African countries are on an ambitious mission to enhance road transport efficiency, by leveraging digital technology. Digital licenses and a new generation of number plates are at the forefront of this much-needed transformation. African nations are in the midst of a mobility revolution, utilising digital technology to bolster road safety and combat crime. Governments are piloting and implementing digital number plates and electronic driver’s licenses, ushering in a transformative era for navigation, law enforcement, and road security. South Africa’s Department of Transport is to kickstart a pilot program for new digital driver’s licenses in November 2023, potentially rendering the existing…
Author: Bird Agency
As a global coalition of states and industrial interests coalesces around the promise of hydrogen economy, Africa sees a path to future riches. By Seth Onyango As the West vies to counterbalance China in Africa, many experts see green hydrogen as an area where Brussels and Washington will have leverage over Beijing – as well as an opportunity to strike energy “gold”. The emerging green hydrogen market will redraw the global energy and resource map as early as 2030, creating a US$1.4 trillion-a-year market by 2050, according to Deloitte. And while the world’s attention has been fixed on traditional energy…
Female athletes put in an impressive performance at the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest, with women runners bailing out most of the world’s top running countries – including Africa’s – and keeping them in the medals. By Joel Omotto While the USA was the top-ranked country in Hungary, with 29 medals (12 gold, eight silver and nine bronze) and Kenya the most successful African nation, with 10 medals (three gold, as may silver and four bronze), it was the women athletes who brought home most of the medals in both cases. The year’s premier athletics event saw America’s women…
Privatised 20 years ago, the Maputo Port’s success offers a model for African ports seeking efficiency and growth, with growth likely to continue, according to investors. Two decades after Mozambique privatised its only international harbour, the Port of Maputo is recording remarkable progress, both in terms of the volume of goods it handles and the dividends it delivers to its shareholders, according to one its shareholders. “Maputo port reported an increase of 30% on prior period volumes” Grindrod Limited, a South African ports, terminals, and logistics operator, said in an August 25 statement on its interim financial report for the…
Africa’s largest airline is looking to tap into a rising global demand for spare parts. By Conrad Onyango State-owned Ethiopian Airlines is to start the large-scale manufacture of aircraft parts to tap into a multi-billion dollar market driven by changing aircraft technology and a rise in commercial air travel. In a joint venture with Boeing the biggest carrier in Africa will initially invest US$15 million to build a facility in the country’s Kilinto Industrial Park to produce the parts, the government’s investment agency recently announced. “The airline in collaboration with the international aircraft manufacturer, Boeing will produce various aircraft parts…
South Africa-based Showmax is putting up a spirited fight with home advantage, drawing on a high level of local content in a race for African viewers with US streaming platform Netflix and Amazon Prime Video. By Conrad Onyango The battle for streaming in Africa is narrowing to a three-horse race as key players ramp up investment in local content, tap top talent and enhance viewing experiences. Market data from Digital TV Research puts Netflix in the lead with a projected 7.4 million subscribers, followed by MultiChoice-owned Showmax with 4.4 million subscribers and Amazon Prime Video with 3.14 million viewers. By…
Lower rainfall in parts of East Africa over the past few years has hit smallholder farmers hard. But innovative service companies, farmers and government have all busied themselves to find solutions to the challenge. By Thuku Kariuki When Jackline Kwaga left Uganda three years ago to look for greener pastures in Kenya, she initially took up work on a strawberry farm. She worked hard… hard enough to not only learn the ropes but also diversify into her own farming operation, where she now grows maize and strawberries, and raises chickens. The big breakthrough, as she sees it, however, was the…
African consumers are ditching old-style electric light bulbs for LEDs, with the continent’s smart lighting market now forecast to reach US$5.49 billion by 2028. By Seth Onyango Africa’s demand for LED lighting is set to surge in the next five years, as governments promote the use of energy-efficient and environmentally-friendly bulbs. In an LED, or light-emitting diode, an electric current passes through a microchip, rather than a wire filament. LED’s are some 90% more efficient than the older, incandescent bulbs. UN’s new Africa Environment Outlook for Business forecast shows the market for LED’s in Africa will grow from $3.71 billion…
Tokyo has embarked on a charm offensive to secure a future supply of essential electric vehicle (EV) minerals. By Seth Onyango Japan is staking its claim in an African Electric Vehicle (EV) mineral bonanza as it seeks to fortify its supply chain and guard against China’s ambitions on the continent. Early in August, Nishimura Yasutoshi, Japan’s Economy and Industry Minister visited Zambia, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Congo, Namibia, Madagascar and Angola on a whirlwind tour of Africa to secure green mining partnerships. In each country, Nishimura met with leaders and signed agreements to cooperate on the exploration and…
Africa’s vast mineral resources have always pointed to its potential as a market maker – and a global player in consumer goods. But division has kept producers and markets weak. An agreement between Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia shows how to change that, according to a new report. By Conrad Onyango Over the last five years, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Zambia – both of them among the world’s largest copper producers – have refined only a tiny fraction of output domestically. Between 2017 and 2021, DRC, which produced some 10% of the world’s copper, refined only 7% of…