Large-scale investments in natural resources (extractives as well as agriculture) can help transform African economies by accelerating economic growth, creating jobs and strengthening the links between local economies and the global economy more broadly. However, they often end up violating...

All countries in Sub-Saharan Africa have submitted Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) as part of their respective commitments to climate action, and they will start to share updated versions of their NDCs in 2025. While various analyses have documented and analysed the significant...

Energy is crucial to sustainable development globally. This working paper provides a critical review of the politics of energy production and how it manifests in supply and access in post-independence Tanzania. Drawing on existing scholarly analyses and grey literature, it paints a picture of...

Land is an important asset for people's livelihoods and for economic development in Uganda, where the majority of people live in rural areas. This working paper reviews the literature on Uganda's tenure systems and their relationship with economic activities, focusing primarily on rural...

The perception of land tenure security is widespread in Uganda. This is one of the findings from an empirical analysis of the relationship between land tenure form, tenure documentation, economic behaviour and perceived tenure security for different types of land holders in the Amuru, Masaka and...

Tanzania's land reform from 1999 has been evaluated as among the most gender-sensitive of its kind in Sub-Saharan Africa. However, there is a gap between the legal framework and what is happening on the ground. This working paper analyses the challenges related to the protection of women's...

Tanzania faces an acute shortage of timber that can only be met by private tree growers, at least in the short to medium term. The Tanzanian government in various policy document acknowledges this. However, little has happened in terms of implementation. This paper aims to explain why. Based on...

Much attention has been paid to land-based investments - often termed "land grabbing" - in Africa in recent years. However, resent research suggested that the scale of domestic investments may surpass that of foreign investors by far. Our knowledge about these domestic investors - who they are...

Many countries in sub-Saharan Africa have set targets for non-hydro renewable energy but lag in implementation. The dominant approaches to analysing energy transitions have largely been developed based on European experience and provide a limited understanding of such developments in African...

Development assistance plays an important role in the development of energy sectors in sub-Saharan African countries and it is increasingly being used to promote new renewable energy like solar and wind. The relationship between aid and domestic African priorities is however complex and outcomes...