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African Development Bank delivers on a decade of transformative commitments to reduce poverty

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 …

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Scholarships available for media studies in Germany for African applicants

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 …

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Why the US opposes Akinwumi Adesina’s re-election as African Development Bank’s president

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 …

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Make racism more visible in Germany – protest organisers call on Black people

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 …

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Germany’s Black community holds online demonstration against racism

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 …

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Afro-German politicians are pushing for change

In January, unknown assailants shot at the office of Senegalese-born German politician Karamba Diaby. Germany was shocked by the brazen attack. But Afro-German politicians are otherwise rarely in the spotlight. Daniel Pelz of Deutsche Welle (DW) reports Pierrette Herzberger-Fofana is used to being the first. The first Afro-German city councillor. The first Afro-German member of the European Parliament. She was …

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Sub-Saharan Africa to lose $200bn in 2020, says IMF

Sub-Sahara African countries will lose about $200bn in incomes by the end of 2020, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The development is as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, which is pulling the global economy towards recession. IMF had already, in its latest Regional Economic Outlook, projected that the economies of Sub-Saharan African countries would contract by 1.6 …

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Corona Crisis: Germany offers emergency loan to local and foreign students

Federal Education Minister Anja Karliczek wants to help students with emergency loans through the corona crisis. Two thirds of students work alongside their studies; for foreign students it is about three quarters. Many of them have lost their jobs as a result of the current corona pandemic. This presents many with financial constraints. From 8 May, students can apply for …

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World Bank predicts drastic fall in remittances to Africa due to coronavirus pandemic

Global remittances are projected to decline sharply by about 20 percent in 2020 due to the economic crisis induced by the COVID-19 pandemic and shutdown, the World Bank has predicted. “The projected fall, which would be the sharpest decline in recent history, is largely due to a fall in the wages and employment of migrant workers, who tend to be …

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WIDU: Promoting entrepreneurship in Ghana and Cameroon with German government grant

There is an ongoing innovative project, sponsored by the German government, to promote micro and small businesses in Africa. WIDU, an initiative of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and implemented by the development agency GIZ, leverages diaspora remittances for the creation of jobs and better economic prospects in Africa. It’s currently being implemented in Ghana and …

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Jack Ma Foundation opens search for African business heroes 2020

The Jack Ma Foundation has opened the application process for its Africa’s Business Heroes competition. Africa’s Business Heroes (ABH) is organized by the Africa Netpreneur Prize Initiative, established in 2019 to cultivate and empower young African entrepreneurs by giving equal opportunities to those who harnessed the power of small businesses and technologies. Through its associated activities and training, business leaders …

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Charles Mohamed Huber’s life between two worlds

Ein Niederbayer im Senegal. Mein Leben zwischen zwei Welten (A Lower Bavarian in Senegal. My life between two worlds) is the story of Germany’s first  TV star of African descendant and former member of the federal parliament, from his childhood in a village in Lower Bavaria to national prominence. Charles Mohamed Huber, renowned for having been the first Black actor …

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Afrolynk and GIZ partner to support WIDU digital platform

Afrolynk is an Impact Venture that supports innovation, connects and accelerates, together with start-ups, entrepreneurs, investors, venture capitalists, SMEs, cooperation and organizations that are connected to the EU-African market. As part of the Accelerate pillar of the operations, it has partnered with Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) to carry out the WIDU project in Ghana. The WIDU Platform is …

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African Bank to help Sierra Leone restore self-sufficiency in rice production

Sierra Leone will look to the African Development Bank to stimulate agribusiness development in the country with a focus on rice production, President Maada Bio told a visiting delegation led by its president, Akinwumi Adesina. Adesina began a two-day visit to Sierra Leone on Wednesday, during which he held meetings to discuss curbing malnutrition, creating skills and jobs for young …

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Afro-German literature as tool for building the Black community

African Diasporas is a scholarly examination of the Afro-German literature through a comparison with African-American literature and the role it has played in the creation of a Black community in Germany. Literature has been the chief tool of people of African descent in Germany in their efforts to reclaim their African heritage and carve an identity for themselves. Through a …

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Black and Successful in Germany – Many are making it!

Written by actress, model and TV presenter Dayan Kodua, the first woman of African descent to win a state beauty contest in Germany, this book is on Black success stories in the country. Melanie Scheuenstuhl reviews the pictorial band of 25 personalities – politicians, designers, physicians, artists, chefs, lawyers, policemen and bus drivers, who tell their very personal stories of …

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Germany: Black community protests against N-word in Hamburg

Protesters turned out in Hamburg on Saturday (29 February), the last day of Black History Month, at a public demonstration against the controversial court decision legitimising the use of the derogatory word “neger” (subsequently referred to as the N-word in this report) to describe people of African descent in Germany. The state constitutional court of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania had ruled on …

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12 African companies named fellows at educational tech centre

Twelve African EdTech Companies Named as First Fellows at Centre for Innovative Teaching and Learning in ICT. Pan-African group will receive support to scale up EdTech innovations that improve teaching and learning in secondary education KIGALI, Rwanda, 1 February 2020,-/African Media Agency (AMA)/- The Mastercard Foundation Centre for Innovative Teaching and Learning in Information, Communications, and Technology (ICT) today announced …

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