Browsing: Madagascar

The 5^th Generation mobile network launched in Madagascar by Telma Madagascar and Ericsson’s collaboration in 2020 was a landmark moment for technology advancement not only on the Indian Ocean island but for Africa too.

The launch on the 26th of June 2020 put Telma among the first operators in Africa to commercially go live with  5G, proving, yet again, that Telma is one of the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) pioneers in Africa.

The precedent set in nurturing partnerships between Ericsson and telecommunications service providers like Telma Madagascar has critical implications for the digital transformation that will propel Africa’s economy.

In the 20th edition of the Ericsson Mobility Report, the industry-leading projections and analyses of the latest trends in the mobile industry, the outlook for connectivity in Sub-Saharan Africa is bright. According to the report, mobile subscriptions will continue to grow through till 2026 and in the first quarter …

The support of more than 800 tons of critical food supplies comes at a critical time for Madagascar, which is suffering its worst drought in 40 years. Severe hunger has hit southern Madagascar as communities witness an almost total disappearance of food sources, creating a full-blown nutrition emergency. People have had to resort to desperate survival measures such as eating locusts, raw red cactus fruits or wild leaves. For the first time ever, pockets of IPC phase 5 or Catastrophe have been recorded signaling deepening hunger.

With each day that passes, more lives are at stake as hunger tightens its grip in southern Madagascar. This is the stark warning from two United Nations agencies, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP), as they seek to draw international attention to a humanitarian crisis that risks being invisible.

ALSO READ: France Imperialism In Africa

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Africa Nations bagged goodies from the just concluded Paris summit held in France on May 18. The Summit brought together African leaders and global financial institutions, where a new deal was launched for Africa and by Africa, in host of the French President Emmanuel Macron.

For several decades in Africa, debates have taken place around economic relations between France and its former colonies in the continent.

But from Economic and political statements of Commentators of whether few element of exploitation exist or not in France’s way of Trading In Africa it is not a matter of Concern from French President Emmanuel Macron who is in mood to continue trading and offering Goodies to Africa, even though some of the unfair and unequal ethics are left unsaid. his country continues to control the trade and currency of these former colonies. The maintenance of economic domination allows the prolongation of political domination.…

The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved the disbursement of $171.9 million to the Republic of Madagascar under the Rapid Credit Facility (RCF).

This is the second emergency disbursement to Madagascar after the IMF approved $ 165.99 million on April 3, 2020, bringing the total IMF COVID-19 support to Madagascar to $337.9 million. This fund will help finance the country’s urgent balance of payments and fiscal needs.

Since the approval of the first Rapid Credit Facility, the economic outlook of Madagascar has worsened due to a further deterioration of the global environment and a deepening of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, with the 2020 GDP now projected to contract by one per cent.

The financing gap is now estimated at about $580 million due to an increase in urgent balance of payments needs arising from the pandemic. Revenue losses and redirecting budget resources to address critical …

On Sunday, May 10th, statistics from the WorldOmeter showed that New York state had recorded 41 fatalities in 24 hours, down from a high of almost two thousand deaths in Mid April. This was a significant drop in deaths with total US fatalities dropping to below a thousand.

This is a similar drop being recorded all over the world with record low levels being recorded in European hotspots of Italy, France, Spain, and United Kingdown with figures almost going to double digits. It is expected that the effects of the disease might not be felt in a few months.

However, as global figures decline, the same can not be said of Africa which has since a significant rise, blatant disobeying containment measures, and rise of unscientific measures to curb the disease. According to Africa CDC, the AU backed entity, there are 63,293 confirmed cases spread across the continent with 2,290 …

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) Executive Board approved $165.99 million to help the Republic of Madagascar to address the urgent balance of payment that needs stemming from the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The funds were under the Rapid Credit Facility (RCF). RCF provides rapid concessional financial assistance with limited conditionality to low-income countries (LICs) facing an urgent balance of payments need.

Madagascar’s economy has largely been affected by the coronavirus pandemic with the country’s tourism dramatically declining, trade and investments declining as well as interferences in the manufacturing and mining exports.

The government of Madagascar is taking immediate actions to mitigate the shock of the COVID-19 pandemic by putting immediate fiscal measures to strengthen social protection and support the most vulnerable in society.

Suspension of fees and social contributions to aid the private sector in the country, donating staple food and also providing liquidity to preserve the stability of …

Norfund has closed an investment agreement with the mini-grid company We Light. The aim is to build mini-grids in hundreds of villages in Madagascar, and thereby improve the rural population’s access to cheaper and more reliable electricity – at work and at home. We Light will also explore opportunities elsewhere in Africa.

To date, approximately 500 000 households have solar home systems in Madagascar. We Light’s hybrid plants, with solar, battery and diesel generators are very flexible and scalable. They can optimize electricity generation as best suited to the load pattern of the customers, and thereby be a reliable and cost-effective source of electricity for the village.

For the rural population, this means amongst others that kerosene lamps can be replaced with safe lamps with improved light. Mobile phones and computers can be charged whenever needed, and the public information will become easily available through internet, TV and radio.

The …

Hawassa Industrial park sits 140 miles south of Addis Ababa. The park was built by China Civil Engineering Corporation in 2016 and has so far attracted several international companies. The park is part of a long-term vision to grow Ethiopia into a production hub. It houses factories including textile and agro-processing and has 25,000 employees producing garments.

In the last 5 to 6 years, the textile, and apparel industry have grown at an average of 51% and more than 65 international textile investment projects have been licensed for foreign investors, during this period.

According to the World Investment Report, Ethiopia is one of the top-performing African countries in FDI flow, especially in the textile sector. The government of Ethiopia believes that textile would help the nation to join middle-income status in 2025. As the way forward, the Ethiopian government has been building industrial parks at different cities of the country …