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less travel

Africa: Coronavirus has negatively impacted conservation tourism

It's estimated that the reductions in travel in 2020 alone wiped $4.5trn from the global tourism economy and cost millions of jobs. In Africa, ... half of all tourism workers lost their jobs.

climate investment

How Africa can ride the growing wave of climate tech investment

Investment in climate tech is once again booming. Capital is pouring in from different directions, from VCs to companies committing to ESG (environmental, ... social and governance).

Breaking ties

DRC: Katumbi is preparing to break his alliance with President Tshisekedi

On 15 October, Tout-Puissant Mazembe, Lubumbashi's flagship club, drew with Durban’s Amazulu. After a disappointing season last year, Moïse ... Katumbi's players were hoping to get back on track, but couldn’t manage anything better than a draw that day.

three card trick

Top 200 African Banks: Visa VS Mastercard VS UnionPay

China’s UnionPay is giving the US payments giants Visa and Mastercard a run for their money in Africa; fighting back, the two are investing ... in new financial services, from purchasing fintechs to buying stakes in telecoms firms

Sense of fulfilment

Nigeria’s Lekan Babalola on ‘Lakaaye’ his Afrofuturist version of Ogun, the Yoruba God

Lekan Babalola was awarded two Grammys in 2009 and 2006 respectively, for his work on Cassandra Wilson's Loverly and the joint album In the Heart ... of the Moon by Ali Farka Touré and Toumani Diabaté. The Africa Report caught up with him in September, a few hours before his trip to Lagos to promote his latest album, Lakaaye.

High stakes

Mali launches negotiations with the jihadists, but at what price?

As Barkhane troops continue to leave the country, Mali’s transitional regime has decided to reopen negotiations with Iyad ag Ghaly and Amadou ... Koufa, crossing a red line for Paris.

up start

Top 200 African Banks: Morocco’s Attijariwafa shows its digital agility

Five years ago, Attijariwafa Bank (AWB), the leading bank in Morocco, set the tone: the group’s ambition was to position itself as ‘the top ... customer-centred bank, focused on satisfying the needs of its clients [by] taking advantage of new technologies linked to digitalisation’. With 27 major programmes and 105 projects, its strategic plan ‘Energies 2020’ put the emphasis on digital technologies.

DRC: Katumbi is preparing to break his alliance with President Tshisekedi

three card trick

Top 200 African Banks: Visa VS Mastercard VS UnionPay

High stakes

Mali launches negotiations with the jihadists, but at what price?

Breaking ties

DRC: Katumbi is preparing to break his alliance with President Tshisekedi

three card trick

Top 200 African Banks: Visa VS Mastercard VS UnionPay

High stakes

Mali launches negotiations with the jihadists, but at what price?

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Sleeping Giants

AZA Finance plans corporate FX, treasury entry into Ethiopia, Egypt

Africa’s largest non-bank foreign exchange firm AZA Finance plans expansion into Ethiopia and Egypt, CEO Elizabeth Rossiello tells The Africa ... Report.

black empowerment

South Africa: Mining ruling affects black empowerment targets

In South Africa, the High Court curbs ministerial powers on mine ownership to enforce black empowerment targets as companies pledge to boost ... investment

A trade-off

Israel stays accredited to African Union, dividing opinion in Africa

Israel is set to remain accredited to the African Union after a meeting of foreign ministers of member states failed to find consensus on whether ... to retain this status or not. The issue has divided the continental body after African Union Chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat in July accepted the accreditation of Aleli Admasu, who is also Israel's ambassador to Ethiopia, Burundi and Chad.

French Economy and Finance Minister Le Maire meets US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate Kerry in Paris

shared misgivings

US to visit France to discuss rising influence of China, Russia in Africa

The US State Department’s new top Africa official is headed to France on the tail end of her first trip abroad, as the two allies confront ... lingering terrorist threats as well as rising Chinese and Russian influence on the continent.

failings of the system

Multilateralism on a ventilator: Africa, Covid-19 and COP26

During the course of the Covid-19 pandemic, developing countries were left to face the economic and health effects on their own, undermining ... trust in the multilateral system.

an elusive quality

Ethiopia: Film ‘Faya Dayi’ delves into the country’s khat obsession

Filmmaker and actress Jessica Beshir discovered khat purely by accident. In her film Faya Dayi, which debuted to instant critical acclaim at ... the Sundance film festival in January before winning the grand jury prize at Visions du Réel in Switzerland, she traces the growing reliance on Ethiopia’s khat trade in her home region of Harar in an attempt to pin down a country she can hardly recognise anymore.

Follow the money

Mozambique’s hidden debt scandal: Where did the $2bn go?

Mozambique’s “hidden debt” scandal is one of the biggest corruption scandals on the continent and involves some of the highest-ranking ... government officials. This case, part of which is currently at the centre of a resounding trial in Maputo, is particularly complex.

Corruption scandal

Mozambique: Credit Suisse to pay $475 million to US and UK

Credit Suisse has reached an agreement with the US, UK and Swiss authorities to resolve a corruption scandal that involves Mozambican state-owned ... companies.

Pressure from all sides

DRC: President Félix Tshisekedi under pressure from the UN

Two years have passed since a summit on the framework agreement on peace, security and cooperation in the DRC and the Great Lakes region was ... held. The October 2019 and February 2020 editions did not take place due to organisational difficulties on the Congolese side, and the Covid-19 pandemic did not allow the authorities to keep their commitment for March 2020.

raw deal

Zimbabwe: Zimborders causes chaos at new Beitbridge border

Border post company Zimborders Consortium is facing criticism after their new $240m Beitbridge project created large queues and complicated electronic ... payments - potentially violating the newly-signed Africa Continental Free Trade Area. Behind the deal: Businessman Glynn Cohen, a close ally of Zimbabwe president Emmerson Mnangagwa.

blame game

Zimbabwe’s economic woes: Sanctions or poor governance?

Since early 2000 to date, Zimbabwe’s economy has suffered distress and stagnation, undergoing periods of hyperinflation leading to the collapse ... of the national currency and the adoption of a multi-currency system in 2009. The government and its allies attribute this to sanctions, while others blame bad governance.

West African leaders meet to decide on Guinea after the coup in Accra

money problems

Why we should be more understanding of African political leaders

The release of the Pandora Papers on 3 October embarrassed high profile figures around the world, exposing the offshore accounts of 35 world ... leaders. According to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, it was their most expansive exposé of the secret financial arrangements of the rich and famous to date.

Morocco reversal?

Western Sahara: Senate looks to block funding for US consulate

This week, US Senate Democrats introduced an annual spending bill that would block funding for the State Department to open a consulate in the ... Western Sahara: a promise the Donald Trump administration made to Morocco last year.

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