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The top market contributors to e-commerce in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) over the last three years were South Africa, Nigeria and Kenya. This is according to a recent white paper released by Visa titled ‘eCommerce developments across Sub Saharan Africa (SSA)‘. According to Visa, SSA may be one of the smallest regions of e-commerce globally, but it shows steady growth potential. …

The agitation of the Niger Delta against the injustice of environmental degradation caused by oil companies and the resulting impoverishment of the people of the region led to the creation of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) in 2001. The agency is saddled with the responsibility of redressing the historical neglect to which the oil and gas-rich region had been …

The global non-profit organization Internet Society is committed to supporting Ethiopia in its vision to create an inclusive digital economy through the Digital Ethiopia 2025 Strategy ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, June 10, 2021/ — The Ministry of Innovation and Technology (MINT) of Ethiopia and the Internet Society (www.InternetSociety.org) announced a new collaboration agreement today that will help advance the digital economy …

Google has kicked off a series of programmes that will support the growth and recovery of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Africa’s post-Covid economy. The programmes will be rolled out throughout the month of June. On the continent, SMEs account for around 90% of all businesses forming the backbone of the economy. While these businesses account for 80% of …

Ten start-ups from across Africa have been chosen for the Afro German Pitch Night at which the winner will walk away with €100,000 equity investment. The nominees were selected from the Deutsch Connect and Idea Seed Africa networks of start-ups.The final list of start-ups include five from Nigeria – namely, Agriple, Asusu, Chekkit, M.E Solutions and Rural Farmers Hub, and …

The Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation Europe (NIDOE) holds a virtual conference on Saturday, 5 June 2021 on how to better engage the youth in national development. The event, with the theme “Diaspora Engagement Master-Class & Youth Inclusion”, will be addressed by, among others, Dr Bashir Obasekola, Chairman of NIDOE; Kingsley Aikins, CEO, Networking Institute Ireland; Andrew Nevin, Chief Economist, PwC …

LAGOS, Nigeria, 2 June 2021 -/African Media Agency(AMA)/- The END Fund, a private philanthropic initiative solely dedicated to ending the five most common neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), today announced their partnership with IHS Nigeria, the leading telecom infrastructure service provider company, to tackle prevalent neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) in Ekiti State, in the southwestern part of Nigeria. The generous planned …

Education is considered an investment in human capital. That is why every country allots a budget in order for its citizens to have access to learning. Some countries make it a top priority, apportioning a larger portion of the national budget to education. Other countries, due to poverty, cannot afford to budget so generously. According to Africa Learning Barometer, about 40% of …

It has been observed that Africans are less likely to start their own businesses compared to other diaspora communities, such as Asians. A new initiative wants to change the situation by mentoring aspiring African entrepreneurs in Germany, providing them not only knowledge and skills training but also networking opportunities Deutsch Connect, a German-based Afrocentric startup that links African businesses to …

THE London-based Zimbabwe-born businessman Strive Masiyiwa has been named the United Kingdom’s first Black billionaire. He has been reported to be worth £1.087 billion. Masiyiwa is the first billionaire of African origin to be included on the Sunday Times Rich List – a ranking of the wealthiest people or families resident in the United Kingdom. The list is updated annuallyand …

German-based Afrocentric startup Deutsch Connect has secured a €100,000 investment fund in partnership with Idea Seed Africa. The “Deutsch – Africa Pitch” challenge is exclusively for Startups within the Deutsch Connect – Idea Seed Africa network in Agritech, Healthtech, Fintech, Digitalisation and Logistics offering up to €100,000 in equity investment to build and scale successful businesses that add value to …

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, 18 May 2021 -/African Media Agency(AMA)/- Much has been written about the importance of advancing digital literacy on the African continent, especially among its younger citizens. With more than half of the world’s under-25s expected to live in Africa by 2050, mobilising and inspiring this youthful population to be active participants in the global digital economy is …

Ministry of Primary Education of the Republic of Cameroon will receive 1 mln licenses of Russian MyOffice software. The memorandum was signed during a business mission held in the country, which entailed a series of meetings at the highest state level —- MOSCOW, Russia, May 17, 2021/ — MyOffice, the Russian developer of office software for joint work on documents …

Achare Takor*, a lawyer, takes a look at Section 124b of the General Tax Code of the Republic of Cameroon and how it sets to promote innovative ICT start-ups in the country by offering them incentives ————- DOUALA, Cameroon, May 13, 2021/ — By Achare Takor Over the last decade, information technologies (IT) have revolutionized the way people and businesses …

Nigerians in the diaspora have an opportunity to own houses in the country and also participate actively in money and capital markets, thanks to several investment packages rolled out by Ecobank. Mrs. Olukorede Demola-Adeniyi, Head of Ecobank’s Consumer Banking, has said that the bank is offering mortgage loans to Nigerians living abroad to finance property ownership in the country. She …

Ayoba is enjoying a busy 2021, with many upgrades and additions planned to its extensive list of features. The African Messaging App celebrates second birthday with 5.5m users and launches voice and video calling as well as web access CAPE TOWN, South Africa, May 4, 2021/ — Ayoba (www.ayoba.me), the African messaging app, has announced the launch of a new …

By Prof Wim Naudé* Until COVID-19 hit, the quality of life of youth (age 15-24) in sub-Saharan Africa had been steadily improving. According to the World Bank, by 2019 the youth literacy rate stood at 73%. Gross secondary school enrolment rates increased from 13 % in 1971 to 43 % by 2018. Youth unemployment rates have remained fairly stable, at around …

Since the start of the pandemic, there’s been plenty of talk about how we can make sure our immune system is working at its best – which has led people to try everything from taking vitamin supplements to exercising regularly. Here’s why a healthy lifestyle may be key to fighting off bacteria and viruses. —– How Does The Immune System …

Testing of a sample of community water systems by a group of international researchers has revealed that: 80% of public taps and boreholes with handpumps had at least one part that exceeded international guidance on lead9% of drinking water samples exceeded World Health Organisation guidelines on leadNo-known safe exposure level to lead The scientists are warning that drinking water supplies …

The recently released Knight Frank Africa Horizons Report 2021/22, ranked Nairobi as the top city in Africa for innovation, followed by Cape Town in second, Kampala third, with Cairo and Johannesburg at fourth and fifth place respectively. The report notes that the ability of African cities to emerge resilient from the pandemic will depend on their ability to innovate, providing long-term social …