Float founder and CEO Alex Forsyth-Thompson South African fintech start-up Float has raised US$2.6-million (R46-million) in new funding for local expansion, to enhance its proprietary technology and to prepare for international growth. The four-year-old card-linked instalment platform currently serves about 2 000 retail stores and processes thousands of high-value transactions monthly, with average order values…
Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud on Wednesday joined regional leaders in Guba, Ethiopia, for a five-party summit focused on mobilizing financial and political support for the African Union Support Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM). The high-level meeting was attended by Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, Djiboutian President Ismaïl Omar Guelleh, Kenyan President William Ruto, and African…
New York — Education funding faces US$3.2 billion decline by 2026, placing millions of children’s futures at risk As global education funding faces steep cuts, an estimated 6 million additional children could be out of school by the end of 2026, around one-third of them in humanitarian settings, UNICEF warned in a new analysis released…
Global education funding is facing sharp reductions that could leave an extra six million children out of school by 2026, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned on Wednesday. Official Development Assistance (ODA) for education is projected to fall by $3.2 billion – a 24 per cent drop from 2023 – with just three donor governments…
Africa has an enormous ocean area at its disposal. There are almost 20 million square kilometres of ocean, seas and inland water that could be developed into environmentally sustainable blue economies. The G20 group of 19 of the world’s largest economies and the African Union also view the blue economy as key to developing the…
Yokohama City, Japan & Johannesburg, South Africa — As funding for sexual and reproductive health rights was on a “cliff edge,” parliamentarians now needed to play a “visionary” leadership role because “financing strong, resilient health systems for all their people rests with governments,” said Dr. Alvaro Bermejo, Director General of the International Planned Parenthood Federation…
Terence Tao, one of the world’s foremost mathematicians, who is often called the “Mozart of Math,” would rather not talk politics. “I do scientific research,” Tao said. “I vote, I sign a petition, but I don’t consider myself an activist.” But after the July suspension of $584 million in federal grants at UCLA, which he…
Monrovia — The largest pledge ever by the Gates Foundation for research work into “chronically underfunded areas” of women’s health was announced by the foundation on Monday. The foundation’s commitment is U.S.$2.5 billion for health research and development, and will support more than 40 innovations, particularly those affecting women in low- and middle-income countries. “Investing in…
Seattle — Investments Through 2030 to Catalyze Innovation in Maternal, Menstrual, Gynecological, and Sexual Health for Women Globally The Gates Foundation today announced a $2.5 billion commitment through 2030 to accelerate research and development (R&D) focused exclusively on women’s health. It will support the advancement of more than 40 innovations in five critical, chronically underfunded…
Monrovia — As global financial aid continues to decline, experts warn of the increasing risks posed to low-income countries and urge regional stakeholders to look inward to fund much-needed development. Speaking at the African Transformation online briefing on Tuesday, the Manager of Resources and Partnerships at the African Development Fund (ADF), Valerie Dabady, said the…
