Africa

  • 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 …

Read More
  • 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 …

  • US Senators Chris Coons and James Risch have introduced the bipartisan Agoa Renewal and Improvement Act of 2024, aiming to integrate Agoa with the AfCFTA.
  • Bill aims to refine Agoa’s eligibility criteria, increase transparency, and hold US agencies accountable for their advice to the president: Senator Risch
  • Proposed extension signals a commitment to bolstering trade relations between the US and Africa.

The US Congress has proposed extending the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) to 2041, covering all 54 African countries. Senators Chris Coons of Delaware and James Risch of Idaho introduced the bipartisan Agoa Renewal and Improvement Act of 2024, aiming to integrate Agoa with the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) to foster intra-African supply chains.

Originally enacted in 2000, Agoa is set to expire next year. However, the proposed extension signals a commitment to bolstering trade relations between the United States and Africa. Speaking at the fourth …

Africa has been hailed as the next frontier in the provision of global oil and natural gas resources, especially now in the wake of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.

This crisis has not only altered the global energy landscape, but also instigated an inflation in gas prices, given the former’s position in the hierarchy of major global producers. As sanctions continue to soar, Europe has embarked on a quest to find contingency energy supplies, as it seeks to minimize its dependency on Russia; which has already cut off gas supplies to countries like Finland, Poland and Bulgaria, over energy payment disputes.

Consequently, Africa’s gas resources have gained a newly found prominence, pertinently by the European Union (EU); owing to the continent’s rich endowment of oil and deep gas reserves. The mounting global demand for gas, has been pushing international energy companies to reconsider African projects. The numerous ongoing and upcoming oil …

As Africa’s role in the global economy continues to garner prominence, it’s imperative for the continent to seal the gaping hole in its power supply.

Lack of universal power access remains a major roadblock that has retrogressed industrialization and socio-economic development. Statistics from the World Bank indicate that Africa remains the least electrified region in the world, with 568 million people lacking access to electricity.

The Bretton Woods institution, further notes that the Sub-Saharan Africa’s share of the global population without electricity, jumped to 77 per cent in 2020 from 71 per cent in 2018, whilst most regions saw declines in their share of access deficits. It has become a Hobson’s choice for African governments to prioritize the power sector, which is the epicenter of industrialization, working towards Goal 7 of the UN SDGs; which advocates for universal access to affordable, reliable and modern electricity services.

Currently, Africa’s power is …

Reliable and affordable telecom services have never been more vital to our national economic and social resilience.

That is why, across Africa and throughout the globe, national leaders and policymakers are prioritising the preservation of satellite broadband access – and why South Africa needs to keep pace with the rest of the world on this critical issue.

The technical details are relatively simple: the most widely useful and applicable satellite services are provided using the Ka-band, also known more widely as the “28 GHz band”.

What kind of useful services?

  • Reducing “digital deserts” by bringing broadband internet connectivity to unserved and underserved communities.
  • Ensuring near-ubiquitous access and vastly improved quality across the most densely populated urban areas. Among other benefits, the 28 GHz band lets satellite operators deliver the capability to pinpoint configurations of access when demand is at its peak.
  • Reducing constraints on access by delivering a wider range

The African Diaspora Network (ADN) has been instrumental in not only offering a platform for dialogue, action and innovation but also driving investment opportunities in the continent, pertinently through their flagship symposium. The African Diaspora Investment Symposium (ADIS), fosters the entrepreneurial and innovative spirit of Africans in the diaspora together with their champions. The event has been for the past seven years since inception,  a catalyst for diaspora-driven initiatives and investment with the potential to shape the continent’s future as well as a platform to control the narrative about Africa. For the 2022 event, the Network seeks to bring the global community together to Silicon Valley; it has been hailed as the premium convening of the African investment ecosystem in Silicon Valley.

Since January, the Network has been running online forums, addressing thematic concerns and the pivotal role that the diasporan community can play in solving and sealing gaping deficits. …

Cases so far have “mainly but not exclusively been identified amongst men who have sex with men,” according to WHO. This new revelation is against known medical knowledge of the disease because the WHO considers monkeypox not to be a sexually transmitted infection.

In a recent media briefing, Dr John Brooks, an epidemiologist with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, explained that “…monkeypox is not a sexually transmitted infection in the typical sense, but it can be transmitted during sexual and intimate contact.”

From there onwards, the disease has continued to spread, as of May 21st the WHO has reported some 92 confirmed cases and 28 suspected ones. In the wake of this outbreak in the UK, other cases have been reported in Spain and Portugal and several other European countries.…

Despite the international emphasis on migration to Europe, more than 80 per cent of African migration occurs within Africa, both intra-regionally (primarily within West, East, and southern African regions) and inter-regionally (from West Africa to Southern Africa, from East/Horn of Africa to Southern Africa, and from Central Africa to Southern Africa and West Africa).

Most immigrants are migratory workers who work either formally or informally in their destination countries. As a result, immigration plays an important role in the economic development of destination countries. However, a number of low- and middle-income countries lack evidence and awareness of how immigrants might contribute to various sectors of the economy, and very few have designed and implemented relevant policy frameworks.

Many destination nations are unable to capitalise on immigration due to a strong informal sector, insufficient labour migration management capacity, and a lack of aggressive labour market regulations.…

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

STAY INFORMED

Unlock Business Wisdom - Join The Exchange Africa's Newsletter for Expert African Business Insights!

Check your inbox or spam folder to confirm your subscription.

Stay ahead of the game with our weekly African business Newsletter
Recieve Expert analysis, commentary and Insights into the enviroment which can help you make informed decisions.

Check your inbox or spam folder to confirm your subscription.

Exit mobile version