• About  22 districts across Zambia are underwater due to climate change-induced flooding caused by above-average rains according to CARE Zambia
• The humanitarian organisation reports that over 70 districts in Zambia are at a high risk of flooding even as the rains continue to fall, and rivers burst their banks.
• The climate crisis has directly affected at least 1.5 million people – including an estimated 821,000 children.

About 22 districts across Zambia are underwater due to climate change-induced flooding caused by above-average rains according to CARE International.  

The firm reports that over 70 districts in Zambia are at a high risk of flooding even as the rains continue to fall, and rivers burst their banks. 

In six districts where CARE works, there has been continuous rains that have led to flash floods. Hundreds of hectares of planted fields and grazing lands are underwater. Homes have been submerged as roads and bridges …

• Remittance flows to developing regions were shaped by several factors in 2022 including reopening of host economies as the COVID-19 pandemic receded.
• Remittances as a share of GDP are significant in the Gambia (28%), Lesotho (21%), and Comoros (20%).
• Industry data shows most of the funds go towards supporting families in purchase of food and household goods

Remittances to Sub-Saharan Africa grew by 5.2 percent to $53 billion in 2022 defying the effects of the global crisis.

World Bank’s report on Migration and Development however noted that the growth slowed from the 16.4 percent  that was recorded in 2021.

“Remittances in 2023 are projected to soften to 3.9 percent growth as adverse conditions in the global environment and regional source countries persist,” noted the report.

Flows to Nigeria and Kenya have continued to dominate remittances to Sub-Saharan Africa although the region remains highly exposed to the effects of the global …

• The 3.9 million Euro donation will go towards the World Bank’s MSME Business Development Project in Djibouti, which provides MSMEs business support
• It is believed that barely 5% of the Djibouti’s formal firms receive bank financing
• Financial institutions, public institutions, and MSMEs-supporting programmes are among the intermediate beneficiaries

The World Bank and the European Union Delegation in Djibouti signed an Administration Agreement on behalf of the European Union to help Djibouti’s Micro, Small, and Medium-Sized Enterprises grow (MSMEs).

The 3.9 million Euro donation will go toward the World Bank’s MSME Business Development Project in Djibouti, which provides MSMEs with services such as digitisation, improved accounting procedures, credit applications, business planning, and legal and marketing strategies.

It will also help create a virtual “one-stop-shop” where MSMEs can apply for permits and other services all in one spot. The European money will be channelled through the MENA Regional Umbrella Multi-donor Trust Fund …

• President Ruto ran for office partly on a Beijing-skeptic platform in response to claims of Chinese predatory lending to African nations
• The Kenyan President assured American businesses that his administration would create a favourable business climate to encourage foreign direct investment
• Moderna will soon start producing vaccines in Kenya, joining other major American corporations in the East African superpower, like General Electric, Meta, Google, and Microsoft
• He obtained pledges in waste-to-energy solutions, space technology, carbon trading systems and markets.

When Kenya president William Ruto and other African heads of state arrived in Washington, DC, last week for President Biden’s US-Africa Leaders’ Summit, It was Kenya’s chance to rebuild strategic ties with the west.

Along with meetings with companies like Google, Visa and the Rockefeller Foundation in the private sector, as well as general conversations on political relations, security, and economic development, the president of Kenya also made a speech about …

• Visa committed to investing US$1 billion in Africa over the next five years
• Visa will facilitate more accessible access to digital payments as a stepping stone to extending formal financial services for consumers and businesses
• The funds will also go toward upskilling, talent development, and capacity building, as well as boosting the digitization of economies and enhancing the payment ecosystem via innovations and technology

Visa has committed to investing US$1 billion in Africa over the next five years to support robust, creative, and inclusive economies during the U.S.-Africa Business Forum.

Visa will also facilitate more accessible access to digital payments as a stepping stone to extending formal financial services for consumers and businesses.

Alfred F. Kelly, Jr., chairman and CEO of Visa, presented the pledge at the US-Africa Business Forum in conjunction with the US-Africa Leaders Summit in Washington, DC. The commitment will help Visa expand operations in …

• Microsoft announced plans to deliver internet access through satellite to 10 million people, half of whom will live in Africa
• Microsoft and Viasat will work together to develop and test technologies, such as fixed wireless and satellites 
• Microsoft and Viasat will offer connectivity and digital literacy to improve healthcare, education, and economic productivity. 

Microsoft has announced plans to deliver internet access through satellite to 10 million people, half of whom will live in Africa, as part of its initiative to bridge the digital divide with the developing world.

At a Summit with African leaders in Washington, DC, hosted by President Joe Biden, the tech giant said it would commence the satellite project immediately, prioritising internet connection for the first time to Egypt, Senegal and Angola.

Microsoft announced plans to extend its operations in Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of the Congo and provide internet connectivity in more remote parts …