Otavio Veras, Research Associate of the NTU-SBF Centre for African Studies Synopsis In the wake of controversial picks for Trump’s cabinet, the spotlight turns to his appointed choice for Secretary of State, the highest diplomatic rank in the United States government. After a brief interlude with Mitt Romney, which would certainly be a favourite pick […]
Category Archives: Main
Electric power arrived at Cape Town around 1900 with the construction of a coal-fired, steam-driven power station located near the Victoria and Alfred dockyard area. The location offered 2-advantages in that the power station was close to the unloading area of coal ships that could sail from Durban. The second advantage was that close proximity […]
James Maposa Director Consultant Intergroup Brand Science (formerly Interbrand Africa) I recently read an article that reported on South Africa’s most valued brands for 2016. The country’s top-10 brands were MTN, Vodacom, Sasol, Standard Bank, Woolworths, FNB, Absa, Nedbank, Investec and Mediclinic; with Multichoice bubbling under at number 11. For me what was missing in […]
Summary: The thermal capacity of seawater off Cape Town’s coast can be applied to reduce the energy consumption of commercial scale refrigerators and air-conditioners as well as sustain the energy efficient operation of refrigeration-based technology that extracts potable water from humid air. Introduction: During successive summer seasons that extend over a period of decades, the […]
In the period since independence in the 1950s, Africa has undergone profound social, cultural, economic and political changes. Some inherited and historically rootless colonialist political and social systems have collapsed, been transcended and reconstituted. Different political systems – single party rule, personal rule and military governments have come and gone. New post-independence political and social […]
The parlous story of African economic and social development since independence best expressed in the failure to achieve the autonomous capacity for self-actuated development and in particular to create conditions of national and continental modern mass production and prosperity is well known and need not be repeated. It is enough to re-state that Africa’s development […]
During the past two decades, Ethiopia’s ambitious economic initiatives to become a middle income country managed to progressively grow and develop the economy. The country has given ample focus to sectors like tourism, increasing their GDP contribution to the entire economic key factors. Addressing the country development shortfalls and poverty reduction initiatives has grabbed the […]
During the past two decades, Ethiopia’s ambitious economic initiatives to become a middle income country managed to progressively grow and develop the economy. The country has given ample focus to sectors like tourism, increasing their GDP contribution to the entire economic key factors. Addressing the country development shortfalls and poverty reduction initiatives has grabbed the […]
The global community for climate action was spooked by the November 8 election of Donald Trump as the next President of the United States. The US President-elect had earned the sobriquet of “climate denier,” for his claim that climate change is a hoax. However, there is cautious optimism that his presidency will not overturn the […]
Jumia Travel celebrated its 1st annual tourism industry and hotel awards day at Ramada Addis. After over a year of successfully establishing and growing its online hotel booking service in Ethiopia, Jumia Travel, has become the N°1 online hotel booking platform in Africa. On this annual celebration day experts on the hospitality industry presented their […]
A strong theme emerged from the Future Food Tech Summit in London last week, that the world is in desperate need of innovative and sustainable solutions to increase agricultural output, while reducing inputs, in order to meet the needs of a growing population. At the forefront of these discussions was the consensus that the global […]
by Matt Radcliffe .pdf Acrobat Reader Abstract In the two decades since the end of Apartheid, the international community has perceived South Africa to be the most influential country in Sub-Saharan Africa. The country continues to play an important economic role on the continent and is a driving political force in the African Union (AU). […]
By Marieke Shukla Abstract Africa is a continent with incredible hope and opportunity along with incredible challenges. When visiting Africa, one hears about challenges regarding basic human needs such as nutrition and health care. One also hears about the leadership challenges South Africa currently faces. Upon further reflection after visits to several organizations, including Olam […]
By Rafiq Raji ‘Africa Tech’ is the True ‘Africa Rising’ Leading African technology (Africa Tech) innovators believe the African culture has become attuned to the internet age. [1] The internet-consuming culture is now fully African, they say. As they are some of the leading techies on the continent, they probably know what they are saying. […]
By Johan Burger, NTU-SBF Centre for African Studies The Espinaca Journey At the age of 24, Lufefe Nomjana from Khayelitsha, Cape Town, in South Africa, came up with a plan to add spinach to foods consumed daily, like bread. He realised that a lot of people in his neighbourhood were obese, yet malnourished! They […]
Otavio Veras, Research Associate of the NTU-SBF Centre for African Studies Introduction Education is the central piece that propels economic growth. A country can be rich in natural resources, but if its population lacks education, it will continue to be poor and dependent on foreign support. Singapore is probably the best example of this statement: […]
Otavio Veras, Research Associate of the NTU-SBF Centre for African Studies Synopsis With more than 60% of its 1.166 billion people[1],[2] living in rural areas, Africa’s economy is inherently dependent on agriculture. More than 32% of the continent’s gross domestic product comes from the sector. However, agricultural productivity still remains far from developed world standards. […]
Dr. Adefolake Adeyeye Research Fellow of the NTU-SBF Centre for African Studies Africa has not had tremendous success with special economic zones (SEZs). Reasons for this include policies and institutional frameworks, unfriendly business environments, lack of zone management expertise and an infrastructure deficit. While some African countries are actively involved in reforms to reduce the […]
Navin Ravindran, VP Sales of Aluzinc Asia (Pte) Ltd Defining “Culture” “All people are the same; only their habits differ.” ― Confucius Culture refers to the accepted norms and values and rational behaviour of groups. It’s “How we do things!” Countries, as well as people within the country, may operate differently according to beliefs, values, […]
by Otavio Veras, Researcher Associate of the NTU-SBF Centre for African Studies Synopsis This Wednesday, May 18th, Singapore was host for a very special guest: a delegation from Madagascar, the 4th largest island in the world, located in East Africa, Indian Ocean. The entourage was headed by His Excellency, Mr. Hery Rajaonarimampianina, President of Madagascar, […]
Compared to its counterparts in Sub-Saharan Africa which are growing by 5.4% on average, Ethiopia’s economy has continued to register growth with its gross domestic product (GDP) growing by an average of 10.9% in the past decade. It is shifting its priority to industry economic policy to sustain its growth. In Ethiopia, 75% jobs are […]
For the first time, an alliance of Heads of State from France, Germany, Mexico, Chile, Ethiopia and Canada have joined hands to urge countries and companies around the globe to put a price on carbon pollution. Speaking before more than 500 people at the climate talks, the leaders of six countries stood on stage calling […]