HARARE | TASS | Most of the fastest-growing economies, with gross domestic product growth rates exceeding 6%, will be on the African continent in 2026, according to Africanews, citing data from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Growth rates in countries such as Rwanda, Uganda, and Ethiopia will exceed 7%, while South …
Read More »The African Rebirth: Ibrahim Traore and the audacious return of a continent to itself
COMMENT | ALEX ATWEMEREIREHO | Africa is not a sleeping giant; it is a suffocated one. Its lungs have long been pressed by the weight of imperial duplicity, its arteries drained by extractive economies masquerading as partnerships, and its political spine bent by postcolonial elites conditioned to administer decline on …
Read More »Africa’s year of Donald Trump
The continent navigated a tumultuous 12 months at the whim of America’s mercurial president NEWS ANALYSIS | AGENCIES | Donald Trump declared a ‘white genocide’ in South Africa, threatened military action in Nigeria and cut off live-saving foreign aid. The US president also reinvigorated commercial dealmaking with Africa, especially around critical …
Read More »The Afterlife of Empire – Cape to Cairo, Darfur to Kivu
How Old Empires Rebranded Themselves and Learned to Rule Through Chaos COMMENT | ANDREW PI BESI | On Christmas Day in 1497, Vasco da Gama rounded the southern tip of Africa. He named the land he encountered Natalis—Portuguese for Christmas. Today, it is known as KwaZulu-Natal. Da Gama’s voyage opened …
Read More »Africa’s tech deals are happening at festivals
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 …
Read More »‘Anywhere in seconds’: instant payments in Africa hit nearly $2 trillion
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 …
Read More »The Golden Path to Stability: How Africa can leverage its resources for economic control
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 …
Read More »Fraud rises as Africa’s mobile money peaks
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 …
Read More »US set to turn Africa into battle arena for resources
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 …
Read More »Africa’s hidden stillbirth crisis
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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The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price