Pope Francis begins his Africa trip in a country whose vast Catholic membership plays a substantial role in society, especially in the health and education sectors. Kinshasa, DRC | BIRD AGENCY | As Pope Francis began his first official visit to Africa this week, the 86-year-old head of the Catholic …
Read More »How Debt-for-Nature swaps are resuscitating climate action investments in Africa
The emerging debt-for-nature swaps may put African countries on track to meet their environmental conservation goals while managing ballooning public debts. Praia, Cape Verde | BIRD AGENCY | Portugal recently struck a deal to swap Cape Verde’s debts for environmental investments in a fund established by the West African country. …
Read More »Africa leads the world in contraceptive use
The analysis found condom use as the leading contraceptive method among unmarried, sexually active young African women, followed by injections in East and Southern Africa and implants in West Africa. Nairobi, Kenya | BIRD AGENCY | The use of modern contraception is soaring worldwide, with one in three women of …
Read More »Ghana, Nigeria, and Kenya lead 25% growth in finance app installs
Africa’s fintech space continues its pandemic-induced growth with a 25% jump in new finance app installations in 2022, energised by the rapid adoption of mobile banking solutions. Accra, Ghana | BIRD AGENCY | A new report by AppsFlyer and Google analysed more than 140 million installs across 3,000 finance …
Read More »Farmfluencers: African Farmers are reaping bumper harvests through Social Media
From Tik Tok to Facebook, Instagram to YouTube, tech-savvy farmers are harnessing the power of the internet to network, share knowledge, and sell products and services. Nairobi, Kenya | BIRD AGENCY | Francis Muiruri, a 31-year-old Kenyan farmer, has found a new income stream on social media; selling information. As …
Read More »TikTok awards top creators in Africa
Content creators from Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa dominated the inaugural TikTok Top Content Creators Awards 2022 Nairobi, Kenya | BIRD AGENCY | Former rugby player turned food vlogger Dennis Ombachi, also known as @theroamingchef, emerged victorious at the inaugural TikTok Top Creator 2022 Awards. The Kenyan content creator, …
Read More »Moroccan players dominate 2022 ‘World Best’ football rankings
While Moroccan team members ranked high in categories including the best goalkeeper, coach, and playmaker in the 2022 rankings, there were plenty of Africans named in the “Men’s World Best” list. Doha, Qatar | BIRD AGENCY | Morocco’s national team goalkeeper, Yassine Bounou, was ranked third-best goalkeeper in the world …
Read More »Director Steve Mugo fires up East Africa’s music scene
The award-winning music video director has worked with artists including Nyashinski, Otile Brown, King Kaka, Kambua and Khaligraph Jones. Nairobi, Kenya | BIRD AGENCY | When Steve Maingi Mugo is on set, nothing is left to chance. Every few minutes, he calls for a change of scene or gives new …
Read More »Lagos gets a new elevated rail network
The first phase of Lagos’ new elevated rail system has been commissioned and testing will now begin ahead of operations that should see as many as 250,000 people transported daily. Lagos, Nigeria | BIRD AGENCY | The first phase of a light rail system that is set to transform commuting …
Read More »Are private wildlife conservancies the way to sustainable tourism in Africa?
Despite individual African governments having an essential role in tourism management, private wildlife reserves are proving to be the sector’s driving force. But are conservancies the way to go? Montral, Canada | BIRD AGENCY | This week, over 190 countries attending a UN Biodiversity Conference in Montreal, Canada committed to …
Read More »