April 18
South Africa: South Africa's Electricity Crisis - a Series of Failures Over 30 Years Have Left a Dim Legacy
In 1994, apartheid ended and the African National Congress (ANC) won South Africa's first ever democratic elections, promising "Electricity for All" as part of its Reconstruction… Read more »
April 16
Kenya: Kenya's Shilling Is Gaining Value, but Don't Expect It to Last - Expert
Shortly after Kenya's 2022 elections, the shilling depreciated rapidly against the US dollar - the country's main currency for international transactions - fuelling a wave of… Read more »
April 11
Nigeria: Technology Makes It Easy for Lawyers to Work Across Borders - Regulations Should Too
The rules of legal practice are highly localised. Every country sets rules that determine how lawyers qualify professionally and what they are allowed to do. Read more »
April 09
Africa: West Africa's Falling Fish Stocks - Illegal Chinese Trawlers, Climate Change and Artisanal Fishing Fleets to Blame
Average fish catches by traditional fishing communities along the west African coast have declined significantly over the past three decades. Read more »
April 07
West Africa: Conditions 'Ripe' for Replacement of Colonialist CFA Franc
At no point in history has the CFA franc - the name of a colonial currency used in west and central African countries belonging to the franc zone - been closer to its demise. Read more »
Kenya: Young Kenyans Are Not Finding Work - How Universities Can Do a Better Job of Training Entrepreneurs
Kenya's long-term development blueprint, Vision 2030, envisions an empowered youth driving economic growth. The focus on its young population (aged 15-34) is apt given that the… Read more »
April 03
Africa: Even Hands-Free, Phones and Their Apps Cause Dangerously Distracted Driving
Do you ever use your cellphone while driving? Don't feel too guilty about saying yes - nearly 60% of drivers admit to using their phone in hands-free mode while driving. Read more »
Somalia: Turkey and Ethiopia Have Had Close Ties for Many Years - Somalia Maritime Deals May Shift the Dynamics
Ethiopia and Turkey, which have had cordial ties since the early 20th century, have drawn even closer in recent years as both battle criticism from the west over domestic policies.… Read more »
April 01
Africa: Undersea Cables Are the Unseen Backbone of the Global Internet
Have you ever wondered how an email sent from New York arrives in Sydney in mere seconds, or how you can video chat with someone on the other side of the globe with barely a hint… Read more »
March 31
Africa: Digital Trade Protocol for Africa - Why It Matters, What's in It and What's Still Missing
In February 2024, African heads of states adopted a draft protocol to regulate digital trade within the continent. This significant yet challenging course for Africa's digital… Read more »
South Africa: Zimbabwean Migration to South Africa - How Technology Helps Keep Families Together
Political instability and economic decline in Zimbabwe have accelerated migration to South Africa in the last two decades. Because of the overriding socio-economic focus of the… Read more »
March 28
South Africa: South Africa's New Energy Plan Needs a Mix of Nuclear, Gas, Renewables and Coal - Expert
South Africa's economy has been hard hit by 15 years of loadshedding (rolling blackouts). The country's coal-fired power plants have a maintenance backlog and frequently experience… Read more »
South Africa: Protected Products - What Makes Lamb From South Africa's Karoo and France's Mont Saint-Michel So Special
A meal or food shopping experience can be more interesting and enjoyable when you know more about a particular product, like what region it came from and the culture that shaped… Read more »
March 27
South Africa: What Political Parties Say in Their Election Manifestos About Solving the Electricity Crisis
South Africa is in the middle of a deep electricity crisis. In 2023 the public, many of whom are voters, experienced the worst loadshedding to date, losing power for an average of… Read more »
Kenya: Kenya Has Tightened Its Laws to Stop Money Laundering - Why Banks Are the Focus
Kenya's banking industry has in recent years been in the crosshairs of national, regional and international watchdogs, given the country's role as a financial hub in eastern… Read more »
March 26
Madagascar: We Built an AI Tool to Help Set Priorities for Conservation in Madagascar - What We Found
Artificial Intelligence (AI) - models that process large and diverse datasets and make predictions from them - can have many uses in nature conservation, such as remote monitoring… Read more »
March 25
Ghana: Ghana's Decades-Old Ambition to Build an Integrated Aluminium Industry Faces a New Hurdle - the Clean Energy Transition
It has been more than 60 years since Ghana's first post-independence leader Kwame Nkrumah first mooted the idea that Ghana should produce aluminium from the country's ample supply… Read more »
March 24
Kenya: Why Do Identical Informal Businesses Set Up Side By Side? It's a Survival Tactic - Kenya Study
The population on the African continent will have nearly doubled by 2050, according to UN projections. About 800 million more young Africans will enter the job market by then.… Read more »
March 19
West Africa: Cocoa Beans Are in Short Supply - What This Means for Farmers, Businesses and Chocolate Lovers
A shortage of cocoa beans has led to a near shutdown of processing plants in Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana, the two countries responsible for 60% of global production. With… Read more »
Nigeria: Nigeria's Fuel Subsidy Removal Was Too Sudden - Why a Gradual Approach Would Have Been Better
Nigeria removed fuel subsidies entirely in May 2023. This came as a surprise because of the political risks associated with subsidy removal. Previous administrations were reluctant… Read more »
March 18
Malawi: Malawi and Maize - Prices Have Spiked On the Back of Bad Weather and Trade Bans
Maize is the leading staple food in Malawi and crucial for food security. Typically, local production from smallholder farmers meets and exceeds annual requirements of around 3… Read more »
Africa: 76% of Africa's Energy Could Come From Renewable Sources By 2040 - Here's How
Over half of Africa's people - about 600 million - lack access to even the bare minimum of electricity. The tough question to answer is how access can be extended without adding to… Read more »
March 17
Africa: Something Felt 'Off' - How AI Messed With Our Human Research, and What We Learned
All levels of research are being changed by the rise of artificial intelligence (AI). Don't have time to read that journal article? AI-powered tools such as TLDRthis will summarise… Read more »
March 15
Africa: Undersea Cables for Africa's Internet Retrace History and Leave Digital Gaps As They Connect Continents
Large parts of west and central Africa, as well as some countries in the south of the continent, were left without internet services on 14 March because of failures on four of the… Read more »
March 14
Burkina Faso: Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger Hint At a New West African Currency - What It'll Take for It to Succeed
On 11 February 2024, the head of Niger's ruling military junta, General Abdourahmane Tiani, spoke of the possible creation of a common currency with Burkina Faso and Mali. "The… Read more »