Special

Awagomè, 4 December 2017 – The Government of Togo’s “CIZO” initiative has made a significant stride forward as BBOXX, a new generation utility which provides reliable energy access to communities with its solar home systems, officially launched its operations in Togo today. President Faure Gnassingbé, President of the Republic of Togo, visited one of BBOXX’s first customers in the rural …

EU-support for Swaziland’s monarchy-controlled sugar industry undermines the fight for democracy, even though it nominally benefits smallholders, says new report from Danish solidarity organization, reports Peter Kenworthy. A new report from Afrika Kontakt commends the EU for supporting Swaziland’s sugar industry, which benefits thousands of smallholder growers of sugar cane. The problem is, however, that the smallholder growers are also …

Reacting to the death of 26 Nigerian women who drowned in the Mediterranean on 5 November 2017 and the CNN video report showing Nigerians being traded as slaves in Libya, the Migration Enlightenment Project Nigeria (MEPN) has called for tougher laws against human trafficking to bring “the needless deaths to an end”. The MEPN is currently carrying out an information campaign …

Investment potential in the African nations of Ghana and Ethiopia will be key focal points during the Germany African Business Forum, to be held on 28 November in Munich. Hon. Ibrahim Mohammed Awal, Minister for Business Development for Ghana, and H.E. Dr. Mebrahtu Meles, State Minister for Industry of Ethiopia, will be delivering key presentations to attending investors at the …

Nigerian militant group Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) said on Friday its ceasefire on attacks in the country’s southern oil-rich region was at an end. “We can assure you that every oil installation in our region will feel the warmth of the wrath of the Niger Delta Avengers,” the group said in a statement on its website. The NDA took the …

German Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy Brigitte Zypries opened the Start-up Night! Africa on 26 October in Berlin. The Start-up Night! Africa is the latest event to take place as part of the successful series of Start-up Nights!, a string of business-matching events hosted by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs designed to bring young businesses and established companies …

Unemployment and poverty are serious concerns for the continent, where more than 70% of the working age population is unemployed or has no job security, prompting the UN to declare 2016-2025 as the Third Industrial Development Decade for Africa (IDDA III). African leaders deliberated in New York on how to industrialise the continent in a socially inclusive, environmentally sustainable manner to …

There is currently a humanitarian crisis in Libya where between 800,000 and 1 million migrants are trapped. Most of them are waiting to embark on the perilous journey across the Mediterranean to Europe. With new measures adopted by the Libyan government and other similar developments, the chances of the overwhelming majority of the migrants reaching Europe are almost foreclosed. Most …

The youth empowerment initiative to promote educational achievement in the African community in Germany holds its annual award ceremony at the premises of the IHK in Hamburg on Saturday, 21 October 2017. The annual African Youth Education (AYE) Awards aim to motivate young people of African origin in Germany to seek excellence in school. The scheme was initiated in 2011 …

Nigerians from across Europe will converge on the Portuguese capital, Lisbon, on 9-11 November for the annual general meeting or AGM of the Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation Europe (NIDOE). The congress will deliberate on the state of the organisation and on issues important to the Nigerian Diaspora generally. Moreover, NIDOE members will discuss developments at home as they affect the …

Policies aimed at reducing the number of migrants arriving in Europe across the Mediterranean from Libya are trapping refugees in the country where they’re exposed to harsh living conditions and widespread human rights abuses, group warns. Would-be Nigerian migrants have been advised to avoid Libya due to recent developments in the North African country. The advice was issued in a …

Ghana’s President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has promised to initiate a programme that will ensure every student receives free chocolate or cocoa products every day. He said the decision is tied with the government’s plans of boosting the local consumption of cocoa products from the world’s second largest producer of the cash crop. “Our target is to provide every Ghanaian …

Femi Awoniyi** on ‘Look before you Leave!’ an information campaign by the Migration Enlightenment Project Nigeria (MEPN) to raise awareness of the risks and dangers of irregular migration. ——————————————————————– Irregular Migration  We receive daily news of the suffering of young African migrants seeking better opportunities in Europe through illegal routes. The ordeal that many go through either in the transit …

Youths have been advised to properly assess all their options before deciding to travel abroad for greener pastures. The advice was given by Hon. Kenneth Gbandi, president of the Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation (NIDO) Europe, on Tuesday (12 September) while launching the campaign again irregular migration in Lagos. The Germany-based journalist and media consultant said travelling abroad does not in …

The Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy is hosting the Start-up Night! Africa on 26 October in Berlin. This will be a networking and matchmaking event, bringing together digital African start-ups and German start-ups and established companies. Are you interested in broadening your network? If so, do make the most of this opportunity and be a part of the Start-up …

In the second and concluding  part of his report on Ghanaians in Germany, journalist, translator and community activist Sam Atsu Nove* writes on the changes in the patterns of Ghanaian migration in the past 40 years and the contribution of the Diaspora to Germany’s and their home  country’s development. ———————————– The economic crisis of the 1970s and 1980s in Ghana …

An information campaign to raise public awareness of the dangers of irregular migration will kick off  at the Centre for Management Development in Lagos on 12 September. Initiated by African-German Information Center (AGIC), Hamburg, and The African Courier Verlag, Berlin, with the support of Germany’s Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the campaign under the aegis of the “Migration Enlightenment Project in Nigeria (MEPN)” …

A cashless economy is one in which the purchase of goods and services and the payment of debts and remittances are done through electronic money media, either through credit and debit cards, direct transfers from one account to another, smart cards, mobile payment systems, and other technologies. With aspirations of becoming an African economic powerhouse, Ghana is partnering with organisations …

Kenya’s main stock index rose 2.51 per cent on Monday to a 14-month high, building on gains last week as investors welcomed the re-election of President Uhuru Kenyatta. The NSE-20 index has risen nearly 7 per cent since the election last week’s Tuesday. Kenyatta was declared winner by a clear margin on Friday but his main challenger, Raila Odinga, has …

Ghana’s central bank has revoked the operating licenses of two distressed local banks and transferred their deposits and selected assets to state-owned GCB Bank in order to protect financial stability, it said on Monday. The liquidation of UT Bank and Capital Bank became necessary in order to protect depositors funds owing to the “severe impairment” of their capital, the central …