Ashraf Patel When Goldman Sachs’ Jim O Neil coined the term BRIC in 2009, his frame of reference was emerging market destinations that were attractive for global capital investment from the North. In 2009, Brazil, Russia, India and China hosted an inaugural summit where the acronym BRIC was adopted. South
There is a pattern so deeply embedded in African resource economies that it has become almost invisible. Dig it up, ship it out, watch someone else turn it into something valuable, then import that valuable thing back at a premium. Tanzania is not exempt from this pattern. But what makes
The Venezuelan oil and gas industry is a cornerstone of the nation’s economy, underpinning government revenue and influencing regional geopolitics. Once producing over three million barrels per day (bpd), years of underinvestment, alleged mismanagement, and international sanctions severely eroded both production and technical expertise. The state-run company, Petróleos de Venezuela,
Kia has started assembling the hybrid version of the Kia Telluride at its West Point, Georgia facility, marking the company’s first hybrid model produced in the US. The move reflects rising demand for hybrid vehicles, particularly after federal incentives for fully electric vehicles were withdrawn last year. The Georgia plant
There comes a moment in every great technology revolution when the late arrivals have to decide: accept the terms that are handed to them, or fight to write their own. Africa, it seems, has made the decision to fight. On the 9th and 10th of February 2026, at the Nairobi
Across Africa’s financial centres, from Johannesburg and Nairobi to Lagos and Accra, corporate intelligence teams are faced with a new reality: fraud is no longer simply digital; it is algorithmic. Artificial intelligence has dramatically lowered the barrier to entry for sophisticated deception, and African companies are increasingly compromised. According to
This announcement was made on February 14, 2026, in a message from President Xi Jinping to African Union leaders that were gathered in Addis Ababa. Starting May 1, China is going to apply zero tariffs on 100% of tariff lines for all 53 African countries that maintain diplomatic relations with
When the United States and Iran sit down in Geneva for another round of nuclear negotiations, the temptation in Western media will be to frame this as a rogue state finally being brought to heel. That framing is not only lazy; it is historically dishonest. What is actually happening in
Brazil has the 11th largest economy in the world, with a GDP of around $2.3 trillion. Brazil’s political landscape has been particularly contentious. Brazil has suffered an attempted coup in 2022 after former president Jair Bolsonaro allegedly initiated a coup in order to nullify the election result in favour president
Dr. Reneva Fourie When President Cyril Ramaphosa stood before Parliament on 12 February 2026 to deliver his State of the Nation Address, he painted a picture of a country finally turning the corner. With four consecutive quarters of GDP growth, two primary budget surpluses, and the end of load shedding,