Tanzania — AFRICA’S next financial inclusion challenge is not access to banking; it is access to expertise. Over the past two decades, the continent has rapidly expanded access to financial services. Millions more individuals now operate bank accounts, execute digital transactions, and participate in formal banking channels than ever before. Yet financial access alone has…
Many cross-border transactions still rely on the US dollar as an intermediary currency. At the same time, African currencies are often difficult to exchange directly, and few mechanisms exist for countries to settle payments with one another in local currencies. Cross-border payments in Africa remain among the most expensive in the world, despite the rapid…
Nomalungelo Gina, deputy minister of science, technology and innovation. SA has launched its first National Science Month (NSM), expanding what was previously National Science Week into a month-long programme designed to increase public engagement with science, technology and innovation. The initiative, launched by the national Department of Science, Technology and Innovation (DSTI) at the Vaal…
South Africa’s digital divide continues to threaten economic development. But this divide is not just about connectivity – it is about whether access translates into meaningful opportunities for young people: learning, employment, and participation in an economy that is already digital by default. This challenge was at the heart of a panel discussion on digital…
Lagos — “Let us commit ourselves to including everyone,” urged Father François du Penhoat, Superior General of the Society of African Missions (SMA), at the opening of the 2026 Plenary Council, which has been taking place since Monday, May 18, at the Domus Fidei of the Sisters of the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus (EHJ) in…
Paradigm Initiative (PIN), a Pan-African organisation, has released its 2025 Annual Impact Report, highlighting a year of exceptional organisational delivery and sustained impact across its digital rights and digital inclusion initiatives in Africa and the rest of the Global South. The report looked at the broader sector-wide developments across Africa and the rest of the…
Mondli Gungubele, deputy minister of communications and digital technologies. (Image source: GCIS) Digital inclusion and the role of tech in driving economic participation were in the spotlight on the second day of the Sentech Africa Tech Week Conference, at the Cape Town International Convention Centre in Cape Town, this week. Delivering the opening address, Mondli…
For millions of South Africans, access to opportunity is still determined by access to tools, particularly smartphones and digital financial services that allow for participation in the modern economy. M-KOPA South Africa’s 2025 Impact Report offers a clear view of what happens when those barriers are removed at scale. Read the full M-KOPA report “South…
A widening boycott by African petroleum ministers is casting a shadow over the 2026 Africa Energies Summit in London, raising fresh doubts about the event’s standing and intensifying criticism over representation, local content and fairness within Africa’s oil and gas industry. The decision by more ministers to stay away marks a sharp turn in the…
There are both risks and opportunities presented by the rise of finfluencers. (Image source: 123RF) The rapid rise of financial influencers, or “finfluencers”, across South Africa’s social media platforms is a double-edged sword – representing both unprecedented opportunities for financial inclusion and significant risks related to misinformation. This was the sentiment shared by regulators and…
