Tanzania’s digital finance boom: balancing inclusion and security

Africa’s fintech sector is thriving, with digital finance rapidly outpacing traditional banking. A new report from the European Investment Bank highlights how mobile networks are expanding financial services across the continent, improving access and driving economic growth. In Tanzania, technological advancements have significantly enhanced financial inclusion, but they also bring new security challenges as scams and fraud attempts rise. Journalist: Goodhope Amani

Publications

Economy 26 May 2023

Interview Gagan Gupta

Gagan Gupta is the founder and CEO of Arise IIP, an Africa-based investment fund that develops and operates industrial ecosystems in Gabon, Togo and Benin. Industrial zones are currently under construction in Côte d'Ivoire, the Republic of Congo, Chad, Nigeria and Sierra Leone. This Indian entrepreneur is behind the Nkok special economic zone in Gabon, the GSEZ. He aims to change the development model in Africa to reduce unemployment and income inequality while helping preserve the environment. To do this, he recommends creating value within the country by eliminating intermediaries and obtaining fair prices, creating jobs on the continent and reducing the carbon footprint by relocating the processing of raw materials to produce finished products.

Economy 6 April 2023

Food self-sufficiency in the Congo

In the North Kivu province, ravaged by the war between the Congolese armed forces and the M23 rebels, the agricultural sector is now severely affected. Bernard Bahati is a Congolese entrepreneur from eastern DRC who is convinced that food self-sufficiency is a prerequisite for economic development and even the return of peace. With his maize processing factory, Okapi-Agrobusiness, which employs 50 people and which he financed himself, he has decided to contribute to food security in the region.

Economy 24 March 2023

Cashew nuts boom in West Africa

Cashew nut production in West Africa increased by 5.4% last year to a total volume of 2.6 million tonnes. Cashew cultivation is prevalent in the region, which includes producing countries such as Côte d'Ivoire, which accounts for 44% of West African production, but also Nigeria and Guinea Bissau. In Guinea, farmers are starting to grow cashew nuts, more profitable than bauxite mining. Cashew remains one of the most lucrative commodities on the international market.

Economy 15 March 2023

TOTOT restaurant, reviving Ethiopian traditions

Tenkir Teni started as a shoeshine boy over thirty years ago and now owns TOTOT, one of the few multi-million dollar, top traditional food restaurants in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa.

Economy 24 February 2023

Dakar 2 Summit “Feeding Africa: food sovereignty and resilience”

The Dakar 2 Summit was held from 25 to 27 January in Senegal and brought together several dozen dignitaries, heads of state and government, and development partners invited by the African Development Bank and the Senegalese government. The summit's main objective was to unlock Africa's food potential by mobilising and bringing coherence to private sector financing, government resources and development partners. Worldwide, 828 million people suffer from hunger, and 249 million are in Africa. To achieve Sustainable Development Goal 2 of zero hunger, the goal should be first met in the continent.

Economy 10 February 2023

Learning Chinese, a solution to unemployment in Africa

China is Benin's third largest trading partner, with trade valued at more than US$60 billion a year, and Africa's first. According to a report released in Beijing in 2021 by China-Africa Business Council, Chinese private companies account for about 70% of investment in Africa. China carries out more than a third of infrastructure projects on the continent. In 2009, the Confucius Institute was created and set up on the Abomey-Calavi campus, offering training for a degree in Chinese translation and interpretation. Students from this school are the most sought-after in the African job market. Some also work as tourist guides.

Economy 3 February 2023

Interview Natty Ngoy founder of the accessories and leather goods brand INADEN

Natty Ngoy is a French entrepreneur from the African diaspora who works with master artisans in leather workshops in Ethiopia to create leather goods and accessories. She created her company in 2013, intending to promote African work, creation and products. 97% of the raw materials used are from the continent. INADEN is pronounced [inadene] and means Artisans in the Tamasheq dialect, a language of Berber origin.

Economy 26 January 2023

Transforming bauxite in Guinea, an impossible mission

Guinea holds one-third of the world's bauxite reserves, a mineral used for aluminium production. The government plans to create refineries and, in the long term, to become a world leader in the alumina sector.

Economy 13 January 2023

Cameroon : Cassava flour as an alternative to wheat flour

Since the beginning of the Russian-Ukrainian war, wheat flour has become too expensive and scarce in several African countries. In Cameroon, young entrepreneurs have started to produce cassava flour. In Douala, you can find pastry and couscous made from this flour.