Browsing: Africa

Every African region has felt the effects of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, with West Africa also bearing the burden of…

The United Kingdom (UK) has played a key role in participating in commercial investments in Africa in major production areas with varying results.

Most Kenyans, 83 per cent, indicated a willingness to increase the amount of money they allocate to savings and investments, but the inability to save due to insufficient funds after fulfilling their obligations that require regular funding and the availability of quick digital loans.

Among their obligations which contribute to Kenyans’ financial strain is supporting their extended family which considerably bites into their savings. 84 per cent of people indicated that they regularly provide some income to their extended family, mostly in case of emergencies, because they feel a sense of obligation to send their extended families money and because their extended family members treat them better when they are sent money.

On their part, the extended family members mostly use the money to cater to recurring expenses like food & transport, school fees and medical expenses at 23 per cent, 19 per cent and 18 per cent respectively. Farm-related expenses like purchase of fertiliser ranked fourth at 14 per cent, phone and home upgrades came in fifth at 7 per cent while entertainment like Christmas celebration was sixth.

The promise of industrialization in East Africa has been on an exponential growth trajectory, remarkably transforming the economies of all…

Africa’s road infrastructure remains essential for landlocked countries, where opening manufacturing zones are needed. Reliable road transport is required for businesses to import and export goods, complete orders, and procure supplies.

In renewing the commitments to end Malaria and Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) by 2030, Commonwealth heads pledged over $4 billion…

Despite poor irrigation systems, extreme weather conditions and soil quality becoming the case for wheat importation instead of farming it, countries such as Tanzania and Kenya are amping up their farming systems.

Tanzania’s irrigation area has risen to more than 727,000 hectares from around 625,000 in 2021. The nation has built silos in Burundi, Kenya and Congo, easing up supply and trade of crops across the regions.  Kenya, East Africa’s leading economy and among Africa’s top four in fintech is leveraging modern financial technology to enhance commercial agriculture practices.

Utiliser application is a challenge, and the nation is striving to assist farmers in adapting to new tech by offering subsidies to ensure productivity is restored, while Uganda is striving to level up the playing field for farmers to access and adopt low-cost irrigation and climate-smart agriculture systems. On the same note, it also intensifies the functions of the entire agriculture value chain by empowering small and medium agri-businesses with capital.

Though not an overnight project, Africa can realise the sustainable and relevant adoption of low-cost irrigation and climate-smart agriculture systems, which will arguably transform food production systems and farmers’ economies.

China’s GDP is central to the global economy and especially in Africa The Asian country’s economy is integrated with nearly…

The practical implementation of the AfCFTA, the expanding middle class, the evolving consumer market, enhanced use of financial technology and services, and the efficiency of the vibrant private sector will all be enablers of African export diversification and long-term economic growth.

As far back as June 28, 2017, This Day Live said another point to note is that USSD is very important within emerging economies, where the cost to access data services is increasing. Despite the growth of smartphone penetration and 3G/4G coverage, the data access cost is a key factor in deciding how information is consumed.

Meanwhile, the continued reliability of USSD will enable mobile service providers and financial institutions more opportunities to satisfy new market segments, add more value to the customer, and meet underserved customer needs.

In a related article by Myriad Connect published January 29, 2018, the core benefit of USSD is that it doesn’t rely on a data connection to operate, thereby helping reach the billions of people in areas where network coverage is at its most basic or for sectors of the population for whom a data connection is too expensive to access.

So long as a phone can make a call and send a text, then the technology is good to go.