Author: The Exchange

Already ranking top 10 globally on AI usage, Egypt is inviting players in the emerging tech to explore best use cases even as it woos investments in deep tech as Cairo evolves into hub of innovation. Organised by GITEX GLOBAL, flagship Ai Everything MEA expo in February 2026 is poised to become the most empowering AI tech week across the Middle East and Africa. Tech heavyweights trailblazing AI adoption such as Atos, Cyshield, HPE, and IBM are expected to showcase at the event. As the spirited push for the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) across Africa gets underway, Egypt has…

New AfDB President Ould Tah has set out a four-point agenda including, listening intently; fast-tracking reforms; deepening partnerships and accelerating real solutions as his core priorities. Mauritanian, Dr. Ould Tah, was elected on 29 May 2025 with over 76% of shareholder votes—the highest margin for a first-term president in the Bank’s history. The 60-year-old has taken over from Nigerian Dr. Akinwumi Adesina who served the lender for two consecutive terms. Mauritanian Dr. Sidi Ould Tah has taken over the steering of the African Developemnt Bank Group (AfDB), announcing a four-point plan that includees, listening intently; launching a fast-track reform agenda;…

From an average of KES122 billion annual collections in mid 1990s, KRA’s tech-powered reforms have seen it collect over KES2.5 trillion in fiscal year 2024/25. KRA Commissioner-General Humphrey Wattanga says plans are underway to further to transform the agency into a premier service entity with enhanced digital capacity. Currently, the agency is aligning operations with a focus on tech to enhance compliance across Micro Small & Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and emerging segments. For 30 years, the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) has evolved from manual tax filing approach to a digital-first revenue monitoring, and compliance agency, driving the country’s annual collections…

East Africa has become a key frontier for economic expansion so as to have a balance of power against the West and as a source of competition, given Russia’s expanding influence in the region,Recent deals in Zanzibar, coupled with a huge $103 billion investment pledge in six African countries shine a spotlight on Doha’s aim of forging lasting economic ties in the continent. The Qatar Zanzibar Deal In a groundbreaking Friday at Zanzibar’s State House, President Hussein Mwinyi oversaw the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Qatari investors whose investment value is estimated to be at $10bn (about…

South Africa ports moved up to 18,689 Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units (TEUs) in a single day in August despite continued challenges of ageing infrastructure that often leads to processing delays. The record volume in cargo handled was the highest since the Covid-19 pandemic that triggered massive dip in port operations. Southern African Association of Freight Forwarders CEO Dr. Juanita Maree says deployment of new equipment, reforms in cargo handling processes, and partnerships is helping stabilize port performance. In August, ports across South Africa defied the odds posting record daily volume in the sector by moving up to 18,689 Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units…

Thousands of Japanese are faulting the proposed “Africa hometowns” status of their cities, terming the deal a recipe for creating “flood of immigrants” into the Asian nation. Last week, JICA announced the designation of Imabari, Kisarazu, Sanjo and Nagai cities as “Africa hometowns” targeting people from Nigeria, Tanzania, Mozambique, and Ghana for cultural exchanges. On account of media reports, this designation of cities has been misconstrued in Africa to mean that locals can now relocate to live in those urban centres in Japan. A move that was originally aimed at uniquely cementing the relations between select African countries and Japan…

Has constitutional reform emerged as a key issue as Tanzania prepares for its general election in October 2025, though obscured by political ambiguity once more? 1. The Launch of a Campaign with Reform in the News President Samia Suluhu Hassan formally began her campaign in Dar es Salaam on August 28, 2025. A reconciliation commission, promises of expanded healthcare, musicians, and banners of CCM’s alleged milestones made the event a spectacle. Her promise to start the process of drafting a new constitution, according to The Standard newspaper however, was the most noteworthy. She didn’t elaborate. Still, there was a lot…

For years, besieged Kilmar Abrego Garcia worked as a construction worker in U.S. state of Maryland, where he lived with his wife and children. The Salvadorian national was, however, arrested in March and wrongly deported to a jail in his homeland: El Salvador. The Trump administration says Garcia was a member of the MS-13 gang, an accusation that he denies even as the push to dump him in Uganda intensifies. From the streets of Kampala to the corridors of power in U.S. Donald Trump’s administration, one name, Kilmar Abrego Garcia, keeps popping up in the evolving illegal immigrants’ deportation global…

His Highness Prince Rahim Aga Khan, the 50th hereditary Imam (spiritual leader) of the Shia Ismaili Muslims, is in Kenya for a three-day official visit that mixes diplomacy, heritage and development. This is his first visit to the country since his appointment as Imam, succeeding his late father, Prince Karim Aga Khan IV, in February 2025. The visit has significance, both symbolic and practical, as part of his role as Chairman of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN), demonstrating the ongoing ethos of partnership that has been in place for many decades between the Ismaili Imamat and the Government of…

Gaza now is the most lethal assignment in modern journalism. At least 197 journalists and media workers have been killed since October 2023, often while reporting on the aftermath of strikes, or while seeking shelter with family. The Committee to Protect Journalists or CPJ says this the most deliberately coordinated attempt to silence journalists it has ever recorded. On Aug. 10 and again on Aug. 25, 2025, Palestinian journalists were targeted and killed in clusters of attacks that illustrate how murderous and lawless this war has grown for the press. The right to report is being buried with the people…