Author: Giza Mdoe

Africa healthcare is largely dependent on external aid and imports. Africa imports more than 95% of active pharmaceutical ingredients and 70% of medicines. Nigeria leads the continent in producing healthcare products locally. If the Trump aid cuts have done anything, they have pushed policymakers to rethink the Africa healthcare with countries now forced to urgently develop plans for self reliance. “The future of African health systems will be driven by domestic investment and demand for regionally made drugs,” notes Muhammad Ali Pate, Nigeria’s Minister of Health and Social Welfare. Thanks to the Trump administration, multilateral aid is contracting and major donors…

National eCooking campaign poised to promote clean energy usage. UK International Development backs Tanzania’s eCooking initiative. Electric stoves to be manufactured in country from July 2025. Tanzania has launched its first ever national ecooking awareness campaign in a bid to accelerate the country’s shift from traditional biomass based cooking to modern electric cooking. Backed by the Ministry of Energy  in collaboration with the Modern Energy Cooking Services (MECS) and with funding from the UK International Development, this ground-breaking initiative is part of the UKAid-funded MECS eCooking Scale and Support Programme. “The program aims to accelerate Tanzania’s transition from biomass-based cooking to…

As the world intensifies its search for sustainable solutions to global hunger and ecological fragility, Tanzania’s blue economy vision could offer a model for how ocean resources can be leveraged for both prosperity and resilience. The focus on aquatic foods at the UN Ocean Conference not only repositions Tanzania on the global sustainability map but also signals a shift in how developing nations can harness marine ecosystems for inclusive economic recovery.  The push to boost blue economy has seen Tanzania prioritize aquatic foods as a key solution to ending hunger at the 2025 United Nations Ocean Conference in Nice, France. In…

Almost half of Tanzania’s FY25/26 national budget is going to debt repayment. Tax evasion and administrative inefficiencies which continue to limit the country’s domestic revenue growth. Tanzania aims for 6 per cent GDP growth in FY2025/26. Tanzania national debt is growing and economists are urging tighter fiscal measures to stay safe. This comes as the country tables its national budget at $21.6 billion for the 2025/26 financial year which is an increase of 14.35 per cent from the previous one. Minister for Finance, Dr. Mwigulu Nchemba, said the government will be keen on driving inclusive economic transformation through domestic resource…

Uganda coffee business is experiencing a surge in both production and value of exports.  The country’s coffee export revenue rose to $1.97 billion in FY2024/25. Uganda President Museveni pushes for local value addition. Uganda’s coffee sector is hitting new highs, with production rising from 7.8 million sacks in FY 2022/23 to 8.2 million sacks in FY 2023/24. The surge in output is fuelling a trade boom, with export earnings jumping from $845 million to $1.144 billion over the same period. “This is a reflection of the sector’s growing commercial strength,” remarked President Yoweri Museveni. To sustain this momentum, he announced…

Consumer attention varies based on content, medium and age. Quality of time spent determines consumer conversions. Across the markets, TV still the king of Ad revenue generation. In today’s crowded digital marketplace, consumer attention isn’t just a metric—it’s the prize. Advertisers are the contenders, and marketing is their battleground. New insights reveal that for media houses, creators, marketers, and brands alike, capturing attention has become a high-stakes competition. But rather than focusing on quality engagement, the race is often reduced to chasing eyeballs and maximizing screen time. “This approach overlooks a more important issue, the quality of time spent,” says…

Egypt gets AfDB funding to build Africa’s largest solar power plant. Egypt’s Obelisk to produce 1 gigawatt solar photovoltaic. Obelisk to cost more than $590 million. The AfDB has announced plans to fund construction of the Obelisk in Egypt, a 1 gigawatt solar photovoltaic project and Africa’s largest solar power plant. “The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank Group has approved a financing package of up to $184.1 million to support the development of the Obelisk 1-gigawatt solar photovoltaic project and 200MWh battery energy storage system in Egypt,” a press release from the Bank stated. Upon completion, the…

AfDB President Dr. Adesina to hold talks with Tanzania President Samia Dr. Adesina’s visit to ease future Bank financing to Tanzania AfDB private sector operations in Tanzania are valued at US$ 159 million AfDB: The president of the African Development Bank Group, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina is conducting an official visit to Tanzania as of June 13 to 15, 2025, aimed at reinforcing the Bank’s partnership with the country. “Dr. Adesina will hold talks with Tanzania’s president, Samia Suluhu Hassan, with a focus on ongoing and future development opportunities for Bank financing,” reads the report in part. Dr. Adesina will be…

Tata Steel leads the way to decarbonizing steel production.  Switching from coal furnaces key to energy transition.  Steel remains the metal of modern development. The CEO and Managing Director of Tata Steel T. V. Narendran talks about going green in an interview with McKinsey’s Rajat Gupta. Qn: Besides its decarbonization effort, what else has Tata Steel done to address sustainability? Ans: People sometimes don’t realize that we are one of the largest mining companies in India. We mine over 45 million tons a year of mostly iron ore and some coal. We will be up to 65 or 70 million…

Agriculture sector is one of the major greenhouse gas emitters. AI solutions like Catalyst Zero hep identify emissions in agricultural processes. Agriculture sector accounted for 11% of emissions in 2022 according to FAO. AI technologies such as the new Catalyst Zero are accelerating the reduction of emissions across the farming supply chain. Agriculture equipment manufacturing and use are main pollutants of the sector but application of such AI solutions helps in reducing farming’s carbon footprint. AGCO Corporation, a European based global leader in the design, manufacture and distribution of agricultural machinery and agriculture technology is a pioneer of this AI solution…