In an era of AI and blockchain, the simple text message seems distinctly old-fashioned. But text messaging’s USSD technology remains a key feature for African businesses. Here’s how a crackdown on customer information sharing suddenly makes USSD even more attractive. By Seth Onyango African businesses are continuing to find value in a technology that is largely being forgotten by the latest offerings of the metaverse, artificial intelligence (AI) and blockchain technologies. Despite a whirlwind of digital advancement, including a surge in smartphone penetration across the continent and the emergence of world-leading mobile money solutions, Africa remains a huge market for…
Author: Bird Agency
Senegal has successfully obtained a significant funding amount of US $2.7 billion for its Just Energy Transition initiative, aimed at enhancing the country’s capacity in mitigation efforts. This achievement comes in the wake of multilateral banks outlining measures to ease financial constraints and provide increased capital for sustainable development and mitigation projects in Africa. Senegal is poised to receive a substantial financial boost of over US$2.7 billion (€2.5 billion) from a coalition of developed nations and multilateral development banks. The funding aims to support Senegal’s ambitious goals for a just energy transition, as announced in a press statement on the…
African nations’ bold commitment to oceanic prosperity The Moroni Declaration, signed by African leaders, establishes a framework for advancing a sustainable blue economy. On June 14th, experts in the blue economy and government officials from various African nations signed the Moroni Declaration in Comoros. This development expresses a shared goal and dedication to advancing the blue economy as an essential catalyst for growth, innovation, and resilience. During the two-day ‘Blue Future Ministerial Conference on Blue Economy and Climate Action in Africa: Island and Coastal States at the Forefront,’ attended by over ten countries, leaders from Africa’s island and coastal states…
Shifting Tides, Rising Investments Africa’s climate-focused tech startups are experiencing a surge in funding and deal volumes Africa’s climate-related tech startups are experiencing a remarkable surge in funding. From January to May 2023, 33% of all financing directed towards tech startups was dedicated to green initiatives. Recent findings from the startup funding database, ‘Africa: The Big Deal,’ reveal that as much as US$2.8 billion has been invested in climate-related startups in Africa since 2019. This accounts for 21% of the total funding received by startups across the continent during this assessment period. According to the database’s latest funding status report,…
For nearly a decade Ayodeji Balogun has managed a private exchange in Nigeria, trading hundreds of millions of dollars worth of agricultural commodities yearly. Now he is taking his operation Africa-wide. Lucy Githugo, bird story agency When Ayodeji Balogun was just 14 years old, he made his first commodities trade. In May, his company secured first place in the Financial Times’ Africa Fastest Growing Companies 2023′ list. Not surprisingly, his company trades in agricultural commodities. “This first trade excited me and is what drove my interest in trade despite graduating with a Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering and practising…
From a history marked by periods of conflict to now sitting on the world’s most powerful Security Council, Sierra Leone has made significant progress. Sierra Leone has made remarkable progress in overcoming a tumultuous past marked by conflict and has emerged as a leading force in promoting peace in the region. On June 6, the tiny West African country was, alongside Algeria, elected as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council in a voting session of the UN General Assembly. Other countries elected included Guyana, the Republic of Korea, Belarus and Slovenia. Sierra Leone’s seat will be taken up…