This Focus Note explores innovative financing strategies for reaching inclusive credit fintechs in Africa, particularly those targeting underserved micro and small enterprises (MSEs). These fintechs have the potential to address the estimated US$ 4.9 trillion global credit gap for MSEs. However,...

This paper, based on the Mattei Lecture that the author delivered at the 2025 Africa Growth and Opportunity–Research in Action Conference, argues that Africa can anchor a new model of growth—and bolster global resilience—by shifting from commodity dependence to value-added production and...

By constructing a unique international database on generalized trust covering 142 countries worldwide for 41 years from 1980 to 2020, this paper finds a pronounced intertemporal variation of generalized trust over time in a majority of countries across the globe. When analyzing the time series...

This study revisits the long-standing debate on the guns-versus-butter phenomenon, that spending on military activity crowds out non-military expenditure. By focusing on Africa, we conjecture the crowding-out effect of military expenditure on health expenditure beyond government health...

This paper investigates the causal impact of free primary education (FPE) on fertility decisions among parents in sub-Saharan Africa, focusing on the interplay between the policy, intra-household bargaining, and cultural norms. Using Demographic and Health Survey data and exploiting the...

African governments are entering the geopolitical competition over critical raw materials with a growing sense of strategic confidence. While the AU-EU Summit in Luanda in November 2025 reaffirmed political commitments on both sides, European initiatives continue to lose ground. It is true that...

This paper examines whether the success of prior aid projects affects the performance of subsequent ones based on a study of World Bank projects in Africa. While existing research has shown that aid effectiveness depends on macroeconomic conditions, institutional quality, and managerial...

Digital transformation is rapidly reshaping economies and labor markets worldwide, creating new opportunities while demanding a workforce equipped with relevant digital competencies. For Zambia, a country with one of the youngest populations in the world—this transformation presents both...

North Africa stands at a pivotal crossroads—geographically and economically—between Europe’s industrial demand and Africa’s demographic dynamism. In today’s rapidly shifting global landscape, North Africa has a timely opportunity to position itself as a strategic connector of...

Africa remains the poorest and one of the most unequal regions globally, with limited upward mobility and strong intergenerational persistence of disadvantage. Child health is a key channel of transmission, shaping later outcomes in education, labour force participation, and earnings. This paper...

In this paper, we examine the transplantation of British company law into the Cape Colony in the late nineteenth century. The Cape Colony Companies Act of 1892 was like its British counterpart in that it provided minimal investor protection. This meant that promoters were free to choose the...

The Global Gateway is considered a key instrument of EU development cooperation. Introduced in 2021, it was announced as a 'win-win' strategy for both, the EU's competitiveness agenda and developing countries' strive for sustainable development. The Global Gateway epitomises the current shifts...

This paper examines the challenges that African governments are grappling with as part of a renewed international effort to expand electricity access. It shows how the crux of the challenge is twofold: one, to enable poor people to make productive use of electricity to raise their incomes and...

Foreign direct investment (FDI) plays a vital role in Africa's economic development; however, the rapidly expanding body of literature on this topic remains highly fragmented. This dispersion creates a significant research problem, obscuring structural evolution, persistent thematic gaps, and...

Many developing country governments would like to attract investment and create jobs in manufacturing and high-tech industries. Heavy and unpredictable laws and regulations, frequent demands for bribes, high taxes, poor-quality roads, slow and inefficient ports, and unreliable power, however,...

South Africa's wine industry has traditionally concentrated on developed nations as its principal export markets. In recent years, regional markets within East Africa have emerged as promising areas for growth. However, these markets have not been examined, with existing research predominantly...

The weaponization of agricultural trade has once again emerged as critical in the study of modern geopolitics due to Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Although Russia has used its wheat exports as a means of enhancing its geopolitical influence over countries in the Global South, evidence...

This paper investigates the interacting role of institutional quality in the capacity of innovation and entrepreneurship development nexus in Africa. The paper operationalises the entrepreneurship development from the perspective of new venture creation in Africa, while innovation is based on an...

As the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) transitions from ambition to implementation, Nigeria stands at the forefront of the continent's digital transformation. Recognised as an AfCFTA Digital Trade Champion and boasting one of Africa's most vibrant fintech ecosystems, leading...