Author: Njenga Hakeenah

Panellists said that Africa needs broadband, faster, cheaper and expanded to the last mile of the continent’s populations.…

If there is a gift that the world has given to Africa, it is the internet and with this, the unlimited ways in which to make life easier.

The internet and by extension the technology that comes with it, has helped in moving the continent towards creating solutions for day to day living instead of waiting for parachuted aid.

From getting farm produce to the marketplace to creating solutions that are ground-breaking in the health sector, the internet has enabled and propelled the hitherto jettisoned continent into spaces even the so-called developed countries wish to occupy.

Power outages in Nigeria major obstacle for tech sector growth

Looking at some of the amazing things that the tech space in Africa has created include the world-renowned M-Pesa which has transformed how people transact not only in Kenya but across the continent and globally in different ways and formats.

And as the world …

Tanzania’s prime location on the African continent has given it the advantage of connects six land-locked countries to the Indian Ocean.

In addition, the country has abundant and world-class wind and solar resources making a suitable power producer who can export this power to the neighbouring countries.

The country is also the sixth-most populous country in sub-Saharan Africa with vast amounts of natural gas reserves which present enormous opportunities for investment in the sector.

Generating Electricity in Tanzania! How Many Billions Can Solar Light-up?

According to Power Africa, Tanzania’s government has committed to reform the operations of the national utility TANESCO to meet new demand through low-cost solutions.

High reliance on expensive thermal and emergency generation sources have helped make the sector financially unviable. Tanzania has made progress in grid expansion, increasing generation capacity with natural gas, facilitating an enabling environment for solar home systems, and publishing of new standard …

Many companies are thus rushing to claim a share of this market as the global banking industry earnings shrink.…

East Africa’s economy is tremendously dynamic and until now, it has been one of the fastest-growing sub-regions in Africa since 2013.

As of 2019, before the covid-19 coronavirus pandemic, the region was expanding at more than double the continental average.

Boasting of having three of the world’s ten fastest-growing economies in 2019, the East African countries of Ethiopia, Rwanda and Tanzania, it is now time for the region to put in place measures that will assure the growth of the region post the coronavirus pandemic.

Is Kenya abandoning trading blocs’ agreements for the US?

Despite the low per capita incomes that have prevailed for decades, the region has experienced some notable social gains including East Africans living 6.7 years longer now on average than they did a decade ago.

But even with these positive trends, the region still suffers from a number of serious vulnerabilities to its ability to sustain …

Chinese billionaires are head over heels with Africa and with donations that keep streaming in, it is just a tip of the iceberg in making China look good.

With the advent of the covid-19 coronavirus, the Chinese have been sending aid to the continent and also to countries like the US and some in Europe. Well, China has a global reputation and the pandemic has become its platform to show its kind side.

The donations started with Jack Ma, China’s richest who interestingly also opened his own Twitter account last month at the height of the covid-19 pandemic.

Ma is using his Twitter account to give prominence to his medical supplies campaign which is delivering much-needed equipment and testing kits to almost every country in the world.

Coronavirus: African leaders stuck with neglected, outdated healthcare systems

The billionaire is sending ventilators and face masks to many countries globally in the …

Africa lags behind when it comes to data and privacy protection exposing the continent’s population to threats which could become expensive to them.

A report by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) shows that 107 countries have put in place legislation to secure the protection of data and privacy. 66 of these countries are developing or transition economies.

In this area, Asia and Africa show a similar level of adoption, with less than 40 per cent of countries having a law in place.

Despite the prospective growth in mobile money transfers and e-transactions, Africa is still far behind in legislation to govern the sector. In addition, cybercrime regulations are few in Africa with 39 countries having some legislation and representing 72 per cent of the continent, 2 countries have draft legislation while 12 countries have no legislation and one has no data.

IMF approves immediate debt relief

Desperate times call for desperate measures and with Kenya’s flower sector hit hard by covid-19, it is time that the country sought ways to maintain relationships with its key markets.

The first gesture by the Kenya flower sector has been to send some 300 bouquets to the United Kingdom in what was called “solidarity with covid-19 frontline combatants” in a campaign dubbed Flowers For Hope.

Kenya’s national carrier Kenya Airways (KQ) flew the consignment on Friday night last week in a move set to keep the flower market open for business when the coronavirus pandemic passes.

The flowers to be distributed to those in the frontline of combating the pandemic including doctors, nurses and recovering patients and care homes were in sleeves inscribed with President Uhuru Kenyatta’s goodwill message.

Kenyatta’s message read, “There have been a few moments in history when the world has faced a crisis as far-reaching …

Oil prices have plummeted heralding a tough time ahead- at least in the foreseeable near future- for oil exporters in Africa.

The chaos started when Saudi Arabia and Russia disagreed over production cuts leading to the oil price war which has led to the huge oil price drops the last of which were witnessed the 1991 Gulf War.

This tiff came after Russia refused to cut production as requested by the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) due to the reduced oil demand occasioned by the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic. With Saudi Arabia retaliating, the world is now experiencing the biggest drop in oil prices to around $30 per barrel.

Africa’s most affected sectors, hope for survival

While this is happening miles away from Africa, oil exporters on the continent have not been spared. Nigeria and Angola are particularly affected with their economies registering the negative effects of the slump …

African countries should support each other if they are to bounce back fast after the covid-19 coronavirus pandemic which has paralysed the global economy.

The continent has immense wealth in resources including labour thus it can easily achieve economic freedoms without having to rely on aid.

With technology, Africa can also easily jumpstart its economy since the tried and tested methods which can support industries and agriculture among other sectors are easily available. Home-grown solutions for local problems are also easily accessible.

With the launch of the operationalisation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) likely to be pushed from the July 1 date, the continent will have to wait longer to see the impact of opened borders and the free movement of goods between countries.

Intra-regional trade could create 2 million new jobs for East Africa

Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta has underscored the need for African countries to …