From Lagos and Nairobi to Cape Town and Marrakech, founders, investors, and corporates are using tech festivals to close funding, partnerships, and market-entry deals, according to ecosystem data and industry analysts. SPECIAL REPORT | BIRD AGENCY | Africa’s tech startup ecosystem is increasingly being organised around large, high-visibility festivals. From …
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Once a premium service, instant payments, now worth nearly $2 trillion USD according to a new report, are a financial lifeline for everyday use throughout Africa. The surge is powered by lower transaction costs and rising smartphone use that enables even low-income users to transact in real time. SPECIAL REPORT …
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COMMENT | Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko | Africa stands at a pivotal economic crossroads. The continent is the world’s largest gold-producing region, yet it holds a fraction of global central bank gold reserves. For decades, gold-rich African economies have operated in a global financial architecture where the US dollar sits at …
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December is particularly busy, as families prepare for holidays, travel and back-to-school expenses NEWS ANALYSIS | AGENCIES | Africa’s mobile money industry is preparing for its busiest month of the year, with December transactions expected to push 2025’s total beyond the $81bn processed in 2024. But alongside the rise in …
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HARARE | TASS | The updated US National Security Strategy, published on December 5, shows Washington’s determination to turn Africa into a geo-economic battleground, Zimbabwe’s government newspaper, The Herald, wrote. US plans with regard to Africa are concerning, the newspaper says. The updated strategy shows that Washington’s policy on the …
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New report exposes major policy and data gaps ANALYSIS | MARY KENNEY | Nearly one million babies are stillborn in Africa every year. Behind every stillbirth is a mother, a family and a story left untold. Most of these are preventable, many unrecorded, and too often invisible. Each number hides a moment …
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JOHANNESBURG, S. Africa | Xinhua | With cross-border payments still facing obstacles in sub-Saharan Africa, experts and industry practitioners have voiced hope that the attention the issue received at the G20 summit in South Africa will translate into practical reforms. “We need simplified and harmonized regulations that keep up with …
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KINSHASA | Xinhua | The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) on Monday declared an end to the latest Ebola outbreak in the country. “The chain of transmission has been stopped. I hereby officially declare the end of the 16th Ebola outbreak in the DRC,” Health Minister Roger Kamba told …
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Ugandan High School Innovators Go Regional Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Absa Bank Uganda, in partnership with Junior Achievement (JA) Uganda, today flagged off the student team from Aga Khan High School, the reigning national winners of the Company of the Year (COY) competition. The students will represent …
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Without comprehensive reform of the global financial system, Africa’s development and Europe’s stability will face growing risks COMMENT | Nana Akufo-Addo & Ulrich Volz | On November 24-25, African and European leaders met in Luanda, Angola, for the European Union-African Union summit. Marking 25 years of EU-AU partnership, the gathering was not …
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The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
