Great article by Stephen Brien. Transformation needs 4 things concurrently: 1. A political settlement where leaders' constituencies can take a hit 2. A political window 3. Visonary leadership 4. Teams ready in advance 'as windows do not wait'. @kopalo hiddenrules.substack.com/p/w…

Great article by Stephen Brien. Transformation needs 4 things concurrently: 1. A political settlement where leaders' constituencies can take a hit 2. A political window 3. Visonary leadership 4. Teams ready in advance 'as windows do not wait'. @kopalo hiddenrules.substack.com/p/w…

last week, when President Samia Suluhu Hassan officially opened a giant new hydropower plant on the country’s largest river, the Rufiji, it had become a power-surplus nation. @opinion bloomberg.com/opinion/articl…

This morning in Nairobi, we opened an important conversation about the next chapter of Africa’s agrifood systems. As part of #AGRAat20, we launched our Impact, Learning & Foresight Report, bringing together members of the media to unpack what two decades of evidence tell us about Africa’s progress, and what needs to change. Over the past 20 years, together with our partners, we have helped strengthen critical capacities across the continent: supporting over 100 seed companies, more than 650 improved seed varieties, over 25,000 agro-dealers and 33,000 Village Based Advisors, while five million farmers have been trained in soil health and climate-smart practices. These are contributions to a much bigger African transformation, built alongside governments, farmers, researchers, businesses, financiers and development partners. But the report is equally clear: progress has been real, but it has not yet added up to the transformation Africa needs. The next chapter must ensure that gains in productivity translate into income, resilience, dignity and opportunity for farmers. The next 20 years must turn progress into prosperity. Explore insights from the report: agra.org/foresight-report/ #AGRAat20 #AGRA #AGRAImpact #AGRAForesightReport

...so we can imagine how much harder it is for low income countries - who typcially have weaker state capability - to implement robust industrial policies, and hence we can imagine why the majority of their people continue to lose ground and remain in poverty.

"Many democratically elected leaders grew up in a world where they were expected simply to referee markets. But countries whose leaders still think this way are now losing ground to those where governments play a more strategic economic role." project-syndicate.org/commen…

“The ideologizing of capitalist democracy is distorting. When translated into development programs, it invariably becomes top-down, one-size-fits-all campaigns that disempower the poor.” I recall being blocked on Twitter by some for pushing this view 4-10 years ago.

Yesterday’s meeting with @JonathanSaid1 of the Alliance for Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) explored synergies between Africa’s climate adaptation agenda and AGRA's continent-wide work. A reminder that agricultural resilience and transformation are foundational to climate strategy in Africa. Soil health, drought-resilient seeds, inter-cropping and agroforestry, water-efficient agricultural systems, pre- and post-harvest innovation; all worth promoting and scaling up through local SMEs and organizations that address smallholder needs including cooperatives and SACCOs. Discussions covered biochar, green ammonia and fertiliser production, solar irrigation, adaptation benefits and the example of cocoa production in West Africa. From South-South cooperation on emerging sustainable economy opportunities and climate preparedness and finance mechanisms, to agro-processing, value chain and intra-African integration through corridors, AGRA's technical expertise and Kenya's climate adaptation leadership has the potential to create and support ecosystems where climate-adapted agriculture in Africa becomes economically competitive and job generating. This is critical in a continent with two-thirds of the world's untapped arable land. #AgriculturalResilience #ClimateAdaptation #Africa #AgroProcessing #SouthSouthCooperation

“Nigeria’s traditional extension system cannot adequately serve its smallholder farmers, with one agent supporting an average of 6,446 farmers in 2024.” A hybrid human-digital private extension model can help. ecofinagency.com/news-digita…?

I had not realized how far Morocco has come as a late industrialization success story. -@jwmason1 phenomenalworld.org/analysis…

'For Africa, however, this lesson strengthens the case for industrialization, as building technological capabilities and capturing more value domestically remain essential priorities.' @LopesInsights project-syndicate.org/commen…

Important piece by @hozangoga. This evidence (yes, this is evidence too) is important: we do not provide proper support to governments in lower and middle in come countries, despite development objectives being unreachable without them. thierryhoza.substack.com/p/w…

"Much of Africa....is terribly under-governed - a fact that gets ignored due to the obsession with ritual electoralism and regime types." @kopalo 100% africanistperspective.com/p/…

...so in case it needed to be said, industrial policy is key to shape the structure of economy and management capabilities that it needs. The size and direction of capital flows are secondary.

The modern concept of statehood, superimposed on the African concept of decentralised states. Nice quote: "The USA States turned 65 in 1841 when the American Civil War was still 2 decades away. State formation can be slow, unpredictable, & quite messy." thegpi.org/p/rethinking-stat…

Even South Africa’s trade unions — organisations that have every reason to focus on workers’ struggles — increasingly recognise how misguided it is to blame migrants for the country’s deep economic and social challenges. 🇿🇦 Unemployment, poverty, failing infrastructure, corruption, state capture, weak economic growth, and poor governance were not caused by a Zimbabwean waiter, a Malawian builder, a Congolese trader, or a Somali shopkeeper. They are the result of policy failures, political choices, and structural problems that have built up over decades. Scapegoating migrants may be emotionally satisfying for some politicians and activists, but it does nothing to create jobs, improve education, fix municipalities, restore electricity supply, or attract investment. In fact, it distracts from the real issues and divides working-class communities that share many of the same struggles. 🤝 History shows that when economies are under pressure, outsiders are often blamed for problems they did not create. But facts matter. Migrants are workers, taxpayers, entrepreneurs, consumers, and contributors to society. Many start businesses, create employment, and fill gaps in sectors where labour is needed. 📈 If South Africa wants a better future, the focus should be on economic growth, competent governance, fighting corruption, improving public services, and expanding opportunities for everyone who lives and works in the country — not chasing convenient political targets. 🎯 The real battle is not South Africans versus migrants. It is prosperity versus stagnation, accountability versus corruption, and solutions versus scapegoating. 🇿🇦✨

So why the label degrowth? It’s sloppy. Growth is not defined as the ‘use of excess energies and resources.’ Describe what one means clearly as otherwise it’s counterproductive.