insert_link Africa South Sudan: some spoilers want peace to fail, putting 2024 elections at risk By Edgar Githua, Strathmore University South Sudan is expected to hold its first general election in December 2024. It became an independent state in 2011. The long overdue election is one of the pillars of a peace agreement signed in 2018. It helped end the 2013-2018 civil war that killed nearly 400,000 people and displaced millions. Since then, the country has progressed in relative peace, with fewer […] todayFebruary 20, 2024 26
insert_link Africa Bridging the Data Trust Gap: 2024 RegTech Confab Set to Unlock Africa’s Economic Potential Data-Driven Transparency and Compliance in the Digital Financial Ecosystem in Africa. In an era defined by digital transformation, data has become the cornerstone of innovation and progress, particularly within Africa's burgeoning financial landscape. With Sub-Saharan Africa spearheading the global adoption of Mobile Money, boasting over 218 million active accounts according to GSMA's State of the Industry Report on Mobile Money 2023, the region stands poised to leverage […] todayFebruary 20, 2024 9
insert_link Business / Economics What does an unchanged Repo rate mean to a GIPF member? By Amos Kambonde, Manager: Marketing services at the Government Institutions Pension Fund. Recently, consumers received positive news with the announcement of an unchanged repo rate alongside an unchanged in fuel prices across Namibia. While these developments may seem distant from the average person's daily concerns, they hold significant implications, particularly for members of the Government Institutions Pension Fund (GIPF). Let's delve into what these announcements mean for […] todayFebruary 20, 2024 10
insert_link Africa China’s demand for Africa’s donkeys is rising. Why it’s time to control the trade Women walk with their donkeys in Ethiopia’s Amhara region. Buena Vista Images/GettyImages Lauren Johnston, South African Institute of International Affairs In recent years, there’s been a huge, rising demand for donkey hides in China, where they are used to make an ancient health-related product called ejiao. Ejiao is made from collagen that’s been extracted from donkey hides mixed with herbs and other ingredients to create medicinal and health consumer products. […] todayFebruary 20, 2024 16
insert_link Business / Economics Jobs in South Africa: the labour market is recovering from COVID – but unskilled and less educated people are still being left behind By Derek Yu, University of the Western Cape For more than three decades the South African economy has had very high rates of joblessness. The country’s economy has been unable to create enough jobs for its growing army of workers. This has partly been because of the stagnant economic growth rate of only 1.7% during the 2010s (it was even lower at 0.9% in 2015-2019). Another factor […] todayFebruary 20, 2024 5
insert_link Business / Economics 20 February 2024 Morning Biz News: “Namibia Seeks Higher Diamond Stake in De Beers Negotiations, Rand Faces Decline Amidst Economic Anticipation, and Naira Hits Record Lows: A Snapshot of Current Financial Dynamics” Namibia is actively engaging in negotiations with De Beers to secure a higher percentage of diamonds extracted within its borders. Currently, Namibia retains 15% of diamonds mined by Debmarine and Namdeb for value addition under the existing agreement. With this arrangement set to conclude in 2026, Mines Minister Tom Alweendo has revealed ongoing discussions to potentially increase the country's share of diamonds. The South African rand faced a decline against […] todayFebruary 20, 2024 18
insert_link Africa African Development Bank warns of social unrest in Nigeria The African Development Bank, ADB says rising prices of food and petrol could lead to social unrest in the country. todayFebruary 19, 2024 18
insert_link Business / Economics Japan and the United Kingdom enter recession Two of the world's leading economies - Japan and the United Kingdom - recently entered into recession, highlighting the financial struggles that countries have been facing after the COVID-19 pandemic. We asked Salomei Hei the Managing Director at High Economic Intelligence for his take on global economic development. todayFebruary 19, 2024 14
insert_link Business / Economics Namibia readies 4-day work week trial Namibia is set to launch a pilot program for a 4-day work week, starting in April 2024, for a six-month trial period. The Brief reports that Jonas IIeka from Pulse HR Network Namibia, who is spearheading the Namibia trial, onboarding has started for companies interested in participating in the pilot. Globally, conversations around the four-day workweek were first reignited by the COVID-19 pandemic, with workers and employers rethinking the importance of […] todayFebruary 19, 2024 90
