Tuesday, December 3

Opinion

transition finance
  • Transition finance is funding dedicated to decarbonizing hard-to-abate and emissions-intensive sectors, such as steel and cement manufacturing.
  • Companies in these sectors must prepare for an orderly transition, as failure to act will bring immense risk in a decarbonizing world economy.
  • Nurturing a thriving transition finance market is critical to mitigating systemic economic and financial risks.

The transition finance market provides a unique opportunity for Africa to leapfrog to low-carbon technologies and business models, which will address climate risks and enhance the continent’s global competitiveness.

Though lacking a universal definition, transition finance refers to funding dedicated to decarbonizing hard-to-abate and emissions-intensive sectors, such as steel and cement manufacturing.

It is key to overcoming financial barriers to sustainability in the industries essential for economic development yet major contributors to greenhouse gas emissions. Companies in these sectors must prepare for an orderly transition, as failure to act will bring immense risk in a …

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Mpox Africa
  • WHO’s move aims to galvanize a coordinated international response to contain and mitigate the spread of mpox.
  • An uptick in cases, especially in Burundi, Kenya, Uganda, and Rwanda, along with sporadic cases in Europe, prompted the WHO’s emergency declaration.
  • Despite these concerns, mpox is not likely to evolve into a pandemic akin to COVID-19.

Last week, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared mpox (formerly known as monkeypox) a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. This decision underscores the escalating threat posed by the virus, which surged globally in 2022 but has since seen a troubling resurgence, particularly in Africa. The WHO’s move aims to galvanize a coordinated international response to contain and mitigate the spread of mpox, a virus with significant public health implications.

Mpox, a member of the same viral family as smallpox, is a rare but severe infection. It manifests through symptoms akin to chickenpox, including fevers, swollen …

renewable energy africa
  • Existing scientific research in Africa’s renewable energy transition often overlooks certain dispatchable technologies that could enhance grid flexibility.
  • Studies primarily focus on zero-carbon dispatchable technologies like concentrated solar power and geothermal, despite their limitations in efficiency, reliability, and cost.
  • Balancing engine power plants, which are globally recognized for their flexibility, reliability, and cost-effectiveness, are notably absent in these analyses, despite their potential to run on clean fuels in the future.

It is no longer disputed that solar and wind power will be the foundation of Africa’s future energy systems. They are perfectly suited to the continent’s unique conditions and are already the most cost-competitive power option in almost all cases. This consensus spans academia, businesses, and policymakers who all recognize the potential of renewable energy to meet Africa’s growing needs sustainably.

They also readily acknowledge the intermittent nature of renewables, and the associated need for flexible power capacity within the …

Congo joins the EAC (www.theexchange.africa)

It is obvious that the DRC’s desire to become a member of the EAC is to tap into the benefits of regional trade, i.e. an expanded market of 300 million people, and to increase Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) through its membership in the EAC bloc. DRC’s capital market remains underdeveloped and consists mainly of the issuance of treasury bonds.

There is no stock exchange in the country and only a small number of private equity firms are actively investing in the mining industry.  There are hardly any institutional investors in the DRC except for an insurance company and a state pension fund. The Central Bank of Congo (BCC), developed a market for short-term bonds, which are bought and held by local Congolese banks. 

The absence of a domestic debt market has meant that the fixed-rate market is limited to government-issued treasury bonds with maturities of up to 28 days traded …

The Vienna World Conference on Human Rights in 1993 was forced to address women’s rights as a human rights issues because of the violence and sexual abuse against women occurring in Yugoslavia at the time.

The Fourth International Women’s Conference was held in Beijing in 1995 made human rights and women’s participation in decision making at all levels key. One of the recommendations was for the countries to have gender desks in the Ministries, Departments and Agencies including Security Services. It cautioned against the specific establishment of Women’s Ministries as these would take gender issues to the periphery as that ministry would be saddled with all matters gender-related.

The conference also discussed the eradication of poverty, women in armed conflict and violence against women.…

Insurance policies are meant to protect against calamity, not to enrich. www.theexchange.africa

It is highly discouraged to go to a company directly and purchase a cover as in more ways than one you will be short-changed when the time comes to pay the claim. You will find that the requirements for you to get paid a claim can only be handled by an agent or broker as they will go the extra mile to make sure that you are properly sorted out.

These insurance intermediaries will also advise you on the best insurance company to insure with as they have the knowledge which most likely you do not have. I always point out about those insurance clients whom we once saw knocking on the door of an insurance company whose doors had been closed for good, but were pleading to be let in and purchase a motor insurance cover.

That is the tragedy of not trusting your agent or broker as you…

covid virus 3d modeling copy

Who decided that omicron is ‘African’? Omicron, the new COVID variant is not “African”, plain and simple. Isolating South Africa and the region for identifying the variant is simply wrong!

These travel bans are based on politics, not on science. It is wrong on so many levels that I find myself in a shocking state of disbelief.

It is wrong for economic reasons, for humanitarian reasons, for scientific reasons but above all for actual health reasons. What I mean is that perhaps only the most naive of individuals could possibly believe that isolating the region from the rest of the world would have any significant impact on preventing the virus from spreading.

I can only speculate that these may be the same people attending record-breaking premier league (1) games with other 40,000 unmasked fellas in the UK or even European governments such as the one in Portugal who think to …

Flat I 31

Africa’s leading Mobile Network Operators (MNOs), MTN, Vodacom and Safaricom, have recently made bold plans to venture into the increasingly dynamic world of fintech. On 23rd June 2021, Safaricom launched its super app, which creates an ecosystem of mini-apps from the network operator as well as third-party apps that feed off the super app[1]. A month prior to this development, Safaricom, the leading MNO in Kenya announced plans to release an Application Protocol Interface (API) for the super app to enable third-party app developers to build more products and services on top of the super app[2]. This means the super app is going to be an app store that consolidates the reach of Safaricom.

In May, MTN also announced plans to become a tech platform to rival the likes of Apple and WeChat as part of their Ambition 2025 which is currently being implemented[3]

africa PV9RXED min

On the eve of World Environment Day, the topic of climate change has become a major subject matter for the developed world and the developing world. Africa is by far one of the lushest continents being ripe for vegetation and the key enabler to save the planet. The UN Sustainable Development Goals seeks to promote sustainability via a global collective. In light of that,  the Billion Tree Initiative is a new commitment by Synergetic Trees and one that is headed by its founder Dr. Bahadur Bahadur to drive global sustainability. 

“Twenty-five years ago, people could be excused for not knowing much, or doing much, about climate change. Today we have no excuse.”  – Desmond Tutu

 

Accordingly to Dr. Bahadur, CEO of Synergetic Trees (ST) is a global network of teams focused on carbon sequestration by planting and caring for trees in the long term. Carbon sequestration is any process …

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