Hi there. Welcome to another Daba weekly newsletter!

Global credit rating agency Moody’s decision last week to upgrade Ivory Coast’s rating sent the country’s Eurobonds rallying.

The rating, raised by one level to Ba2, sees the West African nation join South Africa as the highest-rated sovereign in sub-Saharan Africa after Botswana.

In other top stories from last week:

• Bitcoin, cocoa at all-time highs

• Binance folds in Nigeria crackdown

• The exit problem & African markets

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Recap: Catch our recent webinar on Diaspora capital

Thanks for joining our webinar on Empowering African Enterprise through Diaspora Investment Capital with Henri Nyakarundi and Jennifer Frimpong. We appreciate your presence and questions! 

If you missed the conversation or would like to watch again, you can catch the recording on our YouTube channel or read the recap article on our website.

And if you are interested in adding African startups and stocks to your investment portfolio, check out the Daba app now to get started.

Here are last week’s top stories

Record highs

Bitcoin rally sees crypto cross $68k for the first time since 2021

Bitcoin rallied to a two-year high on Monday, breaking above $68,000—within striking distance of record levels. The surge is particularly notable when viewed in the context of African currencies, many of which have experienced significant depreciation against the US dollar.

The price of gold remains near a two-month peak reached on Friday, supported by a lack of demand for the US dollar and a decrease in risk appetite. Potential data and event risks in the US this week could offer new momentum.

Oil prices increased last week but dropped slightly on Monday due to demand challenges, despite OPEC+ extending output cuts as anticipated until mid-year. In Africa, equities were mixed as Nigerian stocks declined on profit-taking.

Soaring prices

Cocoa hits all-time highs as production in West Africa declines

Since the start of last year, cocoa prices have more than doubled, reaching a historic high of $9,010.59 per ton on the New York commodities market in the second week of February. 

Several factors are contributing to this surge in prices, including unfavorable weather conditions, smuggling activities, and the prevalence of swollen shoot disease.

These issues have led to reduced crop yields in major cocoa-producing countries such as Côte d'Ivoire, responsible for nearly 40% of the world's cocoa bean production, and Ghana, which produces 20%.

Regulatory troubles

Binance exits Nigeria as government cracks down on crypto

Binance, a global cryptocurrency exchange under fire in several countries, is quitting the Nigerian market after intense scrutiny amid a crypto crackdown in the West African country. Last week, two of its senior executives were reportedly detained by national security officers.

This crackdown comes after a period during which several cryptocurrency websites gained popularity as preferred platforms for trading the Nigerian currency, which has been plagued by chronic dollar shortages. 

The official exchange rate of the naira has been hovering close to the parallel market level following its devaluation last month, marking the currency's second adjustment in less than a year. Binance will stop naira deposits after March 5 while withdrawals will end on March 8.

Headline roundup

A summary of the major business, tech, and finance headlines of the past week.

Macro & Markets

• Senegal joins group of leading natural gas exporting countries

• Libya's restart of oil production at largest field lifts OPEC output

• BRVM benchmark index gains marginally on muted large-cap stocks

• Congo debuts first LNG carrier in boost for major gas exportation

VC Funding & Startups

• Egypt's MoneyHash raises $4.5m to facilitate payments in Africa

• Nigeria-based Bfree gets $3m to scale ethical debt recovery solution

• SA startup Cue raises $2m to accelerate customer service with AI

• Silicon Valley investor Tim Draper invests in Daba-backed BuuPass

Other Deals & Expansion

• PE firm Adenia Partners acquires South African delivery startup

• British giant BP plans to invest $1.5bn in Egypt gas projects

• TerraPay partners Diamond Trust on remittances in Uganda

Funds & Accelerators

• Egypt’s Acasia Ventures backed Kenya's Tappi in $1.5m round

• COTU Ventures launches $54m fund for startups in MENA

Startup Opportunities

Discover funding and accelerator opportunities to boost your startup's growth.

• DMZ Cairo incubation program (Mar 12)

• Business Technology & Innovation Program (Mar 15)

• AWIEF Growth Accelerator (Mar 24)

• Archipelagos SME Program (Jun 30)

Our insight for the week

Get more context into events shaping Africa’s economic landscape.

Can African markets solve an investing exit problem on the continent? Despite minimal listing requirements, few companies go public on African markets. 

Issues such as poor market performance, lack of investor confidence, and questionable leadership at the continent’s stock exchanges contribute to the problem. 

Furthermore, anti-free market behaviors, a preference for other investments like real estate due to tax advantages, and high Treasury bond yields divert capital away from equities.

While there are growth opportunities—including potential 630x growth on the Nairobi Securities Exchange over the next decade for instance—significant reforms are needed. 

These include rebranding African bourses, improving leadership, reducing trading fees, and allowing automatic dividend reinvestment. 

In addition, African governments could introduce fair property taxes, sell off state-owned enterprises, and create a more conducive regulatory environment. 

In an article contributed to Daba, Kyle Schutter emphasizes the need for a "fit-for-purpose" African capital market and encourages innovative solutions tailored to the region's unique challenges.

CLICK HERE or Tap the button below to access the full article exploring the issues and proposed solutions, along with case studies illustrating the complexities of the African stock market landscape.

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Catch you next week!