Browsing: Ghana

• Africa’s hospitality sector has matured in ways that not only meet but anticipate the desires of modern travellers.
• By embracing responsible tourism, fostering local community interactions, and providing avenues for health and wellness, Africa is redefining what it means to travel meaningfully.
• Africa’s lower cost of living is making it an attractive destination for digital nomads.

Africa’s hospitality sector has long offered unique experiences and the 2025 travel trends show a continent aligning in unique way to tap changing preferences of holidaymakers from different source markets across the world.

By February this year, an estimated 150,000 European tourists had visited South Africa. The succeeding months look promising as this year’s United Nations Tourism Report says there is increasing interest in East and West Africa holiday destinations by holidaymakers from Europe.

At the moment, tourists from Britain and German are the trailblazers with their changing values and preferences setting the tone …

• Sudan has stepped forward, increasing its pledge to $3 million in the African Development Fund.
• Sudan’s pledge aligns it with other African nations, which have each committed to raise at least $1 million to the fund by 2025.
• With backing from The Gambia, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Ghana, Africa’s commitment to funding its key projects is strengthening.

African nations are coming together to secure a $25 billion replenishment for the African Development Fund (ADF), an ambitious target that signals a continent-wide push toward self-driven financing for projects.

In the latest update, Sudan has stepped forward, increasing its pledge to $3 million in this collective movement. With backing from countries including The Gambia, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Ghana, Africa’s commitment to funding its development projects is strengthening.

As governments, led by the African Development Bank (AfDB), advocate for this replenishment, they set a critical precedent for financial autonomy in achieving Africa’s …

• Kenya solidifies its position as East Africa’s tourism hub, with Nairobi chosen to host the Africa Youth in Tourism Innovation Summit for 2025, 2026, and 2027.
• The summit, which draws hundreds of innovators, government leaders, and tourism experts, will boost Kenya’s post-COVID tourism recovery.
• Organized by TEAMS Africa, the event underscores Nairobi’s growing prominence on the global tourism stage following a successful edition in Namibia.

Kenya, East Africa’s travel and tourism industry hub, has yet again cemented its position in the hospitality sector after the capital Nairobi was picked to host the Africa Youth in Tourism Innovation Summit and Challenge (AYTIS) for the years 2025, 2026, and 2027.

This feat further reinforces Kenya as a tourism destination of choice as the industry continues to register growth post the Covid-19 economic fallout.

AYTIS is a platform that is fashioned to promote and uplift innovative investors within the dynamic tourism industry in …

• Chocolate companies are avoiding paying minimum prices to cocoa farmers.
• In Ghana and Ivory Coast, farmers are forced to engage in child labour to maintain optimum cocoa production amid meagre returns.
• Cocoa prices peaked at $12,072 per tonne in February 2024.

Cocoa prices peaked at $12,072 per tonne in February of this year, only to drop to $7,960 per tonne this September, leaving farmers seeking solutions on how to cushion against such adverse price swings.

“Market reports say the world market price of cocoa has witnessed the highest levels of volatility over the past 12 months,” reported the Ghana Food and Agriculture Minister, Dr. Bryan Acheampong.

Ghana is one of the world’s largest producers and exporters of cocoa, one of the highest-priced agricultural food products in the world. To protect her farmers, Ghana has increased the producer price of cocoa by over 129 per cent, the minister announced.

“The cocoa …

• China-backed Jamestown Fishing Port is expected to inject new energy into Ghana’s fishing industry.
• It is equipped with facilities such as a fish market, ice-making plant, cold storage, and a ship repair station.
• The port has a huge potential to generate and sustain millions of jobs, thereby stimulating the local economy.

Ghana has made a landmark move in its journey towards economic revitalization and modernization with the inauguration of the $60 million Jamestown Fishing Port in Accra. This project, which further cements China-led investments in Africa is poised to transform the nation’s fishing industry, bringing jobs, growth, and national prosperity.

Developed by China’s CRCC Harbor and Channel Engineering Bureau Group Co., Ltd., the new port features a range of essential infrastructure to support artisanal fishing—a lifeblood of Ghana’s coastal economy.

With artisanal fishing contributing a big share of income among coastal communities, the Jamestown Fishing Port is expected to …

• Across Ghana and Ivory Coast, climate change, illegal mining, cocoa industry woes, and a devastating disease known as swollen shoot have conspired to end West Africa’s cocoa supremacy.
• In Ivory Coast, 30% of cocoa plantations are infected by swollen shoot disease. Upto 600,000 hectares under Cocoa in Ghana are infected, too.
• The crisis in West Africa is offering opportunity to Ecuador, Brazil and Peru to become global cocoa production titans.

A double whammy of a devastating disease coupled with unchecked gold mining activities has set up a storm that is fast threatening to kill West Africa’s Cocoa supremacy.

For decades, Ghana and the Ivory Coast have held the mantle of titans in the cocoa world, jointly supplying over 60 per cent of the beans’ global demand. However, this year’s poor harvest as noted by an exclusive piece by Reuters, could spark a seismic shift in the cocoa production industry, …

• As national debts grow, many African countries find themselves spending more on debt than on health.
• IMF says the debt ratio in Sub-Saharan Africa surged to 60% from 30% of the countries’ GDP between 2013 and December 2022.
• Kenya is for instance using nearly 60% of its annual revenues on paying debt obligations.

As the Africa debt crisis roils, over half of the countries have found themselves spending more money in servicing their loan obligations than even the amount they have budgeted for health services to their citizens.

This unfolding scenario is further burdening millions of their citizens who have little choice but to shoulder heavy tax burdens to settle mountains of debt.

Prof Danny Bradlow, a Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for the Advancement of Scholarship in Pretoria, South Africa, captures the dire situation, stating: “over the  last three years (2019/22), more than 25 African governments allocated …

• Opera MiniPay Momentum continues following the successful launch of MiniPay in Nigeria, Kenya and Ghana.
• MiniPay empowers users to save, send, and receive funds instantly on their mobile phones with very low transaction fees.
• With a mission to onboard millions of users to Web3 across Africa, Celo and Mento Labs aim to provide accessible financial tools through MiniPay embedded in Opera Mini.

In collaboration with Celo and Mento Labs, Opera has announced a significant achievement: surpassing 1 million users of the MiniPay wallet across Nigeria, Kenya, and Ghana markets.

This milestone for the global web innovator was marked today at the Africa Money and DeFi Summit, taking place on February 14-15 in Nairobi, Kenya.

Launched in 2006, Opera Mini has unique features such as data compression, offline file sharing, and a built-in ad-blocker. MiniPay is a self-custodial dollar stablecoin wallet seamlessly integrated into the Opera Mini browser for Android …

• The continent’s abundant resource base and untapped opportunities have already begun to attract European Investors, countries, and companies.
• Clear transition strategies and enhanced regulatory frameworks consolidate Africa’s attractiveness as an investment destination.
• With the resources available, many African countries – either oil producers or those on the verge – have begun implementing strategies to define a long-term vision for the sector.

Amid supply challenges and efforts to diversify imports, Africa has emerged as a highly strategic investment opportunity for many European Investors, countries, and companies.

The continent’s abundant resource base and untapped opportunities have already begun to attract players from across the bloc. New market dynamics offer the chance for African countries to take tangible actions to advance the continent’s attractiveness for foreign investment.

The upcoming Invest in African Energy Forum in Paris from May 14-15 has been touted as a testament to the efforts to promote investment in the …

• Artificial Intelligence (AI) offers new job opportunities for tech-savvy African graduates.
• African policymakers must, however, protect current employees from job losses in the new AI era.
• Gen AI has the potential to offer solutions for Africa’s medical, nutrition, and financial difficulties.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is the new frontier, offering numerous possibilities for efficient productivity. However, what does it mean for Africa’s job sector?

AI means new job opportunities for tech experts. Yet, it also means lost jobs for less tech-savvy staff. For example, Generative Artificial Intelligence (Gen AI) can generate text, images, or other media using generative models. This implies that graphic designers, copywriters, artists, personal assistants, and others are no longer needed.

“Gen AI is being embedded in everyday tools like email, word processing applications, and meeting software, which means the technology is already positioned to radically transform how people work,” writes Sandra Durth, a researcher with consulting firm, …