A Love-hate Relationship with Used Clothes in Africa
The sale of used clothing is a billion-dollar global industry. According to some estimates, almost 70% of garments that are donated globally end up on the African continent. This happens through a complex global supply chain, where donated items that cannot be sold in thrift shops in high-income countries are resold in bulk to commercial […]
Taking Care of the Congolese Artisanal Miner
A programme to monitor and improve artisanal cobalt mines in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) will double the number of mining sites it covers this year through a partnership between RCS Global and the Responsible Minerals Initiative (RMI). RCS Global, a company in Berlin that audits supply chains, started the “better mining” programme in […]
Getting to Know Djibouti
Once known as French Somaliland, and later the French Territory of the Afars and the Issas, the tiny country of Djibouti on the Horn of Africa gained independence in 1977. Roughly the size of Wales, it lies at the southern entrance of the Red Sea, opposite Yemen, and is bordered by Eritrea, Ethiopia and Somalia. […]
Tragedy Repeats Itself in Western Kenya
A search operation is under way in western Kenya for at least 22 people who disappeared during a devastating flash flood. Homes and markets were swept away after the rain triggered a landslide, killing 12 people. Over the weekend rains swept away several houses and a police post in Chesogon trading centre between the counties […]
Nigeria Brings Out the Drones in Coronavirus Fight
Nigerian startup Beat Drone, which uses drones to spray agricultural land, has been contracted by a Nigerian state government to help in the fight against the COVID-19. The firm uses drones to execute spraying on farms, engage in crop supervision, and map farmland to improve agricultural yields. Its platform allows a farmer to request a […]
South African Breweries Use Alcohol to Fight COVID-19
While liquor sales in many countries have been deemed essential during these days of social isolation, South Africa has taken the opposite approach. The country has been on lockdown since March 26, in a bid to stop the spread of Covid-19, like many other places. But the rules are among some of the strictest in […]
The African Students Stuck in Lockdown Limbo
After Senegal ordered universities to shut over the coronavirus outbreak, Ousmane Issaka, a student from Niger, found himself having to sleep on the pavement outside his shuttered dormitory in Dakar, with packed suitcases at his side but nowhere to go. Though he had displayed no COVID-19 symptoms, Issaka, 24, was concerned about inadvertently taking the […]
The Impact that Coronavirus is Having on the Somali Community in London
The signs for Dahabshiil, the Somali money transfer company, are a familiar sight in some London’s streets. London’s community of Somalis is one of the largest in our diaspora and a regular ritual for its members is to go to these shops to send money to their families back home. This is a vital lifeline […]
Africa’s Healthcare Needs Resuscitation
South Sudan, a nation of 11 million, has more vice presidents (five) than ventilators (four). The Central African Republic has three ventilators for its five million people. In Liberia, which is similar in size, there are six working machines — and one of them sits behind the gates of the United States Embassy. In all, […]
TDB Honored As Best Trade Financier In Africa At The International TFG Awards 2020
In recognition of its outstanding contribution to international trade on the African continent, the Eastern and Southern African Trade and Development Bank (TDB) has been awarded “Best Trade Financier in Africa” by Trade Finance Global (TFG). As several major international correspondent banks have retreated from African markets, TDB has doubled-down and deepened its expertise in addressing […]
