UphivaBETAR
Powering Africa Summit 2026: US Strategy, Aid Cuts, and the Commerce-Driven Energy Pivot
The 2026 Powering Africa Summit takes place against a backdrop of USAID cuts and a US foreign policy pivot from aid to commercial engagement. A briefing on what the summit revealed about Washington’s Africa energy strategy.
MTN Spent Its War Chest on Towers. Now What? — Capital Allocation 2026 Analysis
MTN spent $2.2B acquiring IHS Towers shares — 60% of its fintech war chest. The balance sheet impact, dividend risk, and what it means for MoMo in 2026-2027.
Q1 2026 Africa Tech Funding: $535M, 38 Deals, and the Signals Under the Headline
BETAR’s Q1 2026 Africa Tech Funding Tracker closes at 38 confirmed Tier A deals, approximately $535M. The February concentration anomaly, Partech’s South Africa sprint, and the first appearance of African security tech as a funded category.
US–Africa Energy Pivot: Clean Cooking, Critical Minerals, and the Post-USAID Geopolitical Shift
The United States has reshaped its Africa energy engagement: USAID is out, DFC is in, and the focus has shifted from aid to strategic investment in clean cooking, critical minerals, and supply chain security.
Egypt’s 1GW Solar Race: AMEA, Scatec, DFI Finance, and the Competition for Africa’s Biggest Renewable Project
Egypt is racing to close its 1GW solar tender — the largest single renewable project in Africa. BETAR analyses the competing bidders, the DFI financing stack, and the economics of utility-scale solar at this size.
Africa’s AI Compute Gap: The 3x Cost Premium That’s Slowing the Continent’s AI Economy
African AI developers pay 2-4x more for compute than their counterparts in the US or Europe — and that premium is compressing margins, limiting experimentation, and tilting the competitive landscape toward hyperscaler dependency.
DRC’s Billion Digital Plan: The Financing Gap, Tower Economics, and What UIL’s Analysis Shows
The DRC has unveiled an billion national digital infrastructure plan — but the financing gap and tower economics make delivery uncertain. An independent analysis of what the plan requires and where the gaps are.
Africa’s EV Manufacturing Gap: Who Builds the Cars for the World’s Fastest-Growing Car Market?
Africa is becoming a major automotive market — but almost no EVs are built on the continent. An analysis of the manufacturing gap, the Morocco-South Africa production axis, and the policy levers that could change the equation.
Africa’s Green Hydrogen Ambition: Coega, Hyphen Namibia, and the Export vs Domestic Use Tension
Africa’s green hydrogen projects — anchored by South Africa’s Coega industrial zone and Namibia’s Hyphen project — are designed primarily for European export. A critical analysis of the export vs domestic use tension and what it means for African industrialisation.
Africa’s EV Charging Infrastructure Gap: 200 Chargers for a Continent
Africa has fewer than 200 public EV charging stations for a continent of 1.4 billion people. An analysis of the infrastructure gap, who’s building, and what the business model for profitable charging looks like in African market conditions.
