Africa: South Africa's G20 Presidency Is Over - What Did It Achieve for Climate and Clean Energy in Africa?

South Africa opened its G20 presidency with an ambitious message for a world divided by conflict and economic strain: solidarity, equality and sustainability. The Johannesburg G20… Read more »

Africa: Women's Voices At the G20 - Action Urged On Economic Empowerment, Care Work, Health, Climate Justice and Forced Labour

The G20 group of the world's 20 most powerful economies and the African and European Unions has a group dedicated to women empowerment - the Women 20 (W20). Set up in 2015 to… Read more »

South Africa: Expensive Data and Poor Internet Access - South Africa Fails to Measure Up Against Brazil

Emerging middle-power countries like South Africa, India and Brazil face growing inequalities. At the same time, everyday lives are becoming more and more digital - from paying… Read more »

Zambia: Zambia's Factories Burn Too Much Coal - How Reusing Hot Water Can Cut Energy Use

Zambia wants to cut its national greenhouse gas emissions almost in half by 2030. But its 8th National Development Plan aims to transform the country into a "prosperous… Read more »

South Africa: Machines Whisper Before They Scream - We Built an AI Model That Predicts Expensive Problems

In most industries, maintenance is a waiting game. Things are fixed when they break. But in the 21st century, an age defined by data and automation, that approach no longer makes… Read more »

South Africa: Johannesburg's Produce Market Has Supplied the Informal Sector for Decades - a Refresh Is Due

South Africa's food system is a complex landscape where high levels of production coexist with severe food insecurity. In a 2024 survey, 63.5% of households were found to be food… Read more »

Kenya: High-Rise Living in Nairobi's Pipeline Estate Is Stressful - How Men and Women Cope

Within sight of Kenya's main international airport in Nairobi's east, Pipeline residential estate stands out like a sore thumb. Composed almost entirely of tightly packed high-rise… Read more »

South Africa: South Africans Are Flourishing More Than You Might Expect - Here's Why

South Africa is often portrayed in the media as a country struggling with inequality, corruption, crime, infrastructure collapse and public health challenges. But this isn't the… Read more »

Africa: Agricultural Exports From Africa Are Not Doing Well. Four Ways to Change That

Africa is the world's most endowed continent in agricultural potential, yet it remains a marginal player in global agribusiness. This paradox lies at the heart of Africa's… Read more »

Africa: COP30 - Africa Needs Funding to Adapt to the Climate Crisis - What Negotiators Need to Do to Secure It

Since it was set up in 1992, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change has focused mainly on mitigation. Mitigating the effects of climate change is all about… Read more »

South Africa: G20 and the Civil Society Elite - Spectacle Instead of Meaningful Action

Behind the talk of fighting inequality at the group of 20 most powerful economies in the world, the G20, lies a carefully staged show - one that manages dissent rather than… Read more »

Senegal: Senegal's Credit Rating - Moody's Latest Downgrade Was Questionable - Here's Why

The decision by the rating agency Moody's to downgrade Senegal's sovereign credit rating in late October 2025 triggered an immediate week-long sell-off in Senegal's Eurobonds. This… Read more »

Nigeria: U.S.-Nigeria Relations - What It Means to Be a 'Country of Particular Concern' and Why It Matters

For the second time in five years, Nigeria has been designated a "country of particular concern" by the US government, in both cases by President Donald Trump. The first time was… Read more »

Africa: Africa Has a Debt Crisis - Momentum From G20 in South Africa Can Help Find Solutions

The end of South Africa's G20 presidency does not mean the end of its ability or responsibility to promote the issues it prioritised during 2025. It can still advocate for action… Read more »

Zambia: COP30 - Zambia's Forest Communities Need Finance for Solar Power - So They Don't Have to Cut Down Trees to Pay for It

Across rural Zambia, small solar home systems and lanterns have transformed daily life. Between 2018 and 2022, more than one million small solar devices were sold across the… Read more »

Africa: Why Africa's Mineral-Rich Countries Are Not Reaping the Rewards of Their Wealth

Gold mining operations recently restarted at the Loulo-Gounkoto complex in western Mali after being shut down for several months. In January, the Malian government started blocking… Read more »

Africa: Sulfur-Based Batteries Could Offer Electric Vehicles a Greener, Longer-Range Option

Picture an electric car that could go 600, 700 or even 1,000 miles on a single charge. That's much farther than the longest-range electric vehicles on the U.S. market, according to… Read more »

Zimbabwe: COP30 - Zimbabwe's Forest and Energy Projects Reveal the Downside of Carbon Credits

Carbon offsets are a way for companies or countries that pollute the air to "cancel out" some of their carbon emissions by funding projects that protect forests, plant trees, or… Read more »

South Africa: Secret Electricity Price Hikes in South Africa to Be Curbed in a Game-Changing Court Ruling

A recent high court judgment could be a game changer for the setting of municipal electricity tariffs in South Africa. In late October 2025, the court ruled that the process used… Read more »

Africa: What Will It Take to Make Africa Food Secure? G20 Group Points to Trade, Resilient Supply Chains and Sustainable Farming

The Sustainable Food and Agricultural Systems work stream of the Business 20, a G20 engagement group, has endorsed three principles that it argues will contribute to the building… Read more »

Zimbabwe: Harare's Street Traders Create Their Own System to Survive in the City

The informal sector has become a dominant source of livelihoods for urban residents in African cities. Within this sector, street trading is one of the most visible and vital… Read more »

South Africa: South Africa's Flagship Telescope At 20 - an Eye On the Sky and On the Community

The Southern African Large Telescope (SALT) celebrates 20 years of observing the sky. SALT is the largest optical telescope in the southern hemisphere. It's been steadily revealing… Read more »

South Africa: When Polluters Don't Pay - Still No Cleanup At South African Oil Refinery That's Caused Millions in Damage but Was Sold for 6 Cents

When BP and Shell sold the South African Petroleum Refinery (Sapref) in 2024 to the Central Energy Fund, a government entity, for R1 (or six US cents), environmental advocates… Read more »

Nigeria: The Comedy Economy - Nigeria's Online Video Skits Are Making Millions

Short comedy videos circulating on social media have created a booming industry in Nigeria in the past few years. The country's comedy creators put their skits out on platforms… Read more »

South Africa: Sex for Money - South African Study Reveals the Harm That 'Blessers' Can Do to Young Women

A "blesser" is typically an older, relatively wealthier man who provides a younger woman with money, gifts, school fees or lifestyle access in exchange for a relationship that… Read more »