N° 004
May, 2019
RegionWeek
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RegionWeek
N° 004
SPECIAL REPORT
May, 2019
RNC’s Nyamwasa RNC’s Nyamwasa blasts Kagame, rejects claims of rejects claims of Uganda support. The Rwanda National Congress The Rwanda National Congress (RNC), leader Kayumba Nyamwasa (RNC), leader Kayumba Nyamwasa has told off Kagame’s has told off Kagame’s administration and urged it not to administration and urged it not to operate on speculations. operate on speculations.
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If Uganda was f Uganda was supporing me, they supporting me, they would not be in power, would not be in power, They know very well They know very well what happened when what happened when Uganda supported them Uganda supported them although they deny it although they deny it now now”, Nyamwasa said. In an interview with Uganda media state-run, The New Vision, Nyamwasa said Paul Kagame would not be in power if he had the backing of Uganda. However, some analysts criticized the move of this state-run media to have an interview with foreigners whereas t he he media space in Uganda is being media space in Uganda is being shrunk. shrunk.
“If any other leader wants to assert his authority in another country, it becomes a source of conflict”, he said.
reported. Kayumba Nyamwasa has fallen out with Paul Kagame even if they were once good friends.
Nyamwasa accused the Kigali administration of frustrating the lives of ordinary citizens by closing the border.
Paul Kagame had fallen out with several officials from his administration, such as the billionaire Rujugiro.
Related Related: How Rujugiro, a Rwandan How Rujugiro, a deny it now”, he said. Rwandan Billionaire and once a Nyamwasa denies charges of refugee in Billionaire and once a Kigali that it is him who is caus- refugee in Burundi, fell out with ing Rwanda to be at loggerheads Kagame. Burundi, fell out with with neighboring countries. Kagame. “It’s not RNC that has caused wrangles between Rwanda and Nyamwasa added that while its neighbors. Rwanda has prob- children of Rwanda government lems with Burundi, Tanzania, DR officials are enjoying quality Congo and now Uganda. This education overseas, the ordican’t be RNC,” Nyamwasa said. nary citizens who were studying in Uganda have been denied He accused Paul Kagame of at- the opportunity to continue with tempting to dominate and bully their education. Also, ordinary countries in the Great Lakes citizens are bearing the brunt Region. of the soaring food prices since the border closure, Vanguard
Faustin Kayumba Nyamwasa, the Rwandan former Lieutenant General who formerly was the Chief of Staff of the Rwandan Army from 1998 to 2002 has denied allegations that Uganda has been offering support to groups hostile to the government of Rwanda. Nyamwasa was also head of Rwandan intelligence from 1998 to 2002 and served as Rwanda’s ambassador to India between 2004 and 2010 before falling out with President Paul Kagame.
SPORTS
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May, 2019
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Saido Berahino to leave Stoke City to Fenerbache on free transfer, his agent claims Saido Berahino’s agent Fem Mathias Moriba has reportedly spoken to the Turkish media about the Stoke City attacker’s future departure with the Championship side and has confirmed Fenerbahce are interested in to sign his player.
The Burundi international has scored three goals in 23 Championship appearances this season and has made one start under new boss Nathan Jones Saido’s Agent, Mathias Moriba said they are in talks with a few clubs for Berahino, and Fenerbahce is one: “We haven’t reached an agreement with anybody, but we are talking. I don’t have direct contact with Fenerbahce, but I know they are showing interest in Berahino. People close to Fenerbahce also tell me that.” He said Moriba added he’s looking to terminate Berahino’s Stoke City contract, which would make a summer free transfer possible. His future departure could remain uncertain until the end of the trial, with Super Lig giants Fenerbahce interested in his services.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Berahino’s contract with Stoke City is due to expire in 2022, and that could make a free transfer possible according to a man claiming to be his agent. His exit would delight most Stoke fans, who are unimpressed with his return this year despite dropping down a division into the Championship. The former West Bromwich Albion academy graduate has played 26 games for Stoke City this season and scored 5 goals. With Stoke City set for another season in the Championship, the 25-year-old may decide to move on this summer. Saido Berahino has only made one start in Stoke City and one appearance off the bench since Nathan Jones took over in January.
N° 003
May, 2019
RegionWeek
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The United States of America on the brink of war with Iran Current developments in diplomatic relation between the historic archrivals, the US and Iran are pushing both countries on the brink of war.
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Following intelligence information, presumably from Israeli Intelligence , that Iran may be preparing to launch a preemptive strike on the US forces in the middle east or its allies, Donald Trump’s National Security adviser, John Bolton, immediately dispatched a powerful aircraft carrier with striker group toward the Persian Gulf abutting Iran. THE BIG PICTURE: Israeli intelligence claims that Iran is disturbing the peace in the Middle East. Iran has been accused of supporting recent rockets attack against Israel from Gaza strip . The US has supported Israel’s right to defend
itself. John Bolton said in a statement that if Iran makes any move to attack the US forces in the region or its allies, it will follow counterattack measures from the US powerful forces.
President Donald Trump’s National Security Adviser John Bolton announced on Sunday that the US would send the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier to ‘send a message to Iran’.
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AFRICA
May, 2019
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
In a statement, Mr Bolton said: “The United States is deploying the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group and a bomber task force to the US Central Command region to send a clear and unmistakeable message to the Iranian regime that any attack on United States interests or on those of our allies will be met with unrelenting force.
Bobi Wine and Kizza Besigye ‘to work together’ to end Museveni’s rule.
However, John Bolton clearly indicated that the US does not want necessarily to go to war with Iran. “The United States is not seeking war with the Iranian regime. But we are fully prepared to respond to any attack, whether by proxy, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps or regular Iranian forces”, Bolton added. ‘Iran threatens to sink the US aircraft carrier’. Following the surprise deployment of the US aircraft carrier near Iran, Iran said that it will sink the USS Abraham Lincoln, ‘should the aircraft carrier make any mistake’.
A joint statement signed by both Bobi Wine and Dr. Besigye indicates that after their meeting on May 6, they have concluded discussions on key issues as they bring their political forces together against Mr. Museveni.
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Today, the U.S. is aware of our military capabilities. We gained victory during the eight years of war [Iran-Iraq 1980-1988] despite all the Western countries’ support for Iraq. We have achieved many advances. If the U.S. aircraft carrier makes a mistake, it will definitely be drowned by our precision-guided missiles
Iranian lawmaker Alaeddin Boroujerdi said.
Analysts suggested that taking into account of the narrowness of the Persian Gulf, the US aircraft carrier would be vulnerable to Iran missiles targeting it. US Intelligence stated that Iran may be moving ballistic missiles aboard boats in the Persian Golf. The US deployment to Iran is not to back off unless Iran shows positive signs of non-escalating stance.
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THE BIG PICTURE: Kyadondo East MP Robert Kyagulanyi alias Bobi Wine and former presidential candidate Dr. Kizza Besigye have agreed to work together to remove the Museveni’s National Resistance Movement (NRM) from power. The communiqué signed by both Bobi Wine and Besigye said that all of them have the ‘same goal of liberating Ugandans from the oppressor’, BBC reported
We took note that we are on the same mission to free Uganda from dictatorship and oppression”, the statement said.
These key opposition figures have agreed to work together despite their different parties affiliations. “We agreed that despite belonging to different formations/ fronts, we must work together as partners on the same mission,” the statement added. “The two groups have different activities and we shall continue to work on them, but once in a while we shall hold joint activities,” one commentator said. The party of Kizza Besigye, People’s governement and
Bobi Wine’ party, People Power’ are seeing different people flooding in them to help in doing away with Museveni’s rule. People ranging from famous journalists and politicians are ramping up efforts with the opposition to end Museveni’s rule. Museveni’s rule is still confident in the Ugandan army which is still heeding their commander-in-chief, but once things change, the army is the one to topple their leaders as it has been witnessed in Algeria, Sudan and elsewhere in Africa.
BURUNDI
N° 004
May, 2019
RegionWeek
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Burundi Head of State orders all ‘irregular’ foreigners to be out of the country.
Burundi head of State, Pierre Nkurunziza, has ordered all ‘irregular’ foreigners living in Burundi to be out of the country, to be repatriated or extradited to their countries of origin. The current population of Burundi is 11,520,891as of Saturday, May 11, 2019, based on the latest United Nations estimates. Burundi population is equivalent to 0.15% of the total world population.Burundi ranks number 80 in the list of countries (and dependencies) by population.The population density in Burundi is 451 per Km2(1,168 people per mi2). The total land area is 25,680 Km2 (9,915 sq. miles)14.0 % of the population is urban (1,625,264 people in 2019)The median age in Burundi is 17.6 years.
This was made manifest through the president’s spokesperson, Jean Claude Karererwa Ndenzako, after a meeting with all governing governors of Burundi on Tuesday. According to Karerwa, unusual movements of suspicious
people are observed in some provinces such as Bujumbura, Bubanza, and Ngozi. Burundi head of State calls for strengthening border security and monitoring population movements.
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The President of the Republic asked the administration to redouble efforts to stop these strangers. This adminstartionis made up of the judicial organs, the administration, the police and the mixed security committees Ndenzako also said that all “irregular” foreigners will soon be returned to their home countries. President Nkurunziza has also ordered the seizure of all mobile phones available to some prisoners because “this can be a source of insecurity,” said Karerwa.
The president reminded all present that the security in Burundi is generally prevailing in the whole country, only for calling for scrutiny of the ‘alien residents’ to be checked’ for security reasons.
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RegionWeek
N° 004
BRIEFING
May, 2019
TechHub Briefing: Mogadishu now has its first motorcycle hailing app
Energy Briefing: What if We Turned The Sahara Desert Into a Giant Solar Farm?
1.The digital economy on the continent expected to grow over US$300 billion by 2025 according to McKinsey Global Institute. According to the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA)— World Urbanization Prospects: the 2018 Revision— around 10 fastest growing cities are in Africa. The continent is transforming its economy aligned with the digital revolution. For almost a decade, the internet adoption rate on the continent has become the fastest in the world. Last year, internet adoption in Africa increased by 20%. By this, the digital economy on the continent expected to grow over US$300 billion by 2025 according to McKinsey Global Institute. Technology brings new risks and dilemmas to society, businesses, and other stakeholders who utilize it. Therefore, governments and companies should deliver solutions that can protect and empower citizens. In Africa, digital identity systems are predicted to unlock at least 6% of GDP growth and nearly 50% of the GDP can go directly to the citizens. However, the achievements will only possible if digital identity is implemented with transparency, accountability, and trust.
1.Renewable energy powers growth in Senegal The government of Senegal, led by President Macky Sall, has made increased renewable energy generation one of the key pillars of its power generation strategy, with hopes of achieving universal access to electricity by 2025, reports Africa Business Magazine .As part of its Plan for an Emerging Senegal (PES), the government expects increased generation capacity to help position Senegal as a middle-income nation by 2035.A target of 15% renewable energy in Senegal’s energy generation mix looks set to be accomplished ahead of the 2025 schedule, as colossal utility-sized wind and solar power plants are due to be added to the national grid within the next two years.
2.Paratus Namibia has partnered with Dololo to become the connectivity sponsor of DoBox, a project that aims to connect entrepreneurs to the world. DoBox is Namibia’s newest business incubator and coworking space for entrepreneurs by entrepreneurs.Dololo is developing the entrepreneurship ecosystem in Namibia, its mission is to empower future generations by providing spaces and supporting networks that enable entrepreneurs to solve real world problems. It also provides services to forward-looking companies and institutions and connects them to young talent by facilitating Internal Innovation Workshops, events and training.Co-founder and CEO of Dololo Tim Wucher is excited to have a dynamic company such as Paratus join the project as a connectivity sponsor.“We welcome their enthusiasm to support Dololo by connecting entrepreneurs at DoBox to the world through fiber-fast access to the Internet,” he said. As a privately-owned entrepreneurial telecoms business, Paratus fully understands the needs of the entrepreneur to access technology in order to grow the economy of Namibia. It has a physical presence in Angola, Botswana, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa and Zambia and provides connectivity services to more than 20 African countries. 3.Digital Lab Africa (DLA) has announced 10 winners of the current edition of DLA Accelerator Program. The competition was initiated by the Embassy of France and French Institute in South Africa (IFAS) and managed by South African tech hub,
Tshimologong Digital Innovation Precinct, and supported by the Agence Francaise de Developpement (AFD). DLA is an incubation platform provided for African creatives in the digital content. This year’s competition was opened to applicants from Sub-Saharan Africa. Overall, there were about 500 entries from more than 30 countries in Saharan Africa applied for the competition. Ten projects from Kenya, Mali, South Africa, Ghana, and Zimbabwe, were selected as the winners of the competition. Each of the winners is given a cash prize of R 42,000 and a tailored-made incubation program for their project development. The program will include mentorship by French and Sub-Saharan creative industries experts, participation in a digital cluster/hub in France, and participation at industry events in France and/or in Sub-Saharan Africa region. 4.The fifth edition of the Seeds&Chips Global Food Innovation Summit May 6-9, 2019 This summit will gather a community of entrepreneurs, innovators, policymakers, leaders, and activists that push for a sustainable future in food and agriculture. Food Tank President Danielle Nierenberg will participate in the summit, held in Milan, Italy, to inspire solutions for feeding the future. The summit will gather speakers tasked with inspiring attendees to do more for a sustainable food future. Award-winning actor and activist Alec Baldwin will talk about feeding the world and reducing environmental impacts in a keynote presentation. Innovators like Fabrice DeClerck, Science Director at EAT & Bioversity International, and Thomas King, founder and CEO of Food Frontier, will discuss optimizing foodtech sector. Amongst many special guests, HRH Princess Viktória de Bourbon de Parme and Olusegum Obasanjo, Former President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, will highlight opportunities for sustainable development and agriculture around the world. 5.Mogadishu now has its first motorcycle hailing app The Go! app launched in the Indian Ocean city on May 1 promising affordable and convenient options in the city’s bustling transport sector. The e-hailing service is starting out with 20 motorcycles, allowing customers to order their rides online or hail them on the street after identifying the drivers with their yellow helmet and bikes. The platform was launched by Gulivery, a delivery startup that provides third-party door-to-door services. The moto-taxi service makes the company the first in the Horn of Africa nation to venture into and digitize the motorcycle business. While Uberstyle taxi apps like Waryaa Taxi and Dhaweeye have existed before, those firms only used cars. The increase in digital transportation options comes as life in Mogadishu regains a semblance of normalcy after decades of war
2.South Africans urged to conserve energy As May marks National Energy Month in South Africa, the government uses this time to urge all citizens to conserve energy, writes ESI Africa – Africa’s leading power and energy journal “However it is not just conservation that must concern us but also innovation in the energy business to create opportunities in a number of areas, including business development, job creation, improved energy efficiency and more,” noted Dr Thembakazi Mali, interim CEO, South African National Energy Development Institute (SANEDI).Mali further stated that the current electricity crisis calls for the energy sector to refocus attention on the need to be more sustainable and more efficient.“There are huge opportunities for digitalisation and other disruptive technologies in the renewable energy sector, increasing installations, creating demand for new jobs and uplifting the local economy. If we take the whole sustainable energy drive seriously and incorporate Industry 4.0 technologies and upskill people, we will stimulate growth of a completely new industry and all that it represents,” urged Mali. 3. What if We Turned The Sahara Desert Into a Giant Solar Farm That is the question that MIN AL-HABAIBEH, asks in the THE CONVERSATION, for him the Saharan sun is powerful enough to provide Earth with significant solar energy. The statistics are mind-boggling. If the desert were a country, it would be fifth big-
gest in the world – it’s larger than Brazil and slightly smaller than China and the US. Each square metre receives, on average, between 2,000 and 3,000 kilowatt hours of solar energy per year, according to NASA estimates. Given the Sahara covers about 9m km^2, that means the total energy available – that is, if every inch of the desert soaked up every drop of the sun’s energy – is more than 22 billion gigawatt hours (GWh) a year. This is again a big number that requires some context: it means that a hypothetical solar farm that covered the entire desert would produce 2,000 times more energy than even the largest power stations in the world, which generate barely 100,000 GWh a year. In fact, its output would be equivalent to more than 36 billion barrels of oil per day – that’s around five barrels per person per day. In this scenario, the Sahara could potentially produce more than 7,000 times the electricity requirements of Europe, with almost no carbon emissions. 4.Renewable energy growth stalled last year Growth in renewable power stalled last year around the world, an unexpected development that raises questions about whether the world can meet ambitious climate goals to reduce greenhouse gases from fossil fuels, reports Chron. Last year was the first time since 2001 that power generation from renewable energy did not increase from one year to the next, according to the Paris-based intergovernmental group International Energy Agency. New capacity from wind, hydro, solar and bio-energy increased by 180 gigawatts last year, the same as it did in 2017. he growth rate is not enough to meet the goals of the 2015 Paris Agreement, a pact made by most of the nations in the world to reduce global emissions. The United States withdrew two years ago from the accord, a move made by President Donald Trump who said the pact would undermine the U.S. economy. Renewable capacity grew last year in the United States, the world’s third largest market, reflecting expansion of wind energy. Wind and solar energy capacity also expanded in many emerging economies, especially in the Middle East, North Africa and parts of Asia.
N° 004
May, 2019
RegionWeek
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Crypto Briefing:Let’s Shut Down Cryptocurrencies, Says Nobel Prize Winner 5.Africans between the ages of 17 and 35 have been invited to apply for the global Greenpreneurs challenge, which will help develop clean energy solutions into sustainable businesses. For the second year, Student Energy, the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) and Youth Climate Lab (YCL) have opened applications for Greenpreneurs, a virtual green entrepreneurship accelerator for 15 youth teams to develop their green growth idea into a viable business plan. Open to individuals from GGGI member countries, which include Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Morocco, Mozambique, Senegal, and Uganda, who can submit their idea before May 15, the challenge is seeking solutions that positively impact the future of sustainable energy, water and sanitation, sustainable landscapes, or green city development.Selected teams will from June take part in a 12-week virtual accelerator course with weekly learning modules that include webinars and tasks, as well as receive weekly coaching from mentors and subject matter experts. The programme will culminate in a business competition for the opportunity to win smallscale seed funding and conference bursaries to the International Student Energy Conference in 2021.
Joseph Stiglitz, a Nobel-Prize winning economist, the professor that currently teaches at Columbia University and former Chief Economist of the World Bank Speaking for CNBC, said that he believes moving towards an electronic payments mechanism would be a very good step for better macroeconomic management. “If we had all the data in real time, knowing what people are spending, it would enable the Federal Reserve to actually set interest rates in a much more efficient way,” he explains. However, he said he was “disturbed a great deal” by the attention cryptocurrencies were receiving “because those were moving things off of a transparent platform into a dark platform.” Cryptocurrencies are not the answer to any of the problems that the world faces, like the role of real estate in money laundering, and the US dollar should be more than enough, he claims. “We have a very good currency [the US dollar], so far the currency has been run in a very stable way, there is no need for anybody to go to a cryptocurrency. In our standard courses of economics, we talk about the attributes of a good currency, and the US dollar has all those attributes and cryptocurrencies do not have those attributes. I actually think we should shut down the cryptocurrencies,” he concludes. Each Monday evening we present to you what is happening in Cryptocurrency word 1.One of crypto’s biggest venture capital firms is going all in on bitcoin. Heisenberg Capital says it is “doubling down on Bitcoin Maximalism with new capital,” while sounding the death knell for altcoins. In a tweet, Heisenberg Capital reaffirmed its $100,000
price target on bitcoin, a 1,664 percent premium on today’s bitcoin price. As CCN reports, The fund, which has financed some of the biggest crypto startups included Kraken, Bitfinex, and ShapeShift, predicts there’s no future altcoins. Ethereum, XRP, and this year’s best-performing alt-coin BNB, it says, will be rejected by the market. Heisenberg founders Max Keiser and Stacey Herbert claim their bitcoin maximalism is a long-held philosophy. Now, that concept will be the sole driving force behind their investment decisions. 2.NAGA, the Fintech company promoter of the NAGA Coin (NGC) and operator of the Social Investing Network NAGA announces the release of its crypto/fiat exchange NAGAX.com after an extensive beta period. NAGAX offers users fast and instant access to major cryptocurrencies as well as NAGA’s native currency – the NAGA Coin. The major USP of NAGAX.com is the full integration into the Social Investing Network NAGA. com platform which is used by more than half a million traders and allows users to copy the most successful traders on more than 800 tradable assets such as Stocks, ETFs or CFDs on Counter-Strike items. NAGA Group CEO Benjamin Bilski (Forbes 30 under 30), says: “With the launch of NAGAx finally the vision of a trading platform across all asset classes is complete. NAGAx offers super-fast execution and a very user-friendly interface on web and mobile screens. 3. The volume of tweets and Google Search Volume Index (SVI) were found to be leading price indicators for Bitcoin and Ethereum According to a research paper published by the
Southern Methodist University. Researchers gathered data on Twitter mentioning Bitcoin and Ethereum; the same was done using Google trends. Building on the ideas of previous research, the hypothesis was that the number of tweets and their sentiment (positive and negative) can influence prices. In the study, it was uncovered that the number of tweets and Google searches changes first before prices do. The role of sentiment in technical or market analysis is to uncover people’s attitudes towards an entire market or individual index (in this case Bitcoin and Ethereum). The theory of sentiment analysis is a branch of technical analysis that states that price discounts everything, and that price trends are ultimately a reflection of crowd psychology.
Facebook appears to be already building out the plumbing to make its marketplace a reality. At its F8 developer conference last week, the word “blockchain” was notably absent. But even as Zuckerberg emphasized the company’s plan to reorganize your Facebook experience around intimate relationships, his update included plenty of ways money would be involved. “I believe that it should be as easy to send money to someone as it is to send a photo,” he said, alluding to “simple and secure payments” as a core feature of his privacy-forward vision.
5.The cryptoverse got two positive news and one somewhat positive announcement today from three entities. One, Switzerland’s stock exchange is considering issuing its own tokens in an effort to digitize 4.On Thursday, The assets; two, U.S.-based Wall Street Journal mutual fund giant Fireported new potential delity Investments will details about Facereportedly start offering book’s long-awaited Bitcoin trading in the cryptocurrency plans. next few weeks; and The company is reportthree, an insider at the edly seeking dozens US Commodity Futures of business partners, Trading Commission including online mer(CFTC) says the instituchants and financial tion might approve Ethefirms, in an effort to reum futures trading, if extend the reach of its it ticks all the boxes. blockchain-based marketplace. Facebook’s Thomas Zeeb, Head of would-be partners are Securities and Exchangbeing asked to pitch es at Switzerland’s into an investment fund, stock exchange SIX, told valued at $1 billion or financial news publimore, that would serve cation Finews that the as backing for Facecompany’s upcoming book’s coin and mitigate digital exchange will go the wild, speculative live with both a native swings that make cryptoken and an “initial tocurrencies like bitcoin digital offering” (IDO) in hard to spend. The 2020. “An IDO needs to pitch, according to the fulfill similar standards Journal, involves offering as an IPO [initial public merchants lower fees offering.] You can’t just than credit cards. do an ICO [initial coin offering] whitepaper, hype Some were quick to note it up a little bit, and then that this would reduce launch. As an infrastrucFacebook’s ability to ture, we want to ensure make money from paywe set the standard ments in the short term. and that existing rules But that may not matter around asset safety and much—if, in the end, investor protection are Facebook’s crypto effort maintained,” he exis really all about getting plained. you to spend more time glued to Facebook.
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RegionWeek
N° 004
May, 2019
Agro Briefing:Smart tech becomes the new tool for African farmers 1.Uganda’s Ministry of Agriculture signs memorandum of understanding (MoU) with 2 UK companies
2.Global Palm Oil Market 2019 Industry Insights and Perspective MRInsights.biz Research recently launched a new rehe joint venture between M/S search study titled Global Alvan Blanch Development Palm Oil Market 2019 by Company and Colas LimitManufacturers, Countries, ed will manufacture, supply, Type and Application, Forecast install and commission multo 2024 that envelops market tiple post-harvest processing definition, applications, and systems. The memorandum of manufacturing technology. The understanding (MoU) will also report offers complete data include delivery of related on the Palm Oil market includtraining and construction of ing components, for example, associated infrastructure. main players, size, SWOT analysis, business situation, This will supplement otheraland best patterns in the marready initiated partnerships ket. The qualitative research, created by government to describing product scope, proenable Uganda’s private secgressing industry insights and tor to increase investment in outlook to 2024 are the key processing and value addition. focuses on this research.The For example, in financial year report aims to provide cut(FY) 2019 to 2020, the minis- tingedge market intelligence try has through NAADS comand aid decision makers take mitted UGX 55 billion to set investment evaluation. up grain, fruit and feeds processing plants in the districts The report features historical of Yumbe, Kapeeka, Nwoya & visionary cost, an overview and Kayunga. This partnership with growth analysis, demand also includes Uganda Prisons, and supply data. Besides Uganda Development Corpora- studying the growth drivers tion and the Ministry of Trade, and restraints, the market reIndustry and Cooperatives. port examines the regulatory framework of the global Palm Oil market in order to offer users with a proper understanding of the policies, regu-
4.Tanzania has launched a 12-year plan to boost rice 3.Smart tech becomes the production and forestall a new tool for African farmers food crisis in the region. Farmers and crop buyers have started to harness The National Rice Developsmart gadgets and crunch ment Strategy programme numbers to improve prolaunched last month is part of ductivity and reduce costs the Coalition for African Rice Development, which is aimed Agriculture in sub-Saharan at feeding East Africa. Africa may have the image of relentless toil and low produc- Permanent Secretary in the tivity,A but experts say new Ministry of Agriculture Mathew tech is changing the picture. Mtingumwe said they are looking to raise annual rice Farmers, crop buyers and production from 2.2 million other sector professionals tonnes to 4.5 million tonnes. have started to harness smart gadgets and crunch numbers The strategy will be impleto improve productivity, remented between the governduce costs and smooth out ment, with funding from the wrinkles in the markets, they World Bank, Japan Internasay.“There’s a digital revotional Cooperation Agency and lution unfolding in Africa,” the Africa Development Bank. says Pascal Bonnet, a deputy Tanzania’s main food crops director of Cirad, the French areA maize, rice, sorghum, AgriculAtural Research Cenmillet, legumes, roots and tre for International Developtubers, horticultural crops and ment.“Around the continent, coconuts, all largely produced there are excellent researchby smallholder farmers.Maize ers in information technology, and rice are the most importdigital agriculture is a real ant staple foodcrops grown opportunity for qualified young in most parts of the country. Africans.”The idea of directly About two million farmers linking farmers to consumers, grow rice. cutting out wholesalers and stores is a familiar story in Europe and North America. lations, and future projects.
“You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated. In fact, it may be necessary to encounter the defeats, so you can know who you are, what you can rise from, how you can still come out of it.” Maya Angelou
“I am convinced that most people can achieve their dreams and beyond if they have the determination to keep trying.” Howard Schultz
“Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.” Thomas Edison
RegionWEEK is a Weekly News Briefing about Brurundi and East Africa. Publisher: RegionWeek Ltd Editor in chief: Fabrice Iranzi Head of Africa Bureau: John Nshimirimana 11, Avenue du Gouvernement, Rohero Bujumbura-Burundi Tél: +257 79 43 28 86 P.O Box 6402 Bujumbura