In cafes across Cape Town, brewing the perfect cup of rooibos has become a fine art.

For decades, many African countries saw some of their most skilful young people take their talents to other parts of the world, lured by the financial prospects outside the continent.

Students asked to fork out thousands of Kenyan shillings for a bursary; drivers pushed to pay police officers for traffic offences; people asked to shell out large sums to speed up the process of getting a new passport or making a land transfer.