Special

Nigeria’s cashless policy, initiated six years ago, was designed to encourage electronic transactions with a view to reducing the amount of physical cash in the economy to foster transparency, curb corruption and drive financial inclusion. It’s however now threatened by the growing perpetration of fraud.  Oludayo Tade, researcher in criminology, victimology, electronic frauds and cybercrime, University of Ibadan, presents his …

Since inception, MainOne has invested in over $400m in infrastructure in West Africa as part of its efforts to bridge the digital divide and enable the digital economy LAGOS, Nigeria, June 29, 2020/ — MainOne (www.MainOne.net), West Africa’s leading provider of Wholesale and Enterprise connectivity and data centre services celebrates 10 years of delivering innovative, world-class service in West Africa. …

International students in Germany are also affected by the Corona crisis. Here is an overview of efforts to help them. Johannes Göbel reports How does Germany help international students in the Corona crisis? As from June 2020, international students can apply for an interest-free loan from the state development bank KfW and receive a maximum of 650 euros a month …

Rwanda is renowned as a pioneer for gender equality ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast, June 22, 2020/ — In 2020, it was the only African country ranked in the top 10 of the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report. It ranked in the top four in the Report’s political empowerment category, in recognition of the high proportion of Rwandese women lawmakers …

NJ Ayuk, founder of one of Africa’s most successful law chambers, explains that “climate change — and the call to leave fossil fuels in the ground— is largely a western narrative”, which does not consider the situation of African countries whose oil and gas production earns export revenues, reduce energy poverty, create jobs etc. He explains how Western climate policy …

Whether you’re looking for further education or a bachelor’s or master’s degree, many universities in Germany offer online courses of study. Kim Berg reports — Studying online at a distance-learning university The FernUniversität Hagen is the only state university that offers exclusively distance-learning courses. With around 76,000 students, it is also the largest university in Germany. It offers ten bachelor’s degree courses and …

It’s time to demand concrete actions against anti-Black racism, Dr Sylvie Nantcha, chairman of The African Network of Germany (TANG), has said. She made the call on Thursday while speaking at the virtual conference of the organisation on the ongoing anti-racism debate in the country. “While we condemn racism in America, particularly the murder of George Floyd, we have to …

Suguba announces Afrikhaliss in partnership with the French Development Agency (AFD) and Mercy Corps BAMAKO, Mali, June 16, 2020/ — Suguba (www.Suguba.org) – in partnership with Mercy Corps and the French Development Agency (AFD) – is organising their second 6-month investment readiness program in West Africa to support the 8 most promising startups in the digital sector in Francophone West …

Mercer’s 26th Cost of Living Survey finds majority of African cities have risen in rankings in the most and least expensive cities for expatriates globally * The most expensive cities are Victoria, N’djamena and Lagos * The least expensive cities are Banjul, Windhoek and Tunis JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, June 15, 2020,-/African Media Agency (AMA)/- According to Mercer’s 2020 Cost of …

Yemi Babalola, a Media and Communication student of Technische Universität Ilmenau, reports on the situation of African students in Germany as a result of the new coronavirus pandemic. News about the new coronavirus started getting prominence in the earlier part of the year, but March saw a lot of countries begin to enforce lockdown measures. Germany enforced the lockdown in …

The African Network of Germany (TANG) is currently carrying out a campaign against anti-Black racism on social media. The organisation explains in this press statement why Germany must act decisively now against discrimination against people of African descent in the country —- Following the death of the African-American George Floyd after a brutal police operation in Minneapolis on 25 May, …

Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari has nominated the country’s former finance minister, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, for the position of director-general of the World Trade Organisation. NAN reported on Thursday that Buhari withdrew the candidacy of Yonov Agah, Nigeria’s permanent representative to WTO, for the same position. The election is scheduled to hold in Geneva, Switzerland in 2021 for a four-year term that …

German Chancellor Angela Merkel says governing parties have agreed on a €130 billion stimulus package to help revive the virus-hit economy. Under the wide-ranging measures, value-added tax will be temporarily slashed. Chancellor Angela Merkel said Wednesday that Germany was set to plow 130 billion euros ($146 billion) into rebooting an economy severely hit by the coronavirus pandemic. The measures include …

The controversy surrounding accusations of malpractices against the President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Dr Akinwumi Adesina, seems to have been resolved for now on Thursday. Some officials of the Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire-based Bank had accused Dr Adesina of lack of respect of internal rules and regulations in recruitment, citing numerous cases of nepotism and favouritism. The AfDB’s Ethics …

Since George Floyd was killed by a policeman on 25 May in the city of Minneapolis, people across the United States have been protesting anti-Black racism and police violence. In solidarity, members of the Black community in Germany will rally nationwide on Saturday to register their protest against racism not only in the US, but also in Germany and globally.

The Bank’s investments have benefited millions of Africans through its 10-year strategy which it began implementing from 2013 ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast, June 3, 2020/ — For the past five decades, the African Development Bank Group (www.AfDB.org) has been at the forefront of driving Africa’s economic transformation, leveraging its diverse resources and unique know-how as an indigenous development finance institution. The …

Young professionals from developing countries can apply for a scholarship to study in Germany. The German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD, in German) supports postgraduate studies and training in a variety of subjects, including media studies. Institutions that offer media studies include Leipzig University, Bauhaus University Weimar and Cologne University of Applied Sciences. Candidates must have completed their college degree in …

Dr Akinwumi Adesina, President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), is at the centre of a brewing storm.  Adesina, a former Nigerian agriculture minister, is due for re-election for a second term of 5 years at the helm of Africa’s leading development finance institution. The AfDB’s mission is to fight poverty and improve living conditions on the continent through promoting …

The organisers of the first online anti-Black racism demonstration in Germany have called on people of African descent in the country to make their resistance to racism and discrimination more visible. Speaking on Saturday during the digital protest action, tagged ‘Racism in the Era of Coronavirus’ and anchored on YouTube, the moderators said only in making cases of discrimination more …

Black and anti-racism organisations will on 23 May hold an online demonstration against the word “neger” (subsequently referred to as N-word in this report). The event, titled “Rassismus in Zeiten von Corona” (Racism in the Era of Corona), is the continuation of the nation-wide protest movement to draw attention to the still prevalent use of the denigrating word to describe people …