Under Control

December 08, 2025 • Estimated Reading Time: 8 minutes

Good Morning, Chop Family!

How do you like your coup? Thwarted, with a side of Naija mix? Or maybe with a bit of French seasoning? Never a dull moment, and not in a good way.

Anyway, Happy Monday!

📈 Trending Headlines

Coup d’ etat, stories coming out of the small West African nation are ambiguous, and who knows what to believe.

Some reports say that the coup was thwarted, others say they still hear gunshots, and Nigerian forces have been seen in Benin’s airspace.

All appears to be “under control,” and the coup leader is on the run.

As the world moves on to the next crisis at hand, the “ceasefire” is on thin ice and hanging in the balance.

Leaders are signalling that the next phase of the agreement is coming soon, but attacks and strikes are still happening.

Will this next phase bring lasting peace to the region?

Probably not.

MARKET MOVES

BUSINESS

Kagame and Trump

Peace for a Piece

Rwanda just turned peace into a signing bonus, hours after reaffirming a U.S.-brokered truce with DRC. Kigali locked in a 228 million dollar health-sector deal with Washington under Trump’s transactional approach.

The U.S. will dump up to 158 million dollars into HIV, malaria, and outbreak preparedness, while Rwanda will add 70 million dollars of its own cash.

Diplomatically, it is smart arbitrage, but what does this mean for future deals? Will aid be contingent on giving up precious minerals and resources? What else is for sale? And who has the leverage?

How about playing hardball, and focusing on partners that wont hold the health of your people hostage? Or better yet, focus your own resources on the sectors that need the help, like heatlh and infrastructure. Just a thought.

African Gold

South Africa just fired up its first new underground gold mine in 15 years, right as gold prices blast through record highs above 4,100 dollars an ounce.​

  • Qala Shallows, near Johannesburg, aims to produce about 70,000 ounces a year and roughly 90 million dollars in revenue, a symbolic comeback play for a sector that’s seen output drop over 70% in two decades.​

  • At the same time, South African players are chasing ounces globally: Gold Fields is taking full control of the Gruyere mine in Australia, while Theta Gold is raising cash to advance its TGME project back home.

Getting gold right is crucial. It should be part of a holistic financial and economoic strategy, not just a “flash in the pan” approach.

What will happen when gold cools down? Play the long game, build up core deposits and back your economy with something tangible while at the same time, seek other revenue sources.

FINANCE

[AI SUMMARY]

Kenya just turned debt stress into big chop: a 1 billion dollar “debt-for-food” swap with the U.S. DFC, that trades expensive borrowing for cheaper cash ring‑fenced for food security.​

The deal lets Nairobi refinance part of its heavy public debt burden while committing the savings to irrigation, storage, and productivity projects, at a time when high food import bills and climate shocks keep tightening the screws.​

It is one of the first big thematic swaps where the KPI is plates filled, not trees counted, and it quietly doubles as geo‑strategy – cementing Kenya as Washington’s flagship economic and security partner in East Africa.

Interesting concept. I like hacks and this seems like a potential debt solution that African nations can use to lessen the burden of crushing debt.

Essentially the deal will alter the current debt agreement for one that has better terms for the African nations, and the “savings” from this change will be used to finance domestic projects.

TECH

Netflix and Chop

Netflix’s proposed takeover of Warner Bros Discovery is shaping up to be the “all‑you‑can‑eat” streaming buffet regulators love to hate.

The 70‑plus‑billion‑dollar mashup would bolt HBO Max, Warner’s studios and iconic franchises onto Netflix’s already dominant platform, instantly creating a mega‑streamer with eye‑watering market share and serious pricing power.

US politicians across the aisle are already calling it an antitrust nightmare, warning it could mean higher subs, fewer real choices, and more pressure on creatives and workers.

For Africa, the angle is simple but big: whoever controls this much content ends up setting the rules on licensing, distribution windows, and what gets produced – from Nollywood collabs to African originals.

A successful merger could mean more consolidated bargaining power on the other side of African regulators and broadcasters, and one gatekeeper with even more say over which African stories make it onto global screens and on what terms.

If this deal goes through, it will be a gamechanger, for good and potentially for bad. The tough part for the creator economy peeps in Africa, will have the challenge to stand up to a mega broker who may or may not be aligned with African ideals.

But I think that team Netflix is smart enough to know that the African market is the future, so courting the creators from the youngest continet is a win-win strategy.

SMALL CHOP

⚽ Africa in the Mix

The 2026 World Cup draw is looking spicy — 48 teams, 12 groups, and Africa showing up strong.

Morocco headlines a loaded Group C, Senegal squares off against South American heavyweights, while Ghana, Egypt, and Ivory Coast are all eyeing knockout glory.

With nine African nations already booked and one more still chasing the playoff ticket, this will be the continent’s biggest presence ever at a World Cup.

DISH OF THE DAY

AKPAN

While we were dodging bullets in the streets of Benin, we got hungry. We were fortunate to find a street vendor that was still selling food during the ongoing coup.

We quickly asked for some Akpan, which we heard was a must-try.

Akpan is a fried dumpling made from fermented corn or millet. It is served with a spicy sauce on the side alongside fish or other meats.

It was a nice meal with a kick that got us prepared to keep ducking the gunfire.

Did You Know? Burkina Faso leads the continent with 10 coups, followed closely by Sudan. Talk about toxic bragging rights!

Till next time,

Chop Team