A joint investment to modernize logistics infrastructure in Africa has been agreed between the Dubai ports giant DP World and the UK’s development finance agency CDC Group. The $1.7bn (£1.2bn) investment will initially focus on expanding three ports: Egypt’s Ain Sokhna, Senegal’s Dakar and Berbera in Somalia’s breakaway region of Somaliland. All the ports are […]

Malawi’s telecoms regulator has fined the local business of India’s Bharti Airtel over $2.5m (£1.9m) for failing to give customers airtime they were owed as part of a loyalty scheme. Airtel Malawihas denied the charges. The Competition and Fair Trade Commission launched an investigation after receiving complaints from customers. It found that Airtel Malawi had […]

South Africa opened up applications for importing plastic waste in order to meet the plastic industry’s needs, the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) has said. DFFE Minister Barbra Creecy said in a parliamentary internal question paper that the import of plastic waste will be regulated under the outlining and mandate of the […]

China wants to expand the sale of African agricultural products across its e-commerce platforms, according to a senior Chinese foreign ministry official. Wu Peng, director general of the ministry’s department of African affairs, said at a launch ceremony of “African Products Online Promoting Season” that China has never pursued trade surplus with Africa. He said […]

Brazil’s Mines and Energy Minister Bento Albuquerque is warning that the country’s energy crisis is worse than previously thought, as a record drought hampers hydropower generation. In a televised national address on Tuesday, pre-empting the nightly news, Albuquerque said the crisis had deepened, with water reserves at hydropower plants already at their lowest level in […]

The World Bank has frozen payments for its projects in Afghanistan in the wake of the Taliban takeover. “We have paused disbursements in our operations in Afghanistan and we are closely monitoring and assessing the situation in line with our internal policies and procedures,’’ a World Bank spokesperson said in Washington. “As we do so, […]

Kenya has cut sugar imports from Uganda by 79 percent in a move that is likely to escalate the ongoing trade dispute between Nairobi and Kampala. The Sugar Directorate said this week that traders will only be allowed to import 18,923 tonnes of sugar from Uganda down from 90,000 that Kenya had earlier said would […]

US officials for the first time declared an official water shortage for the huge Lake Mead reservoir, triggering supply cuts to parts of the drought-stricken Southwest, as 10 Western governors appealed for federal drought disaster aid. The shortage will reduce water apportionments to Arizona, Nevada and Mexico for the year beginning in October, the US […]

President Muhammadu Buhari has signed into law the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) 2021 that was recently passed by the National Assembly. This disclosure is contained in a statement signed by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, on Monday, August 16, 2021, in Abuja. Adesina said that the president assented […]

The board of directors of the African Development Bank has approved a loan of $50m to First City Monument Bank Limited to channel to local enterprises and women-empowered businesses in the agribusiness, manufacturing, healthcare and renewable energy sectors. AfDB disclosed this in a statement titled ‘Nigeria: African Development Bank bolsters women-empowered businesses with $50m loan […]

Kenya has been ranked as the top country in the world in reducing households without electricity pointing to the impact of the State’s focus on rural areas for nearly a decade. The Energy Progress Report for 2021, a product of a partnership between the World Bank and agencies such as the International Energy Agency, says […]

Nigeria’s oil sector reform bill, expected since 2008, was finally passed by parliament on Thursday, a “historic moment” for Africa’s top oil producer which has seen this natural resource exploited by foreign companies without any benefit to the local communities or maximizing its own revenues. Parliament voted to approve the long-delayed oil and gas law […]

Ugandan internet users will from Thursday start paying a 12% excise duty on mobile data. The levy replaces the infamous “social media tax” – an over-the-top (OTT) services daily tax introduced in 2018 on use of social media. The new excise duty comes into effect as the new financial year begins. It was introduced earlier […]

Zimbabwe faces prolonged power outages after a surge in electricity imports from neighbouring South Africa overloaded its network and caused generating plants to fail, Energy Minister Soda Zhemu said. The surge caused a nationwide blackout in the early hours of Monday, as it affected output at the Kariba hydropower plant and the coal-fired Hwange facility, […]

Kenya has been known globally for its quality coffee over the years, but mismanagement and low returns saw the sector lose its value. According to the latest Commodity Markets Outlook by the World Bank, the country’s coffee production dropped 35 per cent in the last 50 years as farmers kept off the crop. In 1970, […]

The World Bank says Nigeria can generate more than N600 billion annually by increasing excise duties on tobacco and alcohol as recommended in its Nigeria development update (NDU) report. Rajul Awasthi, a senior tax specialist at the World Bank, said this during a virtual summit on domestic revenue mobilisation on Thursday. According to the NDU […]

Togo launched the largest solar plant in West Africa, some 250 km north of capital city Lomé. Located in central Togo, this 50 megawatt facility will provide power to more than 158,000 households and save more than one million tonnes of CO2 emissions. The plant was built by AMEA Togo Solar, a subsidiary of Dubai-based […]

Sub-Saharan Africa is populated by more than half a billion people, and rapid urbanisation is creating challenges in the areas of housing, roads, railways, power supply, dams and water pipelines – aspects of infrastructure that are critical to the well-being of the population. This situation indicates that cement and concrete will play a major role […]

Tanzania has launched a $5.2m (£3.6m) gold refining plant that is aimed at ensuring the country no longer exports raw gold. The Mwanza Precious Metals Refinery factory has a capacity of refining 480kg gold per day, and is one of three new factories established in Tanzania. The factory, which is touted to be the largest […]

Keeping a remote workforce connected in the forever-changed business landscape has been a unique challenge for SMEs and large enterprises alike. To ensure work-from-home teams have the data required to access business-critical applications, Vodacom Business has introduced Business Tickets, a first-to-market innovation offered exclusively to Vodacom Business clients. Business Tickets provide a cost-effective, collaborative way […]

Five million trees are being planted in Ghana on Friday in an attempt to restore the country’s forests. All Ghanaians have been urged to take part. President Nana Akufo Addo has said he’ll join in what will be an annual event. In a statement he asked citizens to help preserve the environment by nurturing the […]

Tobacco sales reached US$396.4 million on day 44, surpassing levels reached in a similar period last year, Tobacco Industry Marketing Board (TIMB) statistics have revealed. The TIMB update which contains stats compiled up to the 9th of June 2021 shows that farmers at the Auction Floors had sold a total 9.5 million kilogrammes with a […]

A number of leading websites are currently not working, including Amazon, Reddit and Twitch. The UK government website – gov.uk – is also down as are the Financial Times, the Guardian and the New York Times. Affected websites displayed the message: “Error 503 Service Unavailable”. Early reports suggested it could be related to Fastly, a cloud computing […]

The European Union (EU) has warned that it will issue Ghana a ‘yellow card’, should the country consistently fail to tackle the menace of illegal fishing. The ‘yellow card’ is an official warning issued by the EU to its trading partners falling short of tackling illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing. The yellow card, which […]

Mombasa is set to plant one million trees as it seeks to promote a clean and green environment for the residents. The program will be implemented through the Green Mombasa Initiative through the County department of environment, waste management, and energy. The initiative was launched over the weekend at Marimani Mixed Secondary School in Kisauni […]

Turkish firm Katmerciler expands footprint in Africa with new order from Kenya for 118 armoured vehicles Turkish defense and automotive firm Katmerciler continues to expand its footprint in Africa, with its latest success being a new contract to provide 118 armoured vehicles to Kenya. “Our Hizir 4×4 Tactical Wheeled Armoured Vehicle has been hailed all […]

Africa’s biggest grocery retailer and South Africa-owned chain of stores, Shoprite, has finally left Nigeria–Africa’s most populous nation and biggest market–after 16 years. Ketron Investment Limited–a subsidiary of Persianas Investment Limited–has completed the acquisition of Shoprite operations in Nigeria, after winning a bidding war involving three other suitors. Property firm and developer Persianas, is owned […]

South Africa’s power company Eskom has announced load shedding, or scheduled blackouts, that will last until Friday. The state-owned electricity provider said this would be implemented from 10am on Wednesday until 10pm on Friday. It attributed this to “further breakdowns” of two power generating units as well as delays in returning others to service. “The […]

A number of Mercury-free mining equipment has been handed over to the Association of Small Scale Miners. This marks the beginning of Mercury-free Mining in Ghana, says Deputy Minister-designate for Lands and Natural Resources, Mireku Duker. Speaking at the handing over of the equipment on Friday, May 28, 2021, at the head office of the […]

Ghana’s President Nana Akufo Addo has told off owners of mining equipment that were burnt down over illegal mining activities. The president said the aggrieved business people should go to court. The entrepreneurs had accused the government of targeting specific entities. One of the affected companies, Xtra Golds, said  its activities were legal and that […]

Ethiopia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has said the country will begin a trial run for power generation at the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (Gerd) during the upcoming rainy season, as it prepares for the second filling of the reservoir. “No force can disrupt the efforts underway to fill the dam and the process in line […]

South African electricity provider Eskom has suspended load shedding, or scheduled blackouts, from morning until afternoon. Poor maintenance, rising costs, falling revenues, crumbling infrastructure, corruption and mismanagement have all been blamed for the energy crisis. The state-owned power utility began the latest round of load shedding on Sunday after 10 of its generating units broke […]

The Government has set aside over 100 hectares of land for investment opportunities on oil and gas in Mtwara Region. Speaking in Parliament on behalf of the Minister of Industry and Trade, Deputy Minister of Agriculture Hussein Bashe, said the government decision also prompted for the implementation of Mtwara Free Port Zone Construction Project that […]

Kenya has scrapped work visa and permit requirements for Tanzanian nationals in an effort to boost trade and tourism between the two countries, fast-tracking implementation of East African Common Market Protocol allowing workers to move freely in the region. President Uhuru Kenyatta announced the new visa policy earlier this week during a joint session of […]

Seventeen African heads of state signed on to the commitment to boost agricultural production by doubling current productivity levels through the scaling up of agro-technologies. The signing took place at the end of a two-day virtual dialogue on Feeding Africa where panelists discussed ways to expand activities, financing, and partnerships to further leverage technology and […]

Kenya and Tanzania have signed a deal for a gas pipeline that will run between the coastal cities of Mombasa and Dar es Salaam. The signing took place earlier this week, as Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan made her first visit to Kenya following the death of her predecessor, John Magufuli. There was a closed-door […]

Farmers have collectively earned US$90, 4 million from the sale of tobacco, as prices continue to firm. Since the start of the 2021 tobacco selling season, farmers have sold 35, 3 million kg worth US$90, 4 million at an average price of US$2, 56 per kilogramme. During the same period last year, the average price […]

Ghana made history last year when the Kumasi Compost and Recycling Plant (KCARP) the largest in Africa was inaugurated to receive and recycle municipal solid waste in Kumasi and its environs. The facility which has the capacity to treat 2400 metric tonnes of waste per day on two shifts is the biggest capacity of a […]

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari confirmed his nation’s commitments to the Paris Agreement at the U.S.-led climate summit. Speaking virtually to the White House from Abuja, Buhari said since 2016, Nigeria had undertaken “major environmentally sound and climate friendly programs.” He said institutional frameworks have been made to cut emissions by 2030. “Beyond ending gas flaring […]

The African Union (AU) has set out plans to construct industrial parks that will improve the manufacturing of agricultural products as well as the supply chain. The AU Commission (AUC) made this known during a forum it organized with the United Nations Food and Agriculture Fund (FAO) recently where it launched the framework to boost […]

The Black Farmers Association of South Africa (BFASA) will march today – and it’s not the first time they’re protesting against the health regulatory body. In October 2020, the pro-cannabis marchers took to the streets of Arcadia, Pretoria, where the authority’s offices are, with the aim of “putting an end to SAHPRA’s corruption in the […]

The United Nations (UN) has credited the mobile sector for achieving a critical breakthrough towards its mission of combating climate change, as operators representing more than a third of the industry by revenue pledged to deliver net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. Industry association GSMA stated the latest figures advanced the mobile industry’s already leading position […]

Tanzania’s government has given the green light for the construction of the East African Crude Oil Pipeline, a 1,445km (897 miles) project stretching from the coastal region of Tanga to Uganda. The country’s minister for energy, Dr Medard Kalemani said that the negotiation process that had started in May 2017 was finally complete. This paves […]

The Mozambican government has banned the import of poultry products from South Africa because of an outbreak of bird flu. As well as live birds, the ban also includes feathers, eggs and poultry products used in agricultural animal feed. It does not cover processed chicken, which is in a way of preserving meat through heat […]

Konn3ct, a Nigerian meeting app is set to rival Zoom, Google Meet, and Microsoft Teams for a share of the $75 billion virtual markets. Market research firm, Research, and Markets projects the world global web conferencing market to reach $78 billion by 2030, up from $2.1 billion at the end of 2020. Konne3t, from the […]

Young women in Zimbabwe have been urged to take up mining seriously to empower themselves. Speaking during a tour of small-scale gold mining in the Makaha area in Mudzi by a group of women, RedLipstick Revolution founder Abigail Magwenzi said women need to be inspired by mining to move the country forward. RedLipstick Revolution is […]

There is a lot of money in chocolate but the producers of the raw material see very little of it. Last year the retail industry was worth $107bn (£78bn), according to one projection, but Ghana – the world’s second largest cocoa producer – earned just around $2bn. This is a familiar pattern for many African […]

Uganda will close the long-awaited Final Investment Decision (FID) with international oil companies Total E&P and CNOOC on Sunday. The decision will unlock billions of dollars of investment in Uganda’s oil and gas sector. Total chief executive Patrick Pouyanné is expected in the country over the weekend. The deal will also pave way for the […]