A Chinese-built park 35km from Addis Ababa was meant to seed 20,000 local jobs. By late 2017 it had created roughly 10,000 – a real number, and a measure of the distance left to travel.
Section
Economics
Ten Percent and Climbing: 2026 Budget Levies Raw Lithium Ore While Zero-Rating Processed Metal in Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe’s 2026 budget levies a 10% export tax on raw lithium ore and zero-rates processed metal, using tax to drive beneficiation and local value addition.
The Desert Miracle: Moakanyi Magazine | Vol 06 Issue 01 | June 2026
Our June 2026 issue is out. How Duma Boko is re-architecting Botswana - from a diamond-dependent rentier state into a sovereign-equity economy built to rival the Gulf - and what that turn asks of everyone doing business here. Botswana is doing something most resource...
Power as Productivity: Why Africa’s Energy Gap Is a Jobs Problem First
Energy access is usually counted in households connected. The sharper measure is what unreliable power does to the firms and workers who already have a line.
Green Triad: How Hydropower, Wind and Solar Anchor a New China-Africa Bargain
Beijing frames its African energy work as a single green transition. The record shows three very different technologies, doing very different jobs, in very different places.
Early-Warning Systems: Two Islands, One Test of Resilience Infrastructure
Climate early-warning systems for Seychelles and Madagascar are the quiet end of the green portfolio. Modest in scale, they may be the most directly protective of lives – if they reach beyond two
Forbes Border Lockdown: Zimbabwe Halts Raw Lithium and Chrome Trucks to Force Beneficiation
Zimbabwe halts raw lithium and chrome trucks at Forbes Border Post, forcing beneficiation. What the export ban means for miners and operators.
Africa Solar Belt: A Demonstration Pledge Meets a 600-Million Access Gap
China frames the Africa Solar Belt as a clean-energy access story. Yet the materials it lists – streetlights, kits, one power station – sit against a shortfall of more than 600 million people.
Cheap and Clean: Can Low-Cost Renewables Make African Factories Competitive
Chinese-built solar and hydro promise the low tariffs manufacturers need, but cheap clean power only sharpens competitiveness when the rest of the industrial base is ready.