Calestous Juma: Infrastructure for innovation
Infrastructural development and technological innovation are both vital to Africa’s economic future. Policymakers are currently more focused on infrastructure; they should not forget its critical role...
View ArticleBanking on skills
High youth unemployment across Africa is frustratingly coupled with a lack of skills needed for growth in many sectors, including housing and construction. One bank had the vision to see the links...
View Article“The US was slow but is waking up to Africa’s potential”
The US Ambassador to the African Union, Reuben Brigety, says his country is now waking up to Africa’s serious economic potential which goes beyond just petrol. “It is fair to say that the United States...
View ArticleMorten Jerven: Why economists get Africa wrong
Africans are right to be sceptical of those who pay little heed to contextual, on-the-ground research, writes Morten Jerven, author of Africa: Why Economists Get It Wrong. For the past two decades,...
View ArticleUS targets Africa’s hotbeds of investment and opportunity
Ethiopia and Kenya are among the fastest growing economies in Africa. It’s no coincidence that Barack Obama chose to visit both countries on his recent visit, writes Mark Kapchanga.Massive investments...
View ArticleTech giants target African internet boost
Despite the astonishing growth of the worldwide web since its inception, over two decades ago, only 26.5% of the African population is connected to the internet, with a recent United Nations report...
View ArticleEuropean Union saga: lessons for Africa
The European Union project is the most ambitious economic integration project of the 20th century, which Africa and other regions have sought to emulate. But as Africa seeks to create expanded markets,...
View ArticleSão Tomé PM: Social cohesion needs economic growth
Patrice Trovoada, the Prime Minister of São Tomé and Príncipe, was born into an era when the archipelago’s thirst for political independence was coming to a head. His father, Miguel Trovoada, was...
View ArticleAfrica must learn from Europe’s structural failures
The euro’s internal contradictions have sent Greece into a depression, contributed to a near continent-wide stagnation, and threaten to derail an entire political project. Africa, which may see new...
View ArticleDoes Africa catch a cold when China sneezes?
The recent bubbles in China’s financial market precipitated immediate panic in major stock markets around the world. New York, London and Tokyo felt it instantly, creating an unfounded fear that...
View ArticleLet’s pay more tax – it’s Africa’s $300bn opportunity
Africa can be proud of the gains it is making. It has the world’s fastest growing regional economy outside of emerging Asia. But where will African governments find the money to meet development...
View ArticleBitcoin in Africa: is anyone interested?
With PayPal yet to expand across Africa and credit and debit card penetration low, the remittances space has been described, even by Kofi Annan’s Africa Progress Panel, as a “super racket”. It is easy...
View ArticleSouth Africa’s economy is sick – even Zuma agrees
The South African economy is in trouble. GDP shrank 1.3% in the second quarter of 2015. There has been a negative growth rate in the manufacturing sector, which is down by 6.3%. Mining, the bedrock...
View ArticleKenya’s high society billionaire plots wealthy future
In his usual impeccably well-tailored attire, Chris Kirubi can be found alongside catwalk queens, gracing society magazines or entertaining listeners on his music show under the moniker “DJ CK”. Never...
View ArticleTime to get moving on African integration, says Ghana’s Tetteh
An anonymous uniformed officer, the brim of his cap pulled down near his eyes, stares imperiously into a TV camera and sets out the terms under which he will rule. It’s a nightmare image of military...
View ArticleMeet the Ghanaian pastor driving Africa’s car industry
He is perhaps one of the most unsung African geniuses of his generation. Stephen Gyasi Jnr reports on the extraordinary achievements of a talented Ghanaian pastor – Apostle Kwadwo Safo – who...
View ArticleAfrica’s rising middle class – and why it matters
According to the African Development Bank (AfDB), as far back as 2011 there were already 313 million people – or 34 per cent of the continent’s total population – that could be referred to as middle...
View ArticleSteelmaker bets on Angolan future
With global oil prices at their lowest since 2009, the Angolan economy – 95% dependent on the “black gold” – is, unsurprisingly, in trouble. But one company, the steel maker – Aceria de Angola (ADA) –...
View ArticlePolitricks and empty pockets
Seven political parties are registered to contest the next elections, but unless a political earthquake happens only the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the main opposition New Patriotic...
View ArticleInvestors fight over Guinea’s iron mountain
Between 2008 and 2009, Beny Steinmetz, through his Beny Steinmetz Group Resources (BSGR) acquired rights to mine the northern portion of Simandou, a mine located in the southern interior of Guinea, at...
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