May 16, 2022
Kenya: Mombasa Port - How Kenya's Auditor-General Misread China's Standard Gauge Railway Contracts
In December 2018, a leaked letter from the Kenyan auditor-general's office sparked a rumour that Kenya had staked its bustling Mombasa Port as collateral for the Chinese-financed… Read more »
May 17, 2022
South Africa: Inflation Should Be Viewed As Public Enemy Number 1 - Here's Why
Inflation is a process of sustained increases in the general price level over a period of time, typically 12 months. Read more »
May 18, 2022
Zambia: Herbicides Threaten Edible Weeds in Zambia - That May Be Bad News for Local Food Security
The use of herbicides - substances that control unwanted plants - is on the rise across Africa. This trend has been referred to by some researchers as the "herbicide revolution".… Read more »
May 17, 2022
Africa: African Scientists and Technology Could Drive Future Black Hole Discoveries
Astronomers have revealed the first image of the black hole at the centre of our galaxy, the Milky Way. The image was produced by the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) Collaboration,… Read more »
May 15, 2022
Kenya: Big Infrastructure Projects On the Continent Should Work for Everyone
Big infrastructure projects should be based on the needs of people and communities. Often, they are criticised for benefiting the wealthy only. These projects reflect specific… Read more »
May 14, 2022
Kenya: Kenya's Fuel Crisis - How the Country's Subsidy System Works
Oil is an essential commodity for Kenya's transport and industrial production, electricity generation and water provision. In 2008, as the world grappled with high oil prices,… Read more »
May 12, 2022
Tanzania: Dar es Salaam's Bus Rapid Transit - Why It's Been a Long, Bumpy Ride
Infrastructure projects are often subject to political aspirations. But when they are not realised as promised or their costs multiply over the years, the projects turn into public… Read more »
May 11, 2022
Nigeria: Why Import Restrictions Aren't Enough to Help Nigeria Industrialise
Nigeria has a strong ambition to industrialise. It has relied heavily on the restriction of imports of certain goods targeted for domestic production. But for Nigeria's… Read more »
Southern Africa: Soverign Debt Distress - Biggest Problems, and Ways Forward
The COVID pandemic has had a profoundly negative impact on Africa's sovereign debt situation. Currently, 22 countries are either in debt distress or at high risk of debt distress.… Read more »
May 10, 2022
Africa: Making Covid Vaccines on the Continent - Advances and Sustainability Issues
The history of vaccine manufacturing capacity in Africa dates back to 1881, when Egypt's Vacsera company was established. Before the COVID pandemic was declared, there were eight… Read more »
Zimbabwe: Insights From Zimbabwe On How to Link Formal and Informal Economies
In 2003, Thabo Mbeki - then president of South Africa - described South Africa's economy as being like a two-storey house. The top floor was quite plush, with all the fittings… Read more »
May 09, 2022
Nigeria: Three Things That Can Go Wrong At an Illegal Oil Refinery in Nigeria
Years of government neglect and unemployment in Nigeria's Niger Delta region have given rise to a widespread industry of illegally refining stolen oil. Read more »
Africa: Using Cellphones to Deliver Health Services to Teens - a Sub-Saharan Africa Review
Adolescents in sub-Saharan Africa have the highest rate of unplanned pregnancies. Almost half (46%) of these unintended pregnancies among adolescents end in abortion. Read more »
May 08, 2022
South Africa: Street Traders in South Africa Play a Vital Role - How Their Rights Can Be Protected
The South African informal economy accounts for 17% of employment. Street trading is the largest. Street traders are scattered around the many corners of the country's towns and… Read more »
May 05, 2022
Africa: Giving People Money With No Strings Attached Is Good for Their Health, Dozens of Studies Indicate
The Research Brief is a short take about interesting academic work. Read more »
May 01, 2022
Nigeria: A Gloomy May Day Awaits Nigerian Workers
Imagine you live alone and walk into a local food market in Lagos, the Nigerian commercial capital, to buy a week's worth of basic food items. In less than 15 minutes, you would… Read more »
Nigeria: Workers Struggle As Cost of Living Outstrips Incomes
Food inflation in Nigeria increased by 15% during the 11 months from April 2021 to March 2022, adding pressure on the cost of living for salary earners whose incomes have not risen… Read more »
June 02, 2019
South Africa: How Technology Could Help Rural South Africa Turn Sunshine Into Income
The way energy is produced and distributed is changing rapidly as the industry moves away from carbon-based energy production. Technological development in the production of… Read more »
April 18, 2019
Africa: Explainer - What Is Quantum Machine Learning and How Can It Help Us?
Artificial intelligence refers, among other things, to machines' capacity to demonstrate some degree of what humans consider "intelligence". This process is being driven by the… Read more »
January 30, 2019
Zambia: We Revealed the Value of Zambia's Wild Yam. Why It Matters
Wild harvested crops are a vital source of food in much of the world. Some common wild edible plants in southern Africa include wild mushrooms, such as Termitomyces titanicus,… Read more »
October 29, 2015
Angola: Where Did All the Oil Riches Go? - Luanda Residents
A few years ago, Luanda, the capital of Angola, was on every ambitious investor's lips. With large infrastructure and housing projects rapidly changing its appearance, the city… Read more »