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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
Industry and Trade
- Kenya’s Inflation drop was influenced by prices of key food commodities.
- KNBS says the food and non-alcoholic beverage index, which represents 32.9 per cent of inflation measurement, dropped by 0.1 per cent within the period.
- KNBS data adds that housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels’ index dropped by 1.3 per cent
Kenya’s inflation dropped to a record 24-month low in April to hit five per cent, the latest data from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics show, as prices of key food commodities continued to fall.
This is the third month in a row that the index has dropped, from 6.9 percent in January to 6.3 per cent in February and 5.7 per cent in March, and now the five per cent last month. The continued drop comes despite some price rises on some indices.
Major contributors to April’s year-on-year price rises included transport, food and non-alcoholic beverages, and …
We all know the emergence of blockchain technology has transformed the landscape of finance offering new opportunities for social and economic empowerment globally. What we fail to realize is that this is especially important in the developing world, where millions are unbanked, unemployed and underserved, yet nothing is being done. In light of this, under the aegis of the Humanity Protocol, a new venture is surfacing that seeks to change this space. Known as the Dream Play, the initiative seeks to provide income opportunities for African and Asian entrepreneurs, setting a new standard for sustainable employment.
A New Horizon for Entrepreneurs
Originally known as the Africa Startup League, the rebranded Dream Play, represents a significant evolution. As a platform for showcasing entrepreneurial skills it has morphed into a comprehensive ecosystem where young innovators will access jobs and create substantial economic impact. This transformation aligns with the broader goals of …
- Africa private capital deals fell to to 450 deals in the past one year.
- The continent’s total private capital deal value stood at $5.9 billion, the fourth largest value on record since 2012.
- Decline in Africa private capital deals marked the continent’s steepest year-over-year decline in volume in 12 years.
Africa recorded a 28 per cent year-over-year (YoY) decline in the total private capital deal volume for the first time since 2016, falling to 450 deals. This downturn is attributed to the global economic turmoil, which led to inflation spikes and the devaluation of continental currencies.
In Kenya and Nigeria for instance, the Shilling and the Naira plunged to historic lows in 2023, while in Egypt, a shortage in foreign currency led to increased controls over its usage in the country.
According to the 2023 African Private Capital Activity Report, the depreciation of local currencies and the depletion of foreign …
- Zambia-Tanzania Trade Route expansion enjoys the support of senior government, diplomatic, and development sector officials.
- The Nakonde/Tunduma border is one of the busiest entry/exit points for cargo in and out of Zambia.
- The design reviews for Nakonde OSBP were finalised over the last year
The Government of Zambia and TradeMark Africa (TMA) have entered into a Partner Support Agreement (PSA) to upgrade the Nakonde One Stop Border Post, a key Zambia-Tanzania Trade Route.
Funded by the UK government, the $7.7 million (ZMK 197 million) project will improve the flow of goods and people along the Dar es Salaam Corridor, promising to streamline operations and reduce cargo clearance times by more than 100 per cent on both sides of the border.
Clearing cargo trucks crossing the border takes more than two days, leading to significant business delays and losses.
Zambia’s Finance Minister, Situmbeko Musokotwane, and TMA’s CEO, David Beer, launched the …
- An estimated $5.7 trillion is required to close the infrastructure investment gap in South Africa by 2050.
- Of the energy sector projects, 25 are under construction under Bid Window 5 of REIPPP.
- Access to clean water and sanitation is a basic human right, yet many communities in South Africa lack reliable access to these essential services.
South Africa needs an estimated $5.7 trillion To bridge the shortfall in infrastructure investment by 2050. This deficit spans several sectors, including underdeveloped transportation systems, inadequate energy provisions, scarce access to potable water and sanitation services, and a shortage of affordable housing. These issues are particularly pronounced in rural locales and informal settlements.
This is according to statements made by Mameetse Masemola, Acting Head of Infrastructure South Africa (ISA), during the Sustainable Infrastructure Development Symposium South Africa (SIDSSA).
In a media briefing, Masemola gave an update on the initiatives led by ISA since its …
- Cash transfer service M-PESA is eyeing a chunk of the remittances to Ethiopia which are estimated at $5 billion annually.
- Last year, the World Bank stated that the remittances flow to countries in sub-Saharan Africa reached $54 billion.
- Through a new M-PESA-Onafriq agreement, friends and relatives from 40 countries will now be able to send money directly to Safaricom Ethiopia M-PESA subscribers.
Safaricom Ethiopia is betting on remittances to grow cash transfer service M-PESA uptake in Ethiopia following an agreement with one of Africa’s largest digital payments network Onafriq. Through the deal, friends and relatives from 40 countries where Onafriq has a presence will now be able to send money directly to M-PESA subscribers in Africa’s second most populous country.
Through the agreement, individuals within Ethiopia will receive remittances from different parts of the world through M-PESA, based on the authorisation received from the National Bank of Ethiopia to start …
- Climate emergency has been a new concern in businesses across the markets
- From those polled 87 per cent of respondents agreed to some extent that they were concerned about physical climate risks
- 72 per cent of corporates surveyed had experienced an extreme weather event in the last five years
Nearly four out of every five businesses in many of the countries most vulnerable to the impacts of the climate emergency are already suffering the consequences of a rapidly changing environment.
The startling finding is contained in British International Investment’s third annual Emerging Economies Climate Report – a survey of its investee businesses in Africa, Asia and the Caribbean. The report is a joint effort between Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment and ODI, the global think tank.
BII, Managing Director and Head of Climate, Diversity and Advisory Amal-Lee Amin says that that 79 per cent of companies …
- Eight Kenyan universities have been selected as part of the World Bank’s $55.8 million SME formalisation project.
- In the World Bank plan, 267 young innovators’ students, 10 incubators, 10 accelerators, and 4 tech boot camp providers will be funded.
- The SKIES initiative started with a call for applications that attracted a total of 142 incubators.
Eight Kenyan universities have been selected as part of the World Bank’s $55.8 million (KES7.5 billion) SME formalisation project to provide business development services to micro, small and medium enterprises. Kenya Industrial Entrepreneurship Project will implement the program through the Strengthening Kenya’s Innovation Ecosystem (SKIES).
The government, through SKIES, a subcomponent of the Sh7.5 billion (KIEP) project, seeks to streamline the delivery of professional business development services, thereby enabling innovators of small and medium enterprises to get the proper business training when required.
The absence of a uniform platform to oversee the start-up ecosystem in …
- Kenya has already enlisted over 107,831 community health workers through the Ministry of Health.
- The target cohort of 25,000 will be trained in the first phase, according to the Resilient and Empowered African Community Health (REACH) initiative.
- REACH will be implemented in phases, aiming to boost skills of the 107,831 community health workers employed by the Government.
Kenya has launched a community health initiative supported by the African Union geared to boosting primary health care at the grassroots, targeting under-served populations.
The programme, under the auspices of the African Union (AU) Member States, is known as Resilient and Empowered African Community Health (REACH) and is geared towards increasing Community Health Workers (CHWs) to over two million in the continent by 2029.
Under the first phase of the initiative, over 25,000 CHWs newly recruited in Kenya will be trained on community health and on the use of Community Health Promotion (CHP) …
