Burundian Pattern Maker Wants to Apply Skills from Louis Vuitton Back Home
A Burundian pattern-maker working for Paris-based luxury fashion house Louis Vuitton has told the BBC how he hopes to transform the fashion industry back home. Pierre Hardy Mwete – whose mother wanted him to become a doctor – told BBC Great Lakes that he wants to tap into Burundi’s young talent. When you speak of […]
Paris to Come Clean About its History in Algeria
France will establish a “memories and truth” commission to review the country’s colonial history in Algeria, following a key recommendation in a new, much-anticipated report commissioned by President Emmanuel Macron and released on Wednesday. The report also presented a series of other proposals to address longstanding grievances. But it ruled out issuing an official apology […]
Making e-Hailing an Enabling Space for Congolese Women
Dave Tendresse is a twenty-seven-year-old lady communication officer by profession at a local structure. That is, when she is not tackling the roads of Pointe-Noire in the Republic of Congo by way of her taxi on-demand service Taxi Girl — which she set up in 2020 to round out her income. Her ambitious endeavour — […]
Boosting Madagascar’s Economy by Rebuilding the Zebu Cattle Industry
With their distinctive humped backs, long crescent horns, and flapping dewlaps, the animals are used to pull carts and plow fields; they’re even featured on the country’s coat of arms. In Madagascar’s bustling capital, Antananarivo, zebu gain right-of-way ahead of cars and rattling Citroën taxis, while in upscale restaurants and street-side joints, hungry patrons savor […]
Key Trends and Metrics with Regards to the African Startup Ecosystem
2020 was a record year for investment into the African tech startup ecosystem, with more startups raising more money, from more investors, than ever before. This is according to the sixth edition of the annual African Tech Startups Funding Report 2020 released by startup news and research portal Disrupt Africa, which is for the first […]
Colonial Interpretations of African Scarifications Oversimplified their Original Meanings
In the 1700s, the gold rush in southeast Brazil created a high demand for mining labour. The Minas Gerais region became one of the main destinations for African slaves. For the first half of the century, demand was met by a trade circuit connecting the ports of the Bight of Benin to Salvador in Bahia. […]
Minister Responsible for South Africa’s Response to Covid-19 Succumbs to It
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa announced Thursday that Minister in the Presidency Jackson Mthembu has died of Covid-19. Mthembu was one of the government’s key leaders in its response to the pandemic and the public face during many Covid-19 press briefings. “It is with deep sorrow and shock that we announce that Minister in the […]
The Problems Keep on Piling for Mozambicans
Northern Mozambique has lurched into a humanitarian crisis as growing numbers of people have lost their homes amid escalating conflict. Fighting in the northern province of Cabo Delgado displaced more than 500,000 people last year and on Wednesday UN agencies said they were deeply worried about the current situation and called for the international community […]
Nairobi’s Private School Opens for Teenage Mothers and Babies
Kenya’s first private school for pregnant teenagers, teen mothers and their babies, opened its doors earlier this month. The students at Serene Haven either got pregnant or gave birth during last year’s COVID-19 lockdown, when Kenya’s teenage pregnancies surged by about 40%. In the school’s Nyeri Central sub-district alone, Children’s Officer Paul Ndungu said the jump in teen pregnancies has been shocking. Kenyan officials blame students not being in schools, which were allowed to re-open this month for […]
The First Migrant Tragedy of the Year
At least 43 migrants and refugees have been killed in a shipwreck off the coast of Libya, the first tragic event of 2021 in the Central Mediterranean where more than 17,000 have drowned since 2014. In a joint statement released on Wednesday, the IOM and UNHCR said the boat sailed from the city of Zawiya […]
