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- African Heads of State call for tripling of World Bank’s concessional financing
- SpaceX offers Starlink kit at half price for first-time Kenyan customers
- Mobile Banking Reshaping the Gender Gap in Financial Inclusion
- Unleashing ideas: AIM Congress sets the stage for over 450 dialogue sessions
- Abu Dhabi welcomes over 330 partners for AIM Congress 2024
- Kenyan Farmers Receive $2M Boost from Africa Fertiliser Financing Mechanism
- Brace for High Interest Rates for a Longer Period World Bank Warns Kenya
- Kenya-Ethiopia Trade Relations: Legislators Advocate for Policy Alignment to Boost Ties
Africa
- AfDB asks policymakers to put in place an orderly and predictable way of dealing with Africa’s $824Bn debt pile.
- According to AfDB, Africa’s ballooning external debt reached $824 billion in 2021.
- AfDB president says there is urgent need for increased concessional financing, particularly for low-income countries.
Africa’s immense economic potential is being undermined by non-transparent resource-backed loans that complicate debt resolution and compromise countries’ future growth, African Development Bank (AfDB) President Dr Akinwumi Adesina has said.
Adesina at the Semafor Africa Summit taking place on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank 2024 Spring Meetings, highlighted the challenges posed by Africa’s ballooning external debt, which reached $824 billion in 2021, with countries dedicating 65 per cent of their GDP to servicing these obligations.
He said the continent would pay $74 billion in debt service payments this year alone, a sharp increase from $17 billion in 2010. “I …
- Meg Whitman, US Ambassador to Kenya, highlights key investment opportunities in Kenya, particularly in the creative industry and clean energy.
- She noted that Kenya has the potential to become the Singapore of Africa through vertical business integration, job creation, innovation, and foreign direct investment.
- AmCham Business Summit 2024 seeks to strengthen bilateral trade and investment between the US, Kenya, and East Africa.
The fourth edition of the regional American Chamber of Commerce Kenya (AmCham) Business Summit, has officially kicked off in Nairobi, Kenya, under the theme, ‘Catalyzing The Future of US-East Africa Trade and Investment’.
This year’s forum underscores AmCham Business Summit as the premier platform for strengthening bilateral trade and investment between the United States, Kenya, and East Africa.
Hosted by the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham), the two-day Summit has brought together delegates from the United States of America, East and Sub-Saharan Africa in efforts to deliberate and …
- UN faults UK-Rwanda asylum treaty citing concerns on potentially harmful impact on global responsibility-sharing, human rights, and refugee protection.
- Spearheaded by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, the legislation mandates judges to deem Rwanda as a safe third country.
- With deportation flights slated to start in July, the move is sparking weighty debates over the ethical implications of outsourcing asylum responsibilities.
This week’s passage of the “Safety of Rwanda” Bill by the UK Parliament has triggered alarm bells within the United Nations (UN), with two prominent leaders, Filippo Grandi, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, and Volker Türk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, raising concerns over its potentially harmful impact on global responsibility-sharing, human rights, and refugee protection.
Spearheaded by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, the legislation mandates judges to deem Rwanda as a safe third country, paving the way for the deportation of thousands of migrants who have sought refuge …
- Inflation is cooling gradually but remains stubbornly high in most economies, including Africa, UK and U.S. despite the efforts of central banks according to economic experts.
- In 2023 EIU forecast that disinflation in SSA will be slower than on all continents barring Latin America and Asia and Australasia, and that SSA inflation will average 12.5 percent.
- Markets are now betting on a longer period of higher interest rates as they begin to take heed of the message from central bank officials.
Inflation is cooling gradually but remains stubbornly high in most economies, including Africa, UK and U.S. despite the efforts of central banks according to economic experts.
Average annual inflation in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) in 2022, hit 14.5 percent year-on-year on aggregate according to Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) and is estimated to have been higher than in any other region of the world except the Middle East and North Africa, …
- Limited infrastructure, lack of standardized regulations and high air transport costs are among the challenges affecting the air transport sector in the East African Community according to a new report by East Africa Business Council.
- According to the report, limited liberalization of air transport contributes to high flight ticket rates and visa restrictions limit the movement of non-residents into the EAC region.
- The report calls for an EAC single air transport services agreement in a bid to lower the cost of air transport within the region.
Air Transport costs in the East African Community are higher than those in Europe and other African countries according to a new report by East Africa Business Council.
According to the report, the ticket price per kilometre in the EAC region is more than twice the ticket price for destinations in Europe and other countries in Africa.
‘‘The average ticket price per km in …
- Mozambique government acknowledged that not all of the objectives outlined in the 2022 Economy and Social Plan and State Budget (PESOE-2022) had been accomplished
- According to data from the National Statistics Institute (INE), Mozambique’s economy expanded by 4.12 percent in contrast to the 2.9 percent predicted at the start of the 2022 fiscal year
- The Government plans to use $250 million Mutual Guarantee Fund from the world bank to support small and medium-sized businesses in Mozambique once the fund gets approved.
The government of Mozambique has acknowledged that not all of the objectives outlined in the 2022 Economy and Social Plan and State Budget (PESOE-2022) have been accomplished but it remains positive that the gains will rollover to this year.
The government set 575 targets in 2022, but only achieved 433 of them, or 75% of the target, according to Executive Spokeswoman Ludovina Bernardo. The remaining 142 targets, or …
- The fastest growing licensing partners on Mdundo in the period were Slide Digital (Tanzania), Dapper and Mavin (Nigeria), Content Connect Africa (South Africa) and Saldid Records (Kenya).
- The growth is an indication of the catalog released within the period as well as marketing initiatives within the Mdundo service.
- The milestone is in line with the 2025 Strategy of reaching 50 million monthly active users.
Africa music service platform, Mdundo.com has reported a strong performance for the first half of the financial year ending December 31,2022 as unique monthly users reached 23.4 million.
This was a 15 per cent increase, with revenues growing by 161 per cent to over USD1.23 million.
The fastest growing licensing partners on Mdundo in the period were Slide Digital (Tanzania), Dapper and Mavin (Nigeria), Content Connect Africa (South Africa) and Saldid Records (Kenya).
The growth is an indication of the catalog released within the period as …
- 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 …
