African countries - The African Mirror

Oct

2022

African countries in push to collect international tourism dollars

CONRAD ONYANGO, BIRD STORY AGENCY AFRICAN countries are pumping energy and resources into campaigns to woo international tourists, as arrival numbers close in on pre-COVID levels. Kenya’s Tourism Board (KTB) has expanded ‘The Real Deal’ a digital marketing campaign targeting global tourists with videos and banners showcasing the country’s diverse wildlife, culture and adventure activities. The campaign started in September with North America, the country’s source arrival market has been scaled to cover European countries- UK, France and Germany. “This is not only a very timely and relevant initiative but also an important part of our strategy for attracting visitation…

Sep

2021

By The African Mirror

Africa’s $16 trillion race to de-carbonise

ENVIRONMENT

SETH ONYANGO, BIRD SOUTH Africa, Ethiopia, Egypt, Morocco and Kenya are building clean energy economies that could rake in billions of dollars in investment over the next decade. All have ramped up investments in renewable energy infrastructure to decarbonise their industries and run their economies with clean fuel. Some smaller states have also set ambitious energy transition targets from fossils, such as Rwanda’s target of generating 60 per cent renewable energy by 2030. Data show there is a huge incentive to decarbonise. In June last year, finance giant, Goldman Sachs projected that spending for renewable power projects in 2021, will…

Sep

2021

By The African Mirror

Small nations top Africa in global economic freedom ranking

BUSINESS

CONRAD ONYANGO, BIRD Small African countries are growing faster than their larger peers when it comes to being more economically free, a new report shows. Economic Freedom of the World: 2021, a report published by Free Market Foundation, a think tank, in conjunction with Canada’s Fraser Institute, lists the continent’s small nations as being amongst the world’s top countries when it comes to according their citizenry higher levels of personal choices, greater access to markets and clearly defined and enforced property rights. Mauritius (11), Seychelles (43) and Botswana (45) are the top African countries in the report, offering the most…

Sep

2021

By The African Mirror

More African countries dive into a cashless future with new MTN, Flutterwave deal

BUSINESS

SETH ONYANGO, BIRD MTN’s new deal with payments technology firm, Flutterwave is set to deliver cash to mobile wallets of more Africans via MTN Mobile Money (MoMo) with the planned expansion in Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Rwanda, Uganda and Zambia. This digital move is primed to plug millions of unbanked people in those countries into mainstream financial services and prop up businesses especially those in remote areas. MTN and Flutterwave’s deal follows Safaricom’s entry into Ethiopia earlier this year, giving it access to a market of more than 110 million potential subscribers. Safaricom, East Africa’s biggest telco, is gearing up for…

Sep

2021

By The African Mirror

African Union slams vaccine manufacturers

NEWS

THE African Union has accused manufacturers of COVID-19 vaccines of denying African countries a fair chance to buy them and urged manufacturing countries - in particular India - to lift export restrictions on vaccines and their components. "Those manufacturers know very well that they never gave us proper access," Strive Masiyiwa, AU Special Envoy for COVID-19, told a World Health Organization briefing from Geneva. "We could have handled this very differently." Out of 5.7 billion doses of coronavirus vaccines administered around the world so far, only 2% have been in Africa. Masiyiwa stressed that, in aiming to vaccinate 60% of…

Sep

2021

By CONRAD ONYANGO, BIRD STORY AGENCY

The 10 African countries with cheapest data plans

NEWS

SUDAN leads nine other African countries that charge its citizens less than a dollar for a gigabyte (1 GB) of mobile data, a report by British technology research firm Cable shows. The Northeastern Africa nation offers the lowest cost of internet access over a smartphone anywhere in Africa and ranks among the top five cheapest countries for mobile data, in the world, according to the Worldwide Mobile Data Pricing 2021. The cost of mobile internet in Sudan is 27 US cents (0.27 US dollars) for every gigabyte of data. The result is that access to the internet has become ubiquitous…

Jul

2021

By The African Mirror

COVID-19 lockdowns and contraception: unexpected findings in four African countries

HEALTH

THE COVID-19 pandemic has affected the sexual and reproductive health needs of women across contexts. To curb the spread of disease across sub-Saharan Africa, many governments imposed early lockdown measures, including closures of borders, enforcement of curfews, and restrictions on movement. SHANNON N. WOOD, Assistant Scientist in the Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health, Johns Hopkins University CELIA KARP, Assistant Scientist in the Department of Population, Family, and Reproductive Health, Johns Hopkins University FUNMILOLA OLAOLORUN, Lecturer/ Honorary Consultant at College of Medicine, University of Ibadan PIERRE AKILIMALI, Associate Professor of Medicine and Public Health, University of Kinshasa During these…