5 Comments
User's avatar
Timothy Kasuka's avatar

This is an excellent read Malik!

I like this new approach where you're focusing on different business case studies and industries.

Southern African soil is primed for wheat growing and is now beginning to venture into more into wheat production. They could grow even more if the AfCFTA was fully in place. This way the enlarged market size would justify businesses investing in the farming machinery and tech needed to efficiently farm and manage such vast swaths of land (totalling around or slightly smaller than the Indian subcontinent) for extensive wheat growing and harvesting.

Regarding native staples and carb sources like cassava, sorghum, yam etc, I guess that it boils back down to the failure to further process these crops into processed and packaged foods. Part of that comes back down to the capital constraints. Finished food products like Cassava chips need to be processed using large ovens and air fryers for the heating and dying processes. Yam fries need to be frozen, packed and sealed for cheap and easy mass adoption. This means the use of cold storage rooms and refrigerator trucks.

High capital requirements and start-up costs. But it's all relative, the larger the market, the lower the start-up costs are on a per unit basis. Another reason why the AfCFTA would work so many wonders.

Expand full comment
Malik Djinadou's avatar

You’re definitely right. The AfCFTA is a crucial piece in this.

Expand full comment
Djinadou's avatar

So the article is about yet another missed opportunity for Africa. Maybe it could have mentioned a few other areas of such misses, just for reference.

Expand full comment
Djinadou's avatar

What the heck is ‘keto’?

Expand full comment
Malik Djinadou's avatar

The keto diet is a diet where people avoid the consumption of carbohydrates

Expand full comment