One tourism company tries to bounce back after being hit with travel bans

Dec 30, 2021
John Gibson, a director at Chobe Holdings, said that although the U.K.'s COVID travel bans hurt business, bookings are starting to pick up.
A picture from one of Chobe Holdings' game drives on Botswana's Boteti River.
John Gibson

Spotify offers music streaming in more African countries

Jul 5, 2021
The expansion offers African music lovers another option and makes the landscape more competitive for local streaming services, like Gateway in Zimbabwe.
Spotify's streaming expansion is sparking competition with local platforms in Africa.
Rich Fury via Getty Images for Spotify

Financing is at the heart of ensuring Africa isn't "left behind" in the COVID-19 vaccine race

Sep 30, 2020
Most African countries have joined the cooperative effort for global distribution of a future vaccine, but there are still financial and logistical questions.
A general view during South Africa's first human clinical trial for a potential vaccine against COVID-19.
Felix Dlangamandla/Beeld/Gallo Images via Getty Images

African countries form new trading bloc

The African Continental Free Trade Agreement creates a $3.4 trillion economic bloc covering over a billion people.
African Union leaders meet on July 5 in Niamey, Niger. The launch of the AfCFTA was the focus of a summit held in Niamey.
Issouf Sanogo/AFP/Getty Images

Regulators in Kenya concerned about growing popularity of online gambling

May 31, 2019
Mobile phones are allowing ordinary Kenyans to try their luck on sports gambling.
A billboard advertising a popular sports betting site is seen along a highway in Nairobi, on November 8, 2017.
ONY KARUMBA/AFP/Getty Images

Kenyan communities look to cryptocurrency for improved cash flow

Feb 25, 2019
Small communities in Kenya have started embracing cryptocurrency in the hope that it will help to solve their cash flow problems.
A currency dealer counts Kenyan shillings at a money exchange bureau on September 19, 2018 in the Kenyan capital Nairobi. Small communities in Kenya have started embracing cryptocurrency in the hope that it will help to solve their cash flow problems.
SIMON MAINA/AFP/Getty Images

Congress considering measure to boost U.S. investment in international infrastructure

Sep 4, 2018
At a big investment conference in Beijing Monday, Chinese President Xi Jinping announced his country would pump another $60 billion into investment into Africa infrastructure. Sixty billion is a popular number in the foreign investment arena these days, it seems. Legislation working its way through Congress would combine several agencies to boost U.S. development financing […]

For public good, not for profit.

Free trade gets a boost in Africa

Apr 13, 2018
Dozens of African nations signed on to a new trade deal. Some key nations still have not.
A vendor sells fruits and vegetables at the large market of Adjame, a popular district of Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, on Aug. 10, 2017. 
ISSOUF SANOGO/AFP/Getty Images

Why Western tech companies want more control over minerals in Africa

Modern electronics rely heavily on one thing: lithium ion batteries. With carmakers gearing up to increase electric vehicle production, the demand for lithium ion batteries doesn’t appear to be slowing down. These batteries rely on an increasingly important supply of the metal cobalt. Most cobalt is mined in the Democratic Republic of Congo in Central […]

Why the oil industry may be the most corrupt in the world

Jul 31, 2017
Two cases of illegal payments and bribery came to light recently. One is against the oil services company Halliburton in Angola. The other involves a mining subsidiary of Glencore doing business in the Democratic Republic of Congo. With government heavily involved and centralizing many so-called extractive industries, drilling and mining are more prone to corruption […]