Talking Africa

With elections barely two weeks away, what is the platform of Nigeria's ruling APC?In a long conversation with Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, we cover the gamut of economic, political and social issues facing Nigeria today.Next week: Atiku AbubakarDon't forget to sign up to our newsletter to get out ahead of the latest news and analysis - head to www.theafricareport.com for more details

There have been some spectacular failures in African private equity. Large funds entered the market at the peak of the Africa economic hype narrative in 2014, and then crashed out. Global players KKR and BlackRock came, put a toe in the water... and then left. New entrants like Abraaj who dreamt big exploded.So does this clear the way for a different kind of private equity player in Africa? For smaller funds not looking for the big $200m deal: more specialised, more focused?Ziad Oueslati, Managing Director and co-founder of AfricInvest – a veteran private equity investor – certainly thinks so. His pioneering funds have invested in 150 companies, has exited from nearly 90. Don't forget, you can sign up to our newsletter for free: www.theafricareport.com

When Aid Data came out with its 2013 data set on Chinese finance in Africa, it was quick to be picked up by media houses:'China commits billions in aid to Africa', said one headline in the UK's Guardian newspaper.It was also quick to be criticised by China Africa scholars such as Deborah Brautigam, who pointed out methodological issues with the data set.But Aid-Data has absorbed the criticism, refined its approach, and continues to try to map out financial flows from China to Africa.We spoke to Brad Parks, the executive director of Aid Data, a research center based at William and Mary college in the US.You can find them on twitter @aiddataDon't forget for the latest news and analysis, try out our daily newsletter.Head to www.theafricareport.com and enter your email address to receive it every weekday afternoon.

African governments have failed to translate economic growth into improved sustainable economic opportunity for their citizens.That's what the Mo Ibrahim Foundation's latest report says; and we quiz their executive director Abdoulie Janneh, who remains optimistic despite the data. Visit @Mo_IbrahimFdn for more.For a 20% discount on a 6-month subscription, please head to bit.ly/2JaIsxw and enter the offer code: PODCASTAnd for the latest news and analysis, try out our daily newsletter: head to www.theafricareport.com and enter your email address to receive it every weekday afternoon.

Back in 2011, the African Development Bank claimed Africa's middle class was over 300m people strong, sparking controversy.Now, a new data mapping company Fraym says it has located Africa's premium consumers.We talk to Fraym CEO Ben Leo to find out more. Say hello on twitter @Leo_Benjamin.For a 20% discount on a 6-month subscription, please head to bit.ly/2JaIsxw and enter the offer code: PODCASTAnd for the latest news and analysis, try out our daily newsletter: head to www.theafricareport.com and enter your email address to receive it every afternoon.

Having a financial history is a huge benefit for poor families, say Kosta Peric.As financial technology moves beyond simple payments, new possibilities emerge.Author and technologist Peric is our guide to this new world, and you can find him on Twitter @copernicc -- he works for the @gatesfoundation The McKinsey report he mentions is here: https://mck.co/2lZJQIeDo say hello @nicknorbrook and @theafricareportFor a 20% discount on a 6-month subscription, please head to bit.ly/2JaIsxw and enter the offer code: PODCASTAnd for the latest news and analysis, try out our daily newsletter: head to www.theafricareport.com and enter your email address to receive it every afternoon.

What happens after Kabila leaves power in the Democratic Republic of Congo? And why are clashes between farmers and herders proving even more deadly in Nigeria than Boko Haram?Find out in this week's podcast, produced in conjunction with Radio France Internationale, as we look into the November edition of The Africa Report magazine.For a 20% discount on a 6-month subscription, please head to bit.ly/2JaIsxw and enter the offer code: PODCASTAnd for the latest news and analysis, try out our daily newsletter: head to www.theafricareport.com and enter your email address to receive it every afternoon.

How do you get into OPEC? We ask energy lawyer NJ Ayuk, the CEO of Centurion Law, who has guided Equatorial Guinea and Congo Brazzaville into the oil-producing club.For a 20% discount on a 6-month subscription, please head to https://bit.ly/2JaIsxw and enter the offer code: PODCASTAnd don't forget to subscribe to our free daily newsletter on the website: www.theafricareport.com

Meet the man who wants to build the next Alibaba in Africa – Sacha Poignonnec.He is the co-CEO of Jumia Africa, an African unicorn: a tech company worth a billion dollars.Say hello @sachapoignonnecDon't forget, you can sign up to our daily newsletter here: http://www.theafricareport.com

A new generation of leaders? Julius Malema and Abiy Ahmed are worlds apart. But the one thing they have in common is their youth: as a result, they can relate to the bulk of Africa's population.This week, our monthly tie-up with Radio France International, we explore what's in the October edition of The Africa Report.We talk Ethiopia, looking at the grand reforms of new Prime Minister Ahmed Abiy – from his regional reshuffle of alliances, to the big political and economic changes.And we talk about opposition leader Julius Malema's pitch to a new generation of South Africans... and assess how far it will get him in the elections next year.The October issue is on the stands now, if you need to know how to get a copy please visit the website www.theafricareport.com or @theafricareport, and @nicknorbrookAnd say hello to RFI here: @RFI_English

The CDC Group is the world's oldest development finance institution, and is owned by the UK government.Nick O'Donahoe has been Chief Executive since June 2017.We discuss Brexit, Theresa May's dancing, Africa's missing corporate middle, and the new scramble for Africa.Find him on Twitter @nickodonohoeAnd say hello @theafricareport

Built by Samsung for Total, with final engineering done at the Ladol Free Zone in Lagos, the Egina vessel is a milestone in Nigeria's oil industry.This 330m-long giant was towed 130km off the coast of Nigeria to Total’s Egina deep offshore field. It departed in late August, and once it is plugged into 44 subsea wells, it will draw up 200,000 barrels per day of crude -- some $70m at today’s prices. We spoke to Jide Jadesimi, the head of business development at Ladol, about making things in Nigeria, building up the skills base for industrialisation, and how to pay for it all.Follow Ladol on twitter @ladol_freezone, and follow us @theafricareport, and follow Nick @nicknorbrook

Africa's debt profile has tanked; and the IMF - those economic sanitary inspectors - are back.But with Chinese lending now dwarfing the old Bretton Woods institutions, there is a new dynamic to Africa's debt management.In the latest issue of The Africa Report, we interview the Managing Director of the IMF, Christine Lagarde.In this pod, our editor-in-chief Patrick Smith dissects whether the Fund has changed, and the new risks that African economies are facing.Go to theafricareport.com for more, and join the conversation @theafricareport

Ken Njoroge and Bolaji Akinboro co-founded Cellulant on the back of a napkin. Today they are raising tens of millions of dollars to roll out a new generation of mobile payments, using the very latest technology.In so doing, they are bringing trust into the system. Ultimately, to bring in the big bucks and not just the crooked bucks, African countries are going to have to strive for systems that create transparency. Cellulant hopes they are part of the answer.You can find them on twitter @KenNjoroge and @BolajiAkinboro, with Cellulant @Cellulant.Don't forget, The Africa Report finance issue is out now, we have an exclusive interview with IMF boss Christine Lagarde, as well as our ranking of Africa's top 200 banks.Follow @theafricareport to get the best analysis and news from the continent, and follow Nicholas Norbrok @nicknorbrook

On the agenda this week: How the hard man of Ethiopia's Somali region will live with the bustling new Prime Minister,how Lagos is a city that overtaxes its poor, and how South Korea was the perfect backdrop for the African Development Bank to talk about industrialisation at their latest meetings.Don't forget to say hello: @nicknorbrook and @theafricareport on Twitter, on our Facebook page and at theafricareport.comThis edition made in partnership with Radio France Internationale

Demography and rising sea waters are eating away at recent gains in the development of Africa's nations. We talk to the President of the African Development Bank Akinwumi Adesina. He is clear about the need for speed -- and he wants more money for the Bank to do it.You can find him on Twitter @akin_adesina and the AfDB is @AfDB_GroupAnd please say hello: @nicknorbrook and @theafricareport

Can business do good and do well at the same time? The CEO of Unilever, Paul Polman, believes so -- and is making a multi-billion dollar bet on it.Join me as we discuss the state of capitalism, tax, sustainability and the environment.You can find Paul on Twitter @paulpolman, and i'm @nicknorbrook.

Tewodros Ashenafi is a leading Ethiopian entrepreneur, and a keen student of history. The Africa Report bumped into him at our recently concluded annual CEO Forum in Abidjian.In this wide-ranging conversation, we talk about the Cold War, doing business in Ethiopia, the role of the state and much more.You can check out his companies here: http://swholdings.comWe are on Twitter @theafricareport, and you can let us know your thoughts direct to Nick here: @nicknorbrook

South African activists have managed to force land reform back up the political agenda.But how should land reform happen, and what are the stakes?We talk to Dede Amanor-Wilkes of the African Centre for Economic Transformation, to find out.For more, see our land story here: http://www.theafricareport.com/Southern-Africa/south-africas-growing-chorus-for-land-reform.html

The ANC is one of the most respected and long-established political parties, with great victories and heroes in its past – Mandela and the fight against apartheid among others.But in recent years the whiff of corruption and the unlovely euphemism – state capture – has surrounded the party. And President Zuma and his connections to the Gupta family have been hitting the party where it hurts – in the polls, where it has been losing cities and provinces to opposition parties.So now that former mine union leader turned businessman Cyril Ramaphosa has won the head of the party – with the assumption that he will become president of the country next year – why the nagging doubts that this will not change much in South Africa?