Loud, Quiet, or Contextual? What European and African Consumer Behaviour Reveals About Status, History and Power

Loud, Quiet, or Contextual?  What European and African Consumer Behaviour Reveals About Status, History and Power

Why does global luxury still treat African consumers as if they haven’t learned “good taste” yet? In this provocative opinion piece, Ray Langa, Group Chief Executive of Leagas Delaney South Africa, dismantles the tired assumption that visible luxury is unsophisticated while European restraint represents refinement. Drawing on decades of consumer psychology research, Langa argues that status signalling isn’t about taste hierarchies but about context: where wealth is entrenched, discretion becomes an insider language; where success…

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Property Investment in Uncertain Times: How to Maximise Returns in a Shifting Economy – Eva August, CEO, Century 21

Property Investment in Uncertain Times: How to Maximise Returns in a Shifting Economy – Eva August, CEO, Century 21

South Africa’s economic environment has rarely felt straightforward, but right now it feels particularly layered. Global trade tensions, domestic fiscal pressures and stubborn unemployment figures have left many buyers and investors hesitant – wondering whether to act or wait. In my experience, hesitation is often where opportunity quietly disappears. The reality is that property has always rewarded those who read the fundamentals rather than the headlines. And right now, the fundamentals are moving in a…

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The Precision Transition: Designing Africa’s power systems for reality, not abstraction

The Precision Transition: Designing Africa’s power systems for reality, not abstraction

Last year, I argued in my piece “Lean Carbon, Just Power”, that a limited and temporary increase in African carbon emissions is justified to meet the continent’s urgent electrification needs. That position was not a retreat from climate ambition. It laid out a credible lean-carbon pathway that reconciles power systems development realities with climate arithmetic. The central question remains: not whether emissions must fall, but how much temporary headroom is tolerable to accelerate energy prosperity…

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Africa’s Private Capital Market Defies Global Slowdown with Rising Deal Activity and Stronger Exits

Africa’s Private Capital Market Defies Global Slowdown with Rising Deal Activity and Stronger Exits

London – 25th March 2026 – AVCA – the African Private Capital Association today released its 2025 Private Capital Activity in Africa report, revealing that Africa outperformed global private capital trends despite a challenging global environment. Deal activity on the continent expanded by 8% year-on-year (YoY) to 530 transactions, making Africa the only global region to record growth in deal volume. The year also marked one of Africa’s strongest exit cycles on record, signalling improving…

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Africa: Caught in crude’s crossfire by Oxford Economics

Africa: Caught in crude’s crossfire by Oxford Economics

The oil price flux We recently published a Research Briefing in which we discussed the effects of oil price volatility on the global economy, and particularly, should Brent crude oil prices remain at $140 pb for two months. In this scenario, Brent crude oil prices whipsaw to $133 pb in Q2 2026 before dipping to $87 pb in Q3, bringing the full-year average to just over $94 pb in 2026. Over the short term, oil…

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Carbon Markets 101: Designing Projects That Deliver Real Climate Impact

Carbon Markets 101: Designing Projects That Deliver Real Climate Impact

Carbon markets are often discussed as a key tool in the global climate transition. But how do they actually work — and how do we ensure they deliver real environmental and social impact? Join us for an upcoming Afrocarb webinar that provides an accessible introduction to the fundamentals of carbon markets and the principles behind high-integrity climate projects. What You Will Learn In this session we will explore: How voluntary and compliance carbon markets operate…

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Global: Few economic impacts from Iran conflict outside the GCC

Global: Few economic impacts from Iran conflict outside the GCC

LONDON (Capital Markets in Africa): The latest air strikes in Iran only fan the flames of geopolitical tensions at a global level. While strikes on Iran have happened before, the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Iran’s attacks on economies in the region have upped the ante and indicated greater economic impacts than the June 2025 US airstrikes on Iran. This is particularly true for countries in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), where the strikes…

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