False payment declines are eroding bank revenue and customer loyalty. (Image created via ChatGPT) South African banks are losing significant amounts of interchange revenue as legitimate card transactions are increasingly incorrectly declined by outdated fraud detection systems. This is one of the key findings of a new report by payment technology provider BPC. It examines…
Scaling a business isn’t always about strategy or funding. Discover the five hidden leadership barriers that prevent founders from achieving sustainable growth. There comes a point in almost every founder’s journey where the challenge is no longer finding customers, generating revenue or refining the product. The business has proven itself. It has survived the uncertainty…
Dar es Salaam — THE growing burden of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) has become one of Tanzania’s most pressing public health challenges, with obesity emerging as a major risk factor behind the rising number of people diagnosed with diabetes, hypertension, heart disease and certain types of cancer. Health experts say changing lifestyles, unhealthy diets rich in…
Why are critical minerals suddenly at the centre of global politics? The story in 60 seconds Every electric vehicle, wind turbine, solar panel, smart phone; they all depend on minerals extracted from the earth. As countries accelerate the transition to clean (non-fossil fuel) energy, demand for minerals such as lithium, cobalt, nickel, copper and graphite…
From drugs to arms to poaching, unmarked boats sustain a criminal economy threatening coastal livelihoods and security. In October 2025, a major maritime operation in the high seas revealed the evolving sophistication of organised crime along East Africa’s Swahili Coast. Acting on a tip-off, the Kenyan Navy intercepted the MV Mashallah, an unregistered ‘fishing’ dhow,…
Why performance reviews and feedback can feel like physical threats. There are few things in modern work life that trigger as much dread as a performance review. They aren’t just uncomfortable; they can feel like a full-blown danger response to our identity and sense of safety. In South Africa’s high-pressure and economically uncertain work environment,…
Beneath our feet lie some of the largest living organisms on Earth. Fungi are mostly invisible and largely overlooked, but they help sustain the ecosystems and food systems that we depend on every day. In a new global study, colleagues and I have mapped Earth’s vast underground networks of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. These fungi are…
For the first time in history, adults aged over 60 now outnumber children under five – and are projected to outnumber all youth by 2050. Older women are the fastest-growing demographic globally. Yet, when it comes to preventing violence, they are often overlooked. World Elder Abuse Awareness Day on 15 June aims to shine a…
Just twenty-four hours after Wired exposed dormant facial recognition code inside Meta’s smart glasses companion app, the tech giant quietly pushed a software update to purge the software. Discovered on June 4, the internal code, dubbed “Name Tag”, was embedded within the core Meta AI application required to pair the wearable hardware to smartphones over…
Can conservation pay for itself and create meaningful livelihoods beyond fenced protected areas? Researchers and entrepreneurs across southern and east Africa are exploring ways for rural communities to generate income from sustainably harvested wild resources. At the Carnivore Restaurant, one of the most famous dining spots in Nairobi, the menu offers a telling contradiction. You…
