Author: Contribution

African governments must digitize in order to become more innovative, more inclusive and more resilient By Ryno Rijnsburger, Director of New Technologies, Microsoft 4Afrika initiative More than ever, the Covid-19 pandemic now offers Africa the opportunity to make a huge leap forward in development and potentially position itself as a major digital power internationally. While the private sector has an important role to play in this dynamic, governments across Africa should step up efforts to further encourage digitization. To do this, they must capitalize more on the development of digital infrastructures, but also on the digitization of their own…

The Covid-19 pandemic is still wreaking havoc around the world. In Madagascar, the country is fighting to save lives. President Andry Rajoelina has acted for the acquisition of new healthcare capacities and the forthcoming opening of a new covid-19 treatment center. Since the first wave of the pandemic, Madagascar has deployed a vast pandemic response operation through the creation of dedicated care centers, test centers and equipment supplies. Despite this, as in many other countries, the pandemic continues to claim victims on the Big Island. Hence the desire to bring additional material capacities to the country, intended to prevent new…

After the worst economic downturn on record, with an estimated 1.9% contraction in 2020, sub-Saharan Africa is set to lag in the recovery this year, with growth of 3.4% vs. 6% forecast for the rest of the world, according to the IMF’s regional economic outlook. That’s in part because of the region’s limited access to Covid-19 vaccines and a lack of policy support seen in the developed world. The impact of the pandemic also led to significant capital outflows from Africa, with $5bn being pulled from the continent—$3.1bn from South Africa alone, according to a report from Afreximbank. That has…

By Mohamed Salem Ould Brahim, political scientist Nouakchott. Under judicial control, forbidden to cross the boundaries of Nouakchott, the former Mauritanian president, Mohamed Abdel Aziz nevertheless retains his overflowing verve. At a Ramadan press conference held on the evening of April 28, the General did not bother with oratorical precautions to spit out “his raw...

On the advice of the Egyptian authorities, the 2021 Inaugural Conference of The Africa Road Builders – Trophée Babacar NDIAYE, initially scheduled for the end of March, will finally take place on Wednesday, May 19, 2021 in Cairo. The General Commission thanks the Egyptian authorities and expresses in particular its deep gratitude to the Egyptian Minister of Transport, His Excellency Mr. Kamel ELWAZEER and his collaborators. The General Commission recalls that the Inaugural Conference is a forum for exchange to share experiences on the road and transport, in relation to the central theme of the year. For this 6th edition,…

Lagos-based pan-African fintech Appzone has raised $ 10 million in a Series A funding round led by CardinalStone Capital Advisers with participation from V8 Capital, Lateral Investment Partners, Constant Capital and Itanna Capital Ventures. Specialized in creating solutions for the banking and payments sector in Africa, fintech platforms are used by 18 commercial banks and more than 450 microfinance institutions in Africa for an annual transaction value and annual loan disbursements of 2 billion USD and 300 million USD respectively. “We are delighted not only to obtain a significant capital increase, but also to welcome on board strategic investors whose…

By Khalid Cherkaoui Semmouni, Lecturer at the Faculty of Law in Rabat and at ISIC In recent days, we have seen a new impetus in Moroccan-French relations. The statement of the French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Jean Yves Le Drian, last Thursday, during a videoconference interview with his Moroccan counterpart, Mr. Nasser Bourita, about the quality of security cooperation between France and Morocco and the reiteration of his country’s position of support for the Moroccan Autonomy Plan for the Sahara, requires further reading. No one could doubt the very dense and historical bilateral relations between France and Morocco,…

By Samir Bouzidi Slowly but surely Togo is advancing on the very strategic question of the mobilization of the diaspora. Under the leadership of Robert Dussey, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and Togolese Abroad, a convinced “diasporist”, the country has made real progress in recent years: organization of diaspora trophies , adoption of a roadmap for mobilizing the diaspora, launching a High Council of Togolese abroad, granting the right to vote to the diaspora in the presidential elections of 2020 … This pro-diaspora voluntarism even constitutes a strong axis of the Togolese pan-African diplomacy, all haloed by this first…

By Mr. Richard Cao, Human Resources Director of Huawei Northern Africa We are proud to have received Top Employer 2020 certification from Huawei in 13 of our countries of activity in Africa, including 9 countries in the Northern Africa region. This award is recognition of Huawei’s deep and consistent commitment to its teams across the continent. Beyond the well-being of employees, it is the importance and quality of managerial policies that are highlighted today. At Huawei, we believe in each of our employees in Africa, 76% of whom come from the countries where we operate. Because it is important for…

By Mokoko Theophane , Brazzaville. A tons of unlisted art pieces are exposed in many international museums (New York, London, Paris etc.). It is certainly very tough to get to know how these precious pieces have been traded while we are all aware of the fact that few centuries ago, during the colonization era in Africa explorers used essential goods such as hunting guns as a commerce term. From a more legal aspect These unregulated terms, can be considered today as an abuse since they knew that our people could not properly give an economic and financial value of their pieces. The…

By LAURENT MUCCHIELLI, Sociologist, research director at the CNRS (Mediterranean Laboratory of Sociology). A study by Public Health France shows that the increase in the number of daily contaminations had ceased before the date of the second confinement in the most affected departments. The health effectiveness of this type of measure has never been demonstrated in the long term. On the contrary, the societal effects could prove disastrous. By Jean-François TOUSSAINT, Professor at Paris Descartes University Santé Publique France (SPF) posts figures every day, the analysis of which constitutes an instrument for monitoring the pandemic in France. The agency also…

Cheikhna Bounajim Cissé, the emergent officer. 1- An oversold and cracked neoliberal ideology. In this new column on the relationship between African states and the IMF and entitled “Why African countries must stop programs with the IMF?”, The emerging Cheickna Bounajim Cissé, economist, essayist and expert on African banking markets, discusses the second part of his analysis devoted to the autopsy of IMF programs on the continent. Without evasiveness and with factual elements, it deals, successively, with all the terms which radiate the controversy around the policies of the Bretton Woods institution in Africa: “neoliberal”, “austerity”, “poverty”, “growth “,” Debt…

By Brice Kouao, Abidjan Stock Exchange School. Arrived in 2016 after having bought the local subsidiary of Airtel, Orange took the leadership from Onatel Burkina, a subsidiary of Maroc Télécom, in 2017. Three years later, how is the subsidiary of the Orange group developing in its electric duel with the subsidiary of Morocco Telecom? According to the third quarter 2020 results provided by the various groups, Orange Burkina has the largest mobile subscriber base in the country. With 9,403,000 subscribers, the company is ahead of Onatel Burkina, which passes the 9 million subscriber mark (9,087,000). However, the gap between the…

Six researchers questioned our recent article devoted to the role of the pharmaceutical industry in the controversy over Covid therapy, the IHU of Marseille and Professor Raoult. We respond to them by showing on the one hand that their arguments are refutable, on the other hand that they hide a primary (very widespread) anti-Raoultism which is based on opinion and not science. Episode 28. Contrary to what one might have believed at the end of the last century, in the euphoria of the discovery of the Internet and the seduction of a “digital utopia”, intellectual life is doing quite badly…

Digital and economic growth, the African perspective With digital technology, we are experiencing a new revolution that concerns the whole planet and without a doubt, the world is moving from an industrial economy to an intangible economy and no country is immune to this phenomenon. Today, it is essential to have an adequate computer park and a good telecommunications system to ensure inclusive and sustainable growth, in an interconnected world and the COVID-19 crisis confirms this. Digital has become a major issue from East to West, from North to South. Any business or territory that does not arm itself with…

Faced with a world that is always going faster but above all going worse, the nation-state of the Principality of Seborga is proposing to establish a genuine digital economy in a sustainable manner with a completely innovative electronic currency as its vehicle. After Brazil, the idea would be to continue the deployment on the African continent. This most modern reality would make it possible, in partnership with all African countries, to strengthen their economy, provide support to states weakened by Covid 19 and allow the continent’s micronations to have a real economic structure. Contribute to the economic development of the…

Par NJ Ayuk  On Oct. 1, 1960, everything seemed possible for Nigeria: After nearly 80 years of colonialism under Great Britain, it was finally an independent nation. During the newly independent nation’s earliest days, there was every reason for Nigerians to envision a bright future for themselves and their country, one in which Nigeria’s vast oil and gas reserves would deliver widespread prosperity. One of stability and growth. Tragically, Nigeria’s story moved in a different direction. Yes, there was a brief period of economic growth, but that was followed by multiple coups, civil war, military rule, corruption, and poverty. Instead…

The economic crisis that had been looming on the horizon since the start of the COVID19 pandemic has ended up creating the greatest uncertainty on the financial markets since the great economic depression of the 1930s. Indeed, the contraction of the world economy due to the restrictions imposed everywhere to cope with this unexpected risk has had devastating effects on the market mechanism as well as on investors’ confidence in particular. This analysis, which focuses on the West African region, where the challenge is more than significant, attempts to place the problem in a regional context and to recommend possible…

When Anadarko Petroleum Corp. confirmed last year it would be constructing a $20 billion liquified natural gas (LNG) plant in Mozambique, this was major news. Mozambique’s first onshore LNG plant would be creating tens of thousands of jobs — and contributing to sustainable, long-term economic growth that would impact millions of people. Two additional LNG projects have been announced since then: the $4.7 billion Coral FLNG Project by ENI and ExxonMobil, and the $30 billion Rovuma LNG Project by ExxonMobil, ENI, and the China National Petroleum Corporation. While these two have been postponed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the original LNG…

As Africa is busy making its entry into the fourth industrial revolution (4RI), that of digital transformation, it is faced with the triple problem of accessibility, cost and quality of the internet for its populations. This situation, if not tackled head-on now, may well be a brake on the continent’s forced march to make up for lost time. However, with its strong potential for present and future growth, the emergence of a certain African tech which has shown the down payment of its promises during the COVID 19 pandemic with innovative solutions, local and international observers like to perceive a…

By George Orido  Kenya failed in the first round battle for the non-permanen UN Security Council seat after she garnered 113 votes against Djibouti’s 78 during an election without the plenary. Kenya’s fate will be decided Thursday when a second round of elections will be carried out at 3pm East Africa Time. For Kenya to win it requires 280  votes or two thirds of the votes. Eritrea reneged on her earlier position to support the Africa Union decision to support Kenya. If Kenya wins, it will be the third time to be at the seat of the most powerful organ…

By George  Orido  Kenya’s Treasury Minister Ukur Yatani has presented a USD 32 Billion amidst a depressed economy occasioned by the effects of Covid-19. The measures presented before Parliament and set to start for the Year 2020/21 from July 1, include a raft of fiscal policy interventions including introduction of tax targeting the wealthy. Some of the measures include tax on importation of airplanes, removal of tax relief for  the importation of motor vehicles by civil servants working abroad and slapping of 1.5 per cent tax o digital tacompanies such as Google and Uber. In a bid to shore up…