Arusha, Tanzania | THE INDEPENDENT | The African Development Bank (AfDB) and the East African Business Council (EABC) have signed a $1 million grant agreement aimed at promoting sustainable industrialisation and strengthening manufacturing value chains across East Africa. The deal, announced on July 1, will support technical assistance, research, policy dialogue, …
Read More »An artworld filled with puppies
How pain, trauma and politics silenced art criticism ART | EDDY FRANKEL | My friend winced. He’d asked for my thoughts on a recent exhibition of abstract paintings and I told him the truth: I found the show heinous. It was wall-to-wall brain-petrifying, gentle, zombie abstraction; the kind of painting that …
Read More »Uganda’s ride-hailing bikers pressured to speed
We already know from existing research that the gig economy places new pressures on transport workers to drive fast and take risky decisions Kampala, Uganda | RICH MALLETT | Motorcycle-taxis are one of the fastest and most convenient ways to get around Uganda’s congested capital, Kampala. But they are also the most dangerous. …
Read More »Africa launches first Pan-African card scheme – PAPSSCARD
African central banks and payment systems are set to spearhead the continent-wide adoption and rollout of the new card Abuja, Nigeria | THE INDEPENDENT | Africa has marked a significant step towards financial independence following the launch of PAPSSCARD, the continent’s first Pan-African card scheme. Unveiled on June 27 at the …
Read More »MTN Nigeria targets $1bn cloud market to take on Amazon, Microsoft and Google
The telecoms giant is betting on a naira-priced cloud to undercut AWS and Azure Abuja, Nigeria | AGENCIES | MTN Nigeria has launched what it claims is the country’s largest prefabricated modular data centre, marking a bold push into the country’s fast-growing cloud market and taking aim at global giants such …
Read More »Rise in HIV/AIDS cases feared after US aid cuts
New data from Africa and Latin America shows rising infections, stalled treatment, and strained health systems Kampala, Uganda | RONALD MUSOKE | Scientists, researchers, policy makers and HIV/AIDS advocates at a meeting in Kigali, Rwanda, from July 13-17 for the 13th International AIDS Conference on HIV Science (IAS 2025), have raised an …
Read More »KOICA transforms maternal health in Uganda
28 facilities across five districts upgraded, with solar power, water, essential medical equipment Mayuge, Uganda | AGENCIES | For years, childbirth for many women in Uganda meant facing it alone, in dim, overcrowded rooms, with no privacy, no comfort, and no one to hold their hand. Husbands waited outside. Health workers …
Read More »‘Tax the super-rich’
Oxfam report warns of danger ahead as gap widens between rich and poor COVER STORY | RONALD MUSOKE | In 1990, just one in 10 people living in extreme poverty around the world lived in Africa. In 2024, it was seven in ten. Since 2020, the number of people living in …
Read More »Uganda among first to benefit from breakthrough HIV prevention drug
Lenacapavir, trialed in Uganda, offers 100% protection but will it reach those who need it most? Kampala, Uganda | RONALD MUSOKE | Thanks to a landmark deal announced on July 9 by the Global Fund, Uganda is expected to be among the first countries in sub-Saharan Africa to get access to …
Read More »Equity Bank taps UAE for global growth
The lender’s shareholders approved a dividend payout of Kshs. 16 billion (approximately Shs 444.9 billion) for the year ending December 2024 Nairobi, Kenya | THE INDEPENDENT | Equity Group Holdings Plc is set to open a Representative Office in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), marking its first venture outside Africa and …
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