Overregulation Keeps Africa Poor | 09.30.2025

Thank you for reading The Vantage Briefing, your weekly roundup of key developments shaping business, investment, and economic trends in Africa & Southeast Asia.

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Senegalese entrepreneur, Magatte Wade, doesn’t buy the refrain from aid organizations and some African governments that Africa is poor due to intelligence or Europe initially developing the continent.

“Africa isn’t poor because of a lack of resources or intelligence. It’s poor because of bad laws and overregulation that crush entrepreneurship.”

With a 25% on-year jump to $122 billion, growth in sales to the continent of 1.5 billion people has far outpaced other major markets this year while orders from the US slumped. China’s exports to Africa so far in 2025 are more than in the whole of 2020 and on track to exceed $200 billion for the first time… Read More

Nigeria, South Africa and Egypt are the biggest African buyers of Chinese products. Construction machinery was among China’s fastest growing exports to Africa in the first seven months, surging 63% year on year. Some goods destined for the US are possibly being diverted through Africa to gain AGOA duty-free status, a tactic known as transshipment.

Angola is attempting to keep De Beers out of Botswana’s control and independent after making an offer to purchase a significant minority stake in the legendary diamond producer and marketer. Although Botswana is associated with diamonds, Angola produced more diamonds last year by value… Read More

A delegation of textile industry leaders from Kenya, Lesotho, Madagascar, Mauritius, and Tanzania held several meetings on the Hill. Textiles have been one of the biggest beneficiaries of AGOA and, by some estimates, up to 300,000 jobs could be at risk if AGOA were scrapped. Rumors swirl that AGOA will be extended in some form for one year.

The US runs the biggest trade deficits in dollar terms with Africa’s biggest commodity exporters, including South Africa, Angola, Nigeria… Read More

The uncomfortable truth is that “Africa” doesn’t exist, at least from a trade point of view. Intra-African trade was still just 14% of total African trade in 2024, compared to roughly 60% intra-regional trade for both Asia and Europe. A Nigerian entrepreneur in Lagos may struggle more to do business in neighboring West African countries than in far-off London. Not because of distance, but because of regulatory barriers that the AfCFTA has yet to dissolve… Read More

Revolut, with more than 65 million customers worldwide, will be a formidable competitor to South Africa’s traditional banks and newer digital banks. The bank plans to use South Africa as a springboard into the rest of Africa.

Revolut’s entry may also signal that South Africa’s banking sector, once among the most advanced and innovative globally, has stagnated. If a gap exists large enough for a global digital player to see opportunity, it suggests local incumbents and even newer challengers may not have fully kept pace with evolving customer expectations… Read More

South Africa and Egypt account for more than half of Africa’s millionaires. Seychelles and Mauritius dominate in terms of percentage of population achieving millionaire status.

USTDA will provide $1.4 million grant to Metalex Africa to fund feasibility study on expanding the copper and cobalt mine. Chinese firms hold a near-monopoly on the production and processing of cobalt critical for EV batteries, military equipment, and other electronics… Read More