Standard Bank Sponsors Multilateral UK-Africa Investment Summit in London
Standard Bank, Africa’s largest banking group by assets, is partnering with the UK Government to sponsor the inaugural UK-Africa Investment Summit, held in London on 20 January. The Summit will create new lasting partnerships between UK and African businesses, governments and institutions to deliver more investment, jobs and growth. These partnerships will benefit people and […]
This Man’s Dream is To See a Generation of Kenyans Free of HIV/AIDS
Dressed in his bright red “King of Condom” uniform, Stanley Ngara uses humour and empathy to spread awareness about safe sex and protection from sexually-transmitted diseases (STDs) among people in Kenya. People he meets are treated to his huge smile and friendly demeanour as he hands out free contraception and information, making sure his message […]
The Locusts are Heading to Rwanda
The minister in charge of Agriculture and animal resources in Rwanda has put the country on alert following locusts invasion in the neighboring countries. This is after the locusts invaded several countries in the Eastern African region, among them Kenya, Ethiopia and Somalia with the possibility of spreading further. An average swarm will destroy crops that could […]
LVMH Buys Botswana’s Largest Gem
This past April at the Karowe mine in Botswana, in an open pit sliced hundreds of metres into the earth’s crust, the mining company Lucara recovered a 1,758-carat rough diamond — the second-largest found in a century. Louis Vuitton, the 166-year-old French luxury house known for its leather handbags and the jewel of Bernard Arnault’s […]
The Guidebook for Moroccan Handicraft Exporters Launched
Produced in partnership with the United States Department of Commerce’s Commercial Law Development Program, the guide aims to help artisans, particularly rural women, and handicraft businesses take full advantage of the US-Morocco free trade agreement. The craft sector not only keeps alive rich traditions, but also employs 20% of Morocco’s work force, encourages the growth […]
Can South Africa’s Treasury Afford Another Bailout?
South Africa is scrambling to secure extra funding to rescue South African Airways (SAA), which last month entered a form of bankruptcy protection in a last-ditch bid to save the state-owned company and around 10,000 related jobs. SAA was promised $139 million from the government and lenders respectively. But while the lenders paid up, the […]
Zambia’s Funding Drive for SMEs
The companies selected for the first FinTech4U cohort have shown their potential to improve financial inclusion among under-served customers such as rural populations, youth and women. UNCDF and BongoHive partnered to launch FinTech4U to provide such companies with a range of skills and resources to further improve their businesses. The first cohort will receive funding […]
Identifying Users Behind Tanzania’s Mobiles
Tanzania’s government plans to block all mobile phone SIM cards that are not registered biometrically by Jan. 20. Officials say the move is aimed at cracking down on cybercrime, which jumped by 82% in Tanzania in 2017. The biometric registration will link SIM cards to identification cards or foreign passports and fingerprints. The strict cutoff […]
Could Africa’s Richest Woman Add President to Her Achievements?
Angolan billionaire Isabel dos Santos, who is embroiled in a huge financial scandal, has suggested that she may seek to become the country’s president. In a BBC interview, Ms Dos Santos pointedly declined four times to rule out running for the presidency. Ms Dos Santos later told a Portuguese television channel that “it’s possible” she […]
Civil Unrest in Africa Unpacked
A quarter of all countries experienced a dramatic surge in civil unrest last year in a worrying trend that is likely to continue into 2020, researchers have found. Verisk Maplecroft, a leading risk analysis and strategic forecasting company, said in a report published on Thursday that 47 countries experienced a significant rise in the number […]
