OGOJIII MAGAZINE, JUNE 2015
The Car Washes of Timbuktu
DEEP IN THE BACK STREETS OF MALI’S ANCIENT mud city, Mohammed Aguissa sits with his back against a wooden lean-to, waiting for a storm to pass. The air is thick with orange dust, which clogs the eyes and throat. The sand blows in from the Saharan dunes, which lie heaped on the outskirts of town. Mohammed can’t work today – he runs an open-air carwash – so he sits, drinking tea with his friends who come to pass the afternoon with him. There’s not much else to do but wait for the storm to pass and for the customers to come back. Mohammed is used to waiting things out.
THE AFRICA REPORT, OCTOBER 2015
SEnegal gets growing
When Jean-Marie Goudiaby stood in a Waitrose supermarket in Britain in 2009 and saw his test-run organic sweet onions for sale for £1 ($1.50) each, it confirmed that his dream of becoming an exporter of high quality niche vegetables from his native Senegal could become reality. MORE
THE AFRICA REPORT, NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2015
Sukuk for senegal
WHEN SENEGAL ISSUED a 100bn CFA franc ($168m) sovereign Islamic bond in June 2014, it beat economic giants Nigeria and South Africa to market and began a race tocreate a hub for Islamic finance in Africa. Following Senegal’s Islamic bond, or sukuk, Nigeria, Niger and Côte d’Ivoire have also expressed interest in developing a sharia-compliant sector of the market in a bid to attract investment from the Gulf states. MORE
the africa report, June 2012
Dakar-Mali rail link fights for survival
The end of the line is in sight for the cash-strapped railway, which needs $1.6bn to replace the track but faces structural and financial roadblocks. MORE
the africa report, November 2012
thank you for the music
Internet and mobile music platforms are targeting the African market, which should benefit both musicians and listeners. MORE
the africa report, november 2011
Motifs for Survival
Africa's jewel-coloured 'wax' fabrics are still hugely popular, but the illegal trade in cheap counterfeits from Asia is eating away at local production. One Hong Kong-owned Ghanaian factory, however, is finding new strategies to keep its African textiles made in Africa. MORE
the africa report, June 2011
an empire built on rubbish
A Senegalese entrepreneur is turning the refuse at local beaches into a source of revenue. MORE
The international herald tribune, 5 December, 2007
Dollar's fall hurts African cotton farms
The dollar's record plunge against the Euro is adding to the hardships of African cotton growers like Farba Boiro, separating them from home and threatening their ability to continue farming in a region where a third of the population subsists on less than $1 a day. MORE
The independent magazine, December 2007
Choc tactics
Much of Africa's cocoa production is synonymous with child labour and poverty. Not a Kuapa Kokoo. This Ghanaian cooperative owns almost half of the London-based Divine Chocolate Company, and business is booming. MORE