AFRICA

LED lighing is helping marketers make sales during the night-time SPECIAL REPORT | BIRD AGENCY | In St. Balikuddembe Market, Kampala, while the day winds down, Ssemwogerere Andrew digs into a bale of rubber shoes, determined to secure a last-minute sale. The market’s history hasn’t always been this forgiving for …

 In 2022, Adeline Pelage and her husband risked everything to shift their small biscuit factory from baking with wheat flour to locally ourced sweet potato flour. They haven’t looked back. SPECIAL REPORT | BIRD NEWS AGENCY | It’s a six-story climb to get to the rooftop that houses the small …

Starlink to leverage Jumia’s retail network to supercharge its broadband rollout in Africa, extending a vital financial lifeline to the struggling online retailer. SPECIAL REPORT | BIRD AGENCY | The stars may finally be aligning for Jumia after SpaceX’s Starlink tapped the online retailer, once dubbed Africa’s ‘Amazon’ to drive …

Imposing a uniform policy approach on African countries has only worsened crises, limiting their policy space ANALYSIS | CARLOS LOPES | The annual meetings of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) are due to take place in Marrakech, Morocco, in mid-this month. The city and country are still reeling …

It’s pushing back stereotypes, gaining respect Kampala, Uganda | RONALD MUSOKE | Somalia’s first and only all-women media team, Bilan, was on Oct.02 nominated as one of the three possible recipients of the 2023 Index on Censorship Press Freedom Award in the Journalism category. The Index on Censorship’s Freedom of Expression …

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia | Xinhua | The African Union (AU) and United Nations have rejected external interference in Sudan that could further exacerbate the conflict in the African country. This came during the annual consultative meeting of the AU Peace and Security Council (AUPSC) and members of the United Nations Security …

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia | An ongoing cholera outbreak in Ethiopia has claimed some 300 lives so far, the World Health Organization (WHO) said in its latest situation update. According to the latest health cluster bulletin for Ethiopia released Friday, the ongoing cholera outbreak, since Aug. 27, 2022, has spread into 113 …

Beijing, China | Xinhua | In June, a bowl of hybrid rice from Africa appeared as a special offering at the tomb of Yuan Longping, China’s “father of hybrid rice.” The gift was brought in person by Rakotoson Philibert, former Secretary General of the Ministry of Agriculture of Madagascar. Recalling that …

Lusaka, Zambia | Xinhua | Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema has urged African countries to invest more in digitalization in order to accelerate economic development. The Zambian president said on Thursday that accelerating economic growth through technology will help African countries develop faster, a situation that will boost trade, create jobs, and …

Nairobi, Kenya | Xinhua | The volume of Kenya’s tea exports shrunk by 18 percent in the first seven months of 2023 as compared to the same period in 2022 as some key markets kept off the products due to the tough economic environment globally, the Tea Board of Kenya (TBK) …