The government said it would suspend the reforms for 18 months and work with farmers to provide solutions. According to Reuters, the next round of talks will be held on Friday, and unions may call off further protests for now. The agriculture sector drives far more of GDP in India than in any of the other larger emerging markets. Hasnain Malik writes that for India to truly emerge, either in terms of the GDP per capita growth its investors hope for, or the expansion of its regional geopolitical power to which some of its politicians and international allies aspire, it needs to address inefficiency in the agriculture sector. Get the full story →

Nigeria is in the middle of a second wave of Covid. The current daily new cases are more than double that recorded during the peak in the first wave and hospitals as well as isolation centres are filling up faster. But the government is still undecided about a suitable vaccine, and no direct orders have been placed yet. The country's power crisis and the lack of ultra-low temperature freezers already rule out the use of vaccines that need to be stored at sub-zero temperature like Pfizer (-70 degree celcius), Moderna (-20) and Gamaleya (-18). And even with the low maintenance vaccines, there are still risks around preservation, logistics and distribution. It is a long road to mass vaccination in Nigeria and Covid-19 could easily become endemic in the medium term. Get the full story →

In a bid to improve financial inclusion, the State Bank of Pakistan has launched Raast, an instant digital payments system, which will be rolled out in three phases by 2022. Raast will provide necessary back-end infrastructure to payments services providers and should deliver the following objectives: significantly reduced transaction costs; full interoperability between counterparties; improve security; an enhanced user experience. In our research, we discuss the current state of Pakistan’s digital payments industry, how Raast could bring meaningful improvements, who could be the major beneficiaries, and how investors can access the opportunity. Get the full story →

Grab is seeking to raise US$2bn that would be a marquee listing for emerging markets tech. The potential IPO, which comes on the heels of the possible Gojek-Tokopedia merger, creates choppy waters for Sea Ltd. We look at four key takeaways in our research. Get the full story →

Behind the headline-grabbing surges and sell-offs in bitcoin, efforts to develop central bank digital currencies – and partnerships with established crypto players – are gaining pace. With major institutional finance entering the market, Bitcoin is likely to have a place in the financial system now and into the future, but that position will be as an asset – a store of value that is actively traded – not the means of exchange that many originally intended Bitcoin to be. This creates the opportunity for central bank digital currencies. Cryptographic, blockchain central bank digital currencies could bridge the gap and enhance monetary policy credibility. Get the full story →

The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) was implemented on 1 January, creating the world’s second largest free trade bloc by area and third by population. Implementation will be phased over the next decade, with the World Bank estimating that AfCFTA will have the greatest impact in Cote d’Ivoire, Zimbabwe, Kenya, and Namibia. The long-term benefits for the continent could be substantial, but legacy barriers remain and in our view AfCFTA is only the first of many steps that are needed. Get the full story →