(Posted 24th October 2024)
CCA MEMBERS IN THE NEWS
Mercurie Partners with Google to Simplify Payments in Africa
TechCity
Mercurie partners with Google to simplify software payments in Nigeria, Ghana, and Kenya. This collaboration enables organizations to access bundles with Google Workspace and Google Cloud while allowing local currency payments. By leveraging its platform, Mercurie localizes subscription payments and optimizes the use of Google Cloud and Google Workspace. This approach drives adoption and helps businesses maximize these tools for growth...Read More>>
Ethiopian Airlines resumes its flight to Monrovia, Liberia
American Journal of Transportation
Ethiopian Airlines, the largest carrier in Africa, is excited to announce the resumption of its passenger services to Monrovia, Liberia, reaffirming its commitment to strengthening connections across the African continent. Starting on November 30, 2024, the airline will offer three weekly flights to Liberia’s capital, restoring a critical air link that will enhance connectivity in West Africa and contribute to the region’s economic development...Read More>>
U.S.-AFRICA RELATIONS
Joe Biden in Africa: US president has ignored the continent for his entire term – why he’s visiting Angola
New Pittsburgh Courier
US president Joe Biden chose to visit Africa in the final weeks of his presidency. It would be his first trip to the continent since taking office in January 2021. The trip was postponed at the last minute because of the devastation wrought by Hurricane Milton in the US. It has been rescheduled for the first week in December. Angola is located in the western region of southern Africa. With 37.2 million people, it is the 11th most populous country in Africa. Its economy relies heavily on oil and gas, accounting for over 90% of exports and 43% of GDP. Its largest trading partners are China and India... Read More>>
What could the US election mean for Africa?
DW
Both Kamala Harris and Donald Trump are following a trend in the US presidential well-known by Africans, with neither candidate making US-Africa relations a major election issue. Neither Trump nor outgoing US president Joe Biden paid much attention to Africa during their presidencies — and neither of them visited the continent while in office, though Biden still plans to visit Angola in early December…Read More>>
ENERGY
How legislation can help boost renewable energy investments in Africa
World Economic Forum
Africa has a crucial role in the global energy transition, which places a responsibility on African countries to deploy the instrumentality of the law to drive investments in the renewable energy industry. For example, to boost renewable energy investments in Rwanda, the government issued the Rwanda Energy Feed in Tariff regulations in 2012 to create an enabling environment for renewable electricity power generation and an increase in renewable energy investments…Read More>>
Securing Africa’s Clean Energy Future: The Role of Local Manufacturing
EnergyCapital&Power
Central to Africa’s energy transition is the potential to build a local manufacturing base that can support the production of clean energy technologies. While Africa possesses abundant renewable resources across solar, wind and hydropower, its capacity to produce the components required for these technologies remains underdeveloped...Read More>>
Making Health Innovations Thrive in Africa
Stanford Social Innovation Review
According to the United States Mission to the African Union, the US alone has invested more than $100 billion in African health over the last 20 years. Despite the billions that international donors have poured into African health systems, expert reviews, such as the Lancet Global Health Commission, have found the performance of these systems to be unsatisfactory…Read More>>
Unitaid and Partners Launch First-of-Its-Kind Regional Manufacturing Initiative to Improve Access to Medical Oxygen in Sub-Saharan Africa
Clinton Health Access Initiative
The East African Program on Oxygen Access launched today, with Unitaid announcing a US$22 million investment to support three Kenyan and Tanzanian oxygen manufacturers in establishing Africa’s first liquid oxygen regional manufacturing program. The initiative focuses on East and Southern Africa, with production facilities in Kenya and Tanzania aimed at increasing medical oxygen access across the region...Read More>>
INFRASTRUCTURE
The Transformative Power of Digital Public Infrastructure In Africa: Shaping A Connected Future
Africa.com
As Africa embraces the digital age, Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) has emerged as a powerful tool for promoting inclusion, driving innovation, and fostering sustainable development. Leaders from across the continent gathered at the Global DPI Summit in Cairo to explore how DPI is reshaping the digital landscape and creating new opportunities...Read More>>
Nigeria’s Kingsley Moghalu Appointed President of African School of Governance
Premium TImes
Nigerian economist and former Central Bank Deputy Governor Kingsley Moghalu has been appointed as the inaugural president of the newly established African School of Governance (ASG).This was disclosed in a statement released by the school on Sunday. Based in Kigali, Rwanda, the ASG aims to revolutionise governance across the continent by offering world-class public policy education and research programmes tailored to African realities...Read More>>
AGRIBUSINESS
United States and Zambia Sign Agreement to Catalyze Growth in the Agricultural Sector
Department of State
As Zambia prepares to mark 60 years of independence, the United States welcomes the signing of a landmark $491 million project with the Government of Zambia to deliver sustainable and inclusive economic growth for the Zambian people. This Millennium Challenge Corporation compact, based on a $458 million debt-free grant from the United States and a $33 million investment by the Zambian government, will develop infrastructure to assist Zambia’s farmers and rural communities in accessing regional and global markets, support policy reforms to catalyze agricultural sector growth, and complement the U.S. government’s investments in the Lobito Corridor...Read More>>
Mentorship to Empower African Women in Agribusiness
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the International Agri-Food Network (IAFN) have launched the third round of their joint initiative, the Accelerator Mentorship Programme for Women-led Small-to-Medium Enterprises in Africa. This innovative programme will foster 50 women entrepreneurs across Africa’s agrifood sector over the next nine months, providing them with the mentorship, skills, and resources they need to grow their businesses and contribute to more efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable agrifood systems in Africa...Read More>>
ICT
AU Recognizes Female Innovators Using Technology to Transform the Education Sector in Africa
African Union
The AU Continental Education Strategy for Africa (CESA) recognises information, communication and technology as a major tool for empowering graduates and ensuring they contribute to social economic development by ensuring they not only have universal access but also ensuring they enhance the quality of provision and delivery, of services. ICT opens up possibilities for innovation, entrepreneurship and employability; flexibility in pedagogies; beating the limitation of time and space for varied learner needs; and enhancing confidence and dignity of graduates at all levels…Read More>>
Enhancing Polio Detection with Advanced Sequencing Technology
World Health Organization
The African region, declared free of indigenous wild poliovirus in August 2020, faces an urgent threat: the intense transmission of type 2 variant poliovirus (cVDPV2). This year alone, 290 poliovirus detections have been reported in 23 African countries. As countries ramp up vaccination efforts to protect children against the virus, one of the most critical components of the response is early and accurate detection…Read More>>
FINANCE
European Central Bank Holds Back Plan to Boost Climate Finance for Africa, Latam
Climate Home News
The European Central Bank (ECB) is standing in the way of a plan by African and Latin American development banks to mobilise large amounts of finance to tackle climate change…Read More>>
Environmental, Social and Governance Disclosure is Critical for Africa’s Sustainable Development
African Development Bank
The forum aims to catalyze collaboration and knowledge sharing on ESG issues, paving the way for the establishment of a centralised Africa ESG Information Disclosure Hub and embedding ESG principles into the continent’s development strategies…Read More>>
