August 21, 2023
Africa: Africa Is Being Courted By China, Russia and the U.S. Why the Continent Shouldn't Pick Sides
Some three decades since the end of the Cold War, the world order is undergoing a structural transformation. At the heart of it is the challenge posed to the hegemony of the US.… Read more »
August 16, 2023
Kenya: Kenya and the U.S. Are Negotiating a Trade Deal That Could Be a Model for Africa
The US and Kenya announced a trade and investment partnership in July 2022. Talks have been progressing on the way forward in nine areas, including agriculture, anti-corruption,… Read more »
August 15, 2023
Ghana: Mobile Money in Ghana Isn't All Good News - Customers Are Paying a Hefty Price
Fintechs, notably mobile money, have transformed banking and finance in developing and emerging economies in Africa and beyond. Financial technology (better known as fintech) is… Read more »
August 10, 2023
Zimbabwe: Zimbabwe Heads to the Polls Amid High Inflation, a Slumping Currency and a Cost of Living Crisis
Zimbabwe is facing a host of pressing challenges that voters dearly want the next president to address. Persistently high inflation, elevated interest rates, and a slumping and… Read more »
August 09, 2023
Kenya: Kenya Is Going Digital to Boost Tax Revenue - There Are Lessons to Learn From Other African Countries
Many African tax authorities have weak capacity to raise revenue. From 1990 to 2020, sub-Saharan African countries on average collected only about 12%-15% of GDP as taxes, a much… Read more »
August 07, 2023
Africa: Computer Science Can Help Farmers Explore Alternative Crops and Sustainable Farming Methods
Humans have physically reconfigured half of the world's land to grow just eight staple crops: maize (corn), soy, wheat, rice, cassava, sorghum, sweet potato and potato. They… Read more »
South Africa: How to Build Financial Resilience - Insurance and Retirement Savings Are the Most Effective Tools in South Africa - Study
Imagine you've found yourself in a difficult financial situation and needed to raise R40,000 (more than US$2,000) on the spot. Where and how would you raise these funds? Or what if… Read more »
August 06, 2023
Africa: An Expanded Brics Could Reset World Politics but Picking New Members Isn't Straightforward
Eager to escape perceived western domination, several countries - mostly in the global south - are looking to join the Brics bloc. The five-country bloc (Brazil, Russia, India,… Read more »
July 31, 2023
Africa: 3 Ways Higher Education Can Become More Hopeful in the Post-Pandemic, Post-AI Era
We live at a time when universities and colleges are facing multiplying crises, pressures and changes. Read more »
August 02, 2023
Namibia: Oil Drilling Threatens the Okavango River Basin, Putting Water in Namibia and Botswana At Risk
The Namibian and Botswana governments may be risking their water resources for oil and gas revenue. They have licensed a Canadian firm, ReconAfrica, to prospect for oil in the… Read more »
July 31, 2023
Africa: Cyber Governance in Africa Is Weak. Taking the Malabo Convention Seriously Would Be a Good Start
_Several African countries are pursuing digital transformation ambitions - applying new technologies to enhance the development of society. But concerns exist over the absence of… Read more »
July 25, 2023
Africa: Computer-Written Scripts and Deepfake Actors - What's At the Heart of the Hollywood Strikes Against Generative AI
For the first time in 60 years, the Writers Guild of America (WGA) and the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) are simultaneously facing off against the Alliance of Motion Picture and… Read more »
July 26, 2023
South Africa: Eskom and South Africa's Energy Crisis - De Ruyter Book Strikes a Chord but Falls Flat On Economic Fixes
The former chief executive of South Africa's power utility, Eskom, has written a scathing critique of the ruling party's practices that have seriously damaged the country's… Read more »
Ghana: Pedestrians in Ghana Are Risking Their Lives - We Studied What's Distracting Them While Walking
Walking has health and environmental benefits - but it's not always a person's choice for getting around. And it does come with hazards. One fifth of the people killed on the roads… Read more »
July 25, 2023
Africa: Record Technostress and Reduced Well-Being Show That Remote Working Isn't as Good as we Thought
At the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic, at least 557 million workers were forced to work from home. Read more »
Africa: Why Workers in Small Businesses Can Struggle With Mental Health and 'Presenteeism'
If you are struggling with your mental health, is it better to come to work or stay off sick? You may think your employer would prefer you try to keep working, but many employers… Read more »
Africa: Food Crisis in Africa - the High Cost of Imported Fertilisers Is Adding to the Problem
Global fertiliser suppliers have made incredibly high profits in 2022/23 on the back of price spikes attributed to the Russia-Ukraine war. The profits of the world's top nine… Read more »
Africa: Russia Summit Is an Opportunity for Africa to Unite On Ukraine and Get Wagner Out of the Continent
Two critical issues must be top of mind for African leaders when they meet President Vladimir Putin at the second Russia-Africa summit in St Petersburg this week. Read more »
Africa: Russia-Africa Summit - Five Things African Leaders Must Achieve
The second Russia-Africa Summit takes place in St Petersburg on 27-28 July. This comes at a time of a major geopolitical shift, which African leaders may see as offering beneficial… Read more »
July 24, 2023
Nigeria: Nigeria's Food Insecurity - Declaring a State of Emergency Isn't a Real Solution - Here's What Is
Nigerians doing their grocery shopping in July 2023 are paying 25% more for staple items than they did a year ago. Read more »
July 17, 2023
Africa: Actors Are Demanding That Hollywood Catch Up With Technological Changes in a Sequel to a 1960 Strike
For the first time since 1960, actors and screenwriters are on strike at the same time. Read more »
July 19, 2023
Nigeria: eNaira - Nigeria's Digital Currency Has Had a Slow Start - What's Holding It Back
Nigeria was the first country in Africa to roll out a central bank digital currency. The eNaira was launched in October 2021. Read more »
July 17, 2023
Nigeria: They Eat Our Sweat - New Book Exposes Daily Struggles of Transport Workers in Lagos
Daniel E. Agbiboa's book They Eat Our Sweat: Transport Labor, Corruption, and Everyday Survival in Urban Nigeria explores the world of drivers of minibuses (danfo) and motorcycles… Read more »
Africa: Technology Can Boost Farming, But It Can Also Threaten Biodiversity - How to Balance the Two
Cultivating one hectare of maize used to be an arduous task for Precious Banda, a farmer in Zambia. It would take her hundreds of hours to prepare her land before sowing and to… Read more »
July 13, 2023
South Africa: Looking for Work? 3 Tips On How Social Media Can Help Young South Africans
South Africa has a growing unemployment rate. Statistics show the unemployment rate to be above 60% for those aged 15-24 and over 40% for those aged 25-34 years. Rankings from the… Read more »