Month: May 2020

A few days after Tanzania president John Magufuli assured the nation on the state of the coronavirus (COVID-19) in the country, the ministry of health provided travel advisory for all travellers going and coming out of Tanzania, this being an initial step towards reopening other spheres of the economy particularly the travel and tourism industry.

According to the statement signed by the health minister Ummy Mwalimu, on April 4, 2020, the government of Tanzania placed additional measures to limit the spread of the virus, hence—following the decreased trend of the admitted cases of the COVID-19 in Tanzania, the travel advisory was reviewed and accommodate various measures related to international travellers.

Air travel measures

The statement stressed that “all travellers whether foreigners or returning residents entering or leaving the country will be subjected to enhanced screening for COVID-19 infection, “

The statement also highlighted that “there will be no 14 days …

NAIROBI, Kenya May 19 – APA Insurance, has launched an App for both its customers and agents in a bid to offer flexibility.

The APP dubbed ‘APA Insurance Happiness app’ will enable customers make fast and safe motor insurance purchases, renewals and report claims easily on their mobile devices anywhere and anytime. 

The new free app  will also provide up to date records of customers and also give location of their country wide partner garages in case of an accident.

The agent’s app will enable them to access a premium calculator, agent account management, pre-insurance inspection and renewal on the go, making them more effective and efficient when interacting with clients and potential clients. 

“The Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent need to enforce social distancing has changed the way that we live, work and travel currently and has triggered a real drive across Kenya to shift from traditional channels to digital …

Tanzania just stepped into a whole new ground in fighting the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) as president John Magufuli assured Tanzanians on stringent actions in safeguarding the economy, which is restricted by the virus. The head of state was addressing worshipers during a Sunday service in his hometown.

“We have had several viral diseases, including AIDS and Measles. Our economy must come first. It must not sleep. If we allow our economy to sleep, we will not receive salaries, church offerings will cease if we announce a lockdown, Life must go on,” he said

According to President Magufuli, COVID-19 cases have shrunk to low levels, compelling him to reopen universities and the football leagues. In March, the East African nation saw the closure of hotels, schools, universities, and other social gatherings–in response to curb the virus.

Since the first COVID-19 case broke, Tanzania’s air travel, MICE (meetings, incentives, conferencing and exhibitions) …

Phase one of Tanzania’s Stand Gauge Railway (SGR) that extends from Dar es Salaam to Morogoro is almost complete.

The railway which covers over 300 kilometres is almost complete and the country is now getting ready to buy the trains that will run on the track.

Even though its first phase is not entirely complete due to the ongoing heavy rains that have stalled construction work, the country is ready to move on and buy and test the trains.

Unofficial reports say the government of Tanzania has started bidding for trains and is actually in the process of finalising procurement of at least two locomotives already. That’s not all, the required trains should have at least eight compartments for passengers and same number of wagons for cargo transportation.

Already the testing of trains has started, a senior official of the Tanzania Railway Corporation (TRC) intimated. It is expected that the …

The Tanzania Horticultural Association (Taha), is reporting an increase in revenue from the export of avocados which until now were not considered key export cash crop.

However growing demand in the US and Europe has seen the sub-sector increase revenue to USD 23 million annually.

Tanzania is the second largest producer of avocado fruit in Africa second only to Kenya. Over the past 5 years, avocado exports have frog leaped from 1,877 tonnes in 2014 to 9,000 tonnes in 2019 and were it not for the COVID-19 outbreak, this figure was expected to go only higher.

Kenya is already doing much better with its estimated annual output is about 190,000 tonnes every year as the country exports an average of 10,000 metric tonnes annually.

In Tanzania, there are about 10000 farmers of the crop who are spread out across the country and of these, now most have turned to the …

Rwanda is positioning its coffee strategically for the world with the country widening its scope…

An IMF projection for this year shows that growth in oil exporters will decline from 1.8 per cent in 2019 to −2.8 per cent.…

The battle against the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in Tanzania is gaining a new face, as the country anticipates to fight the virus with over 45 strategies underway, following the nationwide agenda to curb the spread of the virus.

45 Strategies

According to information from The Citizen, the government chief spokesperson, Dr Hassan Abbasi who was one of the main speakers during the virtual leadership forum hosted by Mwananchi Communications (a media-company in Tanzania) on May 14, said that the strategies will be rolled out from the national to the community stage.

Hence the handful virus fight strategies will be driven by an executive secretariat committee of seven to nine members, according to the spokesperson.

He said, “We have three special committees, one which deals with both Mainland Tanzania and Zanzibar is headed by the Prime Minister”.  As the plans are intended to touch both bases (National and community level) Dr.Abbasi …

A new mega cable capable of carrying extensive data across Africa has been announced. China Mobile International, Facebook, MTN GlobalConnect, Orange, stc, Telecom Egypt, Vodacom, Vodafone and WIOCC have announced that they will partner to build 2Africa.

This is expected to be the most comprehensive subsea cable to serve the African continent and Middle East region. The parties have appointed Alcatel Submarine Networks (“ASN”) to build the cable in a fully funded project which will greatly enhance connectivity across Africa and the Middle East.

At 37,000km long, 2Africa will be one of the world’s largest subsea cable projects and will interconnect Europe (eastward via Egypt), the Middle East (via Saudi Arabia), and 21 landings in 16 countries in Africa. The system is expected to go live in 2023/4, delivering more than the total combined capacity of all subsea cables serving Africa today, with a design capacity of up to 180Tbps …

Pan African private equity company Convergence Partners has announced that it has acquired all the operations of telecommunication giant Vodacom Business Africa through its digital service provider platform, inq. Holdings Limited (formerly Synergy Communications) based in Mauritius.

Vodacom Business Africa is an enterprise-focused ICT subsidiary of the Vodacom Group. With over US$300mn of capital under management, Convergence Partners brings its skills, experience and capital to develop new investment opportunities as well as actively adding value to investments across the lifecycle of ICT assets.

The 100% acquisition of Vodacom Business Africa’s operations will be effected in Nigeria, Zambia and Cote d’Ivoire with a further planned acquisition in Cameroon pending regulatory approvals.

This transaction grows inq.’s regional footprint as a leading enterprise solutions provider to 13 cities in 7 countries across Africa including its existing operations in Botswana, Malawi and Mozambique.

Under the inq. banner the company will embark on the next …