Africa’s startup founders and investors are watching what happens next for Silicon Valley Bank (SBV), which was shutdown by regulatory authorities in the United States on Friday—essentially freezing thousands of accounts at the tech-friendly bank and raising questions about what happens to startup funds. “Check in on your fellow tech…
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times
A high-level Ethiopian delegation’s visit to Beijing has led to speculation about how China is dealing with the African nation’s deepening debt crisis, but a spokeswoman for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs has denied any plans to restructure Ethiopian debt. “China takes the debt issue of developing countries seriously…
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times
South Africa is facing a shortage of more than 23 million houses, and Dr. Blade Nzimande, the Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation, says 3-D printed houses—built entirely in just eight hours— may be the solution to help meet demand. “It is a quick way to build good quality…
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times
Progress in African governance has stalled since 2019 due to security challenges and the economic and health impacts of COVID, as well as “widespread democratic backsliding” that poses a threat to development, according to the just-released annual report from the Mo Ibrahim Foundation. Data from the Ibrahim Index of African…
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times
A new report on the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and how best to leverage the potential of public-private partnerships was released in conjunction with this week’s World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting in Davos. AfCFTA: A New Era for Global Business and Investment in Africa, published by the WEF,…
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times
Namibian President Hage Geingob was among African leaders who paid tribute to the life and legacy of Pelé, the 82-year-old Brazilian soccer star who died Thursday night in São Paulo following a battle with cancer. “I met the legend Pelé and Eusébio in 1967 in New York during an exhibition…
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times
A newly filed lawsuit in Kenya seeks US$1.6 billion from social media giant Meta, in order to establish a victims compensation fund on behalf of people targeted for violence in Ethiopia because of widely shared Facebook posts. Amnesty International announced Wednesday that it filed the suit along with six other…
South Africa’s Biovac has announced a deal with the nonprofit International Vaccine Institute (IVI) to begin manufacturing cholera vaccines, a move that will advance the African continent’s goal of manufacturing its own vaccines. The licensing and technology transfer deal will mean that Biovac is equipped to make oral cholera vaccines…
More than a few African entities are represented on a list of 636 fossil fuel lobbyists attending the COP27 climate conference in Egypt, a number that the anti-corruption Global Witness organization, publishers of the list, say is more than 25% higher than a year ago in Scotland. The names were…
Families who lost loved ones in two aviation disasters linked to technical flaws in Boeing’s aircraft systems can be considered crime victims while pursuing legal judgments, according to a long-awaited ruling handed down late Friday in United States courts. In an 18-page ruling, District Judge Reed O’Connor of Texas said…
Another incident involving a communications failure with an Ethiopian Airlines flight crew is being reported by several media outlets within the aviation industry. According to the Aviation Herald, Ethiopian Airlines cargo flight ET-3717 was flying from Liege, Belgium, to Bole Airport in Addis Ababa on Saturday when its last communication…
The acting director of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention says he won’t be attending this year’s World Health Summit in Berlin after experiencing difficulties with immigration control when his flight landed in Germany — a situation that immediately sparked outrage on social media. “I’ve been mistreated at…
Following the deaths of dozens of babies and children in The Gambia, a product alert for cough syrups believed to be linked to the fatalities has been issued by the World Health Organization. Four products manufactured by Maiden Pharmaceuticals Limited in Haryana, India, are included in the warning. They should…
The World Bank has formally launched its US$93 billion in funding commitments to help low-income countries build up their economies in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and other setbacks, with funds sourced in part from 52 donor nations through the IDA20 replenishment. The funding is meant to target “overlapping crises—climate…
Rescue efforts are under way in South Africa, where a mine tailings dam burst early Sunday and flooded nearby communities. The ensuing mudslides and deluge from the abandoned diamond mine in Jagersfontein claimed at least three lives with others unaccounted for, according to local media reports. The office of Nkosazana…