Africa Tech-savvy Africans are hedging against inflation by going digital By Conrad Onyango, bird story agency The recent announcement by Opera MiniPay that it had signed up over one million users in Kenya, Nigeria, and Ghana just five months after its launch is the clearest indication yet of the rising popularity of decentralised finance, or DeFi tools, across the continent. “MiniPay makes it easier and more affordable for individuals across Africa to acquire, send and receive Mento […] todayFebruary 19, 2024 16
insert_link Africa Ghana’s new vehicle tax aims to tackle pollution – expert unpacks how it’ll work and suggests reforms By Theophilus Acheampong, University of Aberdeen Ghana has introduced an annual carbon levy on vehicles and industrial emissions. It’s only the third African country to introduce an explicit carbon tax, after South Africa and Mauritius. The tax is intended to address harm associated with vehicle emissions. But it has prompted a pushback from various citizens, civic and consumer groups. The Conversation Africa’s Godfred Akoto Boafo spoke […] todayFebruary 16, 2024 14
insert_link Namibia Ghanaian Regulator Visits Namibia to Benchmark Electricity Control Board The Public Utilities Regulatory Commission of Ghana is currently in Namibia to benchmark with the Electricity Control Board. The focus of the visit includes discussions on electricity tariffs, investments, competition, enforcement, and stakeholder protection. Pinehas Mutota, the General Manager of Economic Regulation at the Electricity Control Board, shares insights on the collaboration. todayFebruary 14, 2024 16
insert_link Business / Economics Investment in African women-founded and led startups remains a bright spot in a global ecosystem drained of funding. By Conrad Onyango, via bird story agency Africa’s women-led startups retained their sparkle through 2023, against the backdrop of one of the darkest periods for global startup funding, raising US$200 million, 7% growth over the previous year, according to a report from Africa: The Big Deal. In 2022, these female-founded ventures had grown by 4%. The amount remains significantly lower than the US$ 2.7 billion raised […] todayFebruary 9, 2024 4
Africa Ghana: Kumasi city’s unplanned boom is destroying two rivers – sewage, heavy metals and chemical pollution detected By Stephen Appiah Takyi, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) and Owusu Amponsah, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) Ghana’s urban population has more than tripled in the past three decades, from 4 million to nearly 14 million people. Competition for land in cities has increased among various land uses. These trends have led to encroachment in ecologically sensitive areas such as wetlands. Kumasi, […] todayFebruary 8, 2024 14
insert_link Africa International clubs look to Africa for female football talent By Bonface Orucho, bird story agency Africa is growing into a critical supplier of professional female football talent to international clubs outside the continent, according to a new FIFA report. The ‘Global Transfer Report 2023’ released on January 30 by the international football governing body, FIFA, shows that Nigeria and Ghana produced among the highest number (in the top ten globally) of women players in the international transfer […] todayFebruary 1, 2024 52
insert_link Oshiwambo O 12 ya pewa egeelo ele mondjedhililo mo Ghana omolwa okudhipaga omukwiita Ompangu mo Ghana oya gandja egeelo lyonkalamwenyo modholongo kaantu 12 sho yeyi mono ondjo okudhipaga omukwiita oomvula 7 dha piti. O BBC oya lopota kutya 12 oyali oshitopolwa shaantu 14 mboka ya pewa ombedhi okudhenga Major Maxwell Mahama mu May 2017. Ompangu yopombanda mo Accra ohela oya mono 12 ondjo moshipotha shedhipago, okulongela kumwe okudhipaga,noku yambidhithathana okudhipaga. Omukwiita omunamimvo 32 okwali eli miilonga mo Denkjira Obuasi sho a ponokelwa kongundu […] todayJanuary 30, 2024 16
Africa IMF tracking shows that no African state has sought comprehensive debt relief in over a year indicating a trend of growing fiscal hygiene across the region By Seth Onyango, via bird story agency Countries in Africa are showing signs of improving fiscal management, as they navigate through a cascading set of global shocks that exacerbated their debt vulnerabilities. Remarkably, no state has sought comprehensive debt relief since Ghana’s request over a year ago, signalling a trend of growing fiscal discipline across the region. The improvement bucks the trend of recent years, given that […] todayJanuary 25, 2024 7
insert_link Africa African startups turn to debt as equity powder dries up By Conrad Onyango, via bird story agency In 2022, when funding from venture capitalists began to dry up in Africa, Treepz, a shared mobility startup, was faced with a difficult decision... throw in the towel or grow the business without new investors. As part of their decision to keep going, they changed their core business model. “Towards the end of 2022, we knew the funding draught would happen […] todayJanuary 24, 2024 10
