Despite the term “vanilla” often being used, most commonly in the English language as an adjective to describe something that is plain, unexciting and unoriginal, it is a known fact that, in terms of its value for the economy of Madagascar, (the world’s top exporter of vanilla), it is anything but. Today, vanilla continues to be the second most expensive spice in the world, (after saffron), and the global demand for Read More

‘There is little to celebrate this World Food Day, as a global food crisis leaves hundreds of millions of people battling acute hunger….’[1] So began the latest World Food Programme (referred to as WFP from hereon in) article, evidencing the current bleak state of the world’s food security. Indeed, there is truly great cause for concern, despite the Herculean efforts of the world’s largest humanitarian agency,[2] whiRead More

The world has seen a great number of changes in the last few years, particularly when it comes to the impact of the Coronavirus pandemic and Zimbabwe has been no exception. In this report, we will be covering the number of changes, such as COVID in addition to the ongoing political and financial shifts, and how they have affected business and everyday life throughout the country of Zimbabwe. For the full report pleasRead More

Rwanda is no stranger to conflict. Its history is one of pain, loss, and violence. However, despite this awful history, Rwanda has since become a business hub of Africa and now aims to reach Middle Income Country status by 2035. In this report, we will be looking at the economic and social development of the country and the factors that have contributed to this development. We will be addressing Vision 2020 and the eRead More

The August 2022 edition of our Vallis external newsletter is now available at the below link. This report provides an overview of Egypt’s food security crisis, discussing vividly how the Egyptian government are taking initiatives in raising domestic production and locating new wheat importers to mitigate the losses from the economic repercussions of the Russian war on Ukraine and outlining the attempts of reforming fRead More

The July 2022 Edition of our external newsletter is here! “This report briefly highlights the history of the Black Sea region as one which is no stranger to conflict. Indeed, it contends that it is the most conflict-prone maritime space in the world, when looking at the number of conflicts that have occurred within the region, since the end of the Cold War. Despite this recent history, the focus of political obRead More

The name Cameroon is derived from Rio dos Camarões, translating to “shrimps” in Portuguese. It was given this name by Portuguese explorer Fernando Poo in 1472 due to his account of vast numbers of shrimp in the Wouri River, in Douala. Douala is the highest populated city in Cameroon and one of the most crucial industrial centres of Central Africa. Situated on the southeastern coast of the Atlantic Ocean, it is home tRead More

Three-quarters of South Africa’s coal continues to be used domestically and remains a crucial component of everyday life in the country. From the first discovery of  the Witwatersrand’s copious mineral wealth to the industrial boom of the 1950s and the present day, it cannot be stated enough how vital a part coal has played as  the primary source of energy in the country. Currently, around 80% of the country’s energyRead More

March 2022 The Syrian war is, without a doubt, one of the largest humanitarian crisis of the twenty-first century. The war, which began in 2011, entered its tenth year in March 2021, with millions of displaced people both inside and outside Syria, and hundreds of thousands were slain, injured, disabled, or gone without a trace. Mass protests in Syria began in January 2011, when disenfranchised populations, namely youRead More