In an effort to fight off some of the effects of climate change and to replace harmful practices such as charcoal burning, Islamic Relief has started a beekeeping initiative in Dabel, Moyale, Kenya. Through this project, locals in the dry northern areas of Kenya will learn how to turn otherwise unusable and harsh areas into […]
African smallholder farmers can enhance soil health, boost yields, and develop climate resilience through conservation agriculture (CA). Farmers can cut expenses while preserving their property by emphasising crop diversity, permanent soil cover, and minimal soil disturbance. Use minimum tillage Reducing soil disturbance is the first conservation agriculture tenet. Farmers can use shallow planting techniques or […]
Stay vigilant. Hackers will keep trying to capitalise on Covid-19, warns Maher Yamout, senior security researcher at global cyber security firm Kaspersky. When many people suddenly had to work from home when the coronavirus pandemic lockdown started, the focus of hackers shifted from email attacks to online attacks, Kaspersky research shows. The first coronavirus case […]
The Yoko Small Business Recovery Monitor showed turnover among small and medium sized businesses (SME’s) was flat last week, with the index static at 56 percent when compared with levels before the Covid-19 lockdown. SME’s have faced severe financial difficulties through the lockdown and many of them have only this month resumed trading after being […]
In between her shifts, Zimbabwean nurse Sinothando Mpofu used to go to Bulawayo’s open-air markets to buy tomatoes and cabbages for her family – until the country’s coronavirus lockdown closed all stalls. Mpofu worried about where she would get fresh food, until she saw a message in her local church WhatsApp group about Fresh in […]
There is a lot of talk about the role and the mandate of the SA Reserve Bank and emotions seem to rise when the economy is in a rut and solutions prove elusive. Critiques of the bank are plentiful but orchestrated reaction and co-ordinated attacks ring hollow when fiscal policy, or the lack thereof, is […]
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has waived the requirement for the provision of guarantors by Households and Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) applying for its N50 billion COVID-19 Targeted Credit Facility. The apex bank made this known yesterday on its official twitter account. A source at the CBN confirmed to The Nation that […]
Raising $1M for your startup in Africa is starting to become more common. As of May 21, 54 startups have raised at least $1M in 2020. Raising $1M as an African woman is still frustratingly rare. Fara Ashiru Jituboh has done just that, raising a $1M pre-seed round for Okra, where she is cofounder, CEO […]
In between her shifts, Zimbabwean nurse Sinothando Mpofu used to go to Bulawayo’s open-air markets to buy tomatoes and cabbages for her family of nine – until the country’s coronavirus lockdown closed all stalls. Ms Mpofu worried about where she would get fresh food, until she saw a message in her local church WhatsApp group […]
The African Development Bank wants to support low-income countries, terribly weakened by the coronavirus pandemic that continues to devastate the world. AfDB has selected three countries in the ECOWAS zone for a start, and the grants are meant for the strengthening of health systems. Congo to launch e-tax system Could modernization help the Republic of […]
Ghanaian startup mPharma, which manages prescription drug inventory for pharmacies and their suppliers, has raised $17 million in its latest funding round and announced the appointment to its board of Helena Foulkes, former president of CVS, the largest pharmacy retail chain in the United States. The Accra-based company, founded by chief executive Greg Rockson seven […]
The economy of Nigeria – the most populous country in Africa, with more than 200 million inhabitants – was transformed post-independence with the adoption of an International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme in 1986, which kick-started economic liberalisation. The repeal of indigenisation decrees and exchange controls, as well as privatisation of public corporations, induced a wave […]
The Standard Bank Group share price declined by more than 5 percent on the JSE on Monday after the group flagged an earnings decline of more than 20percent as the Covid-19 outbreak continues to spook the global markets. The bank said that its headline earnings per share (Heps) and earnings per share (Eps) would tumble […]
The federal government slashed the pump price of PMS when the price of crude fell at the global market with government officials saying that marked the end of fuel subsidy. Now that the price of crude is rising and with the Petroleum Equalisation Fund Act still in place, will Nigerians pay more for fuel? Olatunde […]
The impact of coronavirus on the Kenyan economy is being felt in the hospitality industry where closes airspace means tourists numbers have dwindled. The East African country heavily depends on the sector as a source of foreign exchange, job creation and revenue. But the pandemic has threatened the survival of businesses. However, Giraffe Manor, one […]
The country’s year-on-year inflation rate eased to 5.47 per cent in May from 5.62 per cent in April, latest data by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) indicate. This is despite a 0.63 per cent increase in overall Consumer Price Index (CPI), which measures the percentage change in the price of a basket of […]
Gold prices ticked up on Friday as the Sino-US rift deepened over further moves by Beijing to impose a security law on Hong Kong, lifting the allure of safe havens amid market uncertainties caused by the pandemic. Spot gold was up 0.1% at $1,719.63/oz at 12.49am GMT and US gold futures rose 0.4% to $1,734.60/oz. […]
The company added that these losses were a serious blow to the national economy. In January, the NOC announced an emergency due to its inability to ship oil from Libyan ports. According to the NOC, the shipping was stopped after a relevant order of the Libyan National Army’s (LNA) commander Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar. In […]
Ride-hailing firm Bolt has raised Sh11 billion worth of investment capital from Naya Capital Management to boost its growth and development strategy. The funds will go into upgrading its mobility services and food delivery services in Europe and Africa. This will include investments into scooters, bikes and delivery services across its markets for its on-demand […]
High forward-looking loan provision in the wake of Coronavirus dent banks’ profits in the first three months of the year. Kenya adopted the IFRS19 accounting standard that requires financial institutions to provide for unforeseen defaults beforehand. An analysis of Q1 financial statements for three lenders that released their results last week shows KCB Group, Cooperative […]