Research
In-depth ET&A research — company notes, sector studies and thematic analysis. Available to Insight and Professional members.
Mobile money began as a convenient way to send and receive cash. Today, Africa’s largest telecom operators are moving into lending, savings, insurance and investment products. MTN’s interest in acquiring banking licences raises a bigger question: could the mobile network eventually become more important to African consumer finance than the traditional bank branch?
ET&A Research · 27 August 2026
Nvidia delivered another substantial earnings beat in its fiscal second quarter, with revenue more than doubling year-on-year as demand for AI infrastructure continued to accelerate. Strong Data Center growth, the ramp-up of Vera Rubin and an unusually bullish outlook suggest the AI investment cycle still has considerable room to run, although supply constraints, rising memory costs and China remain important risks.
ET&A Research · 27 August 2026
As AI chips become larger, faster and more memory-intensive, advanced packaging is emerging as a critical performance bottleneck, reshaping semiconductor design, supply chains and the investment opportunity across the industry.
ET&A Research · 25 August 2026
Africa has the labour force, natural resources and increasingly the capital required to build a larger manufacturing economy. But shortages of technicians, engineers, production managers and job-ready industrial workers are becoming a more important constraint on how quickly the continent can industrialise.
ET&A Research · 25 August 2026
BlackRock built its dominance by becoming the world’s largest asset manager. Its next phase, however, is increasingly focused on businesses that look very different from traditional fund management. Infrastructure, private credit, data and investment technology could gradually make BlackRock’s earnings less dependent on public markets and significantly change how investors value the company.
ET&A Research · 24 August 2026
Côte d’Ivoire is emerging as one of West Africa’s more compelling investment stories. Strong economic growth, rising foreign investment, better infrastructure and an expanding private sector are changing perceptions of the country. The harder question is whether that momentum can generate enough productive jobs, reduce inequality and survive future political transitions.
ET&A Research · 24 August 2026
Botswana built one of Africa’s strongest economic success stories on diamonds. But weakening demand, fiscal pressure and stubbornly high unemployment are exposing the limits of that model. The country now faces a more difficult challenge: building new engines of growth before its old one becomes less dependable.
ET&A Research · 19 August 2026
A growing economy can still leave households poorer, public services weaker and opportunity concentrated among a narrow share of the population. GDP matters, but treating it as a complete measure of economic success can create a deeply misleading picture of how well a country is actually doing.
ET&A Research · 19 August 2026
Dangote Refinery is often discussed as a solution to Nigeria’s dependence on imported fuel. Its larger significance may be elsewhere: changing where margins are earned, where foreign exchange is spent, how fuel moves around the country and whether Nigeria can finally capture more value from its own hydrocarbons.
ET&A Research · 17 August 2026
ASML occupies one of the strongest competitive positions in global industry. Its machines are indispensable to advanced semiconductor manufacturing, yet its exposure to chip investment cycles, geopolitics and rapidly changing technology makes the company considerably harder to value than the word “monopoly” might suggest.
ET&A Research · 17 August 2026
As generative AI reshapes how people search for information, Alphabet faces a delicate challenge: integrating AI deeply enough to defend Google’s dominance without undermining the advertising economics that made Search one of the most profitable businesses in the world.
ET&A Research · 17 August 2026
The Democratic Republic of Congo sits at the centre of the global copper and cobalt supply chains. But possessing the minerals the world needs is very different from capturing the economic value they create.
ET&A Research · 17 August 2026
UK inflation, Federal Reserve minutes, major US retail earnings and fresh economic data from China will give investors plenty to assess in the week ahead.
ET&A Research · 16 August 2026
Coca-Cola has spent much of the post-pandemic period demonstrating exceptional pricing power, raising prices while preserving demand and expanding revenue. But as inflation normalises and consumers become more price-sensitive, the next phase of the investment case may depend less on charging more and more on selling more.
ET&A Research · 16 August 2026
After years of spending on chips, data centres and software, there are early signs that artificial intelligence is beginning to influence economic activity beyond the technology sector. The UK’s latest growth figures offer an interesting glimpse of what that transition could look like.
ET&A Research · 13 August 2026
Nigeria does not simply have a shortage of work. It has a shortage of productive work. Looking beyond the headline unemployment rate reveals an economy dominated by informal employment, self-employment, underemployment and jobs that often generate too little income to materially improve living standards.
ET&A Research · 12 August 2026
The digital economy may feel weightless, but it depends on thousands of kilometres of fibre-optic cable, landing stations and network infrastructure. As cloud computing, AI and geopolitical tensions grow, the physical foundations of the internet are becoming increasingly valuable.
ET&A Research · 12 August 2026
Africa does not simply need faster economic growth. It needs growth that creates productive businesses, expands formal employment and raises incomes. Too often, GDP is growing without producing enough of the jobs required by the continent’s rapidly expanding workforce.
ET&A Research · 12 August 2026
CoreWeave delivered another quarter of exceptional revenue growth, a rapidly expanding backlog and stronger guidance. But the scale of investment required to support that growth remains equally extraordinary, keeping debt, interest costs and capital expenditure at the centre of the investment debate.
ET&A Research · 12 August 2026
Kenya’s banking industry is entering a period of structural change. Higher capital requirements, rising technology costs and increasing interest from pan-African banking groups are likely to leave the country with fewer—but larger and better-capitalised—banks. The result could be a stronger financial system, although greater concentration also creates new questions around competition, SME lending and the influence of foreign capital.
ET&A Research · 12 August 2026
Mauritius is small, geographically isolated and relatively resource-poor. Yet it has built one of Africa’s most diversified and institutionally credible economies. The lesson for the rest of the continent is not to copy Mauritius sector by sector, but to understand how consistent policy, openness, diversification and investment in people can compound over decades.
ET&A Research · 12 August 2026
How household expectations influence spending, investment and employment
ET&A Research · 11 August 2026
Diageo is becoming leaner just as the global alcohol market is becoming more selective. Cost savings can protect margins, but restoring meaningful growth may require something harder: adapting some of the world’s best-known drinks brands to consumers who are changing what, when and how much they drink.
ET&A Research · 11 August 2026
Nigeria’s telecom sector combines a large and still-expanding subscriber base with accelerating data consumption, improving pricing economics and growing fintech ambitions. Yet the opportunity remains inseparable from heavy capital expenditure, currency exposure, regulation and the challenge of serving a price-sensitive population.
ET&A Research · 10 August 2026
Ethiopian Airlines’ success is not simply the result of operating aircraft. It reflects a long-term operating system built around internal capability, network scale, disciplined reinvestment and institutional continuity. Its experience offers lessons for African companies seeking to build durable businesses rather than merely achieve short periods of growth.
ET&A Research · 6 August 2026
Nike’s difficulties began with flawed distribution, product and organisational decisions. However, the longer the recovery takes, the greater the risk that a temporary execution problem becomes a lasting loss of cultural relevance.
ET&A Research · 6 August 2026
Nvidia’s exceptional profitability reflects more than a shortage of powerful chips. Its advantage combines leading hardware, networking, software and an ecosystem that allows customers to deploy AI infrastructure quickly. However, competition, custom silicon and the growing bargaining power of its largest customers could gradually make today’s margins more difficult to sustain.
ET&A Research · 6 August 2026
Morocco has transformed itself from a relatively small vehicle assembler into one of the world’s most competitive export-oriented automotive hubs. Its success reflects more than low labour costs: it is the result of coordinated industrial policy, world-class logistics, trade access, workforce development and a deliberate effort to build complete manufacturing ecosystems.
ET&A Research · 6 August 2026
Ghana has moved from sovereign default and currency instability to stronger growth, lower inflation and improving fiscal balances. Yet the crisis has permanently changed how investors should assess the country: opportunity remains, but credibility, currency exposure and cash-flow resilience now matter far more than the headline growth rate.
ET&A Research · 6 August 2026
Asset managers earn attractive recurring fees by overseeing client capital, but their profits can be disrupted by falling markets, investor withdrawals, fee pressure, poor performance and changing technology.
ET&A Research · 5 August 2026
Mining shares are often treated as a leveraged way to invest in commodities. Yet the relationship is more complex than it first appears: higher commodity prices can transform a miner’s earnings, but costs, debt, operational performance and market expectations ultimately determine how much value reaches shareholders.
ET&A Research · 5 August 2026
Gold is frequently presented as protection against inflation, currency weakness and geopolitical instability. But after a period of exceptional gains—and considerable volatility—investors must decide whether they are buying genuine portfolio insurance or simply following an asset whose price has already risen.
ET&A Research · 5 August 2026
Africa’s largest investment markets are often grouped together, but they offer fundamentally different combinations of growth, stability, market access and risk. Nigeria is primarily a scale and reform opportunity; Kenya is a regional services platform; Egypt is an industrial and macroeconomic recovery case; while South Africa offers institutional depth and the continent’s most developed capital markets.
ET&A Research · 5 August 2026
Nigeria’s pension industry has accumulated a substantial pool of long-term capital. The opportunity is to direct more of it towards infrastructure, housing and private enterprise—but only through investments that protect contributors, generate competitive returns and remain free from political interference.
ET&A Research · 5 August 2026
Nigeria’s stock market has delivered stronger trading activity and substantial gains, but foreign participation remains limited. Restoring international interest will require more than attractive valuations: investors need confidence in currency convertibility, liquidity, governance and the availability of companies large enough to invest in.
ET&A Research · 5 August 2026
Nigeria’s banking recapitalisation has produced larger capital bases and stronger buffers against financial shocks. The more important question is whether that additional capital will translate into productive lending, better technology and more resilient institutions—or merely make banks larger in nominal terms.
ET&A Research · 5 August 2026
Nigeria possesses the population, resources and entrepreneurial capacity to become a major manufacturing economy. However, global competitiveness will depend on whether the country can convert these advantages into reliable energy, productive labour, efficient logistics and a credible long-term industrial policy.
ET&A Research · 2 August 2026
Tesla delivered a sharp recovery in vehicle volumes and revenue during the second quarter of 2026. However, declining margins, rising expenditure and negative free cash flow suggest that the company’s growth is becoming increasingly expensive.
ET&A Research · 2 August 2026
Boeing is delivering more aircraft, generating cash again and gradually rebuilding regulatory confidence. However, persistent losses, programme delays, quality failures and a weakened balance sheet mean its recovery remains far from complete.
ET&A Research · 30 July 2026
Toyota has frequently been criticised for moving too slowly towards fully electric vehicles. Yet its dominance in hybrids, enormous manufacturing scale and ability to invest across several technologies may prove well suited to an electrification transition that is becoming more fragmented, regional and uncertain.
ET&A Research · 30 July 2026
The race to dominate artificial intelligence has triggered an extraordinary expansion of data centres, semiconductors and cloud infrastructure. Demand remains strong today, but the scale and speed of investment raise an important question: is the industry building more capacity than it will ultimately need?
ET&A Research · 30 July 2026
How supply-chain localisation is reshaping manufacturing and capital expenditure
ET&A Research · 28 July 2026
The non-oil sector contributed 96.08% of Nigeria’s real GDP in the first quarter of 2026. Yet the structure of that activity suggests the country has diversified its output more successfully than it has diversified its exports, public finances or sources of productivity.
ET&A Research · 28 July 2026
For years, investors favoured companies that could grow without owning factories, infrastructure or large physical assets. But energy constraints, supply-chain insecurity and the AI investment boom are shifting value back towards businesses that build, manufacture and operate the systems on which the modern economy depends.
ET&A Research · 28 July 2026
Distributed solar, battery storage, mini-grids and mobile payments could allow Africa to build a more flexible energy system without waiting for the continent-wide expansion of conventional electricity networks.
ET&A Research · 28 July 2026
Payments built Africa’s fintech industry by solving one of the continent’s most visible financial problems. The next generation of winners, however, will need to use that foundation to provide credit, savings, insurance and the broader financial infrastructure that households and businesses still lack.
ET&A Research · 28 July 2026
Amazon may be best known as an online retailer, but its real value increasingly lies in the infrastructure behind it. AWS, advertising and logistics are turning the company into a critical platform for global commerce and the digital economy.
ET&A Research · 28 July 2026
For many young people, the traditional milestones of adulthood have not disappeared—they have simply moved further out of reach.
ET&A Research · 24 July 2026
Markets often react less to the crisis itself than to what investors expect will happen next. Hopes of a ceasefire, policy support or lower future prices can outweigh the immediate uncertainty.
ET&A Research · 24 July 2026
The same increase in the oil price can strengthen one African government’s finances while simultaneously weakening another’s currency, raising its inflation and increasing the cost of living.
ET&A Research · 24 July 2026
Higher oil prices should ordinarily be good news for Nigeria. However, limited production headroom, unreliable state-owned refineries and rising domestic fuel costs mean the country may capture only part of the opportunity.
ET&A Research · 24 July 2026
Nigeria’s high interest rates are helping to contain inflation and support the naira, but they also make borrowing increasingly expensive for businesses and households. The question is whether 26.5% can restore economic stability without placing too much pressure on growth.
ET&A Research · 24 July 2026
The global economy has become extraordinarily efficient at moving goods, energy and components across borders. The problem is that it may have sacrificed too much resilience in the process.
ET&A Research · 24 July 2026
The chip and technology market has turned sharply more cautious as high valuations, heavy AI spending and uncertainty over future returns begin to weigh on investor confidence. The sector’s long-term growth story remains intact, but expectations are being reset.
ET&A Research · 24 July 2026
The most compelling Nigerian investment opportunity may not be the economy that already exists on paper, but the gradual conversion of informal demand into structured, measurable and scalable businesses.
ET&A Research · 24 July 2026
Meta is spending aggressively to close the gap in artificial intelligence, but capital alone may not be enough. The real question is whether its investment can translate into genuine leadership, stronger products and durable returns.
ET&A Research · 24 July 2026
Nigeria’s most important businesses often need more time, capital and support than traditional investors are willing to provide. Patient capital can help promising companies survive early challenges, scale sustainably and create lasting economic value.
ET&A Research · 24 July 2026
Tesla remains one of the market’s most divisive companies, with its valuation shaped as much by future ambitions as current performance. The bull case sees a technology platform in the making; the bear case sees a carmaker priced for perfection.
ET&A Research · 24 July 2026
Microsoft has emerged as one of the clearest beneficiaries of the AI boom, but the real question is whether AI can become a durable new growth engine—or simply strengthen the company’s existing businesses.
ET&A Research · 24 July 2026
Apple remains one of the world’s most profitable companies, but its next phase of growth is becoming harder to define. The challenge is no longer whether Apple can keep earning, but whether it can create the next major product or platform to break through its current ceiling.
ET&A Research · 24 July 2026
