The Rio Times
Africa Intelligence
Saturday, July 11, 2026
By Matthias Camenzind, Publisher
Canva's founders just put $150 million into Malawi.
Australia's tech billionaires are backing one of the world's most-studied cash-transfer programmes — a bet that handing money directly to the poor beats aid as usual. Why they chose Malawi, and what it could prove.
An African IPO wave: Morocco's Dislog and a Senegalese bank both go public
Ethiopia posts a record $10.7 billion export year; Oando's profit jumps on Eni's old fields
Big bets: Dangote's $2bn Gambia solar push, Dewji's $275m graphite-and-resorts play, Sawiris on the Pyramids
The hard ground: over 100,000 migrants have left South Africa since late May amid the unrest
Mali's rebels take Anefis; South Sudan turns 15 with poverty at 92%
The state of the continent
Good morning from the Africa desk. The week ends with capital in motion and a hard human ledger.
The money is moving fast: Morocco's Dislog and a Senegalese bank both went public, Ethiopia booked a record $10.7bn export year, and Canva's founders committed $150m to Malawi.
And the ledger runs the other way too: more than 100,000 migrants have left South Africa since late May, and Mali's rebels seized another town.
Why it matters: Africa is building deeper capital markets — IPOs, records, foreign bets — even as its security and migration strains deepen. Growth and fragility, side by side, the way Latin America knows them.
Africa's currencies today
Where the continent's macro really moves — the rate vs the dollar, prior close.
ZAR · SOUTH AFRICA
16.30
▲ rand firm
Steady
NGN · NIGERIA
1,375
▲ naira firm
Holding
EGP · EGYPT
49.56
• pound flat
Steady
KES · KENYA
129.2
▼ shilling soft
Oil pressure
MAD · MOROCCO
9.35
▲ dirham firm
Range-bound
GHS · GHANA
11.39
▲ cedi firm
Best of the pack
Daily FX via EODHD, Friday close. A calm week for the majors after the oil spike faded.
Today across the continent
Every weekday our Africa Intelligence Brief files a country-by-country read of the continent. The latest:
South Africa. Over 100,000 migrants have left the country since late May amid rising unrest against undocumented foreigners — an exodus with regional consequences.
Cameroon. President Paul Biya, 93, has been in Geneva since June 7, fuelling succession rumours despite official denials.
Kenya. Parliament is appealing a court ruling that found President Ruto's Cabinet unconstitutional over gender balance.
Mali. Tuareg rebels ambushed a Malian and Russian-backed convoy, seizing the town of Anefis — reopening the road toward Kidal.
South Sudan. The world's youngest nation marked 15 years of independence with poverty now at 92%.
The big moves · capital markets awaken
Ethiopia posts a record $10.7 billion export year › Coffee, gold and a reform push deliver Addis Ababa its best-ever trade figures — a turnaround worth watching.
Why it matters: From Casablanca to Abidjan, African companies are choosing public markets and hard-currency exports over dependence on aid — the same graduation Latin America made a generation ago.
Morocco's Dislog goes public › A consumer-goods giant lists in Casablanca, part of a wider IPO wave — a Senegalese billionaire is taking his bank public in Abidjan.
Oando's profit hits N204.8 billion on the fields Eni left › A Nigerian independent turns a major's cast-off assets into record earnings.
Big bets & builders
Dangote's $2bn push into Gambia solar and fuel · Mohammed Dewji bets $275m on graphite and resorts · Sawiris puts another $10m on the Giza Pyramids.
Tech & security
Rain and Huawei claim a world-first 5G feat in South Africa · Mali retakes Anefis, reopening the road toward Kidal.
That's the continent for today. Reply if something here deserves a closer look — I read every one.
Matthias Camenzind
Publisher, The Rio Times
The Rio Times · Africa Intelligence — Africa through a Global South lens, from a Latin American newsroom.
You're getting this because you added Africa Intelligence to your Rio Times preferences.
Manage preferences · Unsubscribe
