GOOD MORNING CHOP FAMILY!
How’s your week going? I know it’s only Tuesday, but hopefully its trending up, like brent crude! Well before you go and scroll IG when your are supposed to be paying attention to a Zoom call, check out the latest chop! Your direct connection to the latest business stories from the continent.
🌿 Proverb of the Day
“One person cannot divide the bunch of cola nuts alone.”
🧠 Brain Chop: Quick Quiz
Warm up your macro brain:
Nigeria’s foreign exchange reserves crossed $54.8 billion this week. How does the pace of reserve accumulation in 2026 compare to the same nine-month period in 2025?
A) Slightly lower due to fuel imports
B) Roughly equal (up ~5%)
C) More than 7 times larger
D) Doubled (up 100%)
(Scroll to the bottom for the answer and context!)
Still no peace deal between Iran and the U.S. and it seems the Iranians are content to wait it out - at least until after the mid term elections in America. So in the meantime we will all suffer together from higher fuel prices!
Meanwhile after two decades of a military presence in Iraq, the United States have pulled its tent stakes and left the country. Does this departure create a void for the Iranians to fill?
This region of the world is so unpredictable and almost as interesting as Africa!
MARKET MOVES
BUSINESS
⛏️ THE RESOURCE FILE
Gif by RawFury on Giphy
Kenya wants the minerals. America wants the supply chain.
Kenya wants to speak with the United States over a critical-minerals partnership are at a “very advanced” stage.
This deal could involve local refineries and processing plants, with Kenya looking to capture more dough from minerals before they leave the country. The talks are also tied to Mrima Hill, where early assessments indicate deposits including niobium, cobalt, copper and nickel.
This is part of the bigger African argument over critical minerals: digging them up is one thing. Building the processing capacity, jobs and industrial businesses around them is another.
In another mineral development, Nigeria just signed an agreement with the United States to further cooperation and access to Nigeria’s precious minerals in excess of $700 billion!
Chop: The soil was always valuable. Now the question is who gets the spoils from the looting? Will it be African leaders or foreign investors, but one thing is for sure, and two things for certain - the average African citizen will likely not benefit.
FINANCE
⚡ THE INFRASTRUCTURE FILE
Gif by kjpowerglobal on Giphy
Nigeria's trillion-dollar economy has a generator problem.
Nigeria's electricity challenge is the worst. It isn't just about how much power the country can generate.
It's about how/if the power gets to the consumers.
Businesses and households continue to rely heavily on private generators and solar power sources because of the gap between installed generation capacity and reliable electricity delivered to customers.
The issue is that companies aren't just paying for electricity. They're paying for backup electricity, fuel, maintenance and the equipment required to keep the lights on… it no be small ting!
Chop: If every business needs a generator before it can open, the generator isn't really the backup plan. It's the star player in the business.
🥪Quick Bites [AI SUMMARY]
🏆 The Winner: South African Gold Miners. With spot gold climbing to record territories above $4,100 per ounce, domestic resource producers are reporting surging free cash flows, throwing a lifeline to local mining employment and strengthening the rand.
🍋 The Squeeze: East African Currency Pegs. Strong demand for commercial foreign exchange to cover essential fuel shipments has kept intense depreciation pressure on regional currencies, highlighting the urgent need to fast-track regional refining capacity.
🃏 The Wildcard: Starlink’s South African Play. Fresh regulatory dialogue regarding local equity participation criteria has reopened the door for Starlink’s commercial satellite broadband licensing in South Africa, setting up a direct face-off with terrestrial telecom incumbents.
🌍What Else is Cooking? [AI SUMMARY]
Global marine shipping alliances have begun real-world trials of dynamic hydrodynamic air lubrication systems beneath container hulls, reducing water friction to trim fuel consumption on long-haul routes.
Materials scientists in Sweden demonstrated a bio-based composite battery anode fabricated from discarded paper-mill lignin that retains over 85% energy density after 1,000 rapid-charge cycles.
💡 Brain Chop: The Reveal
Answer: C) More than 7 times larger
Nigeria's external reserves grew by $9.29 billion between January and late September 2026, compared to just $1.32 billion during the corresponding period of 2025. That seven-fold jump pushed total reserves to $54.86 billion, well ahead of baseline fiscal year-end projections.
Hungry for more? If this newsletter was forwarded to you, hit that subscribe button to get the Daily Chop in your inbox every week!
