Do you watch the Winter Olympics? To be honest, I only tune in when the Jamaican Bobsled team is on the Ice, or if there are other Africans competing. And believe it or not, there are 15 Africans from 8 different countries competing this year in Italy!

Violence rocks Nigeria, again. This time, nearly 200 civilians were slaughtered in Kwara State, the victims of Islamic Terrorists. This time, their victims were Muslim. And of course, the inept Nigerian government had advanced warning and did nothing to protect its own citizens.

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) is on the verge of opening up its new HQ in Abuja, Nigeria. The economic bloc, which has lost a few Sahel states recently, is eager to reimage and rebuild, and impact economic cooperation across West Africa.

You would think that this project would have been headed and funded by the West African States, or at least the host country, but no, no, no, the entire project was funded by China. The cost for the development is projected to be around $32 million.

Dubbed “The Eye of West Africa”, the site sits on 7 hectares and will house the ECOWAS Commission, Parliament, and the Community Court of Justice. The edifice is impressive, and an added bonus is that the Chinese have promised to maintain the complex for three years after completion.

Visual Capitalist just dropped the 2026 growth forecast, and believe it or not, African nations are all up and down the leaderboard. 7 African nations are projected to have growth over 6%. Thats big.

But let’s dig a bit deeper and see what this actually means.

Statistical Illusions vs Real Progress

Some may see these numbers and shout to the world that Africa is rising and leading the globe in growth. Hold your goat, please. These numbers do not immediately correlate to economic expansion; they are just a measure used to get a baseline.

For instance, South Sudan is projected to grow by 22.4%, but have you been to South Sudan lately? They arrived at this number by rebasing according to the plans to restore and increase the country’s oil exports. This may or may not happen, and even if it does, it doesn't guarantee that this revenue will trickle down to the people.

Growth Without Development

Growth should spur economic activity, job creation, and commerce. In Africa, this does not happen smoothly. Political instability, insecurity, conflict, and corruption all come into play and inhibit and stunt “real” development. There are bright spots (Ethiopia) where serious implementations and projects are getting off the ground and succeeding, hopefully this can be a blueprint for others to try.

When we think of AI, computers, the “cloud,” and tech bros come to mind. But when we think tangibly, what makes up AI? Basically its a bunch of huge data warehouses that contain rows and rows of computing blades and chips.

So at the end of all those tweets and videos you like and share, flow back to a building (data center) that holds all the “stuff” of computing.

So it makes sense that investors are betting on the “dirt” that powers AI. If you own the ground and the infrastructure, you have the leverage. A Dubai-based investment firm just pledged $1.6 billion to African AI and Agritech.

That’s a massive investment pledge that can radically improve local connectivity, education, and have a direct impact on the lives of Africans.

The “Big Game” happened yesterday, and the Seattle Seahawks are Super Bowl Champions! While for most of the world, the World Cup is the biggest sporting event, but in America, it’s the Super Bowl (American Football).

We always like to highlight the influence of the players of African descent. And from our research, we found that there will be at least five players from Africa on the field.

Four (4) of them play for the Seattle Seahawks:

One plays for the New England Patriots:

Ah ah - what are the chopping in Nigeria to produce so many top athletes!?

Oh, and there was a player by the name of Ty Okada - and we thought he could be Nigerian just based on his name, but he was white American🤣.

Luanda, Angola, has transformed from a culinary desert with $300 meals into a vibrant, affordable dining scene that celebrates local ingredients and community.

Chefs returning from abroad are now creating exclusively Angolan tasting menus with local produce, a complete reversal from when everything was imported, and farmers are clearing minefields to grow everything from vegetables to cocoa for local chocolatiers.

We walked the food scene on the streets of Luanda, and we tried a few bites:

Bifana- A Portuguese influence sandwich of marinated pork, infused with spices on a crunchy bread roll - I ate two.

Peanut Sunflower Seed Paste - Anybody who knows me will tell you that I love peanut butter. So when I saw this paste at a food stall, I bought some - just because. What's unique about it is that it is blended with sunflower seeds, which adds to the depth of flavor and consistency!

Till next time,

Chop Team