Next Africa

Starlink, SpaceX’s Satellite Internet Service is pushing for changes to South Africa’s equality rules which it says blocks the company from operating in Africa’s most industrialised economy.
South Africa requires companies in some sectors to have at least 30% Black ownership. These laws were introduced after the end of apartheid and they compelled companies in industries including banking, mining and telecommunications to sell stakes to Black people who were systematically excluded from the economy during White-minority rule, but now the governing coalition is split on whether to change this law.
On this week’s episode - Jennifer Zabasajja is joined by Bloomberg’s Senior Technology Reporter Loni Prinsloo and reporter Rivaldo Jantjies, on how Starlink has been growing across Africa, why South Africa is so important to the company, and how likely it is that rules could change.
Read our latest reporting on Starlink and South Africa here, and for more stories from the region subscribe to the Next Africa newsletter here
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Global conflicts from the Middle East to Ukraine are reshaping how investors assess risk — and challenging perceptions about Africa.

On today’s Next Africa podcast, Tiwa Adebayo, in for Jennifer Zabasajja, speaks with Zain Latif, founder of TLG Capital, about why he believes the continent is increasingly being seen as a more resilient investment destination. He explains why sectors with steady, defensive returns are drawing interest even as global volatility rises. Plus, Emerging Markets reporter Ray Ndlovu discusses why Africa is starting to look more attractive to investors.

Read our special feature on investing in Nigeria here, and subscribe to the Next Africa newsletter here
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Lesotho’s abundant water has become one of the kingdom’s most strategic revenue streams. Its landmark deal to provide water for neighboring South Africa underscores the growing importance of water diplomacy across a continent increasingly strained by scarcity.
In this episode of the Next Africa Podcast, Jennifer Zabasajja speaks with Bloomberg’s Andre-Pierre du Plessis about Lesotho’s push to modernize its four-decade-old water agreement for the 21st century, and then speaks with Olivier Cogels, Professor Emeritus of UCLouvain, and advisor to governments across Africa and Asia, to explore how water-sharing deals can adapt to mounting pressure from climate change and rising demand.

For more stories from the region you can subscribe to the Next Africa newsletter here
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The ongoing conflict in the Middle East is causing turmoil in energy markets, and is also hitting the price and supply of crucial fertilizers.
On this week’s episode Bloomberg’s Agnieszka de Sousa and René Vollgraaff join Jennifer Zabasajja to discuss why the Strait of Hormuz is so crucial to fertilizer supplies, and how energy shortages and rising costs could have far reaching effects on Africa’s farmers and the price of food
For more stories from the region, subscribe to the Next Africa newsletter here.


See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After becoming the first UN member to recognise the breakaway territory of Somaliland, Israel is now quietly planning for a potential base at the mouth of the Red Sea from which to strike one of the Iran’s last proxies still operating at full strength: the Houthis of Yemen.
On this episode of the Next Africa podcast, Jennifer Zabsajja is joined by Bloomberg’s Simon Marks and our Israel bureau chief Ethan Bronner to discuss why Somaliland is strategically important to to Israel, what Israeli military presence on the horn of Africa could look like, and what impact it could have across the region.

You can read Simon Mark’s reporting from Somaliland here and for more stories from the region, subscribe to the Next Africa newsletter here.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.