Author: Francis Mwema

The 5^th Generation mobile network launched in Madagascar by Telma Madagascar and Ericsson’s collaboration in 2020 was a landmark moment for technology advancement not only on the Indian Ocean island but for Africa too.

The launch on the 26th of June 2020 put Telma among the first operators in Africa to commercially go live with  5G, proving, yet again, that Telma is one of the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) pioneers in Africa.

The precedent set in nurturing partnerships between Ericsson and telecommunications service providers like Telma Madagascar has critical implications for the digital transformation that will propel Africa’s economy.

In the 20th edition of the Ericsson Mobility Report, the industry-leading projections and analyses of the latest trends in the mobile industry, the outlook for connectivity in Sub-Saharan Africa is bright. According to the report, mobile subscriptions will continue to grow through till 2026 and in the first quarter …

Qatar Airways made its inaugural flight into Harare this week on sixth opening Zimbabwe to a major airline hub and showcasing its confidence in the Second Republic’s efforts to transform the economy.

Zimbabwe is now connected to the massive hub airport at Doha with all its connections around the world. The new routes were the airline’s fifth and sixth destinations in Africa since the outbreak of the Covid-19 in December 2019.

This agreement will see Qatar Airways fly to Harare three times a week from Doha using a Boeing 787 Dreamliner.

In lauding this great infrastructural development project, through his representative, and the Principal Director in the Ministry Mr. Allowance Sango at Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport, Transport and Infrastructural Development Minister Felix Mhona said that Zimbabwe and Qatar have had good relations and given that the Middle East country has expressed interest in cooperating in critical sectors for the …

In a country with a population of 32.2 million, its Foreign direct investment (FDI) in the South Africa Nation has been in decline since 2013 due to political uncertainty and falling commodity prices. However, the fact that inward investment has remained steady throughout the Covid-19 Crisis, coupled with the country’s abundance of liquefied natural gas (LNG), demonstrates potential for increased inflows going forward.

Mozambique Offshore Finds

Mozambique’s offshore natural gas discoveries in the Rovuma basin since 2009 have been nothing short of prolific. It has changed the fortunes of one of the world’s least-developed countries

They are now valued at approximately 50 times the country’s gross domestic product (GDP).

While these gas fields are still under development, data from fDIMarkets– a branch of the Financial Times Group that collects and tracks FDI projects around the world – suggest that foreign companies moved in right after the first discovery in …

The working-age population of sub-Saharan Africa is set to increase more than twofold by 2050 to become the largest in the world, offering unprecedented opportunity for economic growth, according to S&P Global Ratings.

This burgeoning youth population is both an opportunity and a challenge for the continent. On the positive side, the population provides an opportunity for the continent to address Africa’s sustainable development challenges. While the continent’s natural resources are vital, the creativity and innovation of its youthful population can play a key role in the continent’s economic transformation.

In a report published on Wednesday, the ratings agency estimated that growth in the working-age population would add up to three percentage points to the average annual GDP growth for the next 10 years across key economies in the subcontinent.

According to the Senior economist of the S&P Global ratings,countries in sub-Saharan Africa are now experiencing the “most significant demographic …

The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has approved a three-year arrangements under the Extended Credit Facility and the Extended Fund Facility for the Cameroon for SDR 483 million which is equivalent to about US$ 689.5 million, or 175 percent of Cameroon’s quota to support the country’s economic and financial reform program.

The Approval of the ECF/EFF enables immediate disbursement of about US$ 177.2 million, usable for budget support.

This latest movement follows a Fund emergency support to Cameroon under the Rapid Credit Facility (RCF) totaling SDR 276 million, of about US$ 382 million or 100 percent of Cameroon’s quota.

Cameroon faces significant development challenges heightened by the pandemic. An upsurge in COVID-19 cases since January 2021, has raised concerns about growth prospects and the external and fiscal positions. Additionally, security risks in parts of the country persist. The pandemic could reverse improvements in poverty reduction and development …

The main goal of ECOWAS is to promote economic cooperation among member states in order to raise living standards and promote economic development. ECOWAS has also worked to address some security issues by developing a peacekeeping force for conflicts in the region.

Thus Members of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Joint Committee on Political Affairs, Peace, Security and African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM), Legal Affairs and Human Rights, Telecommunications and Information Technology are meeting in Ghana to brainstorm the role of telecommunication in achieving regional development.

The meeting which is underway in Winneba Ghana kicked off on 27^th this month and will climax on the 31^st of July under the theme “The role of telecommunications and information technology (TIT) in achieving regional development.”

Delegates at the Meeting are discussing several issues ranging from the influence of TIT on elections in member states, regional roaming issues:…

A Fair trade research study has revealed that over the past four years cocoa farmers household increased income in Ivory Coast has received a boosted earnings and lower incidences of extreme poverty as reported by Neill Barston.

This latest research comes amid key ongoing challenges within the region’s communities, which are facing significant downward pressures on crop prices impacting on communities earning capability.

Côte d’Ivoire is the world’s largest producer and exporter of cocoa beans. The Ivorian economy is largely dependent on the agricultural sector and about two-thirds of the population is engaged in this area. However, this dependency causes the Ivorian economy to be highly sensitive to changes in the international prices of these products.

According to the Fairtrade’s research key analysis, the average annual Ivorian cocoa farmer household income grew from $2,670 in 2016/17 to $4,937 in 2020/21, an increase of 85% driven, in part, by an upturn …

With over billion mobile money accounts Africa continues to lead the way in transaction value and volume thanks to M-pesa a Kenyan based mobile money service, that is largely used in East Africa. Other regions all-round the Continent are also registering massive growth.

In 2019, West Africa reported the most live mobile money services in any region, with 56 million active accounts. In Ivory Coast, one of Francophone Africa’s largest mobile money markets, 75% of the population own a mobile money account, compared to 20% who own bank accounts. The difference is staggering and clearly shows the region’s huge appetite for the service.

While telecom operators have largely dominated mobile money services across most of sub-Saharan Africa, a few startups are trying to change the mobile money experience for customers. Ivory Coast-based fintech startup Julaya a digital account for African small and Medium businesses is one such company, that has …

In the ensuing decades, the relationship between Egypt and China continues to endure and remain positive, having grown under Mubarak and now skyrocketing under President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi who seems to be more than a little wary of Egypt’s Western partners due to their pro-democratic positions, and is seeking to diversify the palette of Egypt’s alliances.

The Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi visited Egypt earlier this week to meet with the Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi among other matters of discussion was to affirm his country’s keenness to advance the comprehensive strategic partnership that brings Egypt and China together.

During the meeting President Al-Sisi pointed out that this year coincides with the 65th anniversary of the establishment of Egyptian-Chinese diplomatic relations.

These bilateral relations have witnessed an extended path of cooperation and coordination between the two countries in various fields. They also benefit from the Chinese experience, which is …

Lesotho has finalized a new tax treaty with Mauritius, alleviating fears in the southern African nation that multinational corporations were dodging taxes through shell companies.

The new agreement, which sets out the taxation rules for companies that run Lesotho businesses from Mauritius, came into effect replacing a 1997 treaty that, in recent years, the Lesotho authorities complained was unfair.

“The process for renegotiating the treaty was initiated by Lesotho in recognition that the old treaty was compromising Lesotho’s interests and because some of the key elements of a modern tax treaty were missing,” according to a brief provided to ICIJ by the Lesotho Revenue Authority.

Lesotho, a tiny, mountainous kingdom of 2 million people surrounded by South Africa, is rich in diamonds but has a stubbornly high rate of poverty. Almost half the population live below the poverty line, according to the World Bank.

In recent years, Lesotho’s economic performance …