AfricaNews- Djibouti suspends increased port tariffs
- Zambia to maintain Mwanawasa policies
- Nokia to open research centre in Kenya
- Rwanda’s economy to grow 8.5 percent
- Tanzania: Inflation shoots in July
- Nesy Concepts empowering women
- Ghana youth trained on entrepreneurship
- Vodafone acquires Ghana Telecom
- HP to partner with African university
- Africa to get faster internet
Rising energy, food prices major threats to wetlands as farmers eye new areas for crops
700 leading experts meeting in Brazil urge policy makers to resist pressure to convert wetlands
Critical food shortages and growing demand for bio-fuels and hydro-electricity due to high fossil fuel prices rank among the greatest threats today to the preservation of precious wetlands worldwide as farmers and developers look for new areas for agriculture, energy crop plantations and hydro dams.
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Mobile Marketing
Mobile Marketing can refer to one of two categories of marketing. First, and relatively new, is meant to describe marketing on or with a mobile device, such as a mobile phone (this is an example of horizontal telecommunication convergence). Second, and a more traditional definition, is meant to describe marketing in a moving fashion - for example - technology road shows or moving billboards.
New, High Yield Rice Spells Millions in Savings for African Countries
| For African governments and consumers struggling to cope with recent dramatic increases in the price of rice, some good news has finally arrived. Read more Bank and Development Partners Support Europe-based African Diaspora Business VenturesThe first Development Marketplace for the African Diaspora in Europe (D-MADE) has ended in Brussels with a total jury award of close to a million dollars for sixteen investment projects in Africa. The winning projects will be implemented in 11 African countries, including Mali (4), Cote d’Ivoire (2) Benin (2) and one each for Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Madagascar, Malawi, Sierra Leone, and Togo. Can poverty-reducing policies be transplanted from China to Africa?China’s role as an investor and donor in Africa is much scrutinized. While private investment and aid flows from China may benefit Africa’s poor, what might be more significant are the lessons for Africa from China’s success in fighting poverty back home. While some scholars warn about the dangers of imposing Western institutional practices on Africa, similar risks apply when transplanting ideas from the East. It would be naive to assume that Africa could simply copy specific policies to achieve China’s success. Policy lessons for AfricaFreer markets can serve the interests of poor people. When given market incentives, Chinese farmers responded dramatically. There is evidence that African farmers will react no differently and that opening up markets will reduce poverty. Market-oriented reform must be complemented by strong state institutions. China’s success was founded on strong state institutions that implemented supportive policies and public investments. Africa needs to improve its capacity to implement the required policies. Mobile Banking to Transform MicrofinanceWith the right market conditions, mobile banking could reach large numbers of poor people who are outside the formal financial system, predicts a new report from CGAP, the global microfinance body. “The Early Experience with Branchless Banking” is based on the research and observations of CGAP’s work in technology and microfinance, and identifies a need for the following:
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