Browsing: Africa

Climate change is a 21st-century phenomenon that has called the attention of most governments on planet earth. In Africa, the cost of adaptation is estimated at approximately $2 billion per year in the period 2030-2100.

According to a US-based think-tank, Brookings, research finding point out that, bold climate action could deliver at least $26 trillion in global economic benefits between now and 2030. On another, it could also generate nearly 65 million new low-carbon jobs by 2030.

All these benefits safeguard Africa’s prosperous future which is filled with exciting development projects execute across the region’s vast landscape.

As far as the adoption of new climate economy models, such as phasing our fossil fuels energy structures and ushering in renewables particularly solar and wind energy—which is proving to be useful in East Africa, the role of green banks and climate funds is inevitable.

The African Development Bank (AfDB) and the Climate …

Contribution of game meat to total world meat production and consumption is apparently very small, according to reports the world Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

In an article titled ‘The new international market for game meat’ FAO cites that records of game meat trade and consumption are even less documented in the international meat trade platforms. “Accurate statistical information is grossly lacking. In many countries even statistical data on conventional meats produced by agriculture leave much to be desired, so the situation can only be worse in the field of game meat,” reads the report in part.

With only developed countries like the United States and some countries in central and northern Europe being recognized for keeping track of game meat, Tanzania has taken an unprecedented step in legalizing the trade of game meat, and keeping of accurate data of the trade.

The development comes under President John Magufuli’s …

Innovation is ferrying Africa to a brighter more successful future, a future of technology and digital realities in everyday life. From mobile Apps that allow John in the city centre to Dr. Atish Shah’s affordable battery-powered prosthetic arm that even the least fortunate can afford, innovation is defining Africa’s reality.

African Innovation: Tanzanian Doctor creates mobile-battery powered prosthetics

Tanzania’s Dr. Atish Shah has been recognized the World over for his innovation the Mkono-1, a 3D-printed functional prosthetic hand. Dr. Shah a biomedical engineering Masters candidate says the design was made with the average Tanzanian in mind. It is affordable and functional giving amputees an inexpensive solution for improved mobility and independence.

The prosthetic hand is charged by a simple mobile phone battery, bringing a revolution to an otherwise very expensive industry. In Tanzania, prosthetics are unaffordable for those in middle and low-income communities, and no other battery-powered prosthetics are …

You have a debtor, it is time for them to pay, you pick up your mobile phone dial the number and the most annoying automatic response comes on; ‘Sorry, the number you are calling is not available.’ 

Upset you hang up and redial, same message, now you are really getting mad, you hang up redial and voilà! You are connected. You exchange a barrage of why are you switching off your phone, they reply no, my phone was on, you finally settle on, it must be bad network! (https://vulcanpost.com/)  

Sound familiar? 

Well here is some good news, finally the telecomm services watchdog, the Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority (TCRA) has taken note of this poor service ordeal and taken action. 

Six telecoms fined for poor service delivery

Six major mobile phone operators have been slapped fines reaching a grand total of USD16.4 million for what authorities …

The African Development Fund (ADF) which is a concessional arm of the African Development Bank Group (AFDB) and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) signed a loan agreement worth $668.1 million (73.6 billion Japanese yen) which will help finance Africa’s low-income countries affected by the pandemic.

The loan will help support the 15th replenishment of the African Development Fund (ADF-15) which was approved in December 2019 by ADF donor countries. JICA is extending the loan – the largest to ADF-15 on behalf of the Government of Japan. Japan has been the fifth-largest contributor to the ADF in cumulative terms.

African Development Bank Group President Dr Akinwumi A. Adesina and Kuramitsu Hideaki, Japanese Ambassador to Côte d’Ivoire signed an Exchange of Notes, while the loan agreement was signed by Fujino Kojiro, the JICA Chief Representative in Côte d’Ivoire and Swazi Tshabalala, Acting African Development Bank Group Senior Vice President, in her …

The Central Bank of Nigeria has banned all cryptocurrency transactions as of February 5^th 2021 citing terrorism concerns. The central bank is of the view that cryptocurrency transactions are been used to fund terror groups.

As a result, it has ordered all banks as well as non-bank financial institutions and all other financial institutions that deal in cryptocurrencies or facilitate payment for cryptocurrencies to stop with immediate effect.

The development comes after the Central Bank issued a warning back in January cautioning against the use of cryptocurrency.

Cryptocurrencies are volatile and risky since unlike in regular banking transactions, these are transactions that are irreversible. Further still, transactions are anonymous so you do not know who you are dealing with and also, there are no regulators for cryptocurrency dealings, it is all just you and a host of other people that you do not know trading online, to call it …

In its fight against Covid-19 Rwanda has opted to have robots replace humans when coming into contact with infected persons.

With the support of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Rwanda is to deploy its second set of three ‘THOR UVC’ robots.

What are these avenger bots all about? As its name suggests, the THOR ultra-violet (UVC) uses UVC to disinfect. Using room mapping technology, THOR UVC is able to go around a given cleaning space and disinfect it efficiently.

It uses UVC energy to kill germs and pathogens that way, the robots minimize contact of persons with the pathogens.  So the deployment of the THOR UVC robots will help clean and disinfect Covid-19 risk areas like hospitals.

The robots will also serve to disinfect areas of mass gathering like border areas and market places as well as office spaces.

This second dispatch of robots was handed over on …