Smaller manufacturers are squeezed by rising aluminum prices and competition.
– Potential for increased consumer prices and inflation due to aluminum supply issues.
– African startups are focusing on operational discipline and debt financing.
– Innovative solutions are emerging in underserved markets, such as telemedicine kiosks.
– Geopolitical factors are delaying recovery in the aluminum market.
▸ Full transcript
And so kind of we're seeing like a triple whammy now if you will. Smaller manufacturers like Wolf-tooth components not only have to contend with higher prices for the metal they need, but also have to compete against bigger, more powerful players that also use aluminum. The squeeze could eventually raise prices across the board for consumers, triggering another bout of inflation. There's really no viable alternative to aluminum in our case. And you'd hear the same thing if you ask Boeing, like, they're still going to use tons of aluminum in the airplanes, no matter what the price is. And the price of those airplanes will just go up. Same with our bicycle parts. As the war drags on, so does the timeline for prices to stabilize. Back in Norway, Kristofferson says the outlook is far from certain. So in the aluminum market, I think we see a bit the same situation as you see in the energy markets, where you have quite high prices in the front end, meaning metals to be delivered in the coming month. But then you have a declining price, a backwardation situation in the markets with lower prices folding down to $3,000 per tonne a couple of years out in time. So it will take anywhere between 12 to 18 months for the Middle East supply that's been affected to come back into the market. And then you need 60 days to ship to North America that you add to this. So we're heading for a supply shock. Our prices of our products aren't gonna go up 20%. They're gonna go up like three or 5%. And I like Boeing. I mean, I'm trying to poo poo with them at all, but we don't have the negotiating power that say they have or an automaker has. And when these prices change or tariffs change, I see that almost the same day. I mean, not joking sometimes. Well, I didn't start this small business because I wanted to learn about tariffs or deal with massive supply chain issues or deal with geopolitics. Those are, in fact, some of my least favorite things, bicycles are way more fun than that stuff. With all the back and forth of tariffs and wars, it's hard to see how U.S. policy at the moment is helping American manufacturers or American consumers. And this is one problem that the marketplace can't fix on its own. That does it for us here at Wall Street Week. I'm David Weston. See you next week for more stories of capitalism. Commerce has completely transformed over the past couple of decades. With same-day groceries and next-day deliveries, consumer expectations for speed and convenience have completely shifted. Back control of the strait in order to allow Gulf Arab oil out onto international markets. And remember some of that oil is going out through pipelines in Saudi Arabia and the UAE in any event. But we prohibit the exportation of Iranian oil, open the rest of the strait to get the Arab oil out, calm the markets down. I think we should be prepared to take the time necessary to overthrow the regime. We'll regret it if we let them up and find out later. Don't miss Balance of Power live every weekday. African startups held up in 2025. We speak with venture capital investors on opportunities and challenges of investing on the continent. And we hear from MoneyPoint co-founder and CTO Felix E.K. on building one of Africa's leading fintech platforms. Welcome to Next Africa. I'm Jennifer Zabasaja. For a second year, Bloomberg is taking a deep dive into Africa's startup culture. In our 2026 list of African startups to watch, Spotlight's a new wave of companies tackling some of the continent's most urgent challenges. This year's theme is urgency, with a focus on companies building solutions where infrastructure gaps and strained systems have left millions underserved. For a closer look at the innovators that made the cut this year, we're now joined by Bloomberg managing editor for Africa, that is Arjit Ghosh. Arjit, thank you so much for being here. As I was mentioning there, this is the second year that Bloomberg is doing the startups to watch this. Let's just start with the theme, urgency. Give us some context as to how that came about and why you felt like this was the year for this theme. And thank you, Jennifer, and that's a great question. So the urgency, as you rightly mentioned, there are so many other challenges on this continent that companies are trying to solve, especially the startups. And that's what we thought we will kind of focus emergency at the Sierra B. You know if you look at other countries like the US for instance The big focus is AI. Yeah, right, but here in Africa companies are really trying to solve everyday challenges.
Analysis
Smaller manufacturers are facing increased pressure from rising aluminum prices and competition from larger players, which could lead to higher consumer prices and inflation. The aluminum market is experiencing a supply shock, with a significant timeline for recovery due to geopolitical factors affecting Middle Eastern supply.
Investors should note the shift in African startups towards operational discipline and debt financing over equity, reflecting a cautious approach amid global uncertainties. The emergence of innovative solutions, such as telemedicine kiosks in Chad, highlights the potential for growth in underserved markets despite the challenges.