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The report examines the business relationship between South Africa and Nigeria, highlighting the opportunities presented by Nigeria's large market and the significant hurdles faced by investors. Key challenges include systemic corruption, poor infrastructure—particularly in the power sector—and a lack of policy predictability. While the report notes that the return to democracy in 1999 and the introduction of the National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy (NEEDS) have improved the investment climate, it emphasizes that Nigeria remains a high-risk environment. The document also details the specific impact of South African firms like MTN and the broader economic landscape, including the dominance of the oil and gas sector and the emerging 'new economy' driven by the Nigerian diaspora.

The report examines the business environment in Nigeria from the perspective of South African investors, highlighting the tension between the country's massive market potential and its systemic structural failures. While the return to democracy in 1999 and the introduction of the National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy (NEEDS) have improved foreign direct investment (FDI) and political stability, South African firms continue to face high costs due to poor infrastructure, rampant corruption, and unpredictable policy-making. The document details the success of companies like MTN and the failures of others like Vodacom, while providing specific policy recommendations for both the Nigerian and South African governments to foster a more stable and transparent bilateral economic relationship.

The Willis Transportation Outlook examines how transport infrastructure serves as a primary driver of global economic development and wealth creation. It highlights a shift in aviation and trade growth toward Asia and the Middle East, while developed nations like the UK struggle with political instability and aging infrastructure. The document emphasizes the transition toward 'intelligent mobility'—using smart data and connectivity to reduce congestion—and the urgent need for climate-resilient infrastructure to withstand extreme weather. It also explores innovative funding models like Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) and the role of China's investment in African transport networks.

Persistent Energy Capital provides equity and venture-building support to small, under-resourced green companies in Sub-Saharan Africa, starting with investments as low as $50,000. To date, the fund has invested $23 million across 23 companies in 22 countries, contributing to the elimination of 1.4 million tons of CO2 and the creation of over 21,700 jobs. With support from FSD Africa Investments (FSDAi), Persistent is currently raising a US$100 million Africa Climate Venture Builder Fund to expand its reach into sectors such as agritech, circular economy, waste management, and water and sanitation.

The 'Kit d’Outils d’Obligations Verte Afrique' is a practical guide developed by FSD Africa and the Climate Bonds Initiative (CBI) to support the issuance of green bonds in Africa. It outlines the structural similarities between green and conventional bonds, while detailing the specific requirements for environmental benefit allocation, transparency, and reporting. The document explains global benchmarks such as the Green Bond Principles (GBP) and the Climate Bonds Standard (CBS), and provides a step-by-step issuance process including pre-emission preparation and post-emission verification. It also highlights successful case studies from South Africa, Kenya, and Nigeria to demonstrate investor demand and the role of credit guarantees in local market mobilization.

The Nigerian Green Bond Market Development Programme (NGBMDP) aimed to develop a non-sovereign green bond market in Nigeria between 2018 and 2021. The programme successfully facilitated the issuance of 4 corporate green bonds and 2 sovereign green bonds, raising a total of ₦58.51 billion in sovereign issuances and ₦32.83 billion in corporate issuances. Key achievements include the training of over 500 capital market professionals, the development of mandatory Nigeria Green Bond Guidelines by the SEC in December 2018, and the certification of local verifiers such as Rubicola Consulting Limited and Agusto & Co. Limited. The programme also supported the launch of the FMDQ Green Exchange in November 2021 to improve transparency and ESG reporting. Despite these gains, the report notes that the market remains in its infancy, with a heavy reliance on public sector financing and a need for a larger pipeline of bankable green projects.

The document examines the requirements for building onshore financial centres in Africa capable of competing with established conduits like Mauritius. It identifies Mauritius and Johannesburg as the most compelling current jurisdictions, while noting the ambitions of Rwanda and Kenya. It also highlights the potential role of donors in providing technical assistance to ensure international best practice in regulatory structures.

The report examines the role of fund domiciles in Sub-Saharan African private equity, highlighting the dominance of Mauritius due to its tax efficiency and legal stability. While there is growing interest in onshore alternatives—particularly in South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria, and Morocco—the report finds that the high standards of legal, regulatory, and tax frameworks in offshore centres create a significant barrier to entry. It argues that donors should focus on strengthening the broader business environment and supporting private equity investment in SMEs rather than solely attempting to replicate administrative offshore hubs.

The Global Resilience Partnership (GRP) is launching the TECH 4 Resilience Challenge to identify and scale AI innovations that enhance humanitarian preparedness and response to climate shocks. The initiative targets entrepreneurs and organisations operating in low- and middle-income countries, offering winners up to US$50,000 in funding, alongside mentoring, a virtual Leadership Academy, and investment mobilisation support. Eligible solutions must address extreme climate events or strengthen Anticipatory Action frameworks, with a priority on locally led innovations benefiting women and youth. The challenge opens on 1 August 2025, with final winners announced in November/December 2025 for implementation throughout 2026.

The report examines the environmental impact of the ICT sector, specifically regarding energy consumption, CO2 emissions, and the global e-waste trade. It contrasts these negative effects with the potential for ICTs to drive economic growth and support a 'green economy' through improved resource efficiency, dematerialisation, and systemic social transformation. The text highlights the disproportionate burden of e-waste on developing nations and identifies critical policy challenges, such as rebound effects and unintended consequences of digital openness.

The document examines the rapid rate of urbanisation across Africa, highlighting that while urban growth can drive economic diversification, unplanned growth in developing economies often leads to slums and infrastructure stress. It focuses on Nigeria, where rapid urban population growth has outpaced planning, resulting in high slum residency and significant shortages in housing, water, and sanitation. The briefing notes that Nigeria's inability to manage this growth and integrate its large informal economy limits national economic contributions and increases the risk of political and social instability.

The report argues that the success of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) depends heavily on improving the efficiency, capacity, and security of Africa's maritime transport and port infrastructure to facilitate the movement of goods across the continent.

The authors contend that African urbanization is a demographic megatrend that reshapes politics in diverse, context-specific ways. They reject a uniform 'urban effect,' proposing instead that political changes—such as shifts in citizen preferences, elite incentives, and forms of mobilization—are the direct result of territorially-situated power struggles and the specific social relations produced within built environments. The paper examines six domains: citizen preferences, elite interests, political mobilization, gender roles, civil society, and contentious collective action, highlighting how these are mediated by the unique histories and physical characteristics of different urban places.

The study finds that rural-urban migration itself does not cause urban violence. Instead, lethal urban political violence is associated with the socioeconomic marginalization of rural-urban migrants—specifically relative deprivation in terms of household assets and access to public services—as well as unequal access to education within the city population.

This document is a Request for Proposals (RfP) and Terms of Reference (ToR) issued by the Alliance for Rural Electrification (ARE) to procure event logistics, branding, and coordination services for the 2024 Energy Access Investment Forum (EAIF).

The document outlines predictable trends and critical unknowns for the Southern African region, noting a decline in solar energy costs and increasing climate vulnerability, while questioning the pace of EV adoption, infrastructure availability, and the role of South Africa's auto-manufacturing protections.

The report identifies significant energy gaps in Nigeria's healthcare system, noting that 40% of primary healthcare centres (PHCs) lack electricity. It proposes a phased roadmap to electrify 10,000 functional PHCs by 2030, estimating a total cost of $525 million for CAPEX and OPEX over 15 years. The document analyzes three delivery models—traditional equipment ownership, service-based, and a proposed hybrid model—recommending the hybrid approach for Type 2 PHCs to balance private sector efficiency with public sector constraints. Key recommendations include the creation of a centralized dynamic database for health facility energy status and the use of blended financing to mitigate risks for private energy service companies.

The report identifies significant energy gaps in Nigeria's healthcare system, where 40% of primary healthcare centres lack electricity, contributing to poor health outcomes. It maps the complex governance structure across federal, state, and local governments and reviews renewable energy policies, such as the National Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Policy (NREEEP). The analysis reveals a heavy reliance on donor-funded EPC models for electrification, with a noted lack of coordination between the energy and health sectors. It highlights the NPHCDA's '1 PHC per ward' plan to revitalize 10,000 facilities with solar power and recommends stronger cross-sectoral collaboration through initiatives like the Coalition for Sustainable Electrification of PHCs.

Nigeria's Long-Term Low Emission Development Strategy (LT-LEDS) establishes a pathway to net-zero emissions by 2060. The strategy analyzes four decarbonization scenarios—Business As Usual (BAU), Current Policy Scenario (CPS), Gas Economy Scenario (GES), and Renewable Energy Scenario (RES)—concluding that the RES, supported by international aid (RES+), offers the most promising balance of low emissions and economic growth. The report details sectoral mitigation measures for power, AFOLU, industry, transport, and waste, alongside a comprehensive adaptation framework to protect the economy, particularly the agriculture sector, from climate-induced GDP losses. Implementation relies on policy, financial, and technological innovations, including carbon pricing and the establishment of a National Climate Change Fund.

The guidelines propose a dual approach to planning for disaster resilience: examining trade-offs and implementing equitable resilience. The first approach identifies five dimensions of trade-offs—aggregation, participation, equity, time, and risk—that can inadvertently create new vulnerabilities if not addressed. The second approach, equitable resilience, focuses on four elements: recognizing subjectivities, ensuring inclusion and representation, working across multiple scales, and allowing for systemic transformation. The document emphasizes that sustainable development requires confronting power imbalances and prioritizing the needs of marginalized groups to avoid the cycle where development efforts exacerbate disaster risk.