Editorial

Argument, not press release

Analysis, opinion, interviews and video from the desk — every piece tied back to the underlying data on this platform.

The constraint was never capital. It is intermediation.
Analysis
Analysis11 min read2026-07-28

The constraint was never capital. It is intermediation.

There is more institutional money looking for African infrastructure exposure than there are bankable transactions to absorb it. The gap is structural, and it sits in project preparation.

Editorial Desk · INFRA/CORE

The transmission decade
Analysis
Analysis9 min

The transmission decade

Twenty years of generation-led financing has produced a continent with power it cannot move. Wires, not megawatts, are the 2030 story.

Editorial Desk · 2026-07-21

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Lobito is a test of whether corridors can carry more than copper
Op-ed
Op-ed7 min

Lobito is a test of whether corridors can carry more than copper

The West's flagship counter-offer to Chinese resource diplomacy will be judged on whether general freight and local power ever ride the line.

Dr Amara Okafor · 2026-07-14

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Gulf capital is now a top-five financier of African infrastructure. No database tracks it.
Data brief
Data brief6 min

Gulf capital is now a top-five financier of African infrastructure. No database tracks it.

Boston University tracks Chinese lending loan-by-loan. AidData goes further. For the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar there is nothing comparable — and their commitments now rival the OECD bilaterals.

Data Desk · 2026-07-07

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Inside the grid queue
Video
Video14 min

Inside the grid queue

A field report from the substations, switchyards and servitude disputes that decide which African renewables projects actually connect.

Field Unit · 2026-06-30

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What Ghana's take-or-pay bill should have taught everyone
Analysis
Analysis8 min

What Ghana's take-or-pay bill should have taught everyone

Contracting for capacity you cannot evacuate or sell is the most expensive mistake in African power. It keeps being repeated.

Editorial Desk · 2026-06-23

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"We can prepare forty projects a year. The continent needs four hundred."
Interview
Interview10 min

"We can prepare forty projects a year. The continent needs four hundred."

A project-preparation facility director on why the bottleneck is people, not money.

Editorial Desk · 2026-06-16

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Compute follows electrons
Data brief
Data brief5 min

Compute follows electrons

African data-centre siting decisions are now almost entirely an energy question. The map of planned capacity is the map of reliable baseload.

Data Desk · 2026-06-09

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Editorial on film

Video desk →