Africa’s Top 10 Military Budgets for 2025

This week begins with high-stakes events and lessons from the world of the 1 percenters, including the fact that even the world’s richest man cannot outspend regulatory realities.

Elon Musk has run into a problem in South Africa that neither wealth nor innovation can solve; his only possible solutions would come from a better understanding of local culture and human behavior.

Egyptian industrialist Naguib Sawiris shows that even the richest can slip up, revealing how one impulsive move cost him €500 million, while also proving that patience and discipline pay off in the long run.

Remaining in South Africa, Magda Wierzycka, an investment guru, is in the process of pivoting her investment strategy, launching a venture capital fund aimed at keeping the country’s top AI talent at home.

These stories show the push and pull between ambition, regulation, and opportunity, and how even the richest establishments on the planet are at the mercy of human sentiments.

Starlink’s push to expand in South Africa has hit a major roadblock, even after offering R500 million to connect 5,000 rural schools.

The country’s telecom regulator, ICASA, has yet to approve the service due to local ownership and Black Economic Empowerment rules, which mandate a 30% black ownership.

Elon Musk has openly voiced his frustration, while Starlink explores local partnerships and advocacy efforts to get in line with the rules, even as an estimated 14,000 people have found ways to access Starlink through foreign-registered accounts.

🇪🇬 Egyptian billionaire Naguib Sawiris says an angry investment cost him €500 Million during a market downturn

When the Egyptian billionaire, Naguib Sawiris, talks about risk, it’s not just theory; it’s a deep dive into a $11.3 billion fortune. In a recent interview, the Egyptian industrialist revealed he once lost half a billion euros after making an emotional investment decision.

Already holding a 10% stake in a company, Sawiris doubled down impulsively, buying another 10% without proper due diligence, driven by frustration with someone involved in the business. Shortly after, a global market downturn wiped out the investment.

His takeaway is sharp and boardroom-relevant: never allocate capital in an emotional state. He also admitted that overconfidence has cost him before, reinforcing a simple truth: discipline, patience, and calculated thinking outperform ego and impulse every time.

🇿🇦 South Africa’s richest woman is launching a VC fund to stop local AI startups from moving overseas

Magda Wierzycka, the co-founder of the South African financial services firm, Sygnia Ltd, is moving from asset management to AI nation-building.

Magda recently launched a new venture capital fund aimed squarely at South African artificial intelligence startups, with a clear objective of halting the exportation of the country’s best engineers and importing the technology later at a premium.

Magda, through her career, was able to take Sygnia from R2 billion ($125 million) to R461 billion ($29 billon) in assets under management, and delivered R383.2 million in profit in 2025 alone.

🇪🇬 Egypt discovers 4,300-year-old body wrapped in pure gold inside limestone coffin

Archaeologists in Saqqara necropolis discovered a 4,300-year-old mummy encased in gold inside a sealed limestone coffin, which had been neglected for more than four millennia.

The grave, identified as Heka-shepes by famous Egyptologist Zahi Hawass, dates back to the Fifth and Sixth Dynasties of Egypt's Old Kingdom. The body was wrapped in gold leaf, a luxury reserved for the privileged, demonstrating how closely gold was associated with divinity, rank, and endless life in ancient Egypt.

The timing is strategic. The discovery corresponds with the expansion of the Grand Egyptian Museum, which currently welcomes visitors near the Giza Pyramids.

Meta patented an AI that lets you keep posting from beyond the grave

Meta has been granted a patent for AI technology designed to simulate a user’s social media activity after their death or during long absences. Using a large language model trained on a person’s historical posts, messages, and likes, the system could replicate their unique tone to generate new content and interact with friends.

While the patent aims to maintain community engagement, it has raised significant ethical concerns regarding digital identity and the exploitation of grief. Meta has clarified that it currently has no plans to develop the feature, noting that patents are often secured as defensive intellectual property measures.

Largest defence budgets in Africa in 2025

When it comes to military spending, figures disclose more than simply budgets; they reflect priorities, goals, and the scale at which governments are prepared to defend themselves and their territories. In 2025, Algeria leads the table with a startling $25 billion budget, showing its concentration on both regional influence and domestic security.

Source: Global Firepower

🇳🇬 EU launches defence dialogue with Nigeria, €234.4m task force support to date

The European Union has formally strengthened security ties with Nigeria, holding its first-ever Peace, Security, and Defence Dialogue in Brussels, a structural update to a partnership that has been quietly growing for more than a decade.

The February 2026 discussions, co-chaired by the European External Action Service (EEAS) Deputy Secretary-General, Charles Fries, and Nigeria's National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, covered counterterrorism, maritime security, cyber threats, transnational crime, DDR, and peace mediation.

To date, the EU has provided €234.4 million to Nigeria's security task force, as part of an overall support package worth over €700 million between 2015 and 2025, including €500 million in humanitarian aid.

Gold rises as Trump tariff defeat throws trade deals into doubt

Gold climbed as much as 1.3% to above $5,170 an ounce after the U.S. Supreme Court curbed President Donald Trump’s use of emergency powers to impose tariffs, injecting fresh uncertainty into global trade policy.

In response, Trump signaled plans for a 15% global tariff to preserve protective measures, while the dollar weakened, making the precious metal more attractive to global buyers.

The ruling has also cast doubt over recently negotiated U.S. trade deals, with partners in Europe and Asia pausing or reconsidering engagement amid the policy fog. The renewed uncertainty has reinforced gold’s three-week rebound, driven by persistent geopolitical tensions and investor caution toward sovereign bonds and major currencies.

Burna Boy sold out the 19,580 capacity TD Garden in Boston, USA, for the second time in December 2025. He is the first African artist to achieve this feat.