Over the past five years, private sector funding for fusion energy has exploded. The total invested is approaching US$10-billion, from a combination of venture capital, deep-tech investors, energy corporations and sovereign governments. Most of the companies involved (and the cash) are in the US, though activity is also increasing in China and Europe. Why has…
The Second Edition of Africa Skills Week (ASW 2025) officially opened today at the African Union Headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, marking a major milestone in Africa’s collective effort to transform its human capital landscape and accelerate industrialization. With Africa’s young and rapidly growing population, the event underscores the continent’s urgent need to bridge the…
Joël Sikam Interview with Joël SikamFOUNDER and CEO, FISCO INDUSTRIES Lives in: Douala, Cameroon Joël Sikam is the founder and CEO of Fisco Industries, a manufacturer of home and personal cleaning products in Cameroon. His ambition is to build Africa’s equivalent of Procter & Gamble, the American multinational behind household staples such as Ariel, Pampers…
New York — At the Clinton Global Initiative’s 20th Anniversary meeting, the Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Presidential Center for Women and Development (EJS Center) announced a landmark USD 30 million Commitment to Action to establish the African Women’s House and scale existing programming at the Center, as a bold investment in the future of women’s leadership…
Shelf of pharmaceutical products. D3sign | Moment | Getty Images President Donald Trump announced Thursday that the U.S. will impose a 100% tariff on “any branded or patented Pharmaceutical Product” entering the country from Oct. 1. The measure will not apply to companies building drug manufacturing plants in the U.S., Trump said. He added that…
In Ghana, farmers can generally get hold of just a few varieties of Bambara groundnut to plant. But this is beginning to change, thanks to a new way of connecting farmers with seeds from the national genebank. This is giving farmers a chance to grow varieties that may be more suited to their needs and…
The United Nations (UN) has called upon the African continent to establish integrated food corridors to connect different African production areas to main national and regional markets, in an effort to reduce post-harvest losses and improve food systems across the continent. In a statement at the Annual Summit of the African Food Systems Forum, UN…
It’s time to bridge the skills gap. South Africa is facing a youth unemployment crisis, with 63.9% of young people (ages 15-24) jobless (StatsSA, 2023). While many blame a sluggish economy, the real issue runs deeper – a massive mismatch between the skills young people have and those employers need. A 2023 report by the…
Entrepreneurship is often presented as the solution to South Africa’s unemployment crisis. For Adriaan Grové, a self-taught entrepreneur, this is true — but it comes with a dose of realism. “As we observe World Entrepreneur Day on 21 August, let’s be honest about what entrepreneurship really involves. It’s tough. It demands sacrifice, resilience, and learning…
When we think of building an SGR railway line, a massive hydroelectric dam, or a modern expressway, the first image that comes to mind is usually billions of dollars in financing, often from foreign loans, or grants. Rarely do we pause to imagine that the foundation of such mega-projects can be laid with something as…
