Author: Giza Mdoe

• Shell Nigeria is selling off major stakes in the west African country.
• Critics blame the government of Nigeria for allowing the sell at a time the oil giant is facing suits on oil spills.
• Activists want Shell Nigeria to be held responsible for alleged decades of oil spills.

Shell Nigeria has sold off major stakes in the Western African country, sparking chatter that the move could be just a ploy to escape oil spill charges in the country. On the other hand, there is an argument that the Shell move is just a numbers game, a move to cut losses in troubled onshore Nigeria stakes in favor of its offshore investments.

Which of the two is true? Is Shell shedding off investments in on-land fossil fuels to redirect its resources to less-hassle offshore exploration, or is the British oil giant simply running away from oil spill charges?

Media has reported …

• Gen AI can improve efficiency and effectiveness in various financial sector applications.
  
• In the next three to five years, gen AI has the potential to revolutionize banks.
• AI can even plan overall strategy and banks to adopt or be left behind.

Generative AI is the new frontier for scientific developments and the financial sector should not be left behind. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is now used by financial institutions to model analytics, automate manual tasks, and synthesize unstructured content, sector experts say.

“In the next three to five years, Gen AI has the potential to revolutionize banks…changing entire risk and compliance functions,” notes Rahul Agarwal, Andreas Kremer, Ida Kristensen, and Angela Luge in an article published by advisory firm McKinsey and Company.

In their paper, How Generative AI Can Help Banks Manage Risk and Compliance, the researchers and financial experts describe how Gen AI can improve efficiency and effectiveness …

• Ramadan fasting increases economic activities around the world.
• The travel sector, especially airlines registers higher revenues during pilgrimage after Ramadan fasting.
• Zanzibar has announced tax breaks for consumables during Ramadan fasting.

Every year, from the beginning of Ramadan fasting, Muslim faithful increase spending, travel more and invest significantly to celebrate the Eid vacation.

“As people’s mobility increases, the transport sector’s business also experiences a surge…as people spend the overall economy is stimulated,” explains Abdul Rashid an economist in Tanzania.

The economics of a country change during Ramadan and the months leading to and immediately after the Holy Month. This multiplier effect is felt throughout the world as the Islamic communities prepare, fast and observe the Holy Month.

Take Tanzania for example, the East African country is over 40 per cent Muslim, Ramadan fasting causes increased economic activities ranging from import and export of food, increased spending and pilgrimage related spending.…

• The EAC has announced investments in wind and solar energy infrastructure.
• Member states have launched various initiatives designed to catalyze and grow the use of renewable energies and energy conservation on the other.
• To achieve this ambitious green future, the bloc needs political will, regulation, and the creation of national renewable energy laws.

The East African Community (EAC) partner states are working to enhance energy efficiency in the bloc even as reports show some members are doubling down on projects improving the extraction of fossil fuels.

During the Ministerial Session of the 16^th Sectoral Council of Energy held at the EAC Headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania, the six-member bloc announced investments in wind and solar energy infrastructure, driving the region closer to an era of green economy.

Although the investment amount was not specified, the ministers highlighted the goal of utilising wind, solar, and geothermal energy as sustainable sources for …

• AfDB signs a risk facility worth over $150 million to boost financial inclusion.
• Survey shows risk-supported Commercial Banks in Africa can play a key role in poverty eradication.
• Increased access to capital loans will help lower-income families increase their household earnings

To boost intra-Africa trade in line with the aspirations of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), the African Development Bank Group has approved a $150 million risk facility.

The funding will be through the Trade Finance Unfunded Risk Participation Agreement, a deal which has been entered between the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the Trade & Development Bank (TDB).

Under this agreement, “the AfDB will provide guarantee cover of 50 per cent and up to 75 per cent for transactions in low-income countries and transition states on a risk share basis with TDB to a number of qualifying local and regional banks,” the bank states.

In this first …

• The number of tourists visiting Tanzania has significantly increased, especially visitors to the globally famous caldera, the Ngorongoro Crater.
• Over half a million tourists visited the East African country in the first half of the 2023/24 year.
• Authorities have managed to control poaching in the renowned UNESCO Heritage site, Ngorongoro Crater, a top tourist destination.

The number of tourists visiting Tanzania has significantly increased, especially visitors to the globally famous caldera, the Ngorongoro Crater.

This 2000-foot-deep caldera was formed when a giant volcano exploded and collapsed on itself some two to three million years ago. Over the years, the crater has become a tourism sensation, attracting thousands yearly.

From the famed lions that climb trees to the sheer size of the crater and the lakes inside it, the grazing herbivores on its slopes, wildebeests, zebras, elephants, buffaloes, name it, all the big five are to be found in and around …

• Tanzania’s coffee industry enjoyed a bumper harvest of beans in the 2022/23 season, earning the economy an impressive $238 million.
• Coffee is the East African country’s largest cash crop and the sector provides income to over 400,000 households.
• To further boost production, the government is increasing the supply of seedlings to more farmers across the country.

Tanzania may be famous for its expansive tourism offerings, iconic Mount Kilimanjaro, awe-inspiring wildlife wonders in the Serengeti, and the white sandy beaches of Zanzibar, but it is quickly gaining fame on a new frontier: the production of world-class coffee beans.

“Some of the finest single-estate and Peaberry coffee beans in the world come from here,” notes international coffee tester and analyst Arne Preuss in his recent review of the development of Tanzania’s coffee industry.

Tanzania’s coffee production

Tanzania’s coffee production averages between 30,000 and 40,000 metric tonnes annually. It is mainly gaining fame …

• Rwanda’s dairy sector produced one billion liters of milk in 2023 but remains a distance from industry leader Kenya.
• IFAD will fund a $100.37 million project for the second phase of Rwanda’s dairy milk development project.
• The Rwanda Dairy Development Project aims to reach 53 per cent of Rwanda’s dairy households and create 3,400 new jobs.

Authorities in Kigali are working to increase production in Rwandacustom stitched nfl jersey oregon football jerseys nike air jordan 1 elevate low alpinestars caschi luvme human hair wigs sac eastpak latex hood keyvone lee jersey 8 ft kayak sit top kayak jock strap yeezy shoes under 1000 inflatable kayak custom stitched nfl jersey brock purdy jersey ‘s dairy sector, a move that looks poised to see the country challenge the dominance of its East African neighbors, Kenya and Tanzania.

Through the Rwanda Dairy Development Project (RDDP), Kigali is set to roll out initiatives …