Browsing: Africa

The Central Bank of Nigeria has banned all cryptocurrency transactions as of February 5th 2021 citing terrorism concerns. The central…

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

The Paris Club (Club de Paris), a group of officials from major creditor countries has approved Kenya’s request for more debt relief to help…

Africa making huge moves to advance rapidly within the realms of social impact entrepreneurship and innovation. From smart environmental solution…

Africa’s top economy and oil exporter, Nigeria is battling yet another economic hurdle, as the government disagrees with the International…

The World Bank (WB)—one of the world’s largest sources of funding and knowledge for the developing sphere published its Global Economic Prospect report in January 2021.  

The report zoomed in on the prospects of the global economy and Africa, displaying how the region remains pinned by the shocks of COVID-19 unless sound policy changes and strategic investment-enhancing reforms are made.  

On the bright side, the global economy is expected to expand by 4 per cent in 2021—this is dependent on the progression of COVID-19 vaccine provision throughout the year. 

The super spreading virus that triggered a pandemic of global proportions has entered a second wave. Most African countries are struggling to cope. Their already fractured health systems are at pains and facing challenges in handling the ballooning cases. Lockdowns and travel restrictions are still in place for some countries, greatly impacting economic activity. 

For example, Zimbabwe is currently in the middle of a month-long lockdown with only essential services operating. The restrictions have shut down all informal sector activity, which forms the bulk of economic activity. In South Africa, level 4 restrictions induced the closure of the busiest land borders. 

Africa’s private equity landscape continues to attract investment. The operating environment, albeit still turbulent, continues to improve. Granted, the pace of improvement is higher in some countries than others, but overall there is promise of a conducive climate for business. 

The enabling environment, coupled with the accelerated digital infrastructure growth, inspires momentum in the private sector contributing to the growing middle class. This will, in turn, lead to improved employment opportunities.

Education is the lifeline of development in Africa.  At present, things are changing rapidly within the African education domain. Modern technology is now transforming learning in classrooms in South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, Tanzania and Rwanda to mention a few. 
African states, just as other nations across the globe, are experiencing economic shocks from the coronavirus (COVID-19), which forced 250 million African children to stay home.  

Across the region, children were out of school for various periods. In Kenya, children remained home for the entire course of 2020 since March, while Tanzania’s school shutdown lasted for three months. 

Africa is poised to overtake highly populated continents like Asia in terms of population growth. Along with rapid urbanization, the burgeoning population creates an urgent need to find solutions for growing energy demands. As the population grows, demand for fuel and energy to power movement, urban lifestyles, cooking, heating, and refrigeration will catapult in tandem.

This positions the continent as a significant demand hub for energy solutions like gas, oil, and electricity, which has answered the needs and demands of home use. In addition to the demand for energy use in the home, there is a growing need for industrial and manufacturing energy solutions. The advent of Africa’s free trade area is set to propel industrial output by creating synergies and opening up the broader market.