NEWS - The African Mirror

Feb

28

2024

This “Girls Only” Tech Hub at Kenya’s Coast is Cracking Social Codes

NEWS

IT'S quiet at Pwani Teknowgalz. Really quiet. You'd almost think no one was home. Across from the reception counter, a handful of young women are engrossed in activities on their laptops. Many are wearing coloured hijabs; brown and black are the predominant colours, initially making it difficult to identify Latifah Noor. It turns out that the 25-year-old is seated right at the front of the group, explaining a newly developed application to the woman seated next to her. By rights, Noor should not be here. Her journey to a role at Pwani Teknowgalz, a community-based organisation in Mombasa, had its…

Feb

28

2024

By ANN MBUTHIA, BIRD STORY AGENCY

Farmer on Fire: Wangari Kuria’s journey from retrenchment to global mentor

NEWS

IT is mid-morning in Kitengela, in Kajiado County, south of Nairobi and Wangari Kuria's farm is buzzing with activity. In one area, a farm manager checks dragon fruit seedlings while in another area, a group of would-be farmers seated under a tent are keenly taking notes. The group of 40 are being given an introduction to mushroom farming by Kuria. They have gathered from all parts of the country. Kuria, popularly known as Farmer on Fire, is the Founder and CEO of Farmer on Fire Ltd, an organisation that provides farming skills for farmers in Africa, especially women. “My focus…

Feb

28

2024

By PHENDU KUTA, BIRD STORY AGENCY

New African LanguageTech app to bridge linguistic divides, cultivates inclusivity and empowers content creation

NEWS

WHEN Chido Dzinotyiwei moved to South Africa from Zimbabwe as a child, language became both an obstacle and an opportunity for change. Her primary concern as an adult was children struggling with their mother tongue in new environments, facing challenges in pronouncing names, and finding it difficult to connect with the languages spoken in their surroundings. Fast forward to today, the entrepreneur and Mandela-Rhodes Scholar, now based in Johannesburg, is on a mission with her business, Vambo Academy and project, Vambo AI, to address the vital language needs of African communities. “Having moved to another country in my early schooling…

Feb

28

2024

By BIRD STORY AGENCY

bird TenX: Hailing 10 of Africa’s most spoken languages

NEWS

DATA analysis platform Statista estimated in 2021 that there were more than 2000 active African languages. Technological advancements like AI translation tools are helping to harness the power of language beyond celebrating cultural heritage. However, an understanding of the unique features of key languages is important to an understanding of Africa's diverse cultures. 1. Swahili is primarily spoken in East and Central Africa and has links to hundreds of dialects since it’s predominant in the Bantu family of African languages. Spoken by as many as 150 million people, it’s an official language in Tanzania, Kenya, and the Democratic Republic of…

Feb

28

2024

By FELIX ONUAH

Nigeria to merge, scrap, government agencies to trim costs

NEWS

NIGERIA'S government has approved a plan to merge, scrap, and relocate several agencies to streamline its bureaucracy and cut costs, the information minister said. The move followed recommendations from a 2012 report from a government-appointed committee that suggested the elimination or merger of some 220 of more than 500 government agencies. Information Minister Mohammed Idris told reporters that under the plan announced on Monday more than 20 government agencies will be merged, subsumed under existing ministries, or relocated. Streamlining government bureaucracy in Nigeria has been the subject of debate for years, with critics pointing to overlapping mandates and redundancies among…

Feb

27

2024

By BIRD STORY AGENCY

New Lagos arena marks growing investment in sports and entertainment sectors

NEWS

CONSTRUCTION has commenced on the Lagos Arena, a cutting-edge sports and concert venue set to elevate Nigeria's entertainment and sports economy by hosting global events. “The Lagos Arena is not just a building; it's a beacon of possibilities for our entertainment industry and is setting the stage for world-class entertainment,” Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu stated at the launch event. With a capacity of 12,000, this state-of-the-art arena is situated adjacent to the Palms Mall in Lekki. Sanwo-Olu joined project developers to initiate construction on February 24, with a completion date set for December 2025. With the arena strategically located by a…

Feb

27

2024

By FELIX ONUAH

Nigeria restarts cash transfers to cushion hardship caused by reforms

NEWS

NIGERIA has approved the immediate resumption of cash transfers to 12 million vulnerable households, Minister of Finance Wale Edun said, amid a cost-of-living crisis and calls by labour unions to cushion hardship caused by reforms. President Bola Tinubu scrapped a popular but costly fuel subsidy last May and twice devalued the currency in less than a year, leading to soaring prices. Africa's biggest economy now grapples with a cost-of-living crisis fueled by the highest inflation rate in nearly three decades. Edun told reporters after a cabinet meeting that restarting the direct cash transfer was crucial to tackling rising prices, especially elevated food prices, and…

Feb

27

2024

By The African Mirror

Zimbabwe’s “Biker Queen” rides full throttle against gender norms

NEWS, MULTIMEDIA

EVONNE Mudzingwa is in her happy place. The roar of an engine at full throttle is music to the ears of Evonne Mudzingwa and the glint in her eye is from light reflecting off brilliant chrome on powerful two-wheelers filling a parking lot in Harare. It’s a Sunday afternoon, which means the country’s highways have little traffic - every biker’s dream. Mudzingwa and the other members of the Ulysses Motorcycle Club are clad in leathers and are conducting their final checks, raring to go. Their destination is the city of Kadoma, 140 kilometres southwest of the capital. It’s an annual…

Feb

27

2024

By The African Mirror

Strike paralyses Guinea’s capital, vital mining sector

NEWS

WORKERS started a national strike in Guinea, shutting businesses and disrupting operations across the mining sector as they demanded higher wages, the lifting of web restrictions and the release of a detained trade union leader. Streets were largely empty, banks closed and normally bustling markets deserted in the West African country's capital Conakry. Security forces were deployed at major road junctions. There was no immediate comment from the government which was set up by a military junta that seized power in a 2021 coup. It has quashed recurring anti-government protests, sometimes violently, in the last few years. A senior official of…

Feb

26

2024

By NYASHA NYAUNGWA

Namibia’s late president Geingob buried

NEWS

NAMIBIA'S late president Hage Geingob, who died in hospital on February 4, weeks after being diagnosed with cancer, was buried at the Heroes Acre with thousands of mourners, including 25 heads of state and former presidents in attendance. The burial was on the outskirts of Windhoek following 20 days of mourning. Soldiers gave Geingob a 21-gun salute while K-8 fighter jets flew past. Geingob, 82, Namibia's two-time prime minister and third president since its independence from minority-ruled South Africa in 1990, has been in charge of the sparsely populated and mostly arid southern African nation since 2015. He was serving his…