AFRICA INC. – Rising economies, start-ups, and Black wealth, etc. Southern African Large Telescope. SAAO, Author provided By Patricia Ann Whitelock, Daniel Cunnama & Rosalind Skelton South African astronomy started an important journey two decades ago, when an initiative to attract and train future scientists in the field welcomed its first group of students under the National Astrophysics and Space Science Programme. World class facilities have been established during this period, the most notable of which are the Southern African Large Telescope (SALT) and the MeerKAT radio telescope, a precursor to the international Square Kilometre Array. They add to the South African Astronomical Observatory and Hartebeesthoek Radio Observatory which existed already. The National Astrophysics and Space Science Programme has played a vital role in ensuring that these facilities were not simply

AFRICA INC. – Rising economies, start-ups, and Black wealth, etc. By Simon Chadwick & Chris Toronyl When the Africa Cup of Nations kicked off January 13, the opening match between Guinea Bissau and the hosts, Côte d’Ivoire, was played at the Alassane Ouattara Stadium in Abidjan. The state-of-the-art venue is one of six stadiums being used during the football tournament. At a ceremony to mark the beginning of its construction in 2016, the former prime minister of Côte d’Ivoire, Daniel Kablan Duncan, was accompanied by several Chinese embassy officials based in the country. Their presence was no surprise. After all, the stadium was designed by the Beijing Institute of Architectural Design and built by the Beijing Construction Engineering Group. Both of these are Chinese state entities. China