Africa Matters

Tanzanian swimmers clinch African Zone Three trophy

According to results released by CANA yesterday, Tanzanite garnered 3,061 points to beat other nine countries that featured in the championships Dar es Salaam. Tanzania’s national men’s and women’s swimming team (Tanzanite) have been crowned the Africa Swimming Federation (CANA) Zone Three champions for the third time. According to results released by CANA yesterday, Tanzanite garnered 3,061 points to…

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Rai family now controls half of Kenya’s sugar production

The Rai family has extended its dominance in the sugar sector with the opening of the Naitiri factory, which has now pushed its share of sales to nearly half of the entire production. Data from the Sugar Directorate indicates that the four milling firms owned by billionaire Rai accounted for 45 percent of the total sugar sales in the…

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Gates to spend $7b to fight hunger, disease and poverty in Africa

Summary The foundation is calling on global leaders to commit to finding solutions and strengthening systems in Africa by investing in people and innovations that can save lives and create opportunities for the world’s most vulnerable.  The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is committing $7 billion over the next four years to support African countries to deal with hunger, disease, gender inequality and poverty.   The Foundation’s co-chair Bill Gates said these resources would help strengthen health systems and enhance access to health care, reduce child deaths due to diarrhoeal diseases, pneumonia, malaria and measles. “This new…

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Modus launches $75 million Africa-focused fund

Modus, a Venture Platform operating in MENA comprising VC funds, Venture Builders, and a Corporate Innovation arm, has announced the launch of Modus Africa – a $75 million SDG-focused VC fund that will invest in Africa’s boldest startups powered by AI and Blockchain technologies. The fund is led by two General Partners – Vianney Mathonnet and Andre Jr. Ayotte, who…

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Inside billionaire Bill Gates’ trip to Nairobi

Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, will be in Nairobi, Kenya, to visit national and local leaders, partners, and grantees; meet with regional scientists and innovators; and announce the foundation’s forward-looking commitment to support new innovations and ingenuity aimed at improving health, food security, and gender equality in African countries. Since the foundation’s inception in…

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World population hits 8 billion people on November 15

A baby born somewhere on Tuesday will be the world’s eight billionth person, according to a projection by the United Nations. “The milestone is an occasion to celebrate diversity and advancements while considering humanity’s shared responsibility for the planet,” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a statement. Also read: What census data means for Tanzania The UN attributes the…

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Burna Boy wins ‘Best African Act’ at the “MTV EMAS” 2022

Nigerian music superstar, Burna Boy, has been crowned the “Best African Act” at the “MTV EMAs” 2022. Announced during the pre-award ceremony, the recognition saw Burna edge other nominees including Ayra Starr (Nigeria), Black Sherif (Ghana), Musa Keys (South Africa) and Zuchu (Tanzania) following a widely successful 2022.  Taylor Swift was the queen of the night earning four awards…

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Launch of Spotify Talks Africa looks to help drive the continent’s music industry

The African music industry has grown in leaps and bounds over the past few years due to a variety of factors, including collaborations with local and international artists, music streaming, and social media. However, only a select number of artists are enjoying this success, and many talented creators are still struggling to break through. This is why Spotify has…

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Tracing Rishi Sunak’s Tanzanian Roots

The rise of Rishi Sunak as British Prime Minister ends as a beautiful story that started with political rejection in East Africa. The first British-Asian to hold UK’s highest office has roots in Tanzania, before his grandparents shifted to Britain in the 1960s. The shift was mainly caused by post-independence legislation and regulations rejecting dual citizenship recognition. Tanzania and…

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Comic Nasty Blaq Inks int’l Collabo With Run Fashion Line

Popular Nigerian entertainer, Nasty Blaq has added to his achievements. The star comic has inked a first-of-a-kind international collaboration with Emirati fashion brand Run Fashion. A new collection inspired by Nasty Blaq: jackets, joggers, tee-shirts, all taking full advantage of the amazing spread of colors in Africa, with some items utilizing local fabric like adire and other print, is…

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Abu Dhabi’s ‘The Lion King’ musical will be ‘magnificent’, says Musafa actor

South African star Mthokozisi Emkay Khanyile joins the UAE cast from London’s West End With performances of blockbuster musicals often held in different parts of the world on each given night, it’s hard to know which one is “the real deal”. It is a query often thrown at Mthokozisi Emkay Khanyile, one of the stars of The Lion King…

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AfDB, others support green electricity startups with $2b

More than $ 2 billion have been deployed by African Development Bank Group (AfDB) and other donors this year to support green electricity startups in Nigeria and the rest of Africa. In February, AfDB approved the Leveraging Energy Access Finance Framework (LEAF), under which the Bank will commit up to $164 million to promote decentralised renewable energy in six…

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‘TANZANIA must sprint to reap from natural gas global demand’

THE global market for natural gas is ripe, making the next month’s signing agreement between the government and major oil investors timely and worth it. Recently, the government said it envisaged signing the key 40 billion US dollars agreement for Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) project with Equinor ASA and Shell Plc to pave way for exports after completing the…

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SECURING CHINESE MARKET FOR AVOCADO:TAHA heaps praise on Samia

THE horticulture industry champion has showered praise to President Samia Suluhu Hassan for unlocking the strategic Chinese avocado market worth nearly 150 million US dollars (about 347.3bn/-) per annum. Courtesy of President Samia’s diplomatic agreement with her Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, during her maiden state visit, Tanzania and China signed a protocol on sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures to…

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Nigeria‘s online loan sharks

SIR: The harder things get in Nigeria, the more desperate people become to make it especially  as the signs are that  the immediate future is not looking up. Nigeria‘s grim economic situation which continues to feed families into the shredder of  poverty and economic ruination everyday  has led to the proliferation of many so-called financial experts, advisors and whatever else…

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On World Diabetes Day, Evercare Foundation to offer free Diabetes testing and health education across Evercare facilities in Africa and South Asia

Marking the occasion of World Diabetes Day, The Evercare Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the Evercare Group, has announced a week-long program of free diabetes testing and health education across Evercare facilities in Africa and South Asia. The Evercare Foundation aims to provide equitable health for all and the development of more resilient health systems across low and middle-income…

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Great strides registered in Tanzania tourism drive

TANZANIA has continued to register success in the tourism sector by increasing the number of tourists to various destinations in the country, thanks to a number of efforts that the government is taking to improve contribution of the docket to the economy. Some of the efforts that have played a crucial role in marketing further tourism destinations and promoting…

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Kenya, South Africa in talks to create pan-African airline

President of the two countries are discussing the issue Kenya Airways (KQ) and South African Airways are collaborating to form a pan-African airline, Kenyan Wall Street Exchange reported. Kenya’s President William Ruto and his South African counterpart Cyril Ramaphosa are discussing the plan at a high level. “We have agreed that that agreement should be progressed forward as it…

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Mane selected amid injury concerns

What you need to know: The 30-year-old forward, whose decisive penalty kicks won both the Africa Cup of Nations and World Cup qualification for his country this year, suffered an injury to his right fibula.  Sadio Mane has been named in Senegal’s squad for the World Cup in Qatar despite injury concerns after he was hurt playing for Bayern…

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Tanzania’s US$18 billion renewable energy ambition

COP27 also referred to as “African COP” gives African countries opportunity to address dire consequences of climate change in Africa. COP27 Egypt will go down in history as the conference that saw Tanzania’s renewable energy ambition cast before the world. President Samia Suluhu Hassan presented the energy transition plan encompassing other southern African countries as it maximizes electricity generation…

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ESPN Africa and NBA announce multi-year expanded broadcast deal

ESPN broadcasting preview here NBA Africa and ESPN Africa announced a multiyear agreement that will see ESPN2 (DStv 219 and Starsat 249) broadcast a record 180 NBA regular season and Playoff games each season, including the entire Conference Finals and Finals. Beginning with the 2022-23 NBA season that tipped off last month, ESPN Africa will broadcast all 45 games…

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Wrestling: WWE to host talent hunt programme in Nigeria

The multi-day tryout event will hold in Lagos in February 2023. World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and SuperSport have announced plans to hold a talent hunt in Nigeria to help find the next generation of African WWE superstars. According to the organisers, the multi-day tryout event will hold in Lagos in February 2023. James Kimball, WWE’s head of talent operations…

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Samuel Eto’o predicts surprise World Cup final between Cameroon and Morocco and says all five African nations will qualify from the group stage

Samuel Eto’o has boldly predicted an all-African World Cup final between Cameroon and Morocco in Qatar next month. Five African teams will be involved in Qatar and Eto’o predicts good showings from Senegal, Tunisia, Morocco, Ghana and Cameroon as they bid to become the first team from the continent to win a World Cup. “I see the five African…

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Wizkid announces his highly anticipated return to Ghana

Live Hub Entertainment (https://LiveHubEnt.com/) has announced that Grammy award-winning superstar Wizkid will be returning to Ghana for his first show in Africa this year. The Nigerian-born multi-platinum selling artist will perform at Accra Sports Stadium this December 10th in what is expected to be a sell-out 40,000-capacity show during yet another busy and exciting festive season in Ghana.  Early…

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African G20 seat to help push rich nations on climate pledges

South Africa is currently the only African member of the G20. Senegal pressing ahead with plans to develop LNG industry. The African Union expects to officially join the Group of 20 nations this month, providing the continent with another seat at the table with some of the world’s biggest polluters as it confronts the fallout from global warming. The…

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EXCLUSIVE: Spotify cites Africa as key to bold growth plans

Keen to double its user base by 2030, Spotify is making a big play for African music fans. Currently available in around 183 markets, with close to half a billion users and almost 200 million subscribers, the Swedish audio streaming subscription service hopes to scale up to one billion users by 2030. And Africa forms a major part of…

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Striking Kenya Airways pilots resume work

Striking Kenya Airways pilots returned to work this morning after they withdrew the notice of industrial action issued on October 19, 2022. Kenya Airline Pilots Association (KALPA) said members had resolved to resume duty following orders issued by the Employment and Labour Relations Court on Tuesday. “Members are also urged to report to the Executive Council any incident of…

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South Africa’s new ground station to help Nasa track space flights to Moon

A new deep-space ground station being built in South Africa’s semi-desert Karoo region will come online by 2025 to help track history-making NASA missions to the moon and beyond, space agency officials said Tuesday. Through its Artemis programme, which aims to land the first woman or person of colour on the moon by 2025, the U.S. National Aeronautics and…

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Egypt Launches Africa’s First Integrated Green Hydrogen Plant

On the sidelines of COP27, Egypt officially launched the continent’s first Integrated Green Hydrogen Plant in the Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZone). The project is owned, built, and operated by Fertiglobe, Scatec ASA, Orascom Construction, and The Sovereign Fund of Egypt. Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi said that the green transformation represents a promising opportunity to achieve development in…

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Cuddlers for hire: First cuddling practice opens in SA

The feedback has been positive and return customers are evidence that her service spreads positivity and joy. Who would ever have thought that hiring a professional cuddler for a momentary feeling of love and intimacy is a real option today. But it is, and in South Africa one of the first professional cuddling consultancies recently opened its doors. Cuddling…

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Rwanda: RwandAir Launches Direct Flight to London

Heathrow Airport, a major international airport in London on Monday, November 7, welcomed RwandAir maiden direct flight, in a move intended to cater for the airline’s growing demand. A highly placed source confirmed to The New Times that the national carrier landed in the morning hours of Monday. Passengers left Kigali around midnight. The inaugural flight puts an end…

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WWE sets sights on Africa to find next great superstar

WWE has turned its attention to Africa with a new campaign to find the next great superstar. “The Search for Africa’s Next WWE Superstar” launched Tuesday with the opening of the application process, which will last until Dec. 18. WWE partnered with SuperSport to start the campaign. Candidates who make it to the final round will have a multi-day…

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Birds evolve different body temperatures in different climates – new study of 53 African species

During the northern hemisphere summer of 2022, yet another round of extreme heat waves roasted Eurasia, North America and northern Africa – a stark reminder that these conditions are becoming the new normal. These events can have a devastating impact on wildlife. For instance, reports of large-scale deaths of birds have become regular in recent years, as we’ve seen…

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How African scientists are leading the charge in mitigating the climate crisis

African scholars, researchers and academics are ready to provide innovative solutions to mitigate the climate emergency. According to the provisional “State of the Global Climate Report for 2022“, the past eight years are on track to be the warmest on record, fuelled by ever-rising greenhouse gas concentrations and accumulated heat. The global average temperature in 2022 is estimated to…

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Kenya: Court orders striking KQ pilots back to work

Labour Relations Court has ordered striking Kenya Airways pilots to resume work Wednesday 6am. Justice Anne Mwaure at the same time ordered the national carrier to allow the pilots perform their duties without harassment, intimidation or taking any disciplinary action against them pending determination of the suit.

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Africa to field all home-grown coaches at World Cup

Africa will have five home-grown coaches at the World Cup finals for the first time in a breakthrough that could lead to a change of mindset and more opportunity for locals. Cameroon, Ghana, Morocco, Senegal and Tunisia all head to Qatar next week with a local in charge, representative of a dramatic shift in attitude from football leaders on…

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Africa Investment Forum 2022 Draws U.S.$31 Billion in Investor Interest

-A total of $63.8 billion of investment interest mobilized in 2022 This year’s just concluded Africa Investment Forum Market Days–the continent’s premier investment platform–has drawn $31 billion in investment interest from African and global investors. Combined with $32.8 billion from the rescheduled 2021 Africa Investment Forum Market days–which took place as virtual boardrooms in March this year–the forum has…

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