Browsing: Africa

African countries’ attempts to form a common regional currency have proven futile precisely because of all the frameworks of laws that need to be revised and harmonized in the different countries. For example, the eco in West Africa and the shilling in East Africa.

Ghana and Nigeria have even gone ahead to create their central bank digital currencies, indicating their lack of belief in the workability of the eco.

What does this mean? In the next 100 years or more, Africa cannot create a common currency acceptable throughout the continent.…

Amazon Web Services (AWS), the world’s most comprehensive and broadly adopted cloud platform has been helping EdTechs around the world including Africa; to innovate faster technology solutions that support students and educators every day, lowering costs and offering over 200 fully-featured services from data globally.  

Some EdTech initiatives in Africa include; Kenya’s Elimu, which is a leading digital educational provider in East Africa; with fun and engaging literacy apps that have garnered numerous positive reviews, due to fast improvements in reading fluency as opposed to the control group. They have been encouraging students to improve their skills both at home and school, combining engaging content as well as proven pedagogies.  

Another Kenyan EdTech company gaining traction is Zoezi Education, with a vision to empower the learning community in Kenya, through its flagship products ‘Zoezi Revision and Zoezi Darasani’. The renowned platform offers interactive and auto marked revision questions, for the …

Many exports from Ghana to the US benefit from duty-free tariff preferences under the American Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) and the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) programme. Exports from Ghana to the US that have enjoyed AGOA preferences include yams, apparel and cocoa (beans, powder or paste).

Ghana has exported US$131 million worth of yams to the US since 2012, avoiding a standard import duty of 6.4 per cent under AGOA. Cocoa exported to the US has amounted to US$2.5 billion over the last two decades.

Miss Rosa Whitaker, the President and the CEO of the Whitaker Group (TWG), is significant to the success of AGOA in Africa, facilitating the export of over 9,000 agricultural and manufactured goods to the United States.

Whitaker advocates for African countries to research what the US market is demanding and be alert to new opportunities. She pointed out the success of Ghana’s cocoa …

According to the Future Market Insights report, around 9.2 billion tonnes of plastic have been manufactured globally, out of which only 9 per cent is recycled!

The technology helps to protect manufacturers and consumers against food and drug counterfeits. 

 With the plastic waste menace causing unprecedented damage globally, there has been an ongoing movement to discover and use alternative packaging materials, such as paper, glass, and metals.

The dilemma facing the world right now is that even the processes of creating plastic-free solutions often release more significant carbon emissions than conventional plastics.…

• Degan Ali, has been advocating for a movement dubbed “decolonizing aid”, which seeks to decenter the voices of Western decision-makers and shift more power to nonwhite and local leaders in the global south.
• Ali said they were going to try and turn the US$5 million Scott grant and other funds they get in the next few years and grow Adeso into a US$30 million to US$50 million endowment in the next ten years
• Adeso is also planning to launch a new online platform, a website called Kuja Link, that will allow organizations worldwide to create connections with philanthropists

For the last decade, donors and funders worldwide have capitalized on non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and nonprofits to issue humanitarian aid in Africa at the grassroots level.

One such donor is billionaire philanthropist MacKenzie Scott.

Scott issues a US$5 million grant to Adeso

MacKenzie issued a US$5 million grant to Adeso, …

• Through its app, Zenda allows parents to pay fees directly to schools, all while streamlining collections by enabling schools to accept and manage online payments
• Parents do not necessarily need to provide bank deposit slips as proof of payment because all transactions on Zenda happen in real-time
• Zenda’s users have increased 20 fold, with the app reaching over US$100 million in annual contracted payment volumes by the close of last year

UAE- based startup Zenda is now eyeing Africa as its next frontier market for growth. 

The company which is looking to change how parents pay school fees and the way in which educational institutions manage the collection of fees is looking to expand its reach to Africa. 

Formerly known as nexopay, the firm plans to penetrate the African market through Egypt in the coming months as the firm embarks on a growth drive accelerated by a US$9.4 million seed …

• There is a huge need for business owners, policymakers, and African leaders, in general, to capitalise on the investment in more research, higher education and science
• Academic institutions need to build skills and knowledge of young professionals in areas of research, innovation, science and technology in order to benefit from the natural resources and improve the livelihoods of East Africans
• Africa has the strongest growing scientific production currently at 38.6 per cent since the start of 2012 with the number of authors subsequently growing at a slightly higher rate of 43 per cent over the same period

The Academic Public-Private Partnership Forum (APPPF) has called for more funding to be availed to Africa’s researchers and innovators. This will largely drive up the continent’s sustainable economic development.

According to data by statista.com, despite Africa comprising 12.5 per cent of the global population, the continent still only accounts for less than 1 …

The legal tender title of bitcoin in the country implies the acceptance of cryptocurrencies as a legal means of payment in any transaction through specific rules and regulations. This means that no vendor, trader or organisation can deny service payment through bitcoin as illegal.

This move comes after several countries in the continent have restricted trading in bitcoin, and most of them are lukewarm about the market.

The legalisation of bitcoin in the first African country will transform the country’s infrastructure and facilitate the blockchain technology and web3 applications to thrive. With legalising cryptocurrencies, the Central African Republic is moving towards a new path of technological development and economic performance. This dynamic field is popular among investors worldwide and ever-present as full-fledged assets in the portfolios of the world’s largest financial players such as Microsoft, Meta and Amazon.…

• Cryptocurrency mining appears to be going in a different direction from the larger part of the world to fight carbon emissions
• The United States- where 35.4 per cent of bitcoin mining takes place-releases over 40 billion tonnes of carbon emissions annually, the equivalent of 9 million cars
• The University of Cambridge states that bitcoin generates about 132.48 terawatt-hours every year
• However, the cryptocurrency industry is looking to reduce 100 per cent of its carbon emissions by the end of this decade

There has been a debate about bitcoin mining facilities moving to Africa. The continent has the biggest potential to generate renewable energy sources, and the facilities will reduce saturation in the West and Europe.

Why renewable sources of energy? Bitcoin mining counts at the top of the world’s leading carbon-emitting industries!

Cryptocurrency mining appears to be going in a different direction from the larger part of the world to …

• The annual meeting for the African Development Bank Group will be held in Accra, Ghana, from May 23-27, 2022
• The theme for the AfDB 2022 meeting is Achieving Climate Resilience and a Just Energy Transition for Africa
• This year marks the 57th AfDB Annual Meeting of the Bank Group’s Board of Governors and the 48th Meeting of the African Development Fund (ADF), the concessional arm of the Bank Group
• The Bank will launch the 2022 report for the African Development Bank’s African Economic Outlook during the annual meeting

The annual meeting for the African Development Bank Group will be held in Accra, Ghana, from May 23-27, 2022.

This is the first meeting in two years to be held in person since the COVID-19 pandemic hit Africa. The previous two meetings have been held virtually. This year, however, will be both physical, which will take place at the Accra International Conference …