Author: Evelyn Shumba

The African Union will run the year 2021 under the theme: Arts, Culture, and Heritage: Levers for Building Africa We Want.  The Theme’s focus is on the arts and creative industry’s transformative power. 

This is in line with the theme of the United Nations. The year 2021 had been declared by the UN  as the year of the creative industry. This comes in recognition of the power of the arts to bring people together and the earning potential within this industry.

The latest African Union summit held on saw a change at the helm of Africa’s coordinating organ. Replacing the South African president as the AU chair, the leader of the Democratic Republic of Congo will take over as the new chair of the African Union. 

President Felix Tshisekedi will take the helm of the African Union for the year 2021. …

Music streaming giant Spotify has announced its official launch in several African countries. Since it launched in Africa in 2018, it has been only available for a few African countries, including South Africa, Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, and  Algeria. 

The company has announced that it will be expanding its services to 39 African countries. 

Here’s the list of African countries that Spotify will serve ( in alphabetical order)

Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Capo Verde, Cameroon, Chad, Comoros, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Eswatini, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea and Guinea Bissau.

Ivory Coast, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Nigeria, and Rwanda. Others include Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

The company has announced that it will expand its features and tailor its podcast services to fit into the different markets. 

Apart from the few countries where Spotify was available, …

 In the past sport was usually considered as a form of entertainment, it was casual and relaxed, today sport is often organized, mechanized, marketed, and administered as a business. Soccer is the most popular sport in Africa, and some countries such as South Africa have a successful premier league that employ players from around the continent. Africa has also exported world-class soccer players who play in the most paying leagues in Europe such as the UEFA and the EPL. These players have made millions and they are role models and a source of inspiration for budding players. The likes of George Weah from Liberia, Samuel Eto’o from Cameroon, Didier Drogba from Ivory Coast and the Egyptian Mohammed Salah who is currently playing for Liverpool in the EPL. 

Sports have the potential to assist in attaining peace, development and economic growth. It also boosts employment creation for the sportspersons as well …

The confirmation of Dr. Ngozi Okonjo Iweala as the World Trade Organization’s new head is a positive development. Having previously been blocked by the Trump administration, it is a welcome relief that it has finally come to fruition. 

There are questions as to the reasons behind her blockade in the first place. Could it be her nation of origin? Perhaps a discomfort about bringing governance of the world’s largest trade organization to Africa? Or possibly the fact that she is a woman? Perchance some are not ready for female leadership. Judging from how long the US presidency has been a boys-only club, it begs to reason that this might be a plausible reason. 

Regardless of the reasoning, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo Iweala’s history precedes her. She is no stranger to breaking barriers, having been appointed as the first female finance minister under two different sitting presidents in Nigeria. She has also …

The music industry makes a significant contribution to the economy. The industry has evolved over the years. Back in the day, artists made a sizeable income from selling cassettes or CDs. With the advent of technology came music downloads. Estimates indicate that in 2001, close to 40% of music CDs sold were pirated. There was no noticeable difference between the original and pirated version, except the latter was sold at a much cheaper cost, which drove up music piracy.

Initially, record companies and artists attempted to lobby for more stringent measures on music pirates. Unfortunately, the ability to prosecute lagged far behind the rate of piracy. The stronger copyright laws also alienated the fan base. 

It appeared digitization would be the death of music until innovation caught up. The late Steve Jobs developed Apple iTunes that allowed people to pay to download music. With the development of the Torrents protocol, …