Good Morning,

African billionaire Aliko Dangote's wealth reached $27.8bn following the launch of his $20bn mega-refinery in Nigeria— the world's largest single-train facility. It began gasoline operations recently and is set to help Nigeria achieve fuel independence.

Also in today’s newsletter:

• BlackRock, JP Morgan on SA

• Yellow Card bags $33m round

• Outlook for African currencies

• Senegal’s emerging oil industry

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Markets Wrap

Markets

• BOA CI Shares Hit Record High Ahead of Capital Increase

• Ivorian Unit of Société Générale Gets Top Credit Rating

• Cocoa Futures Drop as Ivory Coast Deliveries Increase

Earnings & Dividends

• Geregu Power Share Price Soars on Pre-Tax Profits Surge to $22M

The Week’s Top Stories

Bullish prospects: BlackRock and JPMorgan are bullish on South Africa following its shift to a business-friendly coalition government. BlackRock sees “tactical opportunities” in rallying assets, while JPMorgan predicts a surge in IPOs. This renewed confidence in Africa's most industrialized economy signals growing investor interest in the continent's potential.

Crypto pivot: Yellow Card, a U.S.-founded crypto platform operating in Africa, recently raised $33m in Series C funding to expand its new focus—serving businesses rather than retail customers, marking a shift that began during its $40m Series B round. The crypto exchange has now secured a total of $88m and is the most funded Africa-focused crypto platform.

Cooling prices: South Africa’s inflation rate fell to 3.8% in September, marking the first time it had dipped below 4% in over three years. The inflation rate is now at the lower end of the Reserve Bank’s 3% to 6% target range, strengthening the case for further interest rate cuts at its next meeting.

Mixed fortunes: The outlook for major African currencies going into 2025 is mixed, with four of the seven African currencies (the rand, naira, kwanza, cedi, kwacha, and Kenyan shilling) monitored by Ebury Partners expected to either hold their value or gain, while the other three are projected to continue losing ground.

Headline Roundup

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

Economy and Macro

• IMF Approves $340.7M Loan to Ethiopia After First Program Review

• S&P Upgrades Ivory Coast Credit Rating on Higher Cocoa Prices

M&A and Corporate

• Prosus CEO Forecasts 950% Surge in E-Commerce Profits

• inDrive Launches in Zambia With Zero-Commission Model

• Nigeria Approves Exxon’s $1.3B Onshore Oil Asset Sale to Seplat

• Rockefeller, Bezos-Backed Group Looks to Expand Solar Grids in Nigeria

Startups and Tech

• Kenya's Octavia Carbon Gets $5M to Build Direct Air Capture Plant

• Rabbit Mobility Secures $1.3M to Accelerate Growth Across Egypt

• Nigerian Vehicle Financing Startup Moove Expands to Mexico

• Ghanaian Startup Aya Data Raises $900K to Expand AI Solutions

Fundraising and Accelerators

• ABAN, SAIS Launch Angel Program to Spur Climate Investments

Must-Reads on Daba

Boost your investing IQ with educational blogs and thematic articles on Africa.

Learn

• How Venture Funds Work: A Guide for Investors

• How to Make Money From Investing in IPOs

Insights

• The Future of Streaming Lies in Africa’s Overlooked Markets

• The Economics of Lottery Business: Why Invest in One?

Perspectives

• Why Mass Migration is Not Solution to Ailing Growth in Africa

• Capturing the ‘Missing Millions’: Perspectives With Wi-flix CEO

Opportunities Corner

Discover funding, awards, and accelerator opportunities to boost your startup's growth. Deadline in brackets.

• Latitude59 Pitch Contest (Nov 1)

• Mastercard Agribusiness Challenge (Nov 22)

Join the Daba Team - We're Hiring!

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• Communications and Community Manager

• Business Development Representative

• Financial Operations Manager - Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire

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Chart of the week

Get more context into themes shaping Africa’s investing landscape.

Africa's oil wealth is dominated by a few nations but a new player has emerged. Currently boasting 1bn barrels in reserves, Senegal began its first offshore oil production in June through the Sangomar field, which is already producing 100,000 barrels per day (bpd) and is expected to generate over $1bn annually for the next three decades. The emerging oil industry could change the face of its $31bn economy and continental energy landscape as we know it. Read our latest Pulse54 newsletter on Substack to discover how.

That’s it for this week.

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