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From housing hurdles in Kenya to shifting diets in Cameroon and Nigeria, and the ripple effects of U.S. tariffs, African consumers are navigating pressure with resilience.
🏠 Kenya’s Housing Divide: Gen Z pays the lowest rents but struggles to save, while Gen X carries loans yet leads in homeownership through mortgages and SACCOs.
🥑🍞 Cameroon’s Food Shift: Demand grows for staples and fresh produce, while processed foods and proteins decline. Brands must rethink pricing and supply chains.
🥔🍅🐟 Nigeria’s Market Split: Fresh staples remain core, but households diverge between value seekers and quality spenders; Price attracts, quality retains.
🌐 Tariff Shockwaves: New U.S. tariffs raise duties up to 40%, squeezing African exports but also pushing momentum for regional integration.
📊 Consumer Watch: Inflation and policy shifts create uneven realities.
💡 One takeaway: Africa’s consumer story is far from uniform; resilience, policy, and trust are the levers shaping the next chapter.
Finance & Banking
🏠 Kenya’s housing journey is split by generation: Gen Z pays the lowest rents but lacks savings 💰, while Gen X carries bigger loans yet stands stronger in buying power. Ownership choices diverge family land & rent-to-own for the young, mortgages & SACCOs for the older.
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Retail & FMCG
🥑🍞 Cameroon’s food demand shifts in 2024! Staples & fresh produce are on the rise 📈, while processed foods & proteins decline 📉. Brands must adapt with better pricing, supply chains & innovation!
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🥔🍅🐟 Nigerians keep fresh staples at the heart of their diets even as budgets tighten. Q2 data shows a widening gap between value seekers and quality spenders price wins, but quality and function drive loyalty.
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Maps & Infographics
The U.S.’s new tariff regime, a 10% baseline on imports and up to 40% on transshipments, has upended decades of trade agreements like AGOA, pushing the average U.S. tariff to its highest level in a century. For Africa, the impact is sharp: South Africa, Algeria, and Libya now face 30% duties, while countries like Nigeria, Ghana, and Lesotho face 15%. This means 📉 squeezed margins for key exports such as apparel, cocoa, and auto parts, but also a push toward diversification within Africa, Asia, and Europe. The bigger question is whether Africa will absorb the shock, or turn it into a pivot point for stronger regional integration and industrial growth.
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Featured Content
📰 Africa Consumer Watch: Resilience Amid Pressure
Bloomberg recently explored the African Consumer Confidence Index, highlighting insights from Kasi Insight.
Consumers across Africa are facing a mixed reality, squeezed by inflation, tariffs, and policy uncertainty, yet showing resilience in certain markets.
- South Africa: Retail sales are recovering, but sluggish investment continues to weigh on GDP growth.
- Kenya: Consumers are grappling with a cost-of-living crisis and rising taxes. Kasi Insight data shows confidence remains in negative territory.
- Ghana: Sentiment has improved as inflation dropped sharply (from 50%+ to near single digits), supported by debt restructuring and currency stability.
- Tanzania: Stable outlook, helped by low inflation and infrastructure-driven growth.
- Nigeria, Ghana, Zambia: Slowing inflation points to better confidence in the next 6–12 months.
🔎 Takeaway: Africa’s consumer story is not uniform, domestic policies and inflation trends are the biggest drivers of confidence and spending power.
Zambia: Reform & Consumer Impact
In a recent AfricaHere&Now interview, President Hakainde Hichilema outlined Zambia’s progress and challenges:
- Debt relief → 95% of external debt restructured; IMF & World Bank project ~6% growth.
- Consumer wins → free education (2M children back to school), doubled social cash transfers, improved food security despite drought.
- Growth drivers → copper mining revival, push for value addition (cables, EV batteries), and regional food basket ambitions.
🔎 Why it matters: Zambia is positioning itself as both a consumer welfare champion and a critical minerals hub, but risks from climate shocks and global trade tensions remain.
📺 Watch the full conversation on AfricaHere&Now:
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