Ngoni Mhike

Nigeria’s Lithium Processing Mandate Tests Investor Appetite for Value Addition

Nigeria is enforcing strict domestic processing rules for its lithium sector, aiming to move beyond raw exports. Investors are watching if the infrastructure can support the ambitious 2026 industrial roadmap.

Ngoni MhikeNov 2, 20266 min read

DRC Cobalt Producers Face Regulatory Squeeze as Global Supply Chains Shift

The Democratic Republic of Congo is tightening its grip on cobalt production, forcing miners to navigate new regulatory hurdles while global demand for battery materials remains volatile.

Ngoni MhikeNov 2, 20266 min read

West African Land Rights Under Scrutiny as Agribusiness Ventures Face Backlash

Controversy surrounds African Agriculture Holdings as local communities and activists challenge the firm's land and water usage in West Africa.

Ngoni MhikeNov 2, 20265 min read

Zimbabwe’s Lithium Deadline Looms as Miners Seek Tax Relief and Extensions

As Zimbabwe approaches its January 2027 ban on lithium concentrate exports, major Chinese-backed miners are lobbying for tax reforms and project extensions.

Ngoni MhikeNov 1, 20266 min read

DRC Cobalt Quotas Reshape Global Supply as Glencore Output Plummets

Kinshasa’s aggressive export quota regime has triggered a 52% production drop at Glencore, signaling a new era of state-led market intervention in the critical minerals sector.

Ngoni MhikeNov 1, 20266 min read

West African Land Rights Under Fire as Agribusiness Venture Stalls

African Agriculture Holdings faces intense scrutiny over land and water rights in West Africa as its share price collapses and local communities raise alarms.

Ngoni MhikeNov 1, 20265 min read

Small-Scale Mining Reforms Target Sustainability in Ghana

Ghana is implementing new regulatory reforms to formalise and improve the environmental sustainability of its small-scale gold mining sector.

Ngoni MhikeNov 1, 20266 min read

The Value-Add Trap: Africa’s Struggle to Refine Minerals at Home

African nations are mandating domestic processing for critical minerals, but a severe energy deficit threatens to stall the transition from raw ore to refined product.

Ngoni MhikeNov 1, 20266 min read

Zimbabwe’s Lithium Gamble: Processing Mandates Face 2027 Reality Check

As Zimbabwe prepares for a total ban on raw lithium exports in 2027, the nation faces a critical test of its industrial policy, balancing aggressive beneficiation goals against infrastructure gaps and investor uncertainty.

Ngoni MhikeNov 1, 20266 min read

Infinity Power Scales Renewable Energy Footprint Across African Markets

Infinity Power’s latest triple-agreement expansion signals a shift in how energy infrastructure is being deployed to support the continent’s growing agribusiness and industrial processing sectors.

Ngoni MhikeNov 1, 20265 min read

Zambia and DRC Advance Regional Copper Processing Integration

Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo are deepening their collaboration to localise copper processing, aiming to capture greater value within the regional supply chain.

Ngoni MhikeNov 1, 20266 min read

Botswana’s Diamond Sector Navigates Global Market Volatility and New Trade Accords

As global demand for natural diamonds fluctuates, Botswana is recalibrating its mining strategy through new long-term agreements to secure market stability.

Ngoni MhikeOct 31, 20266 min read

Ground Up Investing Secures $6 Million to Bridge East Africa’s Agribusiness Gap

A new $6 million funding round by Ground Up Investing highlights the urgent need for working capital in East African agriculture, where a $180 billion financing gap continues to stifle small and medium-sized enterprises.

Ngoni MhikeOct 31, 20265 min read

DRC Cobalt Producers Face New Regulatory Hurdles and Supply Chain Transparency Demands

The Democratic Republic of Congo is tightening oversight on cobalt mining operations to meet international ESG standards and secure its position in the EV supply chain.

Ngoni MhikeOct 31, 20266 min read

Ghana’s Gold Sector Reforms Target Small-Scale Mining Sustainability

Ghana is implementing rigorous new standards for small-scale gold miners to curb environmental degradation and formalize the sector.

Ngoni MhikeOct 29, 20266 min read

Zambia and DRC Deepen Copper Processing Ties to Capture Global Value

Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo are accelerating joint efforts to process copper locally, aiming to move beyond raw ore exports.

Ngoni MhikeOct 29, 20266 min read

Mastercard Foundation Africa Growth Fund Targets Agri-SME Value Chain Expansion

The Mastercard Foundation Africa Growth Fund is deploying grants of up to $2.5 million to scale agribusiness SMEs across Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Ghana, and Nigeria, aiming to bridge critical gaps in food production and value chain integration.

Ngoni MhikeOct 29, 20265 min read

World Bank and EBRD Pivot to Local Mineral Processing in Africa

The World Bank and EBRD are backing a shift toward domestic mineral processing in Zambia, Mauritania, and Malawi, aiming to capture more value locally.

Ngoni MhikeOct 25, 20266 min read

Mobilising Diaspora Capital: A New Financial Engine for African Agribusiness

As diaspora remittances reach record levels, new investment vehicles are channeling these funds into value-added agribusiness, shifting from consumption to production.

Ngoni MhikeOct 25, 20265 min read

African Indigenous Miners Chamber Scales Funding for Small-Scale Operations

The African Indigenous Miners Chamber (AIMC) is expanding its support for small-scale miners, providing critical funding for production, sales, and logistics.

Ngoni MhikeOct 25, 20266 min read

Strategic Shifts in African Mining: Beyond Extraction to Value Addition

As African nations push for greater control over their mineral wealth, the focus is shifting toward local processing and value-added industrialization.

Ngoni MhikeOct 25, 20266 min read

Kigali’s Food Systems Forum: Scaling the Future of African Agribusiness

The Africa Food Systems Forum in Kigali has become the premier stage for African agribusinesses to secure the capital needed to scale their operations.

Ngoni MhikeOct 23, 20265 min read

Equatorial Guinea’s Hydrocarbons Law: A Bid for Regulatory Clarity

Equatorial Guinea’s new Hydrocarbons Law aims to attract investment by modernizing licensing rules in a competitive global energy market.

Ngoni MhikeOct 19, 20266 min read

The New Gold Rush: West Africa's Rise as a Global Mining Frontier

From Ghana to Mali, West Africa's gold belt is attracting record investment as global producers diversify away from mature jurisdictions.

Ngoni MhikeJul 22, 20266 min read

Green Hydrogen Arrives on Africa's Atlantic Coast: Namibia's Mega-Export Bet

Namibia's vast solar and wind resources, combined with its Atlantic coastline, are positioning it as a future exporter of green hydrogen to Europe and Asia — one of the most ambitious industrial bets on the continent.

Ngoni MhikeJul 22, 20265 min read

Critical Minerals and Africa's Strategic Edge in the Energy Transition

The continent holds the keys to the global energy transition. The question is whether it will capture the value or simply supply the raw materials.

Ngoni MhikeJul 18, 20266 min read

Beyond Extraction: Can Value-Added Processing Transform Africa's Mining Sector?

For decades, Africa has exported raw ore and imported finished goods. A new generation of policy is betting that processing can change the equation.

Ngoni MhikeJul 10, 20266 min read

Africa's First Battery Gigafactories: The Storage Backbone of the Energy Transition

Battery manufacturing is arriving in Africa, linking the continent's mineral wealth to a domestic energy storage industry that could power both the grid and the electric vehicle fleet of the future.

Ngoni MhikeJul 4, 20265 min read

AgriFinance in Africa: Closing the $65 Billion Funding Gap for Smallholders

African smallholder farmers face a $65 billion financing gap. Digital credit platforms, weather-indexed insurance, and value chain financing are beginning to fill it.

Ngoni MhikeJun 27, 20265 min read

Solar Mini-Grids: Powering Rural Africa's Industrial Revolution

Solar mini-grids are doing more than providing light — they are enabling small-scale manufacturing, cold storage, and productive enterprise in communities previously excluded from the industrial economy.

Ngoni MhikeJun 24, 20265 min read

Mini-Grids: The Technology That Could Electrify Rural Africa

Solar mini-grids are proving more cost-effective than grid extension for rural electrification — and the business models are finally maturing.

Ngoni MhikeJun 24, 20265 min read

E-Commerce and the African Farmer: Digital Marketplaces Disrupting Agricultural Trade

Digital agricultural marketplaces are cutting out intermediaries, giving smallholders price discovery, and connecting farmers directly with urban buyers — transforming the economics of smallholder agriculture.

Ngoni MhikeJun 23, 20265 min read

Tourism

Medical Tourism in East Africa: A Billion-Dollar Opportunity in Plain Sight

Africans spend over $6 billion annually seeking medical treatment abroad. Building the capacity to retain that spend could transform the continent's healthcare industry.

Ngoni MhikeJun 23, 20265 min read

The Lithium Rush: Africa's Battery Minerals and the Global Energy Transition

Africa holds critical reserves of lithium, cobalt, and manganese — the minerals that power the global energy transition. Whether Africans benefit depends on decisions being made right now.

Ngoni MhikeJun 20, 20265 min read

Tourism

Tourism Technology: How AI and Apps Are Transforming the African Visitor Experience

From AI-powered game sighting apps to virtual lodge previews and instant mobile payments, technology is reshaping every stage of the African tourism journey.

Ngoni MhikeJun 16, 20265 min read

Nuclear Power in Africa: The Renaissance That Could Reshape the Continent's Energy Mix

A new generation of smaller, safer nuclear reactors is making African nuclear energy viable for the first time. South Africa and several North African nations are leading the way.

Ngoni MhikeJun 15, 20265 min read

Green Mining: How Technology Is Cleaning Up Africa's Extractive Industries

From autonomous electric haul trucks to AI-driven ore sorting, a new wave of technology is making mining cleaner, safer, and more efficient.

Ngoni MhikeJun 15, 20266 min read

Railway Renaissance: Africa's Freight Rail Networks Get a 21st-Century Upgrade

After decades of underinvestment and decline, several African freight rail networks are undergoing major rehabilitation — with transformative implications for logistics costs and industrial competitiveness.

Ngoni MhikeJun 10, 20266 min read

Gas-to-Power in Mozambique: Africa's Biggest New Energy Bet

Mozambique's offshore gas discoveries rank among the largest in the world. Converting that gas into electricity — for domestic use and export — is one of Africa's most consequential infrastructure projects.

Ngoni MhikeJun 6, 20265 min read

Cobalt, Ethics, and the EV Supply Chain: The DRC's Strategic Moment

The Democratic Republic of Congo produces most of the world's cobalt, yet captures a sliver of the value. A new industrial strategy aims to change that.

Ngoni MhikeJun 5, 20266 min read

Road Freight in Africa: Trucking's Central Role in Continental Commerce

Over 90% of Africa's freight moves by road. The trucking industry — fragmented, undercapitalised, and burdened by border delays — is ripe for the kind of platform disruption that transformed the sector elsewhere.

Ngoni MhikeMay 31, 20266 min read

Africa's Ocean Economy: The Blue Economy Opportunity Is Vast and Largely Untapped

Africa's maritime zones contain immense wealth in fisheries, minerals, shipping, and offshore energy. Developing the governance and capacity to capture this wealth is one of the continent's defining economic challenges.

Ngoni MhikeMay 27, 20265 min read

Tourism

Gastronomy Tourism: Africa's Culinary Heritage as a Tourism Asset

From injera in Addis Ababa to jollof rice in Lagos and braai culture in Cape Town, African cuisines are gaining global recognition. Culinary tourism could become a major driver of visitor arrivals.

Ngoni MhikeMay 21, 20265 min read

Solar-Powered Cement: Africa's Heaviest Industry Goes Green

Cement producers across East and Southern Africa are integrating utility-scale solar to slash energy costs and carbon emissions.

Ngoni MhikeMay 14, 20265 min read

Technology

The Data Centre Boom: Africa's Digital Infrastructure Deficit Meets Investment

Hyperscale data centres are arriving in African markets, raising questions about power, localisation, and who benefits.

Ngoni MhikeApr 24, 20264 min read

Technology

AI on the Factory Floor: Early Lessons from African Manufacturers

A handful of pioneering African manufacturers have begun deploying AI for quality control and predictive maintenance — with striking results.

Ngoni MhikeApr 4, 20264 min read

Aviation MRO: Building Africa's Aircraft Maintenance Capability

African airlines spend over $2 billion annually sending aircraft to Europe and Asia for maintenance. Building local MRO capability is becoming a strategic priority.

Ngoni MhikeMar 14, 20266 min read

Manufacturing

Pharmaceutical Manufacturing: Africa's Pandemic Lesson in Industrial Sovereignty

COVID-19 exposed Africa's dependency on imported medicines. The response — a continent-wide push for local pharmaceutical production — is reshaping industrial policy.

Ngoni MhikeFeb 22, 20267 min read