November heralded the announcement of several promising developments for Zimbabwe, which could see the economy begin to move in a positive direction. Early in the month, it was announced that preliminary construction works on the 2400MW Batoka Gorge hydroelectric dam, which will be developed in collaboration with the government of Zambia, have begun. This cross-border hydroelectric project is expected to generate 10,215GWh of electricity a year to be shared between both countries. In the mining space Bravura Holdings, owned by Nigerian billionaire Benedict Peters, has noted plans to develop a platinum mine in Zimbabwe. The country has the world’s third-largest platinum group metals reserve and further investment into the mining sector could ignite its stagnant economy. In parallel to this in the hydrocarbon space, Invictus Energy, an Australian oil and gas exploration company, has commenced field operations in the Muzarabani prospect in preparation for the drilling of two test wells. Zimbabwe has high prospects for oil and gas discoveries as an additional economic driver of development.

In a positive holistic move for the horn of Africa both Somaliland and Somalia are set to welcome investments to port infrastructure. The breakaway state of Somaliland has secured a partnership with Trafigura, a Swiss commodities trader, to supply hydrocarbons and upgrade the Berbera port. This adds to the investment in 2018 by DP World, an Emirati port operator, who conducted a US$442 million expansion of the Berbera port. Trafigura’s investment will go towards infrastructure modernisation to increase storage capacity and allow for larger ships at the Berbera Oil Terminal as a way to improve the quality and reliability of refined petroleum product supply into Somaliland. The port investment could see an uptick in regional and international trade thus providing a boost to the country’s weak economy. Likewise, in Somalia a new port will be constructed in the town of Hobyo. The Hobyo Port will have geostrategic interest because of its proximity to the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a vital sea crossing, thus benefiting the local population with trade.

A state-of-the-art Tissue Culture Facility (TCF) has been established outside Paarl in South Africa’s Western Cape province. The facility is planned to supply plant material and root stock to the local wine grape, table grape raisin, pome, and stone fruit industries. Plans are also being put in place to eventually assist with other commodities as well. The tissue culture process involves taking a single disease-free plant gamete through heat treatment, and then breeding that same plant sample into hundreds or even thousands of disease-free daughter plants, which can then be supplied to local agriculturalists. The Western Cape produces 55% of the country’s agricultural export and is a key hub for both the global fruit and wine industries. The development of the facility to global phytosanitary standards will propel the country further up the wine value chain.

Tanzania is in the final stages of granting Australian mining firm Peak Resources the rights to mine rare earth elements at the Ngualla site in the country’s south west. Once complete, the deal will cement the country’s position as both one of the only active rare earth producers in the East African region, and the fourth largest rare earth producer in Africa. The Tanzanian government like many others has felt the pinch of falling commodity prices and rising debt levels in recent years, prompting an expansion in the country’s revenue base. Aside from rare earth elements, Tanzania boasts substantial iron ore, gemstone and gold deposits. In recent years, Tanzania has been positioning itself as the preferred East Africa logistics hub, and has placed emphasis on revamping rail connections to nearby states to facilitate this. The country is well placed to also act as a key exporting hub for East African minerals to manufacturing zones in East Asia and the Middle East.