Earlier in August, it was reported that Nigeria's Dangote Refinery secured a $1 billion underwriting for its upcoming stock market listing, which is set to become Africa's largest IPO. Indeed, the whole continent has seen lots of economic growth in the last few years: According to the United Nations, growth across Africa was expected to reach 4.0% in 2026. The history of economic development on the continent is a vexed one; access to critical resources, whether its minerals or petrochemicals, has not always equated to improved economic conditions. To understand what is going on in Africa, we talk to Joe Studwell, the author of How Africa Works: Success and Failure on the World's Last Developmental Frontier. The product of a decade of reporting, Studwell's book argues that African countries, in many instances, have failed to adopt development strategies (an industrial policy that favors export manufacturing, for instance) that mirror Asian counterparts. And while development has been uneven, Studwell is optimistic that the seeds of sustained development are increasingly taking root, at least in some countries. We speak to Studwell about the Dangote IPO, why development has historically been so difficult, Rwanda's dreams of becoming Africa's Singapore, and why Lagos is one of the most impressive cities in the world. See Odd Lots Live in LA September 2026 https://events.bloombergevents.com/event/ODDLOTSLA/summary Chapters: 00:00:00 - Cold Open 00:01:10 - Introduction and Economic Convergence Theory vs Reality 00:04:05 - Guest Introduction: Joe Studwell 00:05:01 - The Dangote Empire: From Cement to Oil 00:09:46 - Population Density as Development Driver 00:11:06 - The Economics of Population Density 00:13:09 - Nigeria's Performance and Potential 00:15:01 - African Big Companies vs. Small Business Development 00:17:38 - Development Models 00:19:27 - Manufacturing Complexity and Progress 00:21:45 - Studwell’s Research Methodology and Scope 00:24:22 - China's Impact on African Manufacturing 00:29:47 - Robotics and AI in African Industry 00:31:47 - Why Manufacturing Matters 00:35:19 - Political Challenges and Aristocratic Tendencies 00:37:04 - Ethiopia's Resilience Through Civil War 00:39:30 - Geographic Challenges and Intra-African Trade 00:42:59 - Land Abundance vs. Asian Scarcity 00:45:12 - Resource Control and Inequality 00:47:12 - Travel Recommendations 00:50:03 - Financial Systems and Development 00:53:41 - African development stories and future prospects 00:54:15 - Closing Discussion Watch Bloomberg Vodcasts: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLe4PRejZgr0MS0Tqk_zQl1LVVTdWuH2Di Watch more Odd Lots episodes: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLe4PRejZgr0OJbRzA6nWybYiThLJd_ouz Bloomberg's Joe Weisenthal and Tracy Alloway analyze the weird patterns, the complex issues and the newest market crazes. Join the conversation every Monday and Thursday for interviews with the most interesting minds in finance, economics and markets. Join the conversation: discord.gg/oddlots Subscribe to Bloomberg Podcasts: https://bit.ly/BloombergPodcasts Check out more Odd Lots: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLe4PRejZgr0MuA6M0zkZyy-99-qc87wKV Get the Odd Lots newsletter: https://www.bloomberg.com/account/newsletters/oddlots And for all things Odd Lots, visit https://www.bloomberg.com/oddlots #Investing #Markets #Finance #Bloomberg #Podcast #OddLots Visit us: https://www.bloomberg.com/podcasts For coverage on news, markets and more: http://www.bloomberg.com/video Visit our other YouTube channels: Bloomberg Television: https://www.youtube.com/@markets Bloomberg Originals: https://www.youtube.com/bloomberg