Browsing: Sub-Saharan Africa

• The World Bank projects Sub-Saharan Africa’s economic growth will dip to 3.1 per cent in 2023.
• Weakening growth is attributable to multiple crises including debt burden, high inflation, and slowing global economic activity this year.
• Policymakers across Sub Sahara Africa, however, remain hopeful of navigating the impact of global economic disruptions key among them the Russia-Ukraine war that has constrained food imports

A huge debt portfolio, high inflation and slowing economic activity across the globe are set to see Sub-Saharan Africa’s economic growth dip further to 3.1 per cent this year from 3.6 per cent posted in 2022.

The projection by the World Bank comes even as policymakers across Sub Sahara Africa remain hopeful of navigating the impact of global economic disruptions key among them the Russia-Ukraine war that is constraining food imports coupled with high fuel prices which is worsening inflation.

The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund …

• Index shows that 90% of Kenya’s consumers who receive money transfers want integrated mobile ‘super apps’ so they can manage remittances with other financial needs.
• Kenya’s receivers want choice in digital and in-person remittance platforms as they look to the future.
• Kenya is a leader when it comes to financial innovation especially in the world of mobile money.

Kenya’s consumers are calling for greater innovation in international money transfer services so they can easily manage their personal finance needs.

According to Western Union’s inaugural Global Money Transfer Index, about 90 per cent of Kenya’s receivers want providers to offer remittance services in an integrated mobile ‘super app’, so they can efficiently manage collecting remittances with other commitments, such as paying for utilities.

The Global Money Transfer Index asks consumers how, when and why they use international money transfer capabilities today, as well as their expectations for tomorrow.

The results …

• 5G-related activities are picking up across the Sub-Saharan Africa region, including 5G spectrum auctions, 5G pilots and commercial trials
• The Mobile Economy Sub-Saharan Africa 2022 report reveals that the huge demand for connectivity in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic has led to a growing interest in the role of 5G in the connectivity landscape
• 2022 marks a turning point as 3G adoption begins to decline for the first time

A new report has revealed that 5G-related activities are picking up across the Sub-Saharan Africa region, including 5G spectrum auctions, 5G pilots and commercial trials, and efforts to develop locally relevant 5G use cases.

According to The Mobile Economy Sub-Saharan Africa, 2022 report, the huge demand for connectivity in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic has led to a growing interest in the role of 5G in the connectivity landscape.

For example, South Africa’s ICASA completed the spectrum auction for …

This year’s progress has been threatened by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which has caused a global economic shock that has hit Africa at a time when the government’s policy space to respond to it is small to nonexistent.…

The rising commodity prices, surging inflationary pressures, and the contracting global financial situation have risked African trade and production capabilities. Moreover, the rising threat of sovereign defaults poses a severe risk to the growth of African trade. Thus, African trade prospects remain unclear, considering the challenging global economic scenario.

The Covid-19, energy and food shortages have hit with the countries having minimal or no policy space to respond. As a result, African countries have fallen into a real risk of debt distress and even possibilities for sovereign debt default.…

The continent in the near future will have the largest population in the world. The population of Africa is urbanizing as citizens of the nations of the continent migrate from rural to urban areas.

This addition to its vast natural resources is a potent combination for its rapid economic expansion. The world witnessed first-hand the economic miracle where China transformed itself from a rural backwater in 1949 when the modern Chinese state was founded to an economic and military superpower by 2019. The year 2019 is significant to China because the country celebrated 70 years of its founding as a communist state, and the Asian country gained worldwide recognition as a military superpower.

China put on a military parade that displayed a weapons arsenal that made the United States sit up and take notice. How was this possible? China’s economic transformation was because of several factors. One of the most …

Kenya has not been left behind in the growth and development of technology. East Africa’s richest economy stands tall in the development of digital technology. However, a lot needs to be done, and the new administration has enough space to execute its plan regarding the advancement of the Kenyan digital space.…