GOOD MORNING CHOP FAMILY!
OK, you may want to get some snacks and get ready for some Monday “tea”. There is a lot on the menu this week, let’s go!
Trump and XI face off.
Lobito gets a bag.
More debt for start-ups.
TRENDING TOPICS
The global top dogs are meeting face-to-face in China this week.
Trump v Xi. This is a much-anticipated, high-stakes meeting that will focus on the war in Iran (which still isn’t over), trade, AI, nuclear arms, and more.
Trump says he will be greeted by a huge hug from XI, wishful thinking maybe, but it does say a lot that Trump is the one traveling to China looking for help and some trade wins.
Who has the leverage here? How will the outcomes of any deals impact African countries?
Any potential "New Deals" could shift supply chains overnight, and African nations, many of whom are heavily indebted to Beijing while relying on American security, are walking a razor-thin tightrope.
Nollywood, Bollywood, or Hollywood couldn’t write a drama like this!
African Proverb of the Day
"When two elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers." (Origin: Kikuyu, East Africa)
MARKET MOVES
BUSINESS
🚂 THE LOBITO CORRIDOR JUST GOT A BIG BAG
Remember that railway that’s going to connect DRC and Zambia's copper and cobalt mines all the way to Angola's Atlantic port? Well, it's finally getting funded at scale.
The Africa Finance Corporation is in advanced talks with at least ten lenders, including Citi, Standard Bank, Absa, and Ecobank, among them, to raise a cool $3 to $5 billion for the Lobito Corridor construction phase.
We were a bit skeptical at first when this project was being discussed, but I guess folks will dish out serious dough for the chance to fleece Africa of its minerals (was that too harsh?).
But either way, having a rail corridor connecting central Africa to the coast is crucial and will benefit those African countries in the long run.
FINANCE & MARKETS
🤖 DIGITAL FINANCE: AFRICA IS DONE "PARTICIPATING," IT WANTS TO LEAD
At the 2026 3i Africa Summit in Accra, experts flagged that about 49% of adults in Sub-Saharan Africa now hold digital financial accounts, making digital finance a genuine economic engine, not just a development story.
And honestly, with every hawker and trader owning mobile phones, it only makes sense that they have an easier banking solution in their hands. This trend is more out of necessity than anything else.
The summit’s theme was clear: stop playing catch-up, start setting the agenda.
Whether the continent's regulators and builders can coordinate fast enough to make that real? That's the billion-dollar question. Literally.
TECH
💻 AFRICA'S STARTUP SCENE: MORE MONEY, FEWER DEALS — MAKE IT MAKE SENSE
The Q1 2026 funding numbers are in, and they're... complicated. African startups collectively raised $600 million in Q1 2026, a 27% year-on-year increase.
Still, the number of deals has fallen sharply, with debt financing becoming the dominant capital source for the first time, surpassing equity.
Debt funding expanded sixfold, from $50 million in Q1 2025 to $305 million.
Translation: more cash is flowing, but it's going to mature companies that can pay back loans and not to the early-stage founders with bold ideas and zero revenue.
The rich get richer, the scrappy get squeezed.
Meanwhile, Nigerian fintech Bfree raised fresh capital to deploy AI for recovering non-performing digital loans, because if money is tight, someone has to go collect it.
⚡ Quick Bites ⚡
The Desert Data Hub: Chad is quietly working on a fiber-optic link to the Mediterranean. It’s a massive "off the beaten path" infrastructure play for a landlocked nation. Source.
Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDC): Ghana is entering the second phase of its e-Cedi pilot, focusing this time on offline payments for rural traders. Source.
The Green Hydrogen Race: Namibia has officially signed a sub-concession for its first large-scale green hydrogen plant. They’re betting the desert wind will be the new oil. Source.
🌍 What Else is Cooking?
The Fusion Breakthrough: A lab in California just maintained a fusion reaction for 10 minutes. We’re still decades away from "free power," but the dream of a world without energy-induced inflation is looking a little less like sci-fi.
The Return of the Zeppelin: A French startup is testing cargo airships to deliver heavy equipment to remote areas without roads. If this works, the "infrastructure gap" in rural Africa could be bridged by literal balloons.
The "Zero-Notification" Trend: A new wave of productivity apps is gaining traction by blocking all notifications except those from humans you’ve "whitelisted." We’re finally realizing that our phones are the "elephants" fighting for our attention, and our focus is the grass.
Dish of the Day 🥘
Omo Tuo
While we were in Ghana for the digital summit. Our stomachs got to talking. And we found answers on the streets of Accra. We tried a local favourite - Omo Tuo.
This dish is made of sticky rice in balls, and is served with a nice, flavourful groundnut stew. Mine was laden with chicken and fish. It. Hit. The. Spot!
Did You Know? 🤔 The longest railway in the world is the Trans-Siberian railway, which spans more than 9,289 km (5772 miles)across Russia.
Hungry for more? If this newsletter was forwarded to you, hit that subscribe button to get the Daily Chop in your inbox every week!
