GOOD MORNING CHOP FAMILY!
South Africa played Mexico at the Azteca last night. You know the result. We will get to it.
The World Cup opens at the Azteca.
Today SpaceX prices the largest IPO in history, Tanzania flew to Moscow and came back with $2 billion, and South Africa's neighbours were simultaneously flying their citizens home from South Africa to escape xenophobic attacks.
Welcome to the season that just started. Let's chop.
When elephants fight, the grass suffers.
Apparently, the war is back on in the Middle East. Iran shot down a U.S. helicopter, and Trump has vowed revenge. So much for the “cease-fire”. Let’s hope this is a temporary flare-up and not a long, drawn-out escalation of hostilities. We all need a break, especially from these gas prices.
Can’t we all just get along?
MARKET MOVES
South Africa Is Playing in the World Cup. Its Neighbours Are Flying Their Citizens Home.
Both things are true at the same time, and neither cancels the other. South Africa's Bafana Bafana played on the world's biggest football stage on Thursday night, while on Wednesday, the first Nigerian repatriation flight departed from OR Tambo International Airport.
The Daily Maverick reported that an exodus is underway: Nigeria, Ghana, Zimbabwe, Malawi, and Mozambique are all helping citizens leave South Africa ahead of a June 30 ultimatum issued by a group called March and March, which has called for undocumented migrants to be expelled by that date.
Al Jazeera reports that Ghana has repatriated nearly 1,000 citizens, Nigeria is planning to fly between 2,000 and 4,000 people home, and both countries have summoned South Africa's High Commissioners.
South Africa's Foreign Minister Ronald Lamola pushed back publicly, disputing death toll numbers and criticising his Ghanaian counterpart for "using interviews and social media to push narratives."
President Ramaphosa addressed the nation, saying only government officials can act against immigration violations and condemning groups "taking the law into their own hands."
SpaceX Prices Tonight. Trading Starts Tomorrow. Here Is What Diaspora Investors Need to Know.
SpaceX prices its IPO tonight after market close — June 11. Trading on Nasdaq under ticker SPCX begins tomorrow, June 12. CNBC confirmed the $135/share fixed price last night — $1.77 trillion valuation, $75 billion raised, Nasdaq ticker SPCX. Trading opened this morning.
Elon Musk's stake is valued at approximately $740 billion. He is, as of today, the world's first trillionaire. It is the largest IPO in the history of financial markets, three times larger than any previous offering.
The Africa angle is not abstract. Starlink generated 61% of SpaceX's total 2025 revenue — $11.4 billion out of $18.67 billion — and operates across more than 30 African countries.
Starlink has connected clinics, farms, schools, and newsrooms in locations where terrestrial infrastructure will not arrive for years. When you buy SPCX, you are partly buying the company that is building Africa's digital backbone from orbit.
The question most diaspora investors are asking: do I buy today? The honest answer from multiple advisers is: probably not. Yahoo Finance reports that more than 90% of IPOs trade below their first-day low at some point. Retail allocation at the IPO price was extremely limited.
Most buyers on day one are buying on the open market at whatever premium the day generates. The first quarterly earnings as a public company — expected in November 2026 — is when the real numbers will be visible. This is not financial advice. Do your own research.
Quick Bites
→ Rwanda grew 9.4% last year and still borrowed $250M from the IMF. That is textbook macro. Semafor reports it is the first African country to seal an IMF financing package since the Iran war began. Rwanda is not borrowing because it is in trouble. It is borrowing to build a buffer before the Iran war headwinds — higher oil prices, tighter global financing — arrive in full. Modern Ghana explains the logic: the IMF does not lend to mismanaged countries. It lends to countries with credible policies facing external shocks. This is a vote of confidence, not a rescue.
→ Binance just appointed a permanent Africa General Manager, based in Nairobi. Business Tech Africa confirmed that Sammy Mutua will lead Binance's regional strategy and market development across Sub-Saharan Africa. Binance is the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange by volume. Putting a dedicated GM on the ground in Nairobi — not a regional rep, a General Manager with a clear mandate — is a structural bet on the African crypto market reaching serious scale. The continent is watching this space.
→ Thermal coal surges to $150/tonne — highest since September 2023. Business Tech Africa reports the spike was triggered by Indonesia tightening export controls on commodities. For every African nation burning coal for power — which is most of them — the cost of keeping the lights on just went up again.
→ World Cup: Africa's schedule. South Africa vs Mexico (tonight, 3 PM ET — add result before sending) · Morocco vs Brazil, June 13 · Egypt vs Belgium, June 13 · Algeria vs Argentina, June 16 · Ghana vs Panama, June 17 · Senegal vs France, June 16 · Cape Verde vs Spain, June 15. The continent is fully in the tournament. Full schedule at ESPN →
Global Angle
Tanzania, Russia, and the New Geometry of African Alliances
President Samia Suluhu Hassan's attendance at Russia's St. Petersburg International Economic Forum in June 2026 was the first Tanzanian state visit to Russia in 57 years. She sat alongside Putin, the Chinese Vice President, and Uzbekistan's leader. The Citizen reported the outcome: a $2 billion investment pledge across healthcare, mining, energy, transport, and technology over three to five years. Air Tanzania will launch direct Dar es Salaam-Moscow-Zanzibar flights from July 2.
The reason Tanzania is sitting in St. Petersburg is not complicated. Relations with Western partners collapsed after Tanzania's disputed October 2025 elections, which were followed by a security crackdown, internet shutdown, and reports of deaths. The US Department of State said the events raised "grave concerns" about the bilateral relationship. When Western financing pipelines slow and development support dries up, governments look elsewhere. They are not shy about it.
Tanzania is East Africa's second-largest economy, with IMF-projected GDP of $94.89 billion in 2026 and real growth expected at 5.9% — faster than Kenya. It is not a small country going to Russia out of desperation. It is a significant economy making a calculated pivot.
The question — as it always is — is whether the letters of intent convert into actual deployed capital. On that, the track record of Russian investment pledges to Africa is mixed.
Dish of the Day 🥘
Zanzibar Pilau is spiced rice cooked in a fragrant broth of cumin, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, black pepper, and coconut. Slow-cooked. Deeply aromatic.
Often served with meat — goat, beef, or chicken — and a sharp tomato and onion kachumbari salad on the side. It’s basically a fancy African-style rice pilaf, and I am here for it!
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