Nairobi — Transport organisations have announced the world’s first global conference dedicated to informal and shared mobility, bringing matatus, tuk-tuks, jeepneys and similar transport systems into the spotlight. The 1st Global Convening on Informal & Shared Mobility (GLOCON) will be held in Bangkok, Thailand, from October 26 to 28, 2026, bringing together researchers, policymakers, transport…
Debby Lawson, founder and COO of Fastizers, speaking during launch of the company’s Nibit brand. One Saturday in 2010, Gbola Lawson was knocking on the doors of small brick-and-mortar stores in Lagos – Nigeria’s megacity of roughly seventeen million people – trying to persuade shopkeepers to place cookies on their shelves. Although he held a…
My father-in-law ran a shop in the village of Mpoza, Mount Frere. He is gone now. The shop is still there, still open, still serving Mpoza, because the community still needs it, and so it continues. When CK Prahalad wrote that the world’s poorest people are not a problem to be managed but a market…
Informal apprenticeships remain Africa’s largest skills development system, providing training opportunities to millions of young people and workers who would otherwise lack access to formal training. This was one of the highlights at the third annual regional conference of the Sub-Saharan Africa Skills and Apprenticeship Stakeholders Network held in Abuja, Nigeria, last week. The Ministry…
Rory Bosman, executive for sales and marketing at Ecentric Payment Systems. The South African informal economy is surrounded by estimates. The economy itself is estimated to be worth around R900 billion, with spaza shops sitting at the heart of this thriving retail sector. The estimated 150 000 spaza shops operating around the country are contributing…
There is a story South Africa has been telling itself about the digital divide, and it is only half true. The dominant narrative frames the problem as one of connectivity: lay the fibre, lower data prices, extend mobile coverage, and the informal economy will follow. It is a tidy story, and not entirely wrong. However,…
Local officials say the death toll could rise as seven people are missing following the attack on New Year’s Eve. Published On 1 Jan 20261 Jan 2026 Click here to share on social media share2 Share At least three people have been killed and seven remain missing following an attack on an informal mine in…
Annelene Dippenaar Fintech companies have taken a boots-on-the-ground approach to providing fit-for-purpose financial services in township and rural economies – and that’s helping them outpace the banks and drive digital adoption at higher rates. This is according to Annelene Dippenaar, legal, risk and compliance officer at Shop2Shop, who told TechCentral in an interview that fintechs…
From left: Stephen Britto, CFO and Kosta Scholiadis, founder and CEO of Street Wallet. Cape Town-based fintech start-up Street Wallet has raised R6.2 million ($350 000), at a valuation of over R34 million ($2 million), to accelerate its mission of bringing SA’s street vendors and SMEs into the digital economy. This is according to Kosta…
Port Sudan, August 4, 2025 (SUNA) – Sudan’s Permanent Representative to the African Union, Ambassador Al-Zein Ibrahim Hussein, addressed the Peace and Security Council (PSC) meeting held at the African Union Informal Consultative Session on Monday, which preceded the official sitting on Sudan. Ambassador Al-Zein Ibrahim extended a detailed explanation of the developments in the…
