Economic reforms propel Ethiopia to world’s third fastest growing nation brand status

By Conrad Onyango, bird story agency Ongoing economic reforms that are also seeing Ethiopia opening up its traditionally closed sectors to private investment are helping to lift the country’s image, globally, according to a new report. UK-based Consultancy, Brand Finance in its Global Soft Power Index 2024 ranked Ethiopia the third fastest-growing nation brand in the world. In the ranking of the most valuable nations, Ethiopia’s brand […]

March 13, 2024 27

Africa

SAP Africa Partner Awards recognise excellence in supporting Africa’s digital transformation efforts

SAP has announced the winners of its latest SAP Africa Partner Awards. At a recent event held in the Cape Winelands, the SAP Africa Partner Awards recognised excellence within SAP’s partner ecosystem throughout Africa. According to Nazia Pillay, Head of Partner Ecosystem, SAP Middle East and Africa, says the role of partners has become more critical in the wake of changing customer demands and the impact of technologies […]

March 13, 2024 6

Africa

Colonial statues in Africa have been removed, returned and torn down again – why it’s such a complex history

By Sophia Labadi, University of Kent In 2020, the murder of George Floyd in the US served as a catalyst for the global Black Lives Matter movement. It sparked widespread protests against police brutality and systemic racism. It also ignited debates about historical symbols of oppression, such as statues of figures associated with racial injustices. These debates presented colonial statues in Africa as having been contested and […]

March 13, 2024 35

Africa

Chad households get free water and electricity

Chad's government has declared free water and electricity for households until year-end, capping monthly consumption at 15,000 litres of water and 300 kWh of electricity. According to the BBC, Chad's junta leader and interim President Mahamat Déby sanctioned the policy "to assist households", but Chadians perceive the move as Déby's attempt to endear to voters. The government on Monday said it would also clear water and electricity bills for residents […]

March 12, 2024 182

Africa

Lagos bans single-use plastics – why I think Nigeria should have taxed them instead

By Kehinde Allen-Taylor, Technical University Braunschweig Waste pollution is a huge problem in Nigeria, with serious impacts on the environment. In response, the Lagos state government has banned styrofoam (a type of plastic widely used as food containers) and other single-use products. Following a three-week moratorium for producers and sellers to mop up styrofoam containers, enforcement began on 4 March 2024. In 2019, Nigeria was estimated to […]

March 12, 2024 27

Africa

What’s behind the worldwide shortage of cholera vaccines? For starters, they’re only made by one company

By Edina Amponsah-Dacosta, University of Cape Town In February 2024 the World Health Organization announced southern Africa was suffering the deadliest regional outbreak of cholera in at least a decade. At the epicentre of the disaster were Malawi, Zimbabwe and Mozambique, where cholera cases surged more than four-fold between 2022 and 2023. Over 1,600 deaths were reported in the three countries. Already 2024 is threatening to be […]

March 12, 2024 28

Africa

Africa’s horticultural exports surge on

By Bonface Orucho, bird story agency An upsurge in demand for horticultural products across global markets, particularly in Europe, spurred a significant increase in agricultural export revenues for several African countries last year. Wandile Sihlobo, chief economist at the Agricultural Business Chamber of South Africa (Agbiz), reported via his blog that South Africa's agricultural exports surged to a record US$13.2 billion in 2023, a 3% increase from […]

March 12, 2024 23

Africa

Locally assembled handsets begin to drive Africa’s low-end smartphone shipments

By Conrad Onyango, bird story agency As Africa’s major currencies weaken against the US dollar, consumers are opting for more affordable smartphones with ‘premium features’ that are either locally assembled or made in China. According to two mobile phone tracking reports, local assembly initiatives for low-end smartphones have contributed to strong growth, particularly in Kenya. The International Data Corporation (IDC) has also listed the East African economy […]

March 12, 2024 34

Africa

Nigeria risks losing all its forest elephants – what we found when we went looking for them

By Rosemary Iriowen Egonmwan, University of Lagos and Bola Oboh, University of Lagos Nigeria is one of 37 African countries where elephants are found in the wild. Savannah elephants (Loxodonta africana) can be found in the north and forest elephants (Loxodonta cyclotis) in the south. It’s not clear how many elephants there are in Nigeria. Eighteen years ago, the African Elephant Study Report estimated that there were […]

March 12, 2024 21

Africa