Category: East Africa

Arusha-based solar company Off Grid Electric (OGE) has won the prestigious Zayed Future Energy Prize for its work in bringing electricity to power-starved areas of Tanzania. In a world where one in five people live without electricity,Off Grid Electric provide clean, transformative energy to households that suffer from expensive, unreliable grids or have no grid access

Tigo, Tanzania’s leading digital lifestyle company, has since last year donated more than 2,400 desks worth over US$ 105,000 to needy primary schools in the country in a sustainable exercise that is meant to alleviate the serious shortage of desks in the country’s schools. Two thousand, four hundred desks are able to comfortably accommodate over

Export abattoir built by nine Ethiopian Diasporas in Somali State has gone operational. The abattoir, whose capital investment is 172 million Birr, has the capacity to slaughter 2,000 cattle per day. The abattoir was inaugurated by Livestock and Fisheries State Minister, Gebregziabher Gebreyohannes (PhD) and President of Somali State, Abdi Mohammed. According to Gebregziabher, power

Omantel, the national operator of Oman and the leading wholesale carrier in the Middle East, today announced the signing of the supply agreement with Xtera Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: XCOM), a leading provider of high-capacity, cost-effective optical transport solutions, for building yet another unique submarine cable to strengthen its position in the region and beyond. The

The new digitalised and machine-readable East African Passport replaces the old EAC travel document, which was restricted to just the five member states. Apparently, the proposed new one is going to be as international as the current Tanzanian booklet passport, which means it will be accepted all over the globe. Arusha will be hosted five

Ethiopia now provides major incentives for local and foreign companies that plan to enter the pharmaceutical industry. The benefits range from giving precedence to local companies in government procurement to offering an advance payment for up to 30% of the value of the orders. Pharmaceutical companies based in Ethiopia also enjoy tax-free loans for up

Rwanda is moving fast into the age of the internet. As part of the broad Smart Kigali initiative, more than 400 buses have been connected to 4G Internet connection, which will allow passengers on board have full access to free super-fast internet. Some 487 buses belonging to Kigali Bus Services, Royal Express and Rwanda Federation

The French multinational retailer, Carrefour opened its doors to Kenyan consumers in October this year. This is Carrefour’s first venture into Sub Saharan Africa although it has a store in Egypt. Massmart, another multinational retailer whose biggest shareholder is Walmart, opened in Nairobi through its Game subsidiary recently. “There is a rise in high-end consumer demand in the country

The rising trade between Dubai and Africa has prompted the Dubai Chamber of Commerce to announce the opening of two new offices in Africa in 2016. The two offices will be in Nairobi (Kenya) and Maputo (Mozambique) and should be fully operational in the first quarter of 2016. The Dubai Chamber of Commerce already has

East Africa is emerging as a hotspot for impact investing that promotes not just profits but also sound environmental and social principles. In the past five years, about $9.3 billion in impact investment funds has flowed into the region. Nairobi has been identified as the hub of the funding and headquarters of the managers handling

India’s Raymond Ltd Company has concluded an agreement with the Ethiopian Investment Commission to invest in Ethiopia a US$100 million in Hawassa town. Genet Zewde, Ethiopia’s Ambassador to India, said it took us seven years to bring Raymond to invest in Ethiopia, adding, as the largest integrated manufacturer of worsted fabric globally, its engagement in Ethiopia will

Philip Morris International (PMI), the largest buyer of tobacco in Tanzania, is ramping up efforts to implement its Sustainable Tobacco Production model among the nation’s 65 000 contracted tobacco-growing families. PMI purchases tobacco from three suppliers in Tanzania, contributing more than US$150-million annually to the economic development of the country’s rural areas. PMI Director Leaf Africa

flydubai’s inaugural flight landed in the capital city of Eritrea, Asmara on 25th September, 2015. As it landed at Asmara International Airport, senior Eritrean officials including Tesfaslassie Berhane, Minister of Transportation and Communication, Askalu Menkorios, Minister of Tourism and Paulos Kahsai, Director General Civil Aviation Authority welcomed the flydubai delegation led by Sudhir Sreedharan, Senior

The Ethiopian leather industry was successful in  beating back competition from China by adopting some unique and innovative methods Some time around the year 2000, the Ethiopian shoe industry faced an unprecedented period. The market began opening its doors to cheaper, shiny and attractive plastic shoes from China that left local dealers anxious about the

Two thirds of all device units sold in Kenya for the last two years have been smartphones, says the country’s largest mobile operator by market share Safaricom. Safaricom, which is Kenya’s biggest mobile operator with over 20 million subscribers, says that there has been a consistent rise in demand for smartphones in the country. The company

Emirates has frequent promotions where the airline offers its Ethiopian and Kenyan customers a free UAE visa when booking a ticket to Dubai to further increase its share of the continent’s air traffic. Offering free tourist visas is but one of the popular marketing play employed by some airlines as they aggressively push for an ever