WhyAfrica

08/09/2026

The Horn of Africa is particularly important. Its position beside the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden and Bab el-Mandeb places it astride one of the world's critical maritime trade corridors. The UAE's DP World has turned Berbera in Somaliland into a strategic logistics hub, linking the port with Ethiopia and directly connecting it to Jebel Ali. https://www.whyafrica.co.za/the-gulfs-strategic-african-footprint/

Leon Louw

The Gulf’s strategic African footprint. Ports, minerals and geopolitics are driving deeper Gulf engagement across Africa.

08/09/2026

Access to climate adaptation finance is a challenge for smallholder farmers and rural businesses across Africa,

Available capital for often failing to reach those who need it most. To help bridge this financing and delivery gap, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and Equity Group recently kicked off the Africa Rural Climate Adaptation Finance Mechanism (ARCAFIM).

The ARCAFIM is a US$200 million, private sector-led mechanism built to close that gap for smallholder farmers and rural businesses across East Africa. The fund was launched at the Africa Food Systems Forum 2026 in Kigali, Rwanda recently.

ARCAFIM is convened with the co-financiers of the Green Climate Fund, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland and the Nordic Development Fund and also co-financed by the Government of Denmark and the European Union.

The programme will initially operate in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Rwanda, with the ambition of providing financing to approximately 260,000 smallholder producers and 500 rural MSMEs. At least 50 per cent of the intended beneficiaries will be women and 30 per cent youth.

The initiative is expected to strengthen food security for approximately 1.2 million people and to benefit an estimated 1.5 million people in total, directly and indirectly, while helping rural communities and businesses invest in measures that enable them to better withstand the effects of climate change.

Read more on the WhyAfrica website your one stop shop for on the ground information and business intelligence about Africa.

Climate adaptation finance reaches East Africa’s farmers. Access to climate adaptation finance is a challenge for smallholder farmers.

08/09/2026

When one visits a volcanic region, the last think one would think about is lithium batteries right?

There is something very powerful about walking atop an active volcano tracking magma flow and lava tubes.

One can feel the restless power and energy surging underneath your feet. When using your imagination, you’ll see the magma slowly creeping through earth’s underground plumbing into the tiniest veins, cracks and crevices.

All volcanoes are different, with their own characteristics and timelines.

Africa’s Virunga’s, for example, is a chain of active volcanoes. On the other hand, Kilimanjaro (on the East African Rift) is a large, dormant stratovolcano.

Similarly, in Italy Mount Etna erupted as recently as two weeks ago while Vesuvius close to the Bay of Naples has been dormant since 1944.

What all these volcanoes do have in common is a tinge of unpredictability but most of all they have their own unique story to tell.

Surprise is often part of that story. An extraordinary story that I’ve worked on recently is the fascinating link between volcanoes and Lithium, one of the most critical commodities in the modern energy transition.

Volcanic ash contains small amounts of lithium. When weathered, lithium is released and transported in solution. Under specific conditions, geothermal fluids and groundwater can then concentrate that lithium in lakes, basins, clays and brines.

But this process takes millions of years, and of course it does not mean that every volcano is sitting on a lithium deposit. What is does mean though, is that volcanoes are part of a bigger geological story, one that in the end connects ancient magmas with modern batteries.

Fascinating.

Over the past four years we’ve visited and walked the spectacular volcanoes of the Virungas in Central Africa, Mount Kilimanjaro in East Africa, Mount Etna in Sicily and Mount Vesuvius in Italy.

To read more fascinating stories about Africa, its geology and its links with Europe, visit the WhyAfrica website. WhyAfrica publishes newsletters, books, research reports, videos and magazines. But at WhyAfrica, you don’t just read about these stories, you live them.

Through WhyAfrica’s sister company, tour operator Endorphin Expeditions, you can be part of these extraordinary stories. Visit the most fascinating regions in Africa and find out more about volcanoes, geology and mining history in Africa on our specialist guided expeditions through Africa. Our first specialist tours depart early next year.

To find out more contact WhyAfrica or Endorphin Expeditions.

Image: On Mount Etna (left) and Kilimanjaro. Image credit: Leon Louw for WhyAfrica.

Article by Leon Louw founder of WhyAfrica and Endorphin Expeditions. Leon also provides independent consulting services to investors, businesses and organisations seeking a deeper understanding of Africa's political, economic, environmental and natural resource landscape.

Leon Louw Endorphin Expeditions

05/09/2026

Shout out to my newest followers! Excited to have you onboard! Kalilagwenma Paulbwalya, Christopher K***a Mwape, Baloyi Jimmy, Tñt ßpylø, David Silwimba, Mikeily Kapapilo, Mks Zayd, John Kapeyo, Donald Kayenda, Teboho Tjaoe, King Moses, Thedi Tumelo, Ndopu Mulobela, Sarah Mzumara Khethie, Evangelist Chilomba

04/09/2026

There is certainly a number of interesting mineral exploration projects in Mozambique that we are very interested in. Looking forward to what promises to be another fantastic WhyAfrica Business Trip organised by our sister company Endorphin Expeditions.

04/09/2026

Being on the ground gives us a unique perspective of Africa. Our 2026 WhyAfrica RES Road Trip preview magazine is prepped and printed and ready to travel with us for more that 5200km across the continent, landing in the hands of those people that matter the most.

For those not lucky enough to feel and smell the freshly printed paper, the digital magazine will be displayed on WhyAfrica's homepage for 3 months and will be shared far and wide on all WhyAfrica's platforms and during our own networking events, hand-picked international conferences and on all social media accounts including Linkedin, X, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Bluesky.

To flip through our bumper 21st edition click on the link: https://www.whyafrica.co.za/magazines/issue-21

WhyAfrica still publishes and prints magazines, not to make a profit, but because we love it. We only do it four times a year, so being part of the extraordinary story of the WhyAfrica magazine, not only makes your company unique, but it will certainly give you a different perspective of Africa.

Leon Louw

03/09/2026

Interesting article by Bill Blackie, Chief Executive of Business and Commercial Banking at Standard Bank Group published on the WhyAfrica website this morning.

Blackie writes that China's zero-tariff policy is opening new market-access opportunities for African businesses. Moreover, enhanced renminbi (RMB) settlement and payment capabilities are helping businesses to convert these opportunities into tangible trade flows by reducing transaction friction and improving efficiency across the Africa-China trade corridor.

Products like South African apples, wine and cut flowers, Kenyan coffee and Nigerian bovine bone products are already generating tariff savings and have prompted importers to project significant annual cost reductions.

“Zimbabwean to***co, Kenyan avocado oil and West African cocoa are moving under the same regime. Across agriculture, agri-processing and industrial goods, these early shipments provide a practical indication of how lower tariffs can improve competitiveness and reduce the cost of market access for African exporters,” says Blackie.

Africa-China trade reached about US$348 billion in 2025. Standard Bank's latest Africa Trade Barometer indicated that Asian countries are now the preferred trading partners for 35% of businesses surveyed across ten African markets, up markedly from 24% in 2024, while China remains a critical source of imported inputs, cited by 67% of respondents.

According to Charl Rudman, International Sales Manager at Carmién Tea, formal retail has started considering the South African product Rooibos tea, while bulk tea buyers are exploring opportunities to package the product locally in China.

Rudman says that Carmién expects China to become one of its most important export markets, with the potential to rival established destinations such as Japan, spanning e-commerce, retail, tea packers and hospitality channels.

Read the full article on WhyAfrica’s website, your one-stop shop for on the ground information and business intelligence about Africa.

Image: Rooibos tea is one of the South African products that has benefitted most from new tariffs in China. Image credit: Deeliver from Unsplash.

https://www.whyafrica.co.za/chinas-zero-tariffs-create-opportunities-for-africa/

Leon Louw

02/09/2026

It’s not only Africa’s blue sky that we’ll be chasing during the 2026 WhyAfrica RES Road Trip through Africa. Yes, we will be searching for the BEST blue-sky investment opportunities. BUT we’ll also be chasing the ground truth and hard facts. Because that’s what we do at WhyAfrica.

Africa abounds with opportunities, but one needs perspective and context. That you can only find by spending time on the ground. And that’s why we travel overland through Africa for more than 35 days each year on WhyAfrica’s road trips. We untangle the blue sky from the ground truth.

This year, from the 15th of September to the 19th of October, we go chasing Africa’s best exploration projects and most efficient mining operations through the thick sand of Botswana’s Kalahari, traversing the mysterious geology of Damaraland in Namibia and crossing the alluring coastal desert of the Namib.

But there is a lot more to these countries than just critical minerals and metals.

There is an abundance of natural resources and natural wealth that can steer Botswana and Namibia away from the dreaded resource curse and an over reliance on mining. Biodiversity, tourism and conservation is paramount, while investment in infrastructure, agriculture, energy and water management is critical.

Follow us on our fifth WhyAfrica RES Road Trip through Botswana and Namibia and find out how these countries are balancing it all and if there are any dark clouds that could muddle up their infinite blue skies.

Remember that WhyAfrica’s partners, sponsors and members can follow the fifth 2026 WhyAfrica RES Road Trip through Botswana and Namibia live on our Road Trip WhatsApp and YouTube channels. There is still time to become part of the 2026 WhyAfrica RES Road Trip, so contact us as soon as you can.

This year will be the fifth year that the road trip is backed by our unwavering sponsors Remote Exploration Services (RES) and NSDV Law, true African companies with their feet solidly on African soil.

During WhyAfrica’s road trips we visit as many of the most promising exploration projects in Africa as possible. In the below picture we are at Koryx Copper’s excellent Haib project in the south of Namibia last year. Image credit: WhyAfrica.

Leon Louw

31/08/2026

Love the introduction in Jakkie Cilliers’ new book “Africa’s road to prosperity, 10 things to know”.

He writes, and I quote:

“This is not a feel-good book. As Africans, we often feel duty-bound to enthuse about the continent’s demographic future and, from there, to extrapolate all kinds of blue-sky futures, while those in the Global North smile and nod, secure in their view that ours is actually a story of suffering, instability and poverty. For them, our enthusiasm is but a veneer to cover the truth of things.

“The reality is somewhere in between – more hopeful than most Europeans and Americans think, but not yet as bright as many Africans desire.

“It is almost inevitable that forecasts grounded in data and peer-reviewed academic literature, rather than speculation, will disappoint. Yet the continent is already the fastest-growing region in the world. Improvements in quality-of-life indicators will follow, though closing income and wealth gaps will take longer.”

Nobody that I know is better qualified to write about Africa’s road to prosperity than Jakkie Cilliers who I’ve been privileged to meet and interview on several occasions. Looking forward to learning more about Jakkie’s fantastic insights and to add another African book to my growing collection of African literature.