00:11Hello and welcome to this edition of Business Africa.
00:14I'm your host Afolake Winloy, the top stories this week.
00:18A landmark ruling by WAMU cut against blockade of Mali is reshaping West Africa's economic landscape,
00:24highlighting the cost of sanctions and fragmented markets and the risk of lasting trade divisions in the region.
00:33Africa's tech funding is back but with investors now demanding profitability,
00:38founders are increasingly turning away from venture capital and embracing debt financing.
00:47And later, does love have a price tag?
00:49As Valentine's Day is spending hits record highs, Zambians weigh romance against rising costs of affection.
00:59A court in West Africa has fired a powerful legal warning shot by striking down the 2022 economic blockade against
01:06Mali.
01:07The WAMU court has laid bare the economic costs of politicizing trade and reigniting a broader debate.
01:14Is regional integration in West Africa breaking apart or being forced to evolve?
01:22On January 28, 2026, the West African Monetary Union Court of Justice handed down a ruling that shook things up
01:30in West Africa,
01:31finding that the extensive economic blockade imposed on Mali in 2022 was legally irregular.
01:38The verdict marks a victory for Bamako, but for the rest of the region, it serves as a warning.
01:45Political pressure can no longer replace market rules.
01:48When borders were closed and bank accounts frozen four years ago, the stated goal was to restore democracy.
01:55Instead, these measures have caused a lasting rift.
01:58Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger have officially left a course, turning their backs on 50 years of shared history to
02:07found the alliance of Sahel states.
02:09This is not just a diplomatic dispute, but an economic emergency.
02:15The founding project of West Africa was based on the free movement of goods and people,
02:20yet while Europe and Asia conduct more than 60% of their trade within their borders,
02:26intra-African trade remains stuck at just 15%.
02:30By weaponizing currency and borders, regional institutions have unwittingly stifled the trade they were supposed to protect.
02:39Now, as the Sahel charts a new course, the region faces a systemic risk,
02:45a fragmented market where the private sector, rather than policy makers,
02:50pays the ultimate price for inconsistent public policies.
02:54Which begs the question, is the dream of a unified African market fading away?
03:01To unpack these implications of this ruling, we are joined by Madibo Mao Makalu, an economist.
03:07Thank you for joining us on the show.
03:09Now, what happens to countries in West Africa when institutions like ECOWAS and WAMO lose policy coherence?
03:16I think they have strayed away from their objective, which was mainly economic integration.
03:22In the early 90s, ECOWAS went through additional protocols, including good governance and democracy.
03:30And as you know, there were regime change in several West African countries, including the three countries I mentioned,
03:39Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger.
03:41And there were sanctions.
03:43There were sanctions.
03:44And these sanctions also included sanctions from WAMO.
03:49And basically, these sanctions meant closing the border,
03:53whereas the first objective of economic integration is the free movement of people, goods, services and investments.
04:02So basically, this was not in favor of regional integration and was not enhancing trade,
04:10as the objectives were primarily stated.
04:13So I think our regional organizations should go back to their original objectives,
04:18which is clearly stated in now in SelectAF and the African free trade arrangement.
04:25So whereas we would want to create an internal market for 1.5 billion Africans.
04:31Do sanctions drive reform in Africa or damage long-term growth?
04:37Who pays the real price, the governments or the private sector?
04:41When you close the borders, when necessities cannot come in, when people cannot freely move,
04:48it's not the leaders that are affected, even in the case of Niger,
04:53where the contract was interrupted with a Nigerian electricity firm, which was a private contract.
05:04It doesn't make sense because this affects livelihoods of people every day.
05:08I think if you want to sanction, you sanction the people that are responsible for the mayhem that was caused.
05:16And these are the leaders.
05:18So you need to really focus on specific sanctions rather than general sanctions.
05:24And you cannot try to enhance economic integration and at the same time go on the wrong side,
05:33sideways and try to do things that counter the promotion of economic integration,
05:39because we need a free movement of people and investments, like I said, in West Africa.
05:45In an increasingly competitive global economy,
05:49what kind of economic leverage should African countries prioritize most?
05:54Africa cannot continue to produce and export raw products.
05:58We need to go toward more structural transformation, meaning more value added,
06:04more industrialization, and also more value added services.
06:09Because if you look at China, 98% of exports are manufactured goods.
06:15And intra-African trade is very low now.
06:17Now it's about 15%, whereas in Asia, it's over 60%.
06:22And in Europe and in the Americas, it's over 65%.
06:27So this is the key.
06:29We need to promote intra-African trade first, and then we can trade with other entities.
06:36But trade as it's going on now, exporting raw products and importing manufactured products,
06:41is not a solution for us, a viable solution for us.
06:46Mr. Makalu, thank you so much for those insights.
06:48Thank you. Bye-bye.
06:52For years, Africa's tech ecosystem chased growth at any cost.
06:56But after funding winter, a rebound in 2025 is revealing a more disciplined landscape.
07:03One where leading founders are shifting away from venture capital
07:07and turning instead to debt as a path to sustainability.
07:13The numbers for 2025 are striking.
07:16Capital is flowing back into Africa's tech sector, but the appetite for risk has changed.
07:22Investors are now demanding clear paths to profitability.
07:27FinTech remains dominant, attracting nearly 40% of all available funding.
07:32What's changing is how that money is raised.
07:35Debt financing hit a record $1.6 billion last year,
07:39as founders increasingly turn away from equity dilution and toward more disciplined capital.
07:46For Payasa's group CEO, debt signals institutional maturity.
07:51I usually say debt create discipline.
07:54That is the first thing about debt.
07:56But it's a more mature way.
07:59To me, it's a mature way to grow.
08:01And there's the right thing.
08:02That's one of the reasons why we pursue it at Payasa.
08:04We launched our commercial paper through this particular program.
08:07And we could raise equity.
08:08We have the opportunity to do equity.
08:10But the question that we need to ask is why sell 20% of your business, of your company,
08:15for funding working capital, when you can actually borrow and then sweat out the money efficiently.
08:21As African fintechs solidify their role as the continent's digital backbone,
08:26the shift toward debt and discipline suggests that the next generation of unicorns
08:31won't be built on hype, but on hard-earned performance.
08:40Love may be priceless, but in 2026, it certainly comes at a price.
08:45With global Valentine's Day's spend and projected to reach $29.1 billion,
08:50Zambia's growing commercialization of the holiday is sparking debate
08:54is of action measured by the heart or by the quacha.
08:57Have a look.
08:59From Lusaka's flower stalls to busy shopping aisles,
09:03the pressure to perform for Valentine's Day is palpable.
09:07While global consumers are expected to spend an average of nearly $200
09:11to celebrate their loved ones this year,
09:14ordinary Zambians are grappling with the balance between real intentions
09:18and the rising cost of romance.
09:20For Valentine's, I should mention that the price does not validate how much you love the person.
09:25But what you have done, the intention behind the gift is what really matters.
09:29If you are in a relationship with someone who can afford expensive gifts
09:35and then they buy you a cheap one, it means that's how they look at you.
09:38But if you are with someone that can only afford as little, but they have made an effort.
09:44If you don't have money, of course, you will not express your love towards somebody.
09:48You will not take them out.
09:50You will not buy them what they are supposed to receive.
09:53So it becomes so much unbearable, especially in the life of men,
09:57if you do not have money.
09:58You can't take them out.
09:59You can't buy not even a simple bouquet.
10:01So money is very essential.
10:04While consumers debate the necessity of spending for entrepreneurs behind the scene,
10:09the surge is a critical lifeline in the fiscal year.
10:13Valentine's Day to us is very important because we make more sales on Valentine's Day
10:19than these other days.
10:22Yeah, it's very, very, very important to us.
10:24You can't just base your relationship on love only.
10:28In as much as it is not everything, but I think it is an active ingredient of love.
10:34As local businesses leverage these small packages to stay afloat,
10:38the commercialization of love is proving to be a double-edged sword.
10:42It drives essential economic growth, but does it enrich our relationships or merely our retailers?
10:49We leave that choice to you.
11:13Business Africa was presented by Turkish Airlines.
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