Maasai Celebrate a Coming of Age Amid a Pandemic
Thousands of Maasai men clad in red and purple shawls and with their heads coated in red ocher gathered for a ceremony that transforms them from Moran (warriors) to Mzee (elders). Around 15,000 men from all over Kenya and neighboring Tanzania congregated in Maparasha Hills in Kajiado County, 128 kilometers from Nairobi, to feast on an […]
Lusaka’s Plan to Get Back on its Feet
Zambia, the first African nation to seek debt relief from Eurobond holders since the onset of the pandemic, aims to reach a restructuring deal with creditors by the end of a six-month interest “standstill” it is seeking, finance minister Bwalya Ng’andu said on Tuesday. The government also plans to reach an agreement in principle with […]
Calls to Release Nigerian Boy Accused of Blasphemy
The director of the Auschwitz-Birkenau museum in Poland has asked Nigeria’s president to pardon a teenager who was sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment with menial labor over a blasphemy conviction. And if that doesn’t happen, he also offered to serve part of the boy’s sentence. “He should not be subjected to the loss of the […]
African Startups are Forming Diverse Collaborations with Traditional Financial Institutions
Mastercard has launched a new programme aimed at providing tailor-made solutions that boost market entry and expansion for fintechs in Africa and the Middle East. Fintech Express will leverage the power of partnerships and Mastercard’s expertise, technology, and global network to help fintech companies focus on innovation that drives the digital economy. The programme is […]
Who Will Make the MIPAD Class of 2020?
In support of the International Decade for People of African Descent, proclaimed by United Nation’s General Assembly resolution 68/237 and to be observed from 2015 to 2024, the Most Influential People of African Descent (MIPAD) identifies high achievers of African descent in public and private sectors from all around the world as a progressive network […]
The Women Tasked with Shedding Light in their Villages
A group of Malawi women is changing lives in villages that have long lived without power by installing and maintaining solar equipment in homes and schools. The women, known as the Solar Mamas, were trained in India as solar engineers, with sponsorship from charities. The solar power has allowed students in rural Malawi to study […]
The Importance of Heritage in Ghana’s Tourism Offerings
The 2019 Year of Return, when Ghana welcomed Africans in the diaspora to participate in events associated with the country’s rich cultural heritage, was an opportunity to learn more about what tourists want. One million foreign visitors entered the country to mark 400 years of the first enslaved Africans arriving in the United States. The […]
How Ethiopian Airlines Flew Through Turbulent Times
Ethiopian Airlines has lost more than $1 billion in revenue during the coronavirus pandemic but has so far managed to avoid seeking a bailout or laying off any full-time employees, CEO Tewolde Gebremariam said in an interview with AFP. By pivoting in March to meet spiking cargo demand, Africa’s largest carrier partially offset the blow […]
Africa Loses More Money in Illicit Flows than it Receives in Aid
The continent has lost nearly $89bn a year in illicit financial flows such as tax evasion and theft, amounting to more than it receives in development aid, a United Nations study has showed. The estimate, in the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development’s (UNCTAD) 248-page report, is its most comprehensive to date for Africa. […]
The Numbers for South Africa’s Lockdown are In
South Africa’s economy lost 2.2 million jobs in the second quarter of 2020 during the country’s coronavirus lockdown. It is the biggest fall in job numbers since the employment survey began in 2008. Restrictions were brought in to try and prevent the spread of the virus and the economy subsequently shrank at an unprecedented level. […]
