Russia and Ukraine, as well as the upcoming BRICS summit.



The BRICS alliance is particularly beneficial to South Africa. It fosters further investment and economic co-operation and provides financing through the New Development Bank. However, maintaining good relations with the US is also a priority, given that the country benefits from tariff-free trade under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), valued at more than $2.58 billion in annual revenue.



<div class="wp-block-media-text alignwide is-stacked-on-mobile" style="grid-template-columns:64% auto"><figure class="wp-block-media-text__media"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="683" src="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/GettyImages-1182442467.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-58487 size-full" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/GettyImages-1182442467.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/GettyImages-1182442467-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/GettyImages-1182442467-768x512.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure><div class="wp-block-media-text__content">
<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
(From R) Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa wave at the press corps during the BRICS summit in Brasilia on Nov. 14, 2019. 
<cite>(Photo by Kyodo News via Getty Images)</cite></blockquote>
</div></div>



However, this agreement is under pressure due to allegations of arms sales by South Africa to Russia after the secretive docking of the Russian Lady R vessel at a South African naval base last year. These allegations, if proven, could have serious domestic implications. For instance, should South Africa take any action that frustrates the US, it could suffer massive financial losses if AGOA is overturned, or if the Rand value drops significantly.



“South Africa’s position here is not clear to me at all,” continues Chipkin. “Other than a general suspicion of Western motives on the one hand… and then a historical relationship–not with Russia, but with the Soviet Union… It might well be that in order to placate some of the opposition to himself within the ANC, President Ramaphosa is making concessions on this front in order to stabilize and strengthen this position.”



South Africa’s Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition, as well as its Finance Minister, have expressed concern over the potential risk to the AGOA agreement. They have noted the damage these allegations could inflict on the South African economy. &#8220;It strengthens the position of South African exporters in the US mar-ket and, of course, helps create more jobs locally,&#8221; said Minister Ebrahim Patel during a press briefing ahead of his budget vote last month.



Discussing the prospect of President Putin attending the upcoming BRICS conference, US Ambassador Reu-ben Brigety noted South Africa’s obligations during a media briefing last month, stating that the US did not understand why “the government of South Africa will not publicly and fulsomely commit to the obligations that it has voluntarily taken upon itself”.



Looking ahead, South Africa finds itself at a crossroads. Its commitment to the principles of international justice as embodied by the ICC, its long-standing relationship with Russia, its membership in BRICS, and its trade ties with the US are all at play, with the decisions to be made in the weeks ahead likely to have far-reaching implications for both the country’s global standing and economy.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping attend the BRICS Summit in Brasilia

South Africa At Crossroads As It Attempts To Navigate Hosting BRICS Summit Amid Global Tensions

​​The Securities and Exchange Commission is suing Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, its U.S. affiliate and founder Changpeng Zhao.



Among the reams of evidence provided by the agency, which include employee text messages, testimonies of former executives and Binance’s audit reports, some accusations seemed especially bizarre. Here are five that caught our eye:



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-former-chief-compliance-officer-said-there-s-no-fking-way-we-are-clean">The former chief compliance officer said “there’s no fking way we are clean”</h2>



In a&nbsp;<a href="https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.256060/gov.uscourts.dcd.256060.17.5_1.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">text exchange</a>&nbsp;with another employee, Binance’s former chief compliance officer, Samuel Lim, said he did not believe the company was “clean.” As an example, he said that the exchange’s customer service is teaching users how to circumvent sanctions.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-binance-is-accused-of-hijacking-more-user-funds-than-ftx">Binance is accused of hijacking MORE user funds than FTX</h2>



The SEC alleges Binance and Binance.US&nbsp;<a href="https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.256060/gov.uscourts.dcd.256060.21.0_2.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">redirected</a>&nbsp;over $12 billion in clients’ assets to entities controlled by Zhao between 2019 and 2021. That’s $4 billion more than the $8 billion shortfall initially claimed in the case of FTX, formerly the second-largest crypto exchange and the subject of a spectacular collapse in November. Additionally, millions of dollars of customer and corporate funds were commingled in accounts of Merit Peak, a British Virgin Islands trading firm owned by Zhao, according to the agency.



In a&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/cz_binance/status/1666848861497831449?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Twitter post on</a>&nbsp;Thursday, Zhao denied the claim but only addressed the Binance.US part of the allegation. &#8220;To the best of my knowledge, Binance.US had in total roughly $2 billion in user funds. This number in USD equivalent fluctuates a little as crypto prices change. And declining as users withdraw due to recent news. All user funds are accounted for, and never left the Binance.US (unless users withdraw themselves of course), ever.&#8221; he wrote.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-binance-received-damning-audits">Binance received damning audits</h2>



Since Binance.US’s inception and through at least 2022, auditors from Armanino have&nbsp;<a href="https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.256060/gov.uscourts.dcd.256060.20.8.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">identified</a>&nbsp;“significant deficiencies that aggregated to material weaknesses” relating to Binance’s control over the operation of the Binance.US Platform and custody and control of customer assets, and the fact that Binance’s custody of U.S. customer assets was completely opaque” to employees of BAM Trading, Binance.US’s operator. Drawbacks listed in the 2019 audit included commingled customer and company funds, reliance on the parent for financial data and the lack of a disaster plan.



A separate&nbsp;<a href="https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.256060/gov.uscourts.dcd.256060.19.10_1.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">audit</a>&nbsp;from FGMK shows that Binance.US lost $181 million in 2022.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-two-former-ceos-of-binance-us-claimed-that-zhao-ran-the-american-unit">Two former CEOs of Binance.US claimed that Zhao ran the American unit</h2>



Brian Brooks, former chief executive of Binance.US who resigned three months after taking the job,&nbsp;<a href="https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.256060/gov.uscourts.dcd.256060.20.3.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">said</a>&nbsp;that “what became clear to me at a certain point was CZ was the CEO of BAM Trading, not me.” Binance has maintained that it operates independently from its American affiliate.



Brooks added that during his tenure Binance.US had a group of Shanghai-based employees who received part of their compensations in Binance’s BNB<a href="https://www.forbes.com/digital-assets/assets/bnb-bnb/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">BNB</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/digital-assets/assets/bnb-bnb/">+0.9%</a>&nbsp;token and were part of a company called “Boran.”



Catherine Coley, the first chief executive of Binance.US–who abruptly left the company in 2021 and has been little heard from since– also revealed the subsidiary was not independent. The SEC alleged that for at least the first year of its existence, the parent company Binance.com insisted that Zhao and Guangying Chen, a close associate of Zhao also known as Heina, had to control the bank accounts of BAM Trading, the U.S. exchange. Coley&nbsp;<a href="https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.256060/gov.uscourts.dcd.256060.18.16_1.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">told</a>&nbsp;company lawyer Wei Zhou in an electronic exchange: “I’m confused why we go through all of these measures with separating BAM vs. .com and then have a non-U.S. resident, non employee on the bank applications.” Zhou replied “You know what HQ Finance’s position is, right?… They want to have Heina as signatory on US BAM bank accounts”



He advised: “No need to pound the separation thing too much. I think most people understand that by now.”



Coley dubbed an effort to escape Zhao’s control as “Project 1776,” a reference to the American Revolution. She told a fellow employee it was “for our independence,” according to the suit.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-wash-trades-occurred-with-employees-knowledge">Wash trades occurred with employees’ knowledge</h2>



The SEC&nbsp;<a href="https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.256060/gov.uscourts.dcd.256060.1.0.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">alleges&nbsp;</a>that wash trading, or self-dealing, which typically results in an inflated trading volume that creates a false appearance of market interest, regularly took place on the Binance.US platform. Much of it occurred through accounts affiliated with Sigma Chain, an entity owned and controlled by Zhao, essentially making it a market maker on the Binance.US Platform.



In an online discussion in January 2021 about a drop in trading volume from Sigma Chain, the company&#8217;s sales director&nbsp;told other employees that 20 other accounts were fronts: &#8220;fyi, these are ALL sigma chain.&#8221; Later that month, an employee found he could trade with himself.



The SEC’s 13-count&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sec.gov/files/litigation/complaints/2023/comp-pr2023-101.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">suit</a>&nbsp;alleges that the crypto exchange, its American branch and Zhao “enriched themselves by billions of dollars while placing investors’ assets at significant risk” and “designed and implemented a multi-step plan to surreptitiously evade U.S. laws.”



Binance.US&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/BinanceUS/status/1666996908651323393" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">said</a>&nbsp;late on Thursday that it would suspend deposits and withdrawals in U.S. dollars on its platform. In a message to customers, the company said it was “taking necessary actions” in a transition to a crypto-only exchange after the SEC suit discouraged banks from working with it



Zhao, Binance and two U.S subsidiaries have until June 28 to <a href="https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.256060/gov.uscourts.dcd.256060.23.0.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">respond</a> to the suit, which was filed in the federal court for the District of Columbia. A hearing on an SEC request to freeze the assets of Binance.US is set for June 13 at 2:00 PM Washington time.



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/ninabambysheva/"></a>

SEC Targets $120 Billion of Tokens With Coinbase And Binance Suits

5 Most Surprising Revelations From The SEC’s Binance Lawsuit

<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-topline">TOPLINE</h2>



Facebook and Instagram’s parent company Meta has been testing its challenger to Twitter—internally dubbed “Project 92” and previously “Barcelona”—for months with celebrities and influencers, and gave employees a sneak preview this week.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">KEY FACTS</h2>



Meta&nbsp;<a href="https://www.platformer.news/p/meta-is-building-a-decentralized" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">told</a>&nbsp;tech journalist Casey Newton in March the company “believe(d) there’s an opportunity for a separate space where creators and public figures can share timely updates about their interests.”



In May, Bloomberg&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-05-19/instagram-readies-twitter-competitor-for-summer-release?srnd=premium&amp;leadSource=uverify%20wall" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">reported</a>&nbsp;Meta had been quietly testing it with celebrities and influencers for months and potentially could be ready to launch it as early as June.



Last week, Meta employees got a preview of the app, The Verge&nbsp;<a href="https://www.theverge.com/2023/6/8/23754304/instagram-meta-twitter-competitor-threads-activitypub" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">reported</a>, which will stand alone but based on Instagram, and will likely allow users to transfer information and followers from Instagram.



<a href="https://www.theverge.com/2023/6/8/23754304/instagram-meta-twitter-competitor-threads-activitypub" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Screenshots</a>&nbsp;of the app acquired by The Verge show a mobile app with an appearance extremely similar to Twitter, featuring verified users, like and reshare buttons and a messaging option.



Meta chief product officer Chris Cox reportedly told employees the goal of the new app is to have a platform prioritizing “safety, ease of use, reliability” and to ensure that creators have a “stable place to build and grow their audiences.”



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There is still no set launch date or official name for the app—nicknamed both Project 92 and “Barcelona” internally—though could be called Threads, “based on internal documents” reviewed by The Verge.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-crucial-quote">CRUCIAL QUOTE</h2>



“We’ve been hearing from creators and public figures who are interested in having a platform that is sanely run, that they believe that they can trust and rely upon for distribution,” Cox said to employees, in a clear dig at Twitter, and new owner Elon Musk, when showing the app, The Verge reported, calling it “our response to Twitter.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-cheif-critic">CHEIF CRITIC</h2>



Twitter CEO Elon Musk responded to a tweet about Meta’s challenger crudely Friday,&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1667443908060520449" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">tweeting</a>&nbsp;“zuck my tongue” in response to a link reporting that Meta had been trying to get the Dalia Lama—who recently made&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-65229327" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">headlines</a>&nbsp;for saying “suck my tongue” to a child—as a user. Meta reportedly has DJ Slime signed on to use the app, and are also in talks with Oprah, The Verge reported.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-background">KEY BACKGROUND</h2>



Many frustrated users have posted publicly about finding an alternative to Twitter since billionaire Elon Musk took over in October 2022 and began quickly making changes to the platform, ranging from adding an algorithm-driven “For You” page, to eliminating moderation teams charged with eliminating offensive content, to charging people to be verified and get access to features like an edit button. Mastodon attempted to fill the gap shortly after Musk bought Twitter, offering a less centralized&nbsp;<a href="https://joinmastodon.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">platform</a>&nbsp;but promising “no algorithms or ads to waste your time.” But,&nbsp;Wired&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wired.com/story/the-mastodon-bump-is-now-a-slump/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">reported</a>&nbsp;that Mastodon’s number of active users fell to 1.4 million at the end of January—dropping by more than one million—since people flocked to it in November 2022.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tangent">TANGENT</h2>



Project 92 isn’t the only recent Twitter challenger. Twitter’s former CEO Jack Dorsey launched&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/conormurray/2023/05/01/what-is-bluesky-heres-what-to-know-about-ex-twitter-ceos-new-invite-only-social-network--as-these-celebrities-sign-up/?sh=7c0dbce76342">Bluesky</a>, a decentralized app that was developed in parallel with Twitter and has an interface almost indistinguishable from Twitter, along with a similar algorithm. Bluesky is currently invitation-only after launching its beta version for iOS in February and for Android in April. Bluesky plans to allow users to create their own content moderation guidelines or subscribe to guidelines created by others, including the ability to opt-in or opt-out of viewing violent or hateful content.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-further-reading">FURTHER READING</h2>



<a href="https://www.theverge.com/2023/6/8/23754304/instagram-meta-twitter-competitor-threads-activitypub" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Instagram’s upcoming Twitter competitor shown in leaked screenshots</a>&nbsp;(The Verge)



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/mollybohannon/2023/05/19/instagram-is-preparing-a-twitter-like-app-to-be-launched-this-summer-report-says/?sh=4afdb443100c">Instagram Is Preparing A Twitter-Like App To Be Launched This Summer, Report Says</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)

Facebook Covers Sign At Menlo Park Headquarters

Meta’s ‘Response To Twitter’ May Launch Soon. Here’s What To Know About It.

Improving yield, efficiency and profitability in agriculture comes down to the harvesting of technology. At its forefront are the agritech innovators bringing transformative change to the continent’s green economy. FORBES AFRICA profiles some of Africa’s biggest agripreneurs, inventors, and agribusiness leaders changing the way we think about farming, food security and climate resilience. They have cultivated a passion for smart agriculture and are leading the charge for social change not only for the sector but for the continent – and for humanity’s sustainable future.



Words and Curation: Chanel Retief and Lillian Roberts Art Director: Lucy Nkosi Photography: Katlego Mokubyane Photography Assistant: Sbusiso Sigidi Studio: NewKatz Studio, Johannesburg CNBC Africa Videographer: Thabo Mathebula Video Editor: Chanel Retief Styling: Bontlefeela Mogoye and Wanda Baloyi Outfits supplied by: Kworks Design; Imprint South Africa; House of Suitability; LSJ Designs Hair &amp; Makeup: Makole Made



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“What are you looking at?” Dr Agnes Kalibata asked the smart young businessman standing next to her at a summit in Kenya, who seemed suddenly distracted, looking at his phone.



“‘I am checking on my cows in the Ivory Coast’, he said to me,” says Kalibata, the Rwandan agricultural scientist and policymaker, and President of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA).



“Then he said ‘I installed solar cameras all around my farm, which is a side hustle for me, so that I can check on my livestock whilst I work here in Kenya’.



“For me, that’s the future of farming!” exults Kalibata.



It all boils down to not just crops or copses, flower beds or bouquets.



It lies in the innovations sown into the evolving landscape of agricultural technology or agtech/agritech.



And these agripreneurs don’t mind getting their hands dirty either – beyond their smart business suits. The opportunities for them are immediate and ripe for the picking.



“What we&#8217;re seeing happening in the space, is a higher uptake of technology,” says Dr Mandla Mpofu, the Managing Director of Omnia’s Agriculture Division, to FORBES AFRICA.



Ominia Group specializes in conducting research and development, manufactures and supplies chemicals and specialized services and solutions for the agriculture, mining and chemicals application industries.



“By technology I just don&#8217;t mean the electronic side of it but also understanding the industry a bit better. So what I&#8217;m talking about here is understanding the soil, working on improving yields. And then you have satellite technology being used and we&#8217;re seeing artificial intelligence coming into this very, very exciting industry.”



Kalibata tells FORBES AFRICA that the agricultural sector has really been defined by the Fourth Industrial Revolution.



“There are specific moments in time that completely change how we think about business and how we do business,” Kalibata adds. “So specifically, this particular revolution, I would say, there&#8217;s a real revolution happening from an agtech perspective… This is why there are so many new ways of looking at how agriculture can be done, all the way from how we generate the technologies that we use.”



One of the biggest issues Khadija Mohamed-Churchill, founder of Kwanza Tukule in Kenya, encountered when she began in this industry was the food supply chain.



“It’s really difficult to solve but can be solved. Also, the investments don&#8217;t want to flow there. Investment wants to flow into things like unicorns or fintech. I mean, people have to eat. They will transfer money via mobile phones, they&#8217;ll take loans, but if they don&#8217;t have food, at some point, the priorities need to shift to focus on these fundamental things,” Mohamed-Churchill explains.



Let’s take a step back.



In 2022, the World Economic Forum estimated that there are well over 600 million smallholder farmers around the world working on less than two hectares of land. These farmers are estimated to produce 28%-31% of the total crop production and 30%-34% of food supply on 24% of gross agricultural area.



A further study done by the United Nations showed that the world population will reach 9.1 billion by 2050, and to feed that number of people, global food production will need to grow by 70%. For Africa, which is projected to be home to about 2 billion people by then, farm productivity must accelerate at a faster rate than the global average to avoid continued mass hunger.



In sub-Saharan Africa alone, there are over 400 agritech solutions and startups, according to a 2020 report by the global telecoms industry lobby GSMA. Agriculture makes up 35% of Africa’s GDP and employs about half of its people, but the continent still imports billions of dollars of agri-products every year.



“From the outside, agriculture looks pretty dirty,” the CEO and co-founder of <a>Khula!,</a> Karidas Tshintsholo, says to FORBES AFRICA. “But I&#8217;m a numbers guy… Once I started looking at the numbers and saw that we [Africa] have most of the world&#8217;s arable land, which is 60%, is here are the ones [with] remaining arable land. Almost everybody on the continent is dependent on agriculture for survival.”



“I would look at agriculture in terms of the size of the opportunity,” Peter Njonjo, theCEO and co-founder of Twiga Foods in Kenya, adds.



The opportunities may look monetary but for a number of the agritechs, especially the ones we looked at for this feature, it’s about two mutually exclusive yet different reasons – solving food security on the continent while becoming climate-resilient.



“The yields of certain crops in Africa have already dropped by several percentage points, because of warming and drought. So, it&#8217;s already happening. So, you can&#8217;t possibly talk about sustainable agriculture without talking about climate change,” says Professor Guy Midgley, Head of the School for Climate Studies in Stellenbosch University, South Africa.



In a report by Deloitte, with about 60% of the world’s uncultivated arable land, as Tshintsholo previously states, Africa has the capacity to meet the world’s long-term food demand.



In addition, land already under cultivation could produce much more but crop yields remain at half the global average.



With the right know-how and inputs, Africa’s average cropland productivity can more than double. Coupled with positive global food demand, Africa’s underutilization of its land resources for farming implies significant growth opportunities for agricultural producers and exporters in Africa.



For Midgley, it comes back to the fact there needs to be a better understanding of the integrated challenges. According to him, Europe and North America have access to what are called integrated assessment models (IAM). These models aim to provide policy-relevant insights into global environmental change and sustainable development issues by providing a quantitative description of key processes in the human and earth systems and their interactions, which, as Midgley assesses, are “really important and really valuable for asking questions about our policy”.



“We&#8217;ve been late or rather our politicians have been late to realize the potential benefits of a green economy,” Midgley adds. “I think we need as a region a much better understanding of the integrated nature of these challenges… Our policy might sustain food security, within the constraints of water availability, within the constraints of fertilizer requirements. We don&#8217;t have available to us to inform the policymakers of what is the best combination of scenarios going forward. There are many scenarios that would get us to a sustainable future, which would balance the interests of different countries on this continent.”



Kalibata’s view holds a different approach and one where we need to address these issues from a more holistic scientific perspective, which will help tackle food security.



“I actually think that the future of agriculture is smaller than 60%,” she says. “We don&#8217;t need 60% of land to drive agriculture. Some young people are already beginning to farm vertically, right? And we recognize that some young people are already beginning to use what it is called hydroponics, recognizing that you don&#8217;t need soil, and now let&#8217;s produce food… In Singapore, you see people making chicken using stem cell research.”



Although the innovators featured on these pages are not dabbling in stem cell research, the solution for these agripreneurs is ensuring that accessibility is at the forefront of all their work and ideas. Studies have shown that in most African countries, agriculture accounts for 70% of the labor force, over 25% of GDP and 20% of agribusiness.



Agriculture remains largely traditional and is concentrated in the hands of smallholders and pastoralists, the Economic Report on Africa 2009 stated. Often women provide much or most of the labor, but don&#8217;t reap the economic benefits.



“I think that it is often misconstrued that farmers are not willing to adopt tech,” Tshintsholo says. “But I think if you&#8217;re able to speak to them [about] their pain points, inputs, selling their products and financing, you will find that the uptake is actually quite high. And I think one of the lacking factors is solutions that actually speak to the real pain points farmers are facing.”



“I think tech could be most impactful in a continent like Africa,” Njonjo adds. “Where we have the largest inventory of cultivated farmland on earth or the continent is both important strategically for the global food system. But also, when it comes to stabilizing the economy, this is where more the impact and kind of social mission of the company comes in.”



On the following pages, FORBES AFRICA speaks to some of the leading agri-players tackling farming tech and trends and feeding the continent .

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Africa’s Green Economy= AGRIPRENEURS +AGRITECH+ INVESTMENT

<h3 class="wp-block-heading has-text-align-center" id="h-spencer-hornefounder-and-ceo-cloudlinesouth-africa">Spencer Horne Founder and CEO, Cloudline South Africa</h3>



Savoring the mild nippy weather in New York City, a far cry from South Africa’s autumn sun, Spencer Horne seems to have come full circle.



The Spencer Horne who was born in the small community of Kales River, Cape Town.



The Spencer Horne who, from an early age, developed “an obsession” for engineering fueled by his love for trains.



The Spencer Horne who grew up as a dreamer and has always been keenly aware of this rhetoric of structure versus agency; what determines outcomes for individuals or communities?



The Spencer Horne who is in New York, a long way from home, ready to answer this question with regard to his business, Cloudline.



This should be a full circle moment for him, but it is not.



“It doesn&#8217;t seem like it because I feel like the work is only just beginning,” Horne chuckles in a Zoom interview with FORBES AFRICA.



Using battery- and solar-powered propulsion to deliver carbon emission-free flight operations, Cloudline is an aerospace company building a network of autonomous airships that delivers goods and services across the globe. According to Horne, air is an “underutilized resource”. Getting anything into the air in general is difficult as also expensive. “[For conventional aircraft], putting those aircraft in the air comes at a high capital cost and keeping them there comes at a very high energy cost,” Horne elaborates. &#8220;That&#8217;s expensive in monetary terms; it&#8217;s expensive in carbon terms. And we are at the heart of the technology that we&#8217;ve developed to address those two major barriers to more widespread use of the air for getting things done.”



When Cloudline started out, they identified the infrastructural gaps that exist within African regions and saw a massive opportunity.



This is the key role that Horne plays in the agricultural space. Although he does not constitute Cloudline exclusively as an agritech, their business contributes significantly to farmers.



“I think in the agricultural sector, in particular, we&#8217;ve seen the role data has played in transforming the way in which precision agriculture is being done.”


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="665" src="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/DSC02238-1-1024x665.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-58472" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/DSC02238-1-1024x665.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/DSC02238-1-300x195.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/DSC02238-1-768x499.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/DSC02238-1-1536x998.jpg 1536w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/DSC02238-1-2048x1330.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">&nbsp;Horne with Mbali Gushu, chief operating officer, and Anton Erasmus, chief engineer.&nbsp;</figcaption></figure></div>


Precision agriculture is a part of the larger conversation around the green revolution. According to experts, this way of farming uses data from multiple sources to improve cultivation for farmers, whether it is used for crop yields and/or to increase the cost-effectiveness of crop management strategies including fertilizer inputs, irrigation management, and pesticide application.



Afgri, a South African agricultural services company, thinks of this type of farming as “site-specific and information-specific”. 



“If you think about Cloudline in the context of the way in which data is gathered today, that&#8217;s against the backdrop of satellites…so this is one of the big places where Cloudline plays a role in that agricultural revolution. And to tie it in with more mainstream applicability, and lowering costs, we can think about the ways in which that grows these markets. From just the top-tier largest commercial farms, it makes it more accessible to more people. That is the kind of thing that makes both business sense and development sense.”



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



Improving yield, efficiency and profitability in agriculture comes down to the harvesting of technology. At its forefront are the agritech innovators bringing transformative change to the continent’s green economy. FORBES AFRICA profiles some of Africa’s biggest agripreneurs, inventors, and agribusiness leaders changing the way we think about farming, food security and climate resilience. They have cultivated a passion for smart agriculture and are leading the charge for social change not only for the sector but for the continent – and for humanity’s sustainable future.



<a href="https://shop.forbesafrica.com/shop/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read about all the innovators in our June/July issue by getting your digital copy </a>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/twitter-banner-agri-1024x341.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-58451" width="592" height="196" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/twitter-banner-agri-1024x341.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/twitter-banner-agri-300x100.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/twitter-banner-agri-768x256.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/twitter-banner-agri-1536x512.jpg 1536w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/twitter-banner-agri-2048x683.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 592px) 100vw, 592px" /></figure></div>

DSC01909

Africa’s Green Economy: ‘AIR IS AN UNDERUTILIZED RESOURCE’

<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-topline">TOPLINE</h2>



Tesla CEO Elon Musk reclaimed his throne as the richest man on earth Thursday, wrestling the title away from LVMH chairman Bernard Arnault as shares of Musk’s electric vehicle giant surged to their highest level this year.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">KEY FACTS</h2>



Tesla stock rallied 4.6% to $235 in Thursday trading, notching its 10th straight day of gains.



Musk’s firm is on pace for its highest closing share price since October 6, 2022.



After cratering to a two-year low in early January, Tesla shares are up nearly 115%, the third-largest return of any company in the S&amp;P 500, which is up 12% this year.



That rally has&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/kerryadolan/2023/06/07/elon-musk-becomes-worlds-richest-person-again/?sh=54a20bdf4ca4">propelled</a>&nbsp;Musk to once again become the richest person on the planet, according to&nbsp;Forbes’ calculations, pegging Musk’s net worth to be $220.2 billion, $4.2 billion bigger than Arnault’s by market close.



On Wednesday, Musk briefly&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/kerryadolan/2023/06/07/elon-musk-becomes-worlds-richest-person-again/?sh=54a20bdf4ca4">topped</a>&nbsp;Arnault for the first time since December, though he slid below Arnault again by market close.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-contra">CONTRA</h2>



Despite the sustained rally, shares of Tesla remain more than 40% below their November 2021 peak of $410, far underperforming the S&amp;P’s 6% loss during the period.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-background">KEY BACKGROUND</h2>



After surging during the pandemic, Tesla stock faltered dramatically last year as investors&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/alanohnsman/2022/01/02/tesla-says-it-delivered-record-936172-electric-vehicles-in-2021/?sh=5f3657494d8b">soured</a>&nbsp;on the company’s promises of near limitless growth and Musk’s affair with Twitter, the social media platform he controversially bought last year for $44 billion,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereksaul/2022/12/16/market-reacts-to-musk-antics-tesla-slides-to-2-year-low-as-twitter-embroiled-in-controversy/?sh=65f1706b15fd">pulling away</a>&nbsp;the billionaire’s time and financial resources from Tesla. Wall Street began to regain faith in Tesla after the firm&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereksaul/2023/01/25/tesla-posts-best-ever-quarterly-revenue-and-profit/?sh=7db6e03437d1">reported</a>&nbsp;record quarterly revenue and earnings in January, setting forth a rally that gradually gained steam as Musk&nbsp;<a href="https://www.barrons.com/articles/tesla-stock-price-elon-musk-twitter-ceo-81418315" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">found</a>&nbsp;a replacement as Twitter CEO and played nice with lawmakers in the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/elon-musk-meets-top-biden-admin-officials-discuss-electrification-goals-2023-01-27/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">U.S.</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/russellflannery/2023/05/31/musk-visit-highlights-business-role--in-us-china-ties---amcham-china-president/?sh=4f79f55018ca">China</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.politico.eu/article/elon-musk-emmanuel-macron-france-gets-red-carpet-treatment-amid-green-investment-push/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">beyond</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tangent">TANGENT</h2>



Tesla, which&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbeswealthteam/article/elon-musk/">accounts for</a>&nbsp;a majority of Musk’s fortune, may be booming, but Twitter is amidst a far gloomier stretch as Musk’s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/nicholasreimann/2023/04/17/musk-admits-twitter-purchase-wasnt-financially-smart-and-he-paid-twice-what-its-worth/?sh=5e12024b65c6">efforts</a>&nbsp;to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-11-04/elon-musk-says-twitter-can-be-most-valuable-company-in-the-world" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">transform</a>&nbsp;the company into the most valuable company on earth. The&nbsp;New York Times&nbsp;reported Monday Twitter’s advertising revenues were&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/katherinehamilton/2023/06/05/twitters-us-ad-sales-down-59-despite-musks-breaking-even-claims-report-says/?ss=topadvisorshook&amp;sh=709385e4572c">down 59%</a>&nbsp;this April compared to the year prior, while Fidelity said last week it values Twitter at about&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/antoniopequenoiv/2023/05/30/fidelity-values-twitter-at-roughly-15-billion-a-third-of-the-sticker-price-paid-by-musk/?sh=65649d1e13e7">$15 billion</a>, about a third of the sticker price Musk paid last year.



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<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-further-reading">FURTHER READING</h2>



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/kerryadolan/2023/06/07/elon-musk-becomes-worlds-richest-person-again/?sh=54a20bdf4ca4">Elon Musk Briefly Becomes World’s Richest Person Again</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereksaul/2023/06/02/tesla-stock-hits-4-month-high-as-elon-musks-net-worth-soars/?sh=1329c9c26b91">Tesla Stock Hits 4-Month High As Elon Musk&#8217;s Net Worth Soars</a> (Forbes)

Elon

Elon Musk Ends Day As World’s Richest Person For First Time In 6 Months

The most welcome news on May 8 was the announcement by the World Health Organization (WHO) that Covid-19 is no longer a global emergency. While the stand-down siren has been sounded, we must remain vigilant and take precautions as there are still thousands of people around the world contracting milder forms of the virus; in some cases still resulting in serious issues for people who have underlying health conditions. Some facts from the WHO website suggest that (as of early May 2023), over the last three years, approximately 756 million Covid cases were recorded with approximately 7 million people who lost their lives. 



Assuming the global population at about 8 billion, this translates to almost 9.5% of the population being infected and approximately 0.09% of the population having died. Comparing this with the Spanish Flu that started in February 1918 and lasted approximately two years, 500 million people or a third of the then global population were infected and about 50 million people died (3.3% of the global population). Though spread a century apart, these are events, particularly Covid-19, that have prepared us to deal with and overcome adversity together as a global community.



There were many lessons from this dark period in human history, the most significant of which was the importance of leadership at all levels. Some countries, with comparable economic, demographic, social and developmental status, managed better than their peers. A trait that was consistent with good leaders was effective, clear and periodic communications. There is no greater leadership failure in a crisis than delayed, ineffective and inconsistent communications. People understand problems as it’s a sad reality of the majority of human existence. Reinforcing problems and assigning blame only spreads uncertainty and creates panic which is synonymous with most politicians; what people want to know is that they are secure and that appropriate, quantifiable and urgent action is being taken to protect them.



What the last three years have further reinforced is that the world is not and will never be an equal place; the disparity between the developed and developing world will continue to grow, particularly if third world countries do not break the shackles of infinite bondage and over-reliance on the first world countries. No one has any interest in seeing Africa become self-sustainable except the people of Africa and the focus now should be on building sustainable ecosystems within geographic proximity. Never has the need for localization been more critical than now. 



Never has there been a need for more African unity ever before, than now. Guided by a polarized world, African nations cannot get submerged in futile politics and the self-serving defence and economic policies of Western countries. Even if they plunder their combined resources through a false sense of ego and self-righteousness, the developed world will continue to have sustainable reserves for several generations. The African agenda needs to be focused on consolidating its position by rapidly strengthening and transforming intra-African relationships.



As the threat to life from the pandemic has reduced, people in general have begun to get back to a near normal way of life. Travel and tourism have bounced back with a vengeance and despite high costs, people are making up for the time lost from 2020-22. The war in Ukraine has continued with no immediate solution that has compelled a change in geopolitical alignments. 



This event, in my opinion, is going to impact the future much more than even the pandemic or any other historic economic crisis. The trust deficit that exists between the permanent members of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is at its highest. With a deep divide in the UN, no decision or change can ever be made if there is a conflict with any of the permanent members of the UNSC. Changes to the structure of the UN are being demanded by member nations but even as membership is being expanded in key functions of the UN, the final authority and ‘veto’ still rests with the five countries that not only have contradictory interest but also have a deep fissure in ideologies between the United States, the United Kingdom and France on one side and China and Russia on the other.  



Sadly, this very aggressive demeanor resulting from the Ukraine conflict has witnessed the dramatic and wasteful increase in defence budgets of all countries around the world. Rather than spending money on green energy, ESG, housing, healthcare, education, and alleviating poverty, resources are senselessly being allocated to defence systems and extremely destructive munitions that will lead to the doom of our future. Paradoxically, the price of this perceived and notional security will be the very reason that people will continue to live in bondage and poverty. 



The beneficiaries are just a few countries that are the usual suspects in much that is going wrong with the world. My question therefore remains–‘where does accountability lie in the free world’ where, shrouded in extreme conflicts of interest, the ‘judge, jury and the executioner’ are the same? The smallest issues in governance in the developing world are highlighted and severely dealt with through harsh measures but there seems to be no apprehension about the larger issues that are crippling the world.



These inconsistencies have alarmed and prompted reactions from the oil-rich Arab world. The unilateral imposition of sanctions and freezing the assets of nations by Western countries is creating an insecurity for the future. For perhaps the first time and a marked change from historic conformity, there is an apparent move by Saudi Arabia to sidestep Western-imposed sanctions and build harmony within the Middle East. Syria has been invited back into the Arab League after 12 years and Saudi Arabia has also started playing a pivotal role in settling the various conflicts between Syria, Iran and Yemen. It would appear that with the start of consular services between the Arab world and Iran, and with Iraq largely neutralized, things could gradually return to normal within the Persian Gulf. These developments are happening as China and Russia get closer in a strategic collaboration and China, with its large balance sheet, is starting to play a more active role in the Middle East. These realignments are expected to provide more security, both financial and strategic, to nations in Asia.



European countries have supported various countries in Africa through aid packages for various reasons including a sense of responsibility for historic injustices like colonization and slavery. The source of the aid, by country, can be traced according to the language spoken by the European countries i.e. English, German, Dutch, French or Portuguese. This aid has come at a high cost as a lot of tangible benefits for donors were traded in lieu of the aid. A lot of exploitation has taken place in extractive industries to include oil, gold, diamonds, precious stones, minerals etc. and agricultural products. 



Very little value addition has happened on the continent and no effort has been made to create an enabling environment. Interestingly, the United States has so far had an erratic and inconsistent policy on Africa that has given the Chinese a headstart on establishing a strong foothold in Africa including but not limited to two permanent military bases that have been established in East Africa and West Africa. These developments, along with Russian and European interests, will polarize the countries in Africa and developing independent bilateral and multilateral intra-Africa partnerships may get adversely influenced. Remaining neutral and non-aligned is a key ingredient to self-determination, self-reliance and enhanced sovereignty; very few African countries have managed to keep this neutrality.



A factor that has remained congruous for financial security is the dominance of the US Dollar (USD) as a reserve currency. A lot of currencies have remained pegged to the USD. However, with the growing mistrust with US policies, the rise of the Chinese Yuan and a distinct move to create mechanisms for the bilateral settlement of payments between countries, it is likely that over the medium term the USD will lose its place as a reserve currency. The Afreximbank’s brainchild, the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) to facilitate inter-convertibility amongst African currencies has yet to be finalized as it still faces several structural impediments although the Afreximbank is providing a $3 billion settlement cover as an overdraft facility. The greatest saving for Africans will be the $5 billion paid in transfer fees to international banks.



Less reliance on the USD will give rise to alternative means of storing wealth. While gold is the most likely reserve medium in the short-term, crypto and digital assets will most likely dominate the future of convertibility, transferability and storage in a decentralized and secure manner. While cryptocurrencies are a relatively new area, their mass adaptation will be the most transformative milestone in the history of financial services. Although there is growing adaptation in Nigeria (eNaira), Kenya, South Africa and Zimbabwe, African countries are trailing in the crypto journey. Education and regulations along with cultural changes and building basic trust in this digital asset will play an indispensable role in the adaptation of this far-reaching and revolutionary change.



Despite the general negativity in current affairs and the economic volatility and correction caused by the failure of the Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, the general market trends have remained positive. Most countries in Europe and Asia have seen a turnaround post-pandemic. In some countries like the United Arab Emirates (UAE), in particular the emirate of Dubai, the first quarter reports, across all sectors, have been exemplary. 



The first indication was on the travel and tourism industry where things are getting back to 2019 levels. Despite the high costs of flights and hotels, the tourism sector has been thumping since October 2022. The property market is once again buoyant with prices having shot up and the construction frenzy is back to normal with developers working hard to keep up with demand. Coming from all over the world, enticed by excellent policies, safety, stability and long term visas, there is an exponential increase in the numbers of people making the UAE their residence.



African countries have started making their own recovery post the pandemic. Traveling through some of the countries, one gets the distinct feeling that governments are working to bring about the necessary change. The change in Kenya away from dynasty politics will be a great pilot to see whether the country thrives under a new leadership or will get sucked back into the maladies of power and abuse. There are smaller yet shining stars like Rwanda that continue to give hope and the smaller economies like Botswana that are showing tremendous promise. 



We have an arduous journey ahead but we must plod along irrespective of the odds and remember the closing stanza of Robert Frost’s famous poem: “The woods are lovely, dark and deep. But I have promises to keep. And miles to go before I sleep. And miles to go before I sleep.”

Tag: Coronavirus Pandemic

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