Grab your plantain chips and pure water, and let’s dive into the week. There is always something spicy on the menu -Happy Monday!

South Africa tells Israel’s top diplomat to "pound sand."

🧳🇿🇦 Pretoria has officially declared Israel’s chargé d’affaires persona non grata, giving him just 72 hours to exit the country.

The government cited "unacceptable violations of diplomatic norms," including some spicy social media posts that allegedly insulted President Cyril Ramaphosa.

This tit for tat fight is getting old, but we are still here for it.

Nigeria is coming for the crown. 👑 The IMF just dropped the latest numbers, and it looks like Nigeria is set to overtake South Africa as the continent’s top contributor to global growth in 2026. While the Naira has had a “character-building” year, the sheer scale of the market is proving hard to ignore.

Afreximbank is putting its money where the power is. They’ve signed off on a massive $1.75 billion facility for Sonangol (Angola’s state oil company) to boost energy infrastructure. The goal is to improve oil production as well as energy generation.

1. Ghana Cedi (GHS) - Champion. The cedi appreciated by more than 40 percent against the US dollar in 2025, making it the strongest-performing currency in Africa. IMF reforms and rising foreign reserves, which climbed to nearly $14 billion, drove the turnaround.

2. South African Rand (ZAR) - Historic Rally South Africa’s rand is on track for its biggest annual jump in 16 years, as policy reforms compounded with a weakening dollar drew investors to Africa’s biggest economy.

3. Zambian Kwacha (ZMW) - Commodity Surge Record copper prices and IMF program compliance helped the kwacha rally as Zambia’s mining exports delivered strong revenues.

4. Congolese Franc (CDF) - Mining Boom Soaring metal prices boosted the currencies of the Democratic Republic of Congo, with vast copper and cobalt reserves driving demand.

5. Mauritian Rupee (MUR) - Steady Stability The Mauritian Rupee has consistently been one of the most stable currencies in Africa, driven by Mauritius’ strong economic growth, low inflation, and stable politics

Move over, Chatbots. 🤖 The word in Kigali and Lagos isn’t just “AI”, it’s AI Agents. Unlike a bot that just talks, these agents (like the ones Rwandan startup Kayko is using) actually do the work, reconciling transactions and managing KYC while the human founders focus on “chopping life.”

African Excellence at the Grammys. 🎶 The 2026 Grammys just wrapped, and the "Best African Music Performance" category is officially the most competitive seat in the house.

The big winner was our gurl Tyla! She won for her song “Push 2 Start.” She now has 2 Grammys on her mantle.

Nominees in African Category: Included Burna Boy (”Love”), Davido feat. Omah Lay (”With You”), Eddy Kenzo & Mehran Matin (”Hope & Love”), and Ayra Starr feat. Wizkid (”Gimme Dat”)

A special moment for the late great Nigerian legend, Fela Kuti, was posthumously honored with the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, becoming the first African artist to receive this honor. 🙌🏿

Since we were at the Grammys, we were pleasantly surprised by the array of treats, hourdorves, and cocktails that were flowing, and we enjoyed them all. Here are a few highlights that we loved:

Till next time,

Chop Team