• Launch Africa is the most active startup investor in Africa, with 165 deals between 2019 and 2024.
• Techstars follows closely with 148 deals, while Google Black Founders Fund ranks third with 139 deals.
• Y Combinator has backed 123 startups, reinforcing its strong presence in African tech.
• Venture capital interest remains strong, with at least 17 firms making 30+ investments in African startups.

• Sub-Saharan Africa faces the biggest shortage, with 40 countries struggling to fill teaching positions in secondary schools.
• Europe & Northern America (33 countries) and Latin America & the Caribbean (29 countries) are also at risk, showing that the teacher crisis isn’t just a developing-world issue.
• Eastern Asia and Central Asia don’t have a single country expected to have enough secondary school teachers, indicating a major educational gap in these regions.
• The impact of teacher shortages goes beyond education—overcrowded classrooms, exhausted teachers, and declining educational quality will harm future economic and workforce development.
• Solving this crisis requires urgent action, from better teacher training to improved salaries and working conditions to attract more people to the profession.

• By 2028, 76.4% of Africa’s debt will be long-term, up from 75% in 2023.
• The share of long-term debt will consistently rise each year.
• Short-term and IMF debts will shrink to 23.6% by 2028, indicating reduced reliance on short-term borrowing.
• The trend towards long-term debt reduces the immediate financial strain on governments but requires careful management to avoid excessive interest accumulation.
• Countries must ensure that extended debt periods are matched with productive investments to justify future repayments.
• A higher share of long-term debt could expose African economies to potential interest rate hikes in the future.
• While long-term borrowing offers temporary relief, debt sustainability remains a key issue that policymakers must address.

• Sub-Saharan Africa faces the most severe teacher shortage, needing over 15 million educators by 2030, more than any other region.
• Southern Asia has the second-highest demand, requiring 7.78 million teachers, highlighting a major education gap in fast-growing economies.
• Europe & Northern America also need 4.83 million teachers, proving that even developed regions struggle with teacher shortages.
• South-Eastern Asia (4.54M), Northern Africa & Western Asia (4.26M), and Eastern Asia (3.28M) are all battling significant shortages, showing a global education crisis.
• Even smaller regions like Oceania (0.28M) and Central Asia (0.75M) require thousands of teachers, emphasising that no region is immune to this issue.
• If action isn’t taken now, millions of children will face overcrowded classrooms and lower educational quality, potentially stunting economic growth and workforce readiness for future generations.

• DR Congo holds the largest forest area in Africa, but it declined by nearly 33,000 km² from 2019 to 2022.
• Angola lost over 16,000 km² of forest, decreasing from 671,624 km² to 654,972 km².
• Tanzania, Zambia, and Mozambique forests recorded declines, though at different rates.
• Mozambique has the smallest forest area among the top countries, standing at 362,673 km² in 2022.

• The majority of Nigerian crypto holders (70.6%) have balances below $100
• Only 4.4% of Nigerians hold over $1,000 in their crypto wallets, indicating low high-value ownership
• Wallets with balances between $100 and $500 account for 19.4%, showing moderate adoption
• The data highlights that most Nigerians engage with crypto at a low-value level, possibly due to financial limitations or speculative testing

• Egypt and Algeria dominate the top spots, reflecting their significant military investments and strategic importance in North Africa.
• Nigeria and South Africa follow, representing West and Southern Africa, respectively.
• Countries like Ethiopia, Angola, and the DRC have notable military capabilities but face internal challenges that may impact their effectiveness.
• Kenya and Chad have relatively weaker militaries, though they still play important roles in their respective regions.

Key takeaways:

• In December 2024, the top five states with the highest average kerosene prices were: Abuja (₦2,950.0), Akwa Ibom (₦2,538.3), Kaduna (₦2,510.6), Cross River (₦2,430.7), and Sokoto (₦2,400.1).
• Abuja recorded the highest average price of kerosene in December 2024, while Borno state recorded the lowest price.
• The price of kerosene per litre ranged from ₦1,520.4 to ₦2,950 across Nigerian states in December 2024.
• The percentage difference in the price of kerosene across Nigeria states in December 2024 is approximately 63.9%.

• Airtel Africa leads the Nigerian stock market with a market cap of ₦8.11 trillion naira, followed by Dangote Cement at ₦8.10 trillion and BUA Foods at ₦7.52 trillion.
• The largest public companies in Nigeria are mostly in financial services, industrial goods and consumer goods.
• A total of 16 Nigerian public companies have surpassed the ₦1 trillion market cap threshold.
• The lowest-ranked trillion-naira company, First HolCo, has a ₦1 trillion naira market cap.