(Posted 17th March 2022)
| CCA MEMBERS IN THE NEWS Next Engineers programme launches in Johannesburg African Business General Electric (GE) in partnership with FHI360, PROTEC, and the Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) officially the Next Engineers programme in Johannesburg to increase the diversity of young people in engineering… Read more>> Three South African startups chosen for Google for Startups Accelerator Africa Class 7 Venture Burn Google has announced the participants in Google for Startups Accelerator Africa Class 7. The selected startups are developing solutions in areas such as healthcare, education, fleet management, logistics automation, and recruiting… Read more>> |
| U.S.-AFRICA RELATIONS AU and US in partnership for vaccines manufacturing in Africa News 24 On 11 March, the second anniversary of the World Health Organisation (WHO) declaring Covid-19 a global pandemic, Kenya became one of the first African countries to lift all its remaining restrictions… Read more>> Côte d’Ivoire: PM Patrick Achi is in Washington to talk business and security Africa Report On 13 March, Côte d’Ivoire’s prime minister Patrick Achi was in the US, following an invitation from the Atlantic Council think tank, which advocates US leadership in the world… Read more>> AGRIBUSINESS TDB Group’s TDF, GBF, and AGF Support 16,000 Small Scale-Farmers by Financing 3 Women and Youth-Led Agribusiness SMEs in East Africa Trade & Development Bank Approximately 16,000 small-scale farmers in East Africa were supported in 2021, as a result of a USD 1 million debt facility extended in 2020 by the Trade and Development Fund (TDF), enhanced with a partial risk guarantee from the African Guarantee Fund (AGF), and managed by Grassroots Business Fund (GBF)… Read more>> Millions face severe hunger as situation ‘deteriorating rapidly’ in Somalia, UN warns The Telegraph The situation in Somalia, where four million people are at risk of starvation, is “deteriorating rapidly” and risks being overshadowed by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the United Nations has warned… Read more>> Ghana bakers feel the heat of rising inflation Reuters The bakery, founded nearly 25 years ago by childhood friends Raphael Borketey and David Eshun, churns out hundreds of loaves of bread each day for households, restaurants, and street traders. But spiraling inflation could soon shut its doors… Read more>> Lowering Barriers for Agribusiness in the Sahel International Finance Corporation The agri-food industry is easily the Sahel’s largest economic sector, accounting for a third of its GDP and 75 percent of its employment… Read more>> ENERGY 75 MW of Renewable Energy to Power Sedibelo Platinum Mine in South Africa Energy Capital and Power Pilanesberg Platinum Mines, a subsidiary of Sedibelo Platinum, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the juwi/Sturdee Energy consortium to procure 75 MW of renewable energy through two projects that will power its mining operations in the North West province… Read more>> Germany Should Look to Africa for Gas, Not Russia Foreign Policy For Europe — especially Germany and the other countries most dependent on Russian supplies — part of the answer will be for Europe to stop looking east and start looking south to Africa… Read more>> AfricaGoGreen Fund secures $31 million for green energy and sustainable development Afrik21 One year after its launch, the AfricaGoGreen Fund (AGGF) has made new investments. It is 31.5 million dollars contributed by three investors… Read more>> HEALTH Kenya lifts remaining COVID restrictions Reuters Kenya lifted its remaining COVID-19 restrictions on Friday, including a ban on large indoor gatherings such as religious services and a requirement to present a negative COIVD-19 test for arriving air passengers… Read more>> Africa CDC has MOU with Pfizer for supplies of COVID-19 pill Reuters Africa’s top public health agency has agreed a memorandum of understanding with Pfizer to bring supplies of the pharmaceutical firm’s Paxlovid antiviral COVID-19 pills to the continent, its director said… Read more>> One in Three Zambian Corpses Were Covid Positive, Study Finds BNN Bloomberg The Covid-19 pandemic was far deadlier in Zambia than official data show, according to the results of a study in the nation’s capital city… Read more>> INFRASTRUCTURE Safaricom inks first infrastructure deal with Ethiopia The East African Safaricom, the newest telecom operator in Ethiopia, has signed a five-year lease agreement with state-owned power utility to share dark fiber-optic infrastructure in the Horn of African nation, the first infrastructure deal with Ethiopia… Read more>> MTN South Africa Invests $46.4 million in New Infrastructure for KZN, South Africa IT News AfricaAfrica’s largest telecom group MTN SA has announced a further investment of $46.4-million in order to modernise existing, and deploy new, network, infrastructure across the KwaZulu-Natal province in South Africa… Read more>> ICT The role of cryptocurrencies in sub-Saharan Africa Brookings Although the African continent receives only 2 percent of the global value of all cryptocurrencies, their rapid growth will transform financing in an increasingly digital and urban sub-Saharan Africa… Read more>> TOURISM South Africa’s tourism sector is experiencing a shift from foreigners to domestic tourists Business Insider Africa In December 2021, the surge of Omicron made American tourists vanish from South Africa. In 2019, more than 100,000 Americans spent their holidays in South Africa… Read more>> Africa’s sports industry is revving up. It will fuel a generation of young leaders Atlantic Council March Madness won’t be the only hoops highlight this month; the Basketball Africa League’s second season officially tipped off, attracting viewers globally… Read more>> South Africa to soon start e-visa facility for Indian travelers Times Travel The South African Tourism Board has recently expressed that it’s eyeing 64% year-on-year growth in arrivals from India this year. To capitalise on the strong consumer demand in the country, they have started taking various marketing initiatives… Read more>> |
