The Cost of Loving, Rwanda's Mining Prospects, Bboxx on the Roll

Good day,

Welcome to Africa Finance Today. 

This week was Valentine’s Day and love was in the air all over the world.

We loved seeing places such as Nairobi’s popular hangouts, Kigali’s growing nigh scene, Uganda’s famous restaurants, and others around the region, lit up in romantic activities.

There are those who took their dates on special dinner treatments, and there are others who sent flowers accompanied by special wines, chocolates, and romantic messages to keep love ablaze.

What’s for sure is that February 14 was a day when florists made a fortune after a boom in flower demand. It was also a time for restaurants, hotels and bars to make some money off the hyped up romantic day.

While we can’t presume to know how much men and women spent on their loved and cherished girlfriends, boyfriends, fiancés, husbands and wives, we can only assume that the ‘cost of loving’ might have been high.

There are those who were not taken on dates or received any special gift after all not everyone is obsessed with flowers. But we hear you, so this week we decided to give you a Valentine’s Day gift. Check out our newsletter to find out.

Let’s get down to business!

IT’S A WRAP 🎁 
Rwanda’s Mining Prospects.

• 🇷🇼 Rwanda made huge earnings from export of its minerals. Mining receipts hit a billion-dollar mark for the first time. Exports from the mining sector increased 43 per cent to reach $1.1 billion last year.

• ⛏️ That is due to increased earnings registered during the last quarter of 2023. The fourth quarter of 2023 saw export earnings grow by 34.9 per cent to $252.99 million, according to Rwanda Mines, Gas and Petroleum Board.

• 🪙 The agency in charge of mining did not provide a detailed report about the sector performance, but in a press statement, it showed that most of the performance seen in the last quarter of 2023 was driven by the so-called 3Ts (tin, tantalum and tungsten).

• 🇷🇼 Rwanda has been one of the leaders in producing 3Ts, competing with key players such as Peru, China, Brazil, Bolivia and Australia on international markets. The country has lost its position over the years due to aggressive investments made by countries like China, Indonesia and Vietnam.

• ⛏️ Tin is mined around the world and significant tin mining operations are currently located in China, Thailand, Indonesia, Peru, and Bolivia. China also produces as much as 80% of the global supply of tungsten, while Russia and Vietnam are other key producers.

• 🇨🇩 🇷🇼 The Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda both have tin and tungsten mines. Tantalum deposits have been found on almost every continent, but the Great Lakes region of Africa leads tantalum production with the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda ranking amongst the top global producers. Other key producers of tantalum include Brazil, China, and Australia.

• 🤑 Anyway, Rwanda generated some good revenues from the sale of its gold and other minerals such as gemstones. The country has been investing in diversifying the sector beyond traditional minerals such as 3Ts to exploring and producing gold, gemstones and lithium.

DEEP DIVE
This week, One Company is Building the Largest Solar Business in Africa.

• 🚹️ A group of co-founders led by Mansoor Hamayun shared a conviction that access to reliable electricity wasn't just a convenience. They built Bboxx.

• 💡 The group, after graduating from Imperial College London, they created a company in 2014 to provide clean energy, starting in Rwanda where they sold their first solar systems.

• 🇰🇪 🇸🇳 Bboxx now operates in 10 countries including Rwanda, Kenya, Mali, Nigeria, Democratic Republic of Congo, Guinea, Senegal, Togo, Cote d’Ivoire, and Burkina Faso.

• 🔦 When people have no access to electricity, households live in the dark, they cannot create sustainable income-generating activities such as setting up a barber shop, a shop sells water or fresh groceries or even put up a charging station that allows people to get connected to the internet.

• 🔌 Bboxx is changing that for millions of people in Africa. They say 10 years down the road, the company has provided access to solar energy to 6 million people across Africa.

BONUS 💸 
Zimbabwe Wants to Fix its Weak Currency.

• 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe has the world’s worst performing currency. The Zimbabwe dollar is weak to the extent that if you want to buy one U.S. dollar this week you needed to pay Z$11,617.

• 🛒 This has been the case for so many years. There was a time when people made fun of the situation in Zimbabwe that you needed to carry a wheelbarrow full of cash to buy one bread.

• 🏦 The authorities in Zimbabwe blame the years-long crisis to global economic downturns such as the 2008-09 financial crisis. But that’s a simplified view of justifying the situation. Everyone was hit by these events but countries still managed to come out of it to build resilient economies.

• 👨‍💼 One reason would could just front is the poor monetary policies the country has been implementing or otherwise poor management of the economy. It’s either that Zimbabwe has had less competent people to manage the economy or the country’s economic system has been let down by corruption and lack of transparency and accountability.

• 🪙 Now the country is still confident that they can fix their weak currency, this time with gold. That is something they tried in the past, but it never worked. Will it work this time round, read our take.

What Else We know

• 🌍️ The World Bank has extended a facility of close to $300 million to the Eastern and Southern African Trade and Development Bank (TDB), to support renewable energy and clean cooking private sector projects in Africa.

• Spiro, an electric mobility company, this week announced asset financing partnership with Jali. Spiro powers 12,000 e-bikes with battery swapping technology across Togo, Rwanda, Kenya and Benin.

• Lastly, the African Financial Industry Barometer came out this week. There are some exciting developments that we hope to explore next week. Leaders are optimistic about the medium term economic outlook, and the digital landscape holds promise for the continent.