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From Madiba To The Pan-Africanist: Playing His Part For The Continent

Africa’s secret weapon in the global energy race – green hydrogen. The continent has the potential to flip the script, transitioning from a fossil fuel consumer to a green energy titan.



The global energy transition has a burgeoning champion – green hydrogen. Often overshadowed by solar and wind, this renewable resource is increasingly crucial for a sustainable future.



The current global hydrogen market is over $130 billion. The World Bank predicts an annual growth of over 9%. Although the surge is likely niche until 2030, the growing demand for renewable energy means that green hydrogen could accelerate rapidly thereafter. Regions with low-cost markets and abundant renewable resources, like Africa, become attractive production markets.



The principle is straightforward. Use renewable energy sources to split water into hydrogen and oxygen. The result? A fuel source that releases only water upon consumption. The applications are limitless, from powering cars to heating homes.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-is-green-hydrogen">What is green hydrogen?</h3>



At its core, green hydrogen is simple. It’s hydrogen, the universe’s most abundant element, produced environmentally friendly. But how do we make it, and why does it matter?



Green hydrogen is generated via electrolysis, which splits water into hydrogen and oxygen using electricity. But for the hydrogen to be ‘green’, the electricity must come from renewable sources, like wind or solar power. The only byproduct is oxygen, a harmless gas we breathe every day.



In contrast, most hydrogen produced today is ‘grey’ or ‘blue’. It’s derived from fossil fuels, mainly natural gas, and the process releases significant amounts of carbon dioxide, a harmful greenhouse gas. Green hydrogen represents a shift away from this environmentally damaging status quo. However, green hydrogen faces challenges. Currently, it accounts for less than 1% of all hydrogen production. The main obstacle is the production cost, which is not yet competitive compared to grey or blue hydrogen. Most green hydrogen is used in energy-intensive industries like steel and chemical manufacturing.



The path to economic viability for green hydrogen lies in a combination of technological advancements, increased global development investment, and legislative commitments. These factors are expected to make green hydrogen a serious market contender in the coming decades.



Africa is fast becoming a frontrunner in the green hydrogen race.



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“FROM SOLAR TO BIOGAS, FROM WIND TO BATTERY STORAGE, THESE INVESTMENTS ARE LEADING ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT GROWTH INDUSTRIES IN OUR COUNTRY.&#8221;
<cite>—South African President Cyril Ramaphosa</cite></blockquote>
</div></div>



Blessed with an abundance of sunlight and wind, Africa is ideally positioned to exploit green hydrogen’s potential. Groundbreaking projects are taking shape across the continent.



From the ambitious SA-H2 venture announced recently in South Africa to a green hydrogen initiative between Namibia and Botswana, these projects signal profound economic opportunities for job creation, growth, and sustainable development.



The Africa Green Hydrogen Alliance (AGHA), established in 2022, emphasizes Africa’s competitive edge due to low production costs. Masopha Moshoeshoe, Green Economy Specialist at the Investment and Infrastructure Office in the Presidency of South Africa, stated in a press release issued by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change on the launch of the alliance: “Green hydrogen has the potential to marry South Africa’s significant mineral endowment with its significant renewable revolutionize its energy sector. The SA-H2 fund, which aims to establish a hydrogen ecosystem in South Africa, is at the forefront of this exciting transition.



The $1-billion fund was announced in June as part of a joint effort between the Netherlands, Denmark and South Africa.



“From solar to biogas, from wind to battery storage, these investments are leading one of the most important growth industries in our country,” said South African President Cyril Ramaphosa at the announcement in Pretoria.



Blended finance is a key concept underpinning this project.



Andrew Johnstone, the CEO of Climate Fund Managers, explains to FORBES AFRICA that it refers to the strategic use of public



or philanthropic funds to mobilize private sector investment in sustainable development. In the context of SA-H2, this means bringing together private and public funding to make projects economically viable.



“They (the funds) act as a “spark” to ignite and mobilize belief, technology, and other forms of capital,” says Johnstone.



“The SA-H2 project should be seen as part of a larger effort across the region to leverage blended finance for sustainable energy development.”



The project is financed by a combination of different forms of capital, each with a different return requirement. This includes donor capital, commercial capital, and guarantees. By bringing these diverse sources of funding together, the project achieves a lower average cost of capital.



Johnstone explains, “Blended finance means in this context&#8230; to bring in capital in defined proportions in pursuit of a low average cost of capital.” Notably, this blended finance model also allows



for differential risk sharing. If a project underperforms, certain investors may not receive a return, thus sharing the risk in a structured and agreed-upon manner.



Once a project is up and running, it has an obligation to repay its funders, whether those are lenders through equity or energy loans, or others through dividends. Johnstone describes this repayment as a “waterfall”, with those who took the least risk and accepted a lower return being repaid first.



It’s important to highlight the transparency and regulation of these funds. They operate similarly to companies, are regulated by appropriate bodies, and are overseen by advisory boards and investment committees populated by investors or independent representatives. This governance structure ensures a high level of oversight and accountability.



Another key aspect of the SA-H2 project is the co-existence of different funds. The development side of the project is planned with public contracts and equity funds in mind. This co-existence helps redefine what “bankable” means in the context of these projects, potentially accelerating the implementation process.



These blended finance projects aim to create scalable, replicable, and improvable markets, serving as a catalyst for broader change in the energy sector.



South Africa’s SA-H2 initiative is not alone in its ambition.



Namibia is also making significant strides in the green hydrogen sector.



Noteworthy is a project in the Tsau Khaeb National Park, near Lüderitz, with the Namibian government proactively confirming a 24% equity stake in this $10 billion project, almost equivalent to the country’s gross domestic product.



This initiative, led by Hyphen Hydrogen Energy, is gaining momentum with several key partners signing a Memorandum of Understanding to collaborate on the necessary infrastructure for Namibia’s green hydrogen production ambitions.



“Namibia is perfectly positioned to produce low-cost green hydrogen and ammonia for domestic and international markets,” said Frans Kalenga, Technical Advisor to the Minister of Mines and Energy of Namibia on Namibia’s joining of the AGHA, in a press statement. “[It] provides a platform for us to collaborate with neighboring countries. AGHA’s report reaffirms the potential, and provides important recommendations on how we can work together to unlock the extraordinary potential.”



This potential is estimated to generate 15,000 jobs during the direct construction of the project, and a further 3,000 created permanently when the project is fully underway.



Namibia’s Vice President Nangolo Mbumba acknowledged the global transition toward green hydrogen, as well as the country’s abundant natural resources and landscape assisting in the suitability of its development as an industry.



“We are now approaching new fields of economy. Everybody is talking about green hydrogen. Three-four years ago, even the pronunciation was not known,” he said, speaking during the Forbes Under 30 Summit Africa in Botswana in April. “People need energy, and plenty of it,” he continued, acknowledging the international collaboration, local training and investment in education to develop the skills needed for green hydrogen initiatives.



“If we succeed, we will produce enough energy for the whole region of southern Africa,” added Mbumba.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Policy and profitability</h3>



A confluence of factors is propelling the growth of green hydrogen in Africa. The continent’s abundant natural resources, particularly sunlight and wind, provide an ideal setting for green hydrogen production. Escalating global demand for clean energy is creating opportunities for African nations to emerge as green hydrogen exporters. Moreover, policymakers are increasingly recognizing green hydrogen’s potential in achieving climate goals and fostering sustainable development.



The advent of green hydrogen presents a substantial opportunity for job creation across the African continent.



With Africa positioned as a potential global exporter of green hydrogen, the sector could become a significant contributor to the continent’s GDP. Moreover, the revenues generated from green hydrogen exports could be reinvested into local communities, improving infrastructure, education, and healthcare.



An analysis by McKinsey on behalf of AGHA identified a possible increase in GDP for member countries of between $66 billion and $126 billion by 2050, as well as up to 4.2 million new jobs as a result of green hydrogen investments.



The potential offers a pathway for nations to build a more resilient future, mitigating economic risks tied to unpredictable oil and gas prices. By developing a green hydrogen industry, nations could foster local technological innovation and enhance their manufacturing capabilities.



This prospect could shift Africa’s role in the global energy landscape, transitioning from a net importer of fossil fuels to a significant exporter of clean energy.



However, the promise of green hydrogen is not solely economic. It also offers a sustainable solution that addresses the pressing issues of economic development and climate change simultaneously.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Green Hydrogen is a tool for survival</h3>



As the world stands on the brink of a pivotal moment in its fight against climate change, green hydrogen emerges as a powerful ally. As a clean, carbon-free source of energy, green hydrogen can replace fossil fuels in various sectors, leading to a dramatic reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.



In Africa, where climate change threatens both people and ecosystems, investing in green hydrogen will not only enable nations to contribute to global emission reductions but also helps them build resilience against climate change impacts at home.



Even though Africa is responsible for only a fraction of global carbon emissions, the continent is actively taking steps to reduce its carbon footprint.



Green hydrogen can play a significant role in these efforts, replacing carbon-intensive fuels across the economy and leading to substantial emission reductions.



Moreover, exporting green hydrogen to other continents could further reduce global carbon emissions, enhancing Africa’s contribution to the global fight against climate change.



Renewable energy has been identified by many African countries as a key element of their climate change mitigation strategies. Incorporating green hydrogen into these strategies could hasten their progress towards achieving climate goals.



By offering a means to store and transport renewable energy, green hydrogen could solve one of the significant challenges of the energy transition: the intermittency of wind and solar power. This could facilitate a more extensive and efficient use of renewable energy, driving further emission reductions.



At the heart of the global energy transition, green hydrogen stands out as a beacon of hope. This renewable resource, making waves in the energy sector worldwide, has found a promising home in Africa. The continent, blessed with abundant wind and sunlight, is quickly gaining recognition as a potential global leader in green hydrogen production.



Pioneering projects across the continent signify Africa’s commitment to embracing green hydrogen.



Yet, the narrative of green hydrogen extends beyond economics. It is a tale of resilience and innovation in the face of climate change. Looking ahead, it’s clear that green hydrogen could reshape Africa’s energy landscape, transforming the continent from a net importer of fossil fuels to a major exporter of clean energy. Such a transformation could not only stimulate economic growth but also enhance Africa’s influence in global energy and climate policy discussions.



For Africa, the opportunity is now. It’s an opportunity that calls for further research, investment, and policy support, for the sake of the continent and the world.

Aerial view of hydrogen tank terminal at sea

The Rise Of Green Hydrogen In Africa

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



New research found that organs like the heart, liver and kidneys may still be affected by Covid well after the lungs have healed, affirming previous research that long Covid can affect multiple organs.



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



A new&nbsp;<a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/scitranslmed.abq1533" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">study</a>&nbsp;published in&nbsp;Science Translational Medicine&nbsp;on Wednesday reviewed how Covid can negatively affect organs other than the lungs, resulting in long Covid.



Long Covid (also called post-Covid) is lingering symptoms—like loss of smell or taste, chest pain, shortness of breath or brain fog—following recovery from a Covid infection that can last for weeks or even years,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/long-term-effects/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">according</a>&nbsp;to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.



The cause of the issue stems from when the virus’ proteins bind to the genes of the mitochondria, the cells’ energy producer, which can negatively impact the body’s organs, leading to dysfunction.



The study also found that even if mitochondrial gene expression recovered in the lungs, the first organ&nbsp;<a href="https://www.lung.org/lung-health-diseases/lung-disease-lookup/covid-19/about-covid-19" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">affected</a>&nbsp;by Covid infection, it can still negatively impact other organs, including the heart, liver and kidneys.



Long Covid most commonly affects people who suffered from severe Covid symptoms, people with underlying conditions, the unvaccinated and those who had multisystem inflammatory syndrome—a rare&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cdc.gov/mis/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">condition</a>&nbsp;associated with Covid in which body parts like the kidneys and brain become inflamed—during or after Covid, the National Library of Medicine&nbsp;<a href="https://medlineplus.gov/postcovidconditionslongcovid.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">reports</a>.



A study published in February by the American College of Cardiology&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/ariannajohnson/2023/02/23/long-covid-linked-to-heart-problems-here-are-the-symptoms--and-whos-at-risk/?sh=43b1469c6890">found</a>&nbsp;having long Covid doubled a person’s risk of developing cardiovascular health issues.



A separate&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9955527/#:~:text=The%20results%20of%20these%20investigations,in%20long%2DCOVID%2D19." target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">study</a>&nbsp;published in the journal of&nbsp;International Urology and Nephrology&nbsp;found that long Covid may play a part in the development of chronic kidney disease and acute kidney injury.



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



“This study provides us with strong evidence that we need to stop looking at Covid-19 as strictly an upper respiratory disease and start viewing it as a systemic disorder that impacts multiple organs,” Douglas C. Wallace, the study’s coauthor, said in a statement. “The continued dysfunction we observed in organs other than the lungs suggests that mitochondrial dysfunction could be causing long-term damage to the internal organs of these patients.”



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



65 million. That’s how many people worldwide are estimated to suffer from long Covid, according to a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41579-022-00846-2" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">study</a>&nbsp;published in&nbsp;Nature&nbsp;in February.



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



A recent&nbsp;<a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/eclinm/article/PIIS2589-5370(22)00354-6/fulltext" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">report</a>&nbsp;published in the&nbsp;Lancet&nbsp;found that Covid vaccines could potentially reduce the risk of developing long Covid, with data suggesting two doses is more effective at protection than one.&nbsp;<a href="https://medlineplus.gov/postcovidconditionslongcovid.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">According</a>&nbsp;to MedlinePlus, a site run by the National Institutes of Health’s National Library of Medicine, post-Covid symptoms may present in one of three ways: Patients may develop new health issues months after a Covid infection; they seem to recover from Covid, but their symptoms come back; or they have symptoms that can linger for a span of days to years. Long Covid&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/long-term-effects/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">symptoms</a>&nbsp;can include heart palpitations, chest pain, diarrhea, stomach pain, coughing, shortness of breath or neurologic symptoms—like brain fog, headaches or sleep problems. There is not a certain test for long Covid. To diagnose it, a physician will ask about a patient&#8217;s medical history, conduct a physical exam and they may order blood work and imaging tests.



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



New&nbsp;<a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.06.29.23292056v1" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">research</a>&nbsp;published in&nbsp;medRxiv&nbsp;suggests that genetics may play a role in who develops long Covid. The researchers looked at data from 24 different studies with almost 6,500 participants and found that patients with long Covid were more likely to share DNA around a gene called FOXP4, which is a gene that may be involved in immune responses in the air sacs of the lungs. However, just because a patient has the FOXP4 gene doesn’t guarantee they will develop long Covid. The gene has previously been&nbsp;<a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25994569/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">found</a>&nbsp;to play a role in tumor growth in lung cancer.



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



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/ariannajohnson/2023/02/23/long-covid-linked-to-heart-problems-here-are-the-symptoms--and-whos-at-risk/?sh=43b1469c6890">Long Covid Linked To Heart Problems: Here Are The Symptoms – And Who’s At Risk</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/ariannajohnson/2023/06/15/more-people-got-diabetes-during-the-covid-pandemic-heres-why/?sh=65ea758f31d3">More People Got Diabetes During The Covid Pandemic—Here’s Why</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/ariannajohnson/2023/05/10/covids-no-longer-a-public-health-emergency-heres-how-that-may-affect-you/?sh=33db5d4d20e3">Covid’s No Longer A Public Health Emergency: Here’s How That May Affect You</a> (Forbes)

TUNISIA-HEALTH-VIRUS-TOURISM-HOSPITAL

Long Covid May Affect Organs Like The Heart And Kidneys After Lungs Recover, New Research Says

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



Moderna and BioNTech shares both cratered to their lowest price in years Monday as the companies behind the most widely-circulated mRNA Covid-19 vaccines grapple with investor disappointment with crashing revenues.



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



BioNTech and Moderna’s stocks fell 8% and 6%, respectively, a decline spurred by BioNTech’s earnings report revealing the German firm’s sales fell 95% year-over-year last quarter.



Moderna’s fresh decline came after it reported a 93% annual decline in quarterly revenues in its own earnings release Thursday.



Moderna’s $101.20 close Monday was its lowest since November 2020, while BioNTech’s $98.50 close was its lowest since March 2021.



BioNTech, which developed a Covid vaccine with Pfizer, said Monday it expects to generate $5.5 billion in Covid vaccine sales this year, a 70% decline from 2022, while Moderna’s $6 billion to $8 billion in forecasted Covid jab sales is similarly about two-thirds below its $18 billion of revenue in the unit last year.



The stock crashes moved against broader market gains, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average’s 408-point, or 1.2%, rally its strongest since June 2.



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



Shares of Moderna are down 78% from their September 2021 high of $456, making the Massachusetts-based pharmaceutical company the worst-performing stock listed on the S&amp;P 500 during the period, according to FactSet data. BioNTech, which isn’t listed on the S&amp;P, is also down 78% from its 2021 peak share price. Moderna and Pfizer are among the worst-performing stocks listed on the S&amp;P this year as the rival firms both grappled with&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereksaul/2023/01/31/pfizer-expects-covid-vaccine-and-pill-revenues-will-fall-60-in-2023/?sh=182d46027bee">declining demand</a>&nbsp;for Covid prevention and treatment.



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



About $340 billion. That’s how much market capitalization BioNTech (down $85 billion) and Moderna (down $157 billion) have lost over the last two years.



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



Until BioNTech gets “the COVID guidance monkey off its back, this will remain purgatory for most investors,” Jefferies analysts led by Akash Tewari wrote in a Monday note to clients.



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



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereksaul/2023/07/03/worst-stocks-of-2023s-first-half-battered-banks-and-vaccine-makers/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">MORE FROM FORBESWorst Stocks Of 2023&#8217;s First Half: Battered Banks And Vaccine MakersBy Derek Saul</a>

In this photo illustration the medical syringe is seen with

Covid Vaccine Makers’ Stocks Crash To Multiyear Lows Monday As Sales Keep Sliding

The recent coup in Niger has escalated tensions in West Africa as the junta defies ECOWAS&#8217;s deadline for reinstating President Mohamed Bazoum.



Niger has closed its airspace following the expiration of a deadline imposed by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) for the reinstatement of elected President Mohamed Bazoum. This comes after Bazoum was ousted in a coup by a military junta, marking a significant crisis in West Africa&#8217;s diplomatic landscape.



ECOWAS, a regional political and economic union of fifteen West African countries, has been pushing for democratic stability in the region, and military action to reinstate the president is now a possibility. The situation has attracted international attention, with the coup igniting tensions in an already fragile part of the continent.



The coup, which was declared last month by the head of the Presidential Guard, General Abdourahamane Tchiani, blamed a lack of economic growth and continuing insecurity for the ousting of Bazoum. However, the country has long seen divisions between the democratic political sphere and the military, with the last coup attempt being mere days before Bazoum’s inauguration in 2021.



Niger under Bazoum has served as a critical strongpoint for the European Union in an attempt to block illegal migration from Africa, and an important ally from which France has based its military operations on the continent after relations with Malian authorities soured last year. The United States also considers Niger an ally, and has supported the country with foreign aid, some of which has been paused in light of the coup.



African heads of state as well as European and American bodies have condemned the coup, and ECOWAS’ stated deadline for Bazoum’s reinstatement reflected the body’s hard stance against his deposition.



However, the closure of Nigerien airspace yesterday indicates that the junta will not comply with demands, increasing tensions, as it remains to be seen whether this non-compliance will result in a military invention by ECOWAS in the already unstable region.

Demonstration of coup supporters in Niger

Niger Airspace Closure Signals Deepening Crisis As ECOWAS Deadline Passes

Among the key topics to be addressed at the BRICS Summit in August are the expansion of the bloc, a common currency within it, and ensuring food and energy security.



After three years of virtual summits, South Africa is hosting in person the 15th BRICS Summit at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg from August 22 to 24.



An acronym for the world economies of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and since 2010, South Africa, BRICS, according to Trevor Bester, CEO of BRICS Global Television Network (expected to launch on August 20), “is a continuation of a vision established in 2010 as a platform to trade with a common currency, decreasing reliance on the dollar as the global reserve currency. The fastest-growing economies joined together to become the dominant global economies by 2050”.



The summit comes at a vital time in the alliance’s history as more than 20 countries have expressed interest in joining. None is more certain than Saudi Arabia, largely because of its interest in funding the BRICS Bank.



This will have massive positive implications for the emerging economies in the bloc and their development.



Iran is also likely to be accepted. It has embraced the global south and expressed its desire to eliminate Western dominance, one of the goals of BRICS, and will not hesitate to embrace and assist in de-dollarization efforts.



The United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Argentina and Egypt all stand a chance of also being accepted and bring with them varying benefits.



Among the key topics to be addressed at the summit are the expansion of BRICS, a common currency within the bloc and ensuring food and energy security.



“BRICS already accounts for 31.5% of global GDP and by 2030 will account for 50%. China is the fastest-growing economy at the moment but India is likely to take over,” says Bester.



“BRICS countries’ combined population is at 3.24 billion, which represents almost half the world’s population and have a combined GDP of $26.03 trillion. This, combined with the gradual decrease of unemployment in the BRICS countries from 4.8% in 2022 to 4.7% in 2023, illustrates the progressive nature of the concerned economies.”



The New Development Bank, formerly referred to as the BRICS Development Bank, established in 2014, offers member countries a platform to trade with each other in either local currency or a new currency backed by gold.



“The benefits of this bank, amongst others, is to finance infrastructure and sustainable development projects in emerging markets and countries,” says Redge Nkosi, Executive Director and Head of Research at Firstsource Money and Monetary Reform, to FORBES AFRICA.



“BRICS members will be able to achieve a level of self-sufficiency in international trade.”



The move could make it easier for economies to take on the US dollar and challenge its global reserve status.



In the last 18 months, BRICS nations have increased their gold buying expenditure and are stockpiling the precious metal.



The dollar is now a risky asset as it comes with the dangers of debt. If the debt ceiling crisis worsens, it could cause a domino effect of financial problems in developing countries. Therefore, a handful of countries in Asia,



Africa, Latin America, and Europe are looking to stay away from the dollar for global settlements.



For Africa, this is an opportunity. In recent years, BRICS has expanded its involvement on the continent. BRICS members are now Africa’s largest trading partners and significant investors, especially in the manufacturing and service sectors.



Pursued properly, BRICS participation can position South Africa and other African countries as being among the world’s fastest-growing economies.



Pravin Maharaj, Chairman of Trade BRICS, believes that by South Africa hosting the summit, “the time for Africa has arrived, it has moved from vision to reality”.



“The summit will focus on bringing about less poverty, less inequality and more development. Youth will have more to look forward to as education is also a key focus area at the summit,” he says to FORBES AFRICA.

BRICS summit

‘Less Inequality And More Development’: What To Expect At The BRICS Summit

A week before the 2023 French Open, South African tennis ace and paralympian Kgothatso Montjane said on radio that she wanted to top her achievements with a Grand Slam win “to validate everything”.



“And then I went out to win the Grand Slam, it was just unbelievable!” she says now, back in South Africa at the end of June as a Roland Garros women&#8217;s wheelchair doubles champion with Yui Kamiji from Japan as the two clinched an impressive 6-2, 6-3 victory over Diede de Groot and Maria Moreno.



Speaking to FORBES AFRICA soon after her win, she reminisces that this was not the career she had originally envisioned for herself.



“I picked up a racket at the age of 19 for the first time,” says the 37-year-old. “At school, I was playing quite a lot of sport. So I think that&#8217;s the reason why [with] tennis, they came directly to me. They were like ‘you’ve got to go try this’. So I was somehow forced into it.”



The Limpopo-born tennis player remembers going to university not sure about wanting to continue the sport.



“At school, I felt like I was good at table tennis. So for me, that&#8217;s what I was looking forward to playing when I got to university, but it wasn&#8217;t there. Even wheelchair basketball, I think I would have settled for, but tennis, it was foreign to me. I have never seen it anywhere. And I just never understood this whole thing of them wanting me to play the sport.”



A few years later, she was approached to play professionally, which came with the opportunity to travel the world. At first, it seemed an attractive proposition but it was not without its challenges, especially when she had to start securing her own sponsorships.



“It was glamorous at the beginning, because there was someone taking care of everything,” Montjane explains. “We didn&#8217;t have to worry, we just had to pack our bags and go to the airport. I didn&#8217;t know the financial implications that were involved, the admin and the entering of tournaments.”



This meant that she had to learn to be business-savvy. So the young sportswoman set off to learn to draft proposals and approach sponsors across the board.



All of this is what led to Montjane’s illustrious career including being named ‘South Africa&#8217;s disabled sportswoman of the year’ three times (2005, 2011 and 2015), holding 29 singles titles and winning wheelchair tennis tournaments such as the Belgian Open and Swiss Open.



Montjane also made history as the first South African woman to win at Roland Garros since Tanya Harford’s and Rosalyn Fairbank&#8217;s victory in 1981.



“I still can&#8217;t believe it happened. When someone says ‘Grand Slam champion’, I am like ‘Nah, you are not talking to me’. It&#8217;s still to sink in,” she says. “I just want people to know that disability doesn&#8217;t mean inability. It&#8217;s just a condition that limits you in a certain way… At the end of the day, we people with disabilities – we are human, we are capable, we are talented.”

IMG-2912

‘Disability Does Not Mean Inability’: South Africa’s Wheelchair Tennis Champ

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



The U.S. women’s national team game against the Netherlands was last week’s most-watched show on television as it broke records for the highest-ever English language viewership of a group stage match in women’s FIFA World Cup history.



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



The match, which saw the two teams draw 1-1, was watched by 6.4 million people last Wednesday, Nielsen data shows, and is the second U.S. game from this year’s World Cup to score record viewership.



The Netherlands match was the most-watched ever in a group stage and the July 21 game, a 3-1 win over Vietnam, was watched by 5.3 million people, making it the third most-viewed group stage game in Women&#8217;s World Cup history behind the 2019 U.S. game against Chile in second place.



The game against the Netherlands was the most-watched broadcast show last week by almost 1 million viewers—CBS&#8217;s&nbsp;60 Minutes&nbsp;saw 5.6 million viewers in second place, followed by Tuesday&#8217;s episode of&nbsp;America&#8217;s Got Talent&nbsp;with 5.8 million watchers and&nbsp;Celebrity Family Feud, which drew 3.6 million.



Viewership numbers for the final group-stage match for the U.S., a game played against Portugal Monday, have not been released but likely won’t hold up to the others because of timing—the Portugal game aired at 3 a.m. ET as opposed to 11 p.m. and 9 p.m. for the Vietnamese and Netherlands matchups, respectively.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-to-watch-for">WHAT TO WATCH FOR</h2>



The next game. The 0-0 tie against Portugal allowed the U.S. team to finish second in Group E and narrowly advance. The team will play its first World Cup knockout stage game at 5 a.m. Sunday against Sweden. The World Cup is now down to its last 16 teams.



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



The U.S. team has won the FIFA Women&#8217;s World Cup four times—more than any other country. The Americans are the current champions after winning the 2019 tournament in France and they also won the title in 2015 in a game that became the second most-watched soccer game in American history with 26.9 million viewers,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.inquirer.com/philly/blogs/thegoalkeeper/most-watched-soccer-games-united-states-world-cup-copa-america.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">according to</a>&nbsp;the&nbsp;Philadelphia Inquirer.&nbsp;No country has ever won three consecutive men&#8217;s or women&#8217;s World Cups and the feat is rare at the professional level in any sport. The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/2022/06/15/major-sports-teams-three-peat-last-50-years/7635754001/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">last American team</a>&nbsp;to do it was the Los Angeles Lakers, which won the NBA Championships in 2000, 2001 and 2002. Other teams include the Chicago Bulls from 1996 to 1998, New York Yankees from 1998 to 2000 and the WNBA&#8217;s Houston Comets, which won four championships from 1997 to 2000.



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



Fox News continued its domination in the cable sphere last week, Nielsen data shows, with nine of the 10 most-watched cable shows. All five episodes of the round-table talk show&nbsp;The Five&nbsp;were in the top 10, with Wednesday&#8217;s airing the most watched at 3.1 million viewers. MSNBC&#8217;s&nbsp;Rachel Maddow Show&nbsp;was the only non-Fox show to break in—2.5 million people watched the Monday episode, ranking it ninth place. Fox News saw a 26% jump in ratings&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/maryroeloffs/2023/07/26/fox-news-ratings-surge-26-amid-post-tucker-carlson-shakeup-and-trump-interview/?sh=4e84af1d180e">two weeks ago</a>&nbsp;when it premiered its reshuffled lineup with Jesse Watters in the 8 p.m. spot once held by Tucker Carlson, and last week’s numbers show viewership has climbed even higher. Fox News averaged 1.84 million primetime viewers for the week of July 24, up from 1.81 million in the previous week.



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



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/brianbushard/2023/07/27/womens-world-cup-hits-record-tv-viewership-for-group-stage/?sh=6a248029358e">Women’s World Cup Hits Record TV Viewership For Group Stage</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/maryroeloffs/2023/07/26/fox-news-ratings-surge-26-amid-post-tucker-carlson-shakeup-and-trump-interview/?sh=1033bef0180e">Fox News Ratings Surge 26% Amid Post-Tucker Carlson Shakeup—And Trump Interview</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/brettknight/2023/07/21/womens-world-cup-highest-paid-alex-morgan-megan-rapinoe/?sh=ceabde45acdd">The Highest-Paid Players At The 2023 Women’s World Cup</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/kellyphillipserb/2023/07/21/money-equity-and-taxes-make-news-early-at-the-2023-womens-world-cup/?sh=54fbd7196386">Money, Equity And Taxes Make News Early At The 2023 Women’s World Cup&nbsp;</a>(Forbes)



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/manasipathak-1/2023/07/18/netflix-will-follow-united-states-at-womens-world-cup/?sh=c4b66c12524c">Netflix Will Follow United States At Women’s World Cup</a> (Forbes)

South Africa v Italy: Group G – FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023

The Women’s World Cup Was TV’s Most-Watched Show Amid Record-Breaking Viewership

“It’s not just a knowledge-sharing initiative,” Business Unity South Africa (BUSA) CEO, Cas Coovadia, tells FORBES AFRICA of its collaboration with government. This is following a pledge by CEOs from over 115 of the country’s leading corporations to contribute to addressing challenges around energy, logistics, crime and corruption.



With CEOs from over 115 of South Africa’s leading companies signing a pledge recently, stating their firm belief in the potential of the country and their aim to achieve sustainable, inclusive economic growth, there is new hope from Big Business and a message – that it’s keen to work with government and build the country.



The companies span a range of sectors and include the likes of Anglo American, Sasol, SAB, RCL Foods, Coca-Cola, Unilever, Arcelor Mittal, PPC, Mondi, Hollard, Allan Gray, Deloitte, KPMG, Naspers, EOH, Growthpoint, Fidelity, and more.



The reported market cap of the 115+ entities exceed R11 trillion ($598 billion) and they together employ more than 1.2 million people.



“Through strategic partnerships and focused interventions, we have the power to make a significant and positive impact on our nation, creating hope for all South Africans. We are resolutely committed to being a force for good,” the pledge concludes.



Business Unity South Africa (BUSA) has said, in a statement on this pledge, that through the Business for South Africa (B4SA) structure, it is collaborating with government to implement key interventions in energy, logistics and transport, and crime and corruption.



BUSA CEO Cas Coovadia says following their dialogue with President Cyril Ramaphosa, which resumed earlier this year, they are collectively working on a structure to tackle these issues.



“We don’t want to reinvent the wheel in trying to determine what the problems are. We’re actually giving three pages on each of these – so these are the interventions you need to make and if you make those interventions, this will be the impact on investment, growth and jobs.



“We briefed a broad range of CEOs on this and what we suggested is that if they can sign a pledge along the lines of the one you’ve seen, which basically backs up this work we are doing.”



He adds that this move reinforces the message that business is keen on working with government.



“We will put in the resources and capacity to make all of this happen, provided we have a structured relationship with government, with clear outcomes, with clear timeframes and their people are sitting with us in a real partnership – that’s what the pledge is all about.”



President Ramaphosa had a follow-up meeting with business leaders on Tuesday, continuing their collaborative efforts.



South Africa’s energy challenges have been well-documented. According to an International Monetary Fund (IMF) country focus, published in June, the economy grew by 0.4% between January and March this year, with power cuts, volatile commodity prices and a challenging external environment the main contributions to the weak growth.



The fund adds that it projects that, by year-end, real GDP growth will fall sharply from last year.



“The country has faced rolling blackouts after years of mismanagement of the state-owned utility, Eskom, prompting the authorities to ease the registration process and licensing requirements for energy production to encourage private sector investment,” cites the report.



“Additional far-reaching reforms are needed to achieve job-rich, inclusive, and greener growth. These include improving the country’s energy and logistical constraints, reducing barriers to private sector investment, addressing structural rigidities in the labor market, and tackling crime and corruption.”



Encouragingly, Coovadia says that energy is actually where government and business have made the most progress.



“[The President] put together a National Energy Crisis Committee (NECOM) in his office. He then realized he doesn’t have the expertise to implement the plan and approached us. We discussed this – we were happy with the plan on the basis that there were some good people at NECOM under very difficult circumstances, trying to actively get the plan implemented,” he says.



This is where the Resource Mobilization Fund (RMF) came in. The Presidency reported in March that the fund had raised R100 million ($5.4 million) from businesses and philanthropies.



“We put together a light touch, not for profit, called the Resource Mobilization Fund to do two things – raise the money and procure the expertise. We raised half the money from our global foundation, the rest from South African business. We put together a procurement team made up of procurement people from five corporates. On the basis of the expertise NECOM needed, we went through an open RFP (request for proposal) process.



“As of three weeks ago, expertise have been donated to NECOM and they started working with NECOM to implement the plan as a matter of urgency. We’ve put engineers into four power stations to increase the energy factor in those power stations so we’re working well with them on energy. There’s good progress.”



While South Africa’s challenges in energy do clearly impact the economy, Coovadia says progress in logistics is equally, if not more, crucial.



“Logistics is probably a bigger problem than energy in the sense that the opportunity costs on our ports degrading, our rail system degrading, as a result of goods being transferred by road – our road system degrading – the cost to business, of that, are severe,” he says.



“We believe if we get that right, we will have a significant impact on instilling confidence in the country, on investors coming in and on actually reducing the cost of doing business, and the cost of production and businesses operating efficiently. To us, that’s a big issue.”



Coovadia reiterates that the massive problem with crime and corruption is that it has a direct impact on business, the confidence of investors and in the lives of the country’s people. But the focus on these three areas does not mean they are the only areas of concern.



“Let’s get to a stage where we can show results on these and then we can look at other stuff.”



He also mentions the importance of impacting more than just the country’s major companies.



“One of the pieces of work we’ve done in addition to this is looking at what are the factors that can lead to employment, looking at the informal sector, the SME sector and so on. As part of this, we would want to see one, from a regulatory point of view, what needs to be done, but secondly, how does bigger business relate to SMEs and the informal sector,” says Coovadia.



“Firstly, in the SME sector, to try and get SMEs in the value chains, to support SMEs, to look at why so many SMEs are failing and what we can do about that. From an informal trading point of view – to see what light touch regulation [and] management that can actually get those informal traders into more impactful situations, and how points and supermarkets in townships can work with informal traders. As soon as we’re ready to release that, we will do so.”



Coovadia concludes that the business sector is going into this collaboration with their eyes open and will assess and review their stance in the next four or five months if there’s no traction or progress being made.

Sandton nightly cityscape large panoramic view

New Hope From Big Business In South Africa And A Message – That It’s Keen To Build The Country

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



Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said during an investor call Tuesday the Food and Drug Administration could authorize the company’s new Covid-19 booster shot by the end of the month—moving closer to a system of regular flu-like vaccinations that keep up with the coronavirus as it evolves and as people’s immunity wanes.



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



In June, Pfizer, along with its German partner BioNTech,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pfizer.com/news/announcements/pfizer-and-biontech-submit-applications-us-fda-omicron-xbb15-adapted-monovalent" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">asked the FDA</a>&nbsp;to approve a new version of its Covid-19 vaccine booster designed to protect against XBB.1.5, a coronavirus subvariant that emerged in late 2022.



XBB.1.5 is no longer the dominant strain, having been usurped by XBB.1.6, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, but experts say the two are similar enough that a new booster should protect against both (XBB.1.5 represented 12.3% of all new cases in late July while XBB.1.6 represented 14.8%, according to&nbsp;<a href="https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#variant-summary" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CDC data</a>).



Bourla said he and his colleagues expect “a new Covid wave to start in the U.S. this fall” and want the new version of the vaccine to be available prior to that.



However, with only 17% of the U.S. population having received a fall 2022 booster shot that was updated for the Omicron variant, according to&nbsp;<a href="https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#vaccinations_vacc-people-booster-percent-pop5" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">the CDC</a>, it’s unclear how many Americans will choose to adopt the latest booster.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-we-don-t-know">WHAT WE DON’T KNOW</h2>



The CDC will ultimately recommend who should receive the updated boosters, but that announcement likely won’t come until after the FDA authorizes them. The most recent boosters released in fall 2022 were eventually recommended by the CDC for everyone above the age of six.



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



The first Covid-19 vaccine booster shots, authorized by the FDA in fall 2021, were meant to help replenish waning immunity to the virus. However, after the coronavirus’ Omicron variant launched a new vicious wave of the pandemic last year, drugmakers released a modified “bivalent” booster shot in fall 2022 that was designed to protect against both the original virus strain as well as Omicron, which was more resistant to the original vaccines. This new booster is attempting to do what that bivalent booster did with Omicron, but with an update for the XBB strains. The news comes as 8,035 people were hospitalized for Covid-19 in the week ended July 22, according to the most recent&nbsp;<a href="https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#maps_new-admissions-rate-county" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CDC data</a>&nbsp;available. That’s a 12.1% increase over the week before, but a far cry from the peak in January 2022, when there were around 150,000 hospitalizations a week.



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



This new booster falls in line with doctors’ long held predictions that the Covid-19 vaccines would likely need to become similar to the influenza vaccine, where a new iteration is released annually to update the formulation to new strains of the virus. Anthony Fauci, former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and the leader of the federal government’s response to the pandemic, said at a White House briefing in September 2022: “We likely are moving towards a path with a vaccination cadence similar to that of the annual influenza vaccine, with annual updated Covid-19 shots matched to the currently circulating strains for most of the population.”



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



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/willskipworth/2023/07/31/nih-opens-clinical-trials-for-long-covid-treatment/?sh=27c710007331">NIH Opens Clinical Trials For Long Covid Treatment</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthart/2023/06/01/fda-approves-pfizers-rsv-vaccine-for-older-adults-it-could-be-available-this-fall/?sh=742adb6435ca">FDA Approves Pfizer’s RSV Vaccine For Older Adults—It Could Be Available This Fall</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthart/2023/05/18/rsv-vaccine-fda-advisors-recommend-pfizer-shot-to-protect-infants-from-infection-heres-what-to-know/?sh=55dc2bf33859">RSV Vaccine: FDA Advisors Recommend Pfizer Shot To Protect Infants From Infection—Here’s What To Know</a> (Forbes)

Coronavirus Vaccination In Gaza, Palestine

Pfizer Expects Signoff For New Covid Boosters As Soon As This Month. Here’s What To Know—And Why They’re Needed

Basketball lovers consider Giannis Antetokounmpo&#8217;s visit to Nigeria significant, as it reflects a growing interest in Nigerian basketball and the recognition of the country&#8217;s athletes on a global stage.



Greek-Nigerian basketball star Giannis Antetokounmpo (originally Adetokunbo), a two-time National Basketball Association (NBA) Most Valuable Player, fulfilled a long-awaited dream as he arrived in Lagos last week, for the first time, a few months after the launch of the Poverty Is No Joke initiative, a concept introduced by the Charles Antetokounmpo Family Foundation.



Antetokounmpo has always embraced his Nigerian heritage. The initiative, he has previously highlighted, would be focused on three places: Milwaukee, where he plays, currently; Greece, his birthplace; and Nigeria – the country his parents migrated from.



In 2013, after acquiring Greek citizenship, Antetokounmpo’s official surname changed to Αντετοκούνμπο, the Greek transcription of Adetokunbo. This was later transliterated letter-for-letter and officially spelled as Antetokounmpo on his Greek passport. Due to the complexity of his original surname, many NBA fans found it difficult to pronounce, leading him to be affectionately referred to as the ‘Greek Freak’.



Antetokounmpo shared his excitement on social media on his arrival in Nigeria. He tweeted a picture of himself and his mother, Veronica, in Lagos on Saturday night, saying, “Finally made it to Nigeria with Mama the Mama.”



His first stop was at the Youth Alive Basketball Championship held on Friday at Rowe Park in Yaba, a suburb on the mainland of Lagos.



The event host, Abayomi Ajowele, tweeted: “When I announced to the kids that @Giannis_An34 would be at Rowe Park and begged them to wait after the event for another 20 minutes, they thought I was mad and hallucinating. The rest, they say, is history.”



According to Shololo Shuaib, a sports marketing agent, Antetokounmpo played with the under-12 category and spent time talking to them.



Additionally, a Twitter handle dedicated to basketball activities in Nigeria, @BballNaija, noted that Antetokounmpo was in the country briefly “to shoot a documentary and it’s connected to the book about him – The Improbable Rise of an NBA Champion. He leaves tonight (Saturday).”



Mirin Fader&#8217;s book tells the remarkable story of Antetokounmpo&#8217;s journey from poverty in Athens, Greece, to superstardom in America with the Milwaukee Bucks. It portrays him as one of the most transcendent players in history, ultimately becoming an NBA Champion.



The development comes just a few months after the launch of the Poverty Is No Joke initiative. His ties to Nigeria run deep, with both of his parents hailing from the country.



He proudly revealed their names for the first time in an interview with The Undefeated in 2019. Despite being born in Athens, he emphasized that his home life was steeped in Nigerian culture, with values centered on discipline, respect for elders, and strong moral principles.



His journey to Africa is not entirely new; he had previously represented Team Africa in the first Africa Game in Johannesburg in 2015, scoring a game-high of 22 points. According to his interview with The Undefeated in 2019, he also obtained his Nigerian passport that same year, cementing his connection to his roots.



Basketball lovers consider Antetokounmpo&#8217;s visit to Nigeria significant, as it reflects a growing interest in Nigerian basketball and the recognition of the country&#8217;s talented athletes on a global stage.



Dayo Mustapha, a basketball enthusiast, praises Antetokounmpo&#8217;s gesture, seeing it as a positive development for Nigerian basketball.



Mustapha tells FORBES AFRICA: “With a surge in interest and investment in the sport, Nigeria is becoming a priority destination for talented athletes to showcase their skills.



“Antetokounmpo&#8217;s presence in Nigeria marks a momentous occasion for Nigerian basketball, highlighting the potential for growth and inspiring young players to pursue their dreams on and off the court.”



Oluwaseyi Giwa, a devoted fan of Antetokounmpo, shares with FORBES AFRICA: “Giannis, as a person, has shown a deep love for Nigerians and a strong desire to give back to the children in Nigeria through basketball, which I find truly inspiring.



“I have watched documentaries, short films, and full cinematic movies about his life story; through these, you can witness how this young man never forgot his roots, background, real surname, and ancestors. He proudly carries the emblem of his heritage, despite not being born here, all thanks to his parents who instilled in him and his siblings the worth and richness of their culture. I believe many of us resonate with him as he grew up,” says Giwa.

At Rowe Park in Yaba, Nigeria, Photo credit @BballNaija

NBA Superstar ‘The Greek Freak’ Embraces Nigerian Heritage With Debut Trip

The June/July 2023 issue of FORBES AFRICA was my favorite reading for the month as it touched on a subject close to my heart – agriculture. In a conversation with Dr Akinwumi Adesina (President, African Development Bank) a few years ago, he talked about the importance of agriculture (one of his ‘High 5’ pillars is ‘Feed Africa’) and the need for the youth in Africa to engage in the sector. His famous words to me at the time were “we need to make agriculture sexy again so that the younger generation is motivated to enter this sector that can transform lives”. 



His words were inspired not only by the historic impor- tance but also by the opportunities being created by innovations in the sector. It was therefore hearten- ing to read stories of young ‘agripreneurs’ from all over Africa who are, through agritech, trying to bring innovation into the agricultural ecosystem and create more efficient supply chains from seed to soil to market.



Agriculture in Africa, as in a number of Asian economies, is the most important sector contributing an average of 20% to 24% of the total Gross Domestic Product of sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). In absolute terms, there are about 33 million smallholder farms of which an estimated 35,000 commercial farm units are in South Africa; 5,000 to 7,000 of these farms produce 80% of the agricultural output in South Africa.



Farmers living in these smallholder farms (who largely use their hands for cultivation) contribute 70% of the food supply on the continent. Corre- spondingly, 65%-70% of Africans rely on subsistence agriculture for their livelihood.



Considering that Africa has most (about 60%) of the world’s remaining uncultivated arable land, the continent imports between $35 billion to $45 billion of food/agricultural products each year, since only about 10% of the available land is being cultivated. This stems from poor infrastructure development and therefore limited access to a large part of the 700 million hectares to 800 million hectares that can be cultivated. Other than land, other areas that need machinery, technology, infrastructure development and distribu- tion. 



The most critical of all factors is easy access to low-cost finance and while financial institutions talk a good talk, very few provide reasonably-priced working capital to farmers. To make the continent self-suffi- cient, there is a need to invest almost $75 billion to $80 billion annually in the agricultural sector in Africa and there needs to be a concerted effort by policymaker to ensure that the banking sector comes to the party failing which, the continent, despite all its natural ad- vantages, will be unable to feed its growing population and alleviate poverty. 



An important factor today, not just in agriculture, but across all industries, is educa- tion and relevant literacy across all demographics.



A few years after the launch of CNBC Africa in 2007, I started a thought leadership discussion on the Future of Education in SSA. Over the years, we have identified areas including redefining the purpose of education to make it more relevant to today’s times. Each year, we have had some brilliant minds from around the world join the deliberations to bring forth different global perspectives. 



At the 2023 virtual sum- mit in July, we decided to unpack some of the current challenges, particularly relating to youth unemployment in Africa that has reached alarming levels. In many countries, more than 40% of fresh graduates do not find stable employment, even a year after finish- ing university. Part of the problem is the historic gap between the jobs being created and the number of students graduating from university. This problem, however, is being compounded by the transformation of existing jobs that require new skillsets, which ap- plicants do not have; nor can these be secured through unstructured staff development programs.



Owing to a very difficult history of colonization, the African education landscape is unique in its evolution reasonably-priced internet. SSA today has only 22% internet access compared to a global average of 63%. Furthermore, broadband access in Africa comes at a very high cost. In terms of afford- able pricing, India has the fifth lowest internet data rates in the world, with the cost of data at about 17 US cents per gigabyte. In comparison, South Africa at $2 per gigabyte is almost 12 times higher in price than India. The other important nuance is the low Gross Enrollment Ratio (GER) of 9.4% in Africa.



We live in a world today where artificial intel- ligence (AI) is responding to queries predicated on existing datasets. The debates are ongoing about the role of AI in all aspects of the future. No one can predict this accurately but it’s safe to say that if you can imagine something, coding, creativity and AI will find a solution. 



It sounds surreal, but it is the best time to be alive, as we have witnessed more possibili- ties in the last few years than we have seen in decades of analog. ChatGPT, the new kid on the block, has challenged the education arena with so many dimensions and has created a fear of redundancies and whether machines will take over most jobs. 



While these are genuine, short-term apprehensions, we do know that job displacements from what computers and machines can do are different from functions performed by human beings relating to creativ- ity, emotional intelligence, critical thinking, and problem-solving. As some jobs are being taken over by automation, more are being created that will continue to replace the older ones in the form of supervision of automated systems, programming, and maintenance. 



As an exam- ple, during the internet era, new jobs relating to web design and development, digital marketing and cyber security, to name a few, were created. Now, with blockchain, AI and virtual reality, the world is opening up to workplace transformation, where coding, computer sciences and creativity will play an important role in creating job replacements in areas that we are yet to discover.



Another important dimension that was discussed during the Future of Education Summit was the impor- tant and underlying role of the economics of transfor- mation. Conservatively, unemployment costs for coun- tries run into billions of dollars of wasted resources each year. Global GDP could go up by trillions of dollars if unemployment is curtailed. On the other hand, the cost of reskilling is estimated to be between $10,000-$20,000 per new graduate joining a company, which is cumu- latively running into billions of dollars for employers. What this points to is that these costs to business can be optimized if there is closer collaboration and conversations between governments, academic institu- tions, and the corporate world.



In practical terms, the most transformative out- comes are going to come from industry where large employers will define their needs to educational in- stitutions. Colleges and universities need to adapt to these requirements by designing bespoke curriculum that will increasingly become industry-certified. The day is not far when human resources (HR) departments in organizations will be driven by professors who will articulate the needs of the establishment and act as an interface with academia.



The role of humanities will continue to increase critical thinking and creativity into sciences making up for the inherent deficiencies in machines. This blend of the two worlds of Arts and Sciences, which have always been historically segmented into silos, will provide the solutions in the future world of AI. In this context, one of the most interesting discussions was on the concept of “a factory within a university” or “a university within a factory”. 



The possibilities are endless, and the deliberations were animated and intense, but the trend line was clear that for a progressive continent, investment in capacity building is in education so that the future generations of youth have equal opportunities as their peers in other parts of the world.



An important event for us at the ABN Group is the annual All Africa Business Lead- ers Awards (AABLA) ceremony that recognizes business leadership on the continent in vari- ous categories. Being an entrepreneur, I know from three decades of experience that building a business at the best of times is a challenge.



However, when you establish businesses in emerging markets like SSA, where you cannot take anything for granted, the skills, adaptability, perseverance and commitment needed requires leadership to be a lot more versatile and humane. To recognize these heroes from amongst us, we hosted the event for the sec- ond time at the Convention Centre in Sun City, South Africa, before a gathering of 450 business leaders from across Africa.



The event this year was attended by a large contingent of international business leaders from Nigeria, Kenya, Botswana, Namibia, Rwanda, the US and the UAE. We were also privileged to have in our midst, and perform- ing for our guests, two-time Grammy award- winner, Wouter Kellerman. An issue that limits greater participation is the restriction on business visas by South Africa. 



Many guests from Nigeria and Rwanda were unable to trav- el for the AABLA. As we talk about increasing strategic relationships, inter-Africa trade and other collaborations, we are still unable to develop a basic agreement on cross-border travel for Africans. These barriers need to be lifted at the earliest to have meaningful people-to-people engagements for better understanding and social engagements that are essential for building a strong foundation for collaborations.

Rakesh Wahi

The Important Conversations Around Agriculture And Education In Africa

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



The National Institutes of Health is launching a second phase of clinical trials for treatments of long Covid, the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/nih-launches-long-covid-clinical-trials-through-recover-initiative-opening-enrollment" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">agency announced</a>&nbsp;Monday—the latest step in addressing the poorly understood long-term impacts of Covid-19.



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



The NIH is&nbsp;<a href="http://www.trials.recovercovid.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">seeking people</a>&nbsp;who are experiencing long Covid symptoms to participate in one of four trials as part of its Researching Covid to Enhance Recovery, or RECOVER, initiative.



The first trial—dubbed “RECOVER-VITAL”—will seek to study how Covid-19’s long-term effect on patients’ immune system can be treated.



The second—RECOVER-NEURO—will attempt to find interventions to the neurological impacts of long Covid like brain fog, memory issues and difficulty paying attention, problem solving or critical thinking.



The third—RECOVER-SLEEP—will try to find treatments for sleep-related issues, and the final trial—RECOVER-AUTONOMIC—will study treatments for Covid-19-induced problems in the autonomic nervous system, which controls a range of bodily functions including heart rate, breathing and digestive system activity.



Additionally, the NIH is working on a fifth trial that it hopes can find a treatment for the long-term impacts Covid-19 has had on some people’s ability to exercise, but that trial is still in the works.



These trials will involve a number of medicines and therapies including Pfizer’s drug Paxlovid, which was initially developed to treat Covid-19 immediately after a positive test, and a web-based brain training program called BrainHQ the NIH hopes will help people regain neurological function.



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<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-to-watch-for">WHAT TO WATCH FOR</h2>



More trials in the future. In addition to the in-development exercise trial, the NIH said it expects to launch at least six more trials in the coming months. These trials will enroll participants on a rolling basis, the NIH said.



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



$1.15 billion. That’s how much the NIH is spending on its RECOVER initiative, making it the largest program in the world aimed at understanding, treating and preventing long Covid.



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



Long Covid occurs when patients continue experiencing symptoms and after-effects of Covid-19 months after the virus has left their body. Those include brain fog, difficulty exercising and other issues.&nbsp;<a href="http://www.kff.org/policy-watch/long-covid-what-do-latest-data-show/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">A study</a>&nbsp;from the Kaiser Family Foundation found that 15% of all U.S. adults have at some point experienced long Covid symptoms and in January, when the study was being conducted, 6% were currently experiencing symptoms. It was&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7539940/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">first identified</a>&nbsp;around spring 2020 by online groups of patients who were initially ignored by the larger medical community, but later gained acceptance. Doctors still know very little about long Covid, but these clinical trials mark the most significant attempt to treat these symptoms.



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



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/ariannajohnson/2023/02/23/long-covid-linked-to-heart-problems-here-are-the-symptoms--and-whos-at-risk/?sh=538b0a246890">Long Covid Linked To Heart Problems: Here Are The Symptoms – And Who’s At Risk</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/alexknapp/2023/06/14/innovationrx-scientists-may-have-figured-out-whats-behind-long-covid/?sh=919c89c602b2">InnovationRx: Scientists May Have Figured Out What’s Behind Long Covid</a> (Forbes)

Researcher working in a biochemist laboratory

NIH Opens Clinical Trials For Long Covid Treatment

Greta Gerwig’s Barbie and Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer are bringing audiences back to the cinemas.



&nbsp;‘Barbenheimer’ fever is gripping South Africa too.



The word, coined by social media users days ahead of the simultaneous release dates of Greta Gerwig’s Barbie and Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer, has turned the spotlight on the thumping return of the big screen, post-pandemic.



“The results for the opening weekend of Barbie and Oppenheimer were way beyond our forecasts and our expectations,” says Lynne Wylie, Chief Marketing Officer at Ster-Kinekor (network of movie theaters in South Africa), to FORBES AFRICA. “It was Ster-Kinekor’s biggest opening weekend by far in the post-Covid environment, and we are thrilled that more and more people are once again experiencing the joy of watching a film in a cinema.”



In the United States (US), ‘Barbenheimer’ generated more than $235.5 million in ticket sales, according to CNBC, on its opening weekend. Barbie smashed expectations by earning $155 million, becoming the biggest movie launch of the year and the biggest box office debut by a female director. Oppenheimer collected a reported $80.5 million, making it one of Nolan’s most-acclaimed and commercially successful films.



A full-fledged international box office phenomenon, according to Google Trends, interest in the two films also continues to soar in South Africa.



Despite being starkly different, with one being a sweetly subversive comedy starring Margot Robbie as the popular doll and the other with Cillian Murphy portraying the father of the atomic bomb, the two movies have managed to pull audiences in for an unlikely double feature.



“There’s something really fun about coming back [to the cinema], and I know our show is sold out,” Daniela Lamparelli, a member of the theater audience last weekend in Johannesburg watching Barbie first, followed by Oppenheimer, tells FORBES AFRICA. “It’s going be really fun to watch it and hear everyone’s reactions. It’s quite a nice experience to watch it in a cinema with lots of people. When cinemas are quite empty, you feel like watching movies at home.”



Much like the rest of the world, South Africa’s cinemas have struggled to get audiences back to theaters after the pandemic. According to a recent report in News24, cinema attendance at Ster-Kinekor was <a href="https://www.news24.com/news24/tech-and-trends/news/has-barbenheimer-fever-hit-south-africa-20230720">below 50%</a> of 2019 pre-pandemic levels until recently. Restoring a sense of normalcy is a mountainous endeavor, given factors such as the rise of streaming giants such as Netflix, Disney+, and Showmax.



The theatrical window of exclusivity, or the time frame between when a movie is shown in cinemas and when it becomes available on streaming platforms, has also shrunk significantly. Reportedly, toward the end of the 1990s, movies would have six-month runs at theaters before they were found on other platforms. Today, a movie can be released in cinemas and streaming services on the same day.



“The pandemic and lingering economic impact are still hard felt on South Africans’ pockets, and with cheaper streaming offerings, going to the movies has become more of a luxury than ever before,” Gabi Zietsman, a film critic, tells FORBES AFRICA. “They are only willing to shell out money for the big blockbusters or films that demand to be seen on a big screen. Otherwise, they’ll just wait for it to go on streaming and save their money.”



Wylie says one of the major benefits of cinema is that you get to see the big blockbusters first as they were meant to be seen, on the big screen, which is “something no streaming platform can offer”.



“Great movie experiences, like great moments in life, live large in our hearts and minds. Watching a film in a cinema is also an interruption-free experience – you are able to be completely absorbed in what is playing out on the screen for the duration of the film.”



Power outages, or what is known as load-shedding in South Africa, are also why cinema audiences are being affected. South Africa is experiencing daily power cuts reaching up to 10 hours. Audiences aren’t willing to travel to a theater if there’s a chance that their movie-going experience will be interrupted. With mobile data, they can binge-watch multiple shows and movies on streaming platforms to their hearts’ content.



“While load-shedding has impacted our cinemas and affected some of the screening timings, the fact that we have already installed generators at 34 out of our total 44 cinema complexes around the country ensures that people can always come and watch a movie,” counters Ster-Kinekor’s Wylie. “Twenty one of these sites also have uninterrupted power supply systems installed to enable a completely uninterrupted movie experience.”



Data from IMDbPro reveals that the number of Hollywood films being released has also decreased since the pandemic. For countries like India, with a booming and thriving Bollywood industry, less overseas content to show in cinemas isn’t a major concern. But for South Africa, a small number of films are being produced locally, making the nation dependent on the US for pulling audiences back in to theaters.



For now, the ‘Barbenheimer’ effect reigns.



“This phenomenon wasn’t created by studios – it was birthed by audiences and fans organically,” Zietsman says. “That doesn’t mean we won’t ever have such a cultural event at the movies again. Audiences just want something new and different that they can participate in, like dressing up, and if it’s also critically good, then you’ve got a winner. Oppenheimer had the prestige, Barbie had the brand recognition, and everyone involved in both was just passionate about their work, and that passion is infectious.”

People attend showings of the Barbie movie in Somerdale

Return Of The Big Screen: ‘Barbenheimer’ Spells Box-Office Glory In South Africa

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



Several large technology stocks soared Friday to their highest level this year as blockbuster earnings and uplifting economic data kept the blistering stock market’s momentum going.



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



Shares of Alphabet (up 3%), Meta (up 4%) and Intel (up 6%) each set 2023 highs as investors digested the Silicon Valley firms’ earnings reports earlier this week with a smile.



Airbnb, DoorDash, DraftKings, Intuit and Roku also rallied to their highest share price of the year Friday, gaining 3% or more.



In addition to earnings, Friday’s release of the personal consumption expenditures inflation metric helped boost stocks, as it revealed price increases&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2023/07/28/pce-inflation-june-2023-.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">moderated</a>&nbsp;to their lowest level in about two years last month.



The tech-heavy Nasdaq notched a 2% gain by late afternoon, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&amp;P 500 rose roughly 1% apiece.



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



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereksaul/2023/07/27/us-economic-grew-better-than-expected-24-during-second-quarter-again-defying-recession-fears/">Strong</a>&nbsp;economic output growth, a “better-than-expected” earnings season and moderating inflation “could be the catalyst to send the market to new highs,” Bolvin Wealth Management president Gina Bolvin wrote in emailed comments Friday.



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



The stock market’s strong week came even as the Federal Reserve&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereksaul/2023/07/26/fed-hikes-interest-rates-by-25-basis-points-to-highest-level-since-2001/?sh=335986b93892">bumped</a>&nbsp;interest rates to a 22-year high Wednesday. Equity prices historically fall in periods of higher rates as it makes corporate borrowing more expensive and thus cuts into profits, but investors have supported the notion that artificial intelligence-driven growth and a renewed commitment to cost-cutting will prop up long-term growth.



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



The Dow’s 13-day winning streak came to an end Thursday, capping the longest positive stretch in 36 years. The Dow is up 7% over the last two months, its best two-month since last October and November.



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



Energy giants Chevron and Exxon did not join in on the fun Friday, as their stocks slid roughly 1% apiece after both companies&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereksaul/2023/07/28/exxon-and-chevron-profits-plunge-to-pre-ukraine-war-levels-as-oil-price-decline-continues/?sh=483fb0fd516a">reported</a>&nbsp;a roughly 50% year-over-year decline in profits. Energy is one of three S&amp;P sectors down year to date and is the&nbsp;<a href="https://digital.fidelity.com/prgw/digital/research/sector" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">worst returner</a>&nbsp;of the index’s 13 sectors over the last five years.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-to-watch-for">WHAT TO WATCH FOR</h2>



Apple, the world’s most valuable company, reports quarterly numbers Thursday. Other notable earnings next week include Pfizer, one of the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereksaul/2023/07/03/worst-stocks-of-2023s-first-half-battered-banks-and-vaccine-makers/">worst-performing stocks</a>&nbsp;of the year as Covid-19 vaccine demand dwindles, and Anheuser-Busch, whose shares are&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereksaul/2023/05/31/anheuser-busch-stock-enters-bear-territory-amid-anti-trans-bud-light-backlash/">down about 10%</a>&nbsp;over the last three months as Bud Light sales dwindled amid controversy.



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



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereksaul/2023/07/26/alphabet-stock-rides-earnings-to-15-month-high-heres-why-some-analysts-expect-it-to-surge-nearly-30-more/?sh=775951e6a87c">Alphabet Stock Rides Earnings To 15-Month High—Here&#8217;s Why Some Analysts Expect It To Surge Nearly 30% More</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereksaul/2023/07/26/meta-earnings-stock-rallies-as-facebook-parent-notches-most-profitable-quarter-since-2021/?sh=62656f6550fd">Meta Earnings: Stock Rallies As Facebook Parent Notches Most Profitable Quarter Since 2021</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereksaul/2023/07/25/microsoft-earnings-ai-lifts-redmond-to-highest-quarterly-sales-ever/?sh=2a958ed04cb8">Microsoft Earnings: AI Lifts Redmond To Highest Quarterly Sales Ever</a> (Forbes)

Tag: Coronavirus

FORBES AFRICA SOCIAL MEDIA