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- Kenya, Tanzania braces for torrential floods as Cyclone Hidaya approaches
- EAC monetary affairs committee to discuss single currency progress in Juba talks
- Transport and food prices drive down Kenya’s inflation to 5% in April
- Payment for ransomware attacks increase by 500 per cent in one year
- History beckons as push for Kenya’s President Ruto to address US Congress gathers pace
- IMF’s Sub-Saharan Africa economic forecast shows 1.2 percent GDP growth
- The US Congress proposes extending Agoa to 2041, covering all African countries
- Millions at risk of famine as fuel tax row halts UN aid operations in South Sudan
Africa
- Kenya and Tanzania, already reeling from nature’s fury, now confront the looming threat of Cyclone Hidaya.
- Cyclone Hidaya’s trajectory places the eastern coast of Tanzania squarely in its crosshairs as neighbouring Kenya braces for floods.
- The relentless deluge gripping East Africa finds its origins in the El Nino weather pattern.
Millions of people in Tanzania and Kenya are on edge as Cyclone Hidaya, a formidable tempest, barrels toward the region, exacerbating the havoc wrought by ongoing heavy downpours and catastrophic floods that have claimed hundreds of lives across East Africa.
Kenya and Tanzania, already reeling from nature’s fury, now confront the looming threat of a cyclone poised to unleash further devastation, with forecasts predicting a grim landfall later on Friday, May 3rd.
At the moment, Cyclone Hidaya’s trajectory places the eastern coast of Tanzania squarely in its crosshairs, with fears mounting over its potential impact on neighbouring Kenya. As …
- US Congress members ask Speaker Mike Johnson to invite President Ruto to address the assembly.
- President Ruto will be visiting the US on May 23 to mark 60 years of US-Kenya diplomatic ties.
- If invited, President Ruto would become the first Kenyan Head of State to address a joint session of US Congress.
In a historic plan highlighting the deepening ties between the United States and Kenya, House Foreign Affairs Committee chairman Michael McCaul (Republican – Texas) and Ranking Member Gregory Meeks (Democrat – New York) have jointly sent a letter to Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (Republican – Los Angeles, asking him to extend a formal invitation to President William Ruto of Kenya to address a joint session of Congress during his upcoming visit to the US, slated later in May.
“This year, we are celebrating the historic 60-year anniversary of the U.S.-Kenya diplomatic relationship. Such an invitation …
- The IMF has identified South Sudan, Burundi, and the DRC as East African Community member states poised for significant economic growth in the 2024–2025 period.
- GDP growth in Burundi is projected to increase from 4.3 to 5.4 percent and in the DRC from 4.7 to 5.7%.
- Kenya leads regionally with a projected GDP of $104 billion, ranking 7th overall among the continent’s largest economies.
The economic outlook for East African Community member states South Sudan, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is poised for significant economic growth in the 2024–2025 period. This prognosis by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) comes despite these nations grappling with conflicts, marking them as among the most fragile in the region.
In its latest regional economic outlook report for Sub-Saharan Africa, the IMF forecasts a noteworthy 1.2 percent gross domestic product (GDP) growth for South Sudan, from 5.6 to 6.8 percent, despite …
- At the beginning of February, Nigerians started complaining that commercial banks could not supply individuals with Nigeria’s physical fiat currency.
- The currency situation in Nigeria escalated to an all out crisis this week when an impending deadline for the ban of the use of old notes.
- The Supreme Court on Wednesday, suspended the deadline to ease the tension that has been building up exacerbated by heated campaigns and a looming fuel crisis.
In the middle of intense campaigns that will see three main presidential candidates battle it out in Nigeria’s 2023 election, the country is experiencing a shortage of the new Naira notes that threatens to take centre-stage before the West African nation goes to the polls from 25 February.
All Progress Party (APC) candidate Bola Tinibu, People’s Democratic Party (PDP) Atiku Abubakar and outsider Peter Obi of Labour Party are considered the front runners to take over from outgoing …
- 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 …
