EBRD plans Ksh.30B first investment in Kenya as it expands into Sub-Saharan Africa By Cleophas Oluoch May 17, 2026 07:58 (EAT) Add as a Preferred Source on Google Follow us Follow on Whatsapp Follow on Google Follow on Twitter Audio By Vocalize European Bank for Reconstruction an …
… The IPDAYS Nairobi x Silicon Savannah Startup Fair 2026, held in partnership with RedStart Tunisie, Seketak, Fie Labs, and GAK Advisory, marked a milestone in Kenya’s ambition to serve as a gateway for North African startups expanding into Sub-Saharan Africa. …
… UNESCO data shows Sub-Saharan Africa has only about 90 researchers per one million people compared to the global average of 1,420 researchers per million. …
Audio By VocalizeKenya is positioning itself as a gateway for North African startups seeking expansion into Sub-Saharan Africa following the IPDAYS Nairobi x Silicon Savannah Startup Fair 2026 that brought together innovators, investors and policymakers from Kenya, Tunisia and Eg …
… The facility, unveiled during APHRC’s silver jubilee celebrations at its Kitisuru campus, is expected to serve as a regional centre for learning, innovation, collaboration and evidence-based policymaking across sub-Saharan Africa. …
… The World Bank’s 2025 Africa’s Pulse report estimates that Sub-Saharan Africa must create 25 million jobs annually over the next quarter-century to keep pace with its rapidly growing labour force.Performance strategist Dr Abiola Salami says the transition from school to work has …
Audio By VocalizeIn the vast, sun-drenched landscapes of Sub-Saharan Africa, a profound shift is underway, one that could rewrite the continent’s development story. …
… at the 2026 Economic Survey said about our economy in 2025, then what will they think when they learn that the IMF’s latest 2026 projections put Angola’s oil economy back above Kenya’s diversified one, relegating us from 6th to 7th in Africa; from 3rd to 4th in Sub-Saharan Africa …
… Subscribe to our newsletterLEAP Africa said its programmes have reached more than 7,100 young people through initiatives focused on leadership, accountability and community engagement across the continent.Sub-Saharan Africa will need to create an estimated 15 million new jobs ann …
… Across sub-Saharan Africa, the burden is even heavier. The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and UNAIDS estimate that the region accounts for about 86 per cent of adolescents living with HIV globally. …
Mawingu Foundation will host a high-level dialogue during the 81st United Nations General Assembly to explore how internet connectivity, reliable electricity and clinical technology can improve healthcare delivery in underserved communities. The event, scheduled for September 23, 2026, will bring together government leaders, healthcare practitioners, technology companies and financing institutions to discuss integrated infrastructure solutions.
Mawingu Foundation will host a high-level dialogue during the 81st United Nations General Assembly to explore how internet connectivity, reliable electricity and clinical technology can improve healthcare delivery in underserved communities. The event, scheduled for September 23, 2026, will bring together government leaders, healthcare practitioners, technology companies and financing institutions to discuss integrated infrastructure solutions.
An opinion piece argues that Africa must prioritize agriculture and trade to escape poverty and overcome aid dependency, citing former AfDB president Donald Kaberuka's view that the continent should "farm and trade" its way out of poverty rather than rely on external assistance.
A report from the Access to Medicine Foundation says generic pharmaceutical manufacturers are adapting to Africa's health needs by expanding medicine portfolios and investing in local manufacturing, but fragmented markets, unpredictable demand, and varying regulatory requirements across countries continue to limit their ability to expand access in underserved areas.
The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and Kenya Climate Ventures have signed a partnership to unlock domestic and international capital for climate adaptation and resilience businesses across Sub-Saharan Africa, focusing on early- and growth-stage enterprises that struggle to access finance.
Residents of Ivory Coast's capital struggle to find affordable housing despite economic growth, with a UN report showing Sub-Saharan Africa has the world's highest rate of rental unaffordability at 55 percent. Africa's urban population is expected to grow from 700 million to 1.4 billion by 2050, creating around 20 additional megacities with more than 10 million inhabitants.
Two workers at Frankfurt airport died from malaria contracted from an Anopheles mosquito believed to have arrived on an aircraft. Six workers were infected in total; four were being treated in hospital, and the Robert Koch Institute identified the imported mosquito as the likely cause.
An opinion piece argues that water management must be central to Africa's agricultural transformation agenda, not peripheral. Only 6 per cent of cultivated land in sub-Saharan Africa is irrigated, while 90 per cent relies on rainfall, leaving farmers vulnerable to climate shocks and unable to feed the continent's projected 2.5 billion people by 2050.
An agreement signed in Dar es Salaam between Tanzania and Uganda to develop a regional energy hub at the Port of Tanga could draw more than $20 billion in refining, storage, logistics and petrochemical investment, offering a strategic response to global energy supply vulnerabilities exposed by the February US-Iran conflict.
The World Health Organization and UNICEF report that only 40 per cent of healthcare facilities worldwide had toilets meeting basic sanitation standards, while 11 per cent have no sanitation services at all. The report, based on data from 70 countries, found significant regional variation, with only 23 per cent of facilities in sub-Saharan Africa providing basic services compared to 55 per cent in central and southern Asia.
Women account for nearly 40 per cent of the 916 million people working in agri-food systems globally, and almost half in sub-Saharan Africa. Despite their critical roles in agricultural biodiversity, decision-making, and household management, they farm under unequal conditions, with limited land ownership restricting credit access and enterprise expansion.
The US Senate has approved a two-year, four-month extension of the Africa Growth and Opportunities Act, allowing duty-free access for eligible Sub-Saharan African exports through December 31, 2028. Kenya's Cabinet Secretary for Investments, Trade and Industry said the extension provides predictability for manufacturers and protects the apparel sector, which represents 70 per cent of Kenya's total exports to the United States.
About 2,400 school-aged children and adolescents in Kajiado County will receive hygiene kits and attend Water, Sanitation and Hygiene education sessions under a new initiative launched by FedEx and Feed the Children through the Clean Futures Alliance in Kenya.
Africa's digital economy transacted $1.4 trillion through mobile money in 2025, but the continent lacks not just talent but a coordinated policy approach: digital skills, trade, and payments are typically managed separately by different ministries when they function as one interlocking system across fifty-four markets.
Web3 adoption in Africa is driven by practical financial benefits rather than cryptocurrency enthusiasm: faster, cheaper payments for remittances, farm supplies, and land ownership without middlemen. Sub-Saharan Africa received over $205 billion in on-chain value between July 2024 and June 2025, with Nigeria leading at $92.1 billion.
Sub-Saharan Africa has the world's highest cost for cross-border money transfers, averaging 8.78 percent of amounts sent compared with a global average of 6.49 percent. Binance says blockchain technology and informal savings group models could reduce these costs for families and small businesses.
The World Bank reports that artificial intelligence could enable developing countries to gain a century's worth of development in a decade if they address power, connectivity and skills gaps quickly. The report finds that developing economies face fewer job losses from AI than richer nations and have more to gain than to fear.
An opinion piece argues that as unemployment collides with automation and artificial intelligence, Kenya should move towards a three-day workweek to share limited economic opportunities more equitably and reduce factors like human trafficking that stem from idleness.
Global international financing for HIV in developing countries fell by 18 percent in 2025, the largest decline in decades, according to UNAIDS. The United States and European nations including France, Germany and the UK have dramatically slashed foreign aid contributions.
Project management experts say that while Africa has growing investment commitments worth about US$400 billion annually, fewer than 10 per cent of infrastructure projects reach financial close because nearly 80 per cent fail during feasibility or business planning stages, creating an execution gap between pledges and completed projects.
Stakeholders at the Kenya Sickle Cell Disease Symposium have praised Kenya's advances in sickle cell disease care through newborn screening, comprehensive care, research, health workforce development and community engagement. Kenya's experience is informing approaches to sickle cell disease care across Africa through collaboration between governments, healthcare providers, researchers and patient organisations.
A systematic review of 518 studies across 125 low- and middle-income countries found that women's agency—control over money, time, and decisions—is the single most important factor shaping dietary quality, more so than food availability or household income. The prevalence of anaemia among women has worsened since 2012, rising from 28% to 31%, affecting millions globally.
Kenya marked National Reading Day 2026 with government officials and education stakeholders calling for strengthened literacy and a culture of reading. The celebrations at Kenya National Library Service Headquarters gathered government officials, educators, publishers, authors, librarians and development partners under the theme "Our Stories, Our Future: Empowering Minds Through Reading," amid UNESCO findings that about seven in ten children in Sub-Saharan Africa cannot read and understand a simple text by age 10.
Kuramo Capital Management has closed investment mandates worth approximately $500 million (about Ksh.64.5 billion) from African pension funds and development finance institutions, aiming to mobilise local capital for investment across the continent. The funding includes commitments to the Investment in Digital and Creative Enterprises (iDICE) initiative, MEMA, and the Kuramo Africa Opportunity Fund IV Nigeria.
Kenya is addressing learning poverty through a Reading Day campaign aimed at 1 million children. The initiative highlights barriers to literacy and education in remote pastoralist communities, including lack of civil registration, limited school enrollment, and parental challenges in engaging with formal education systems.
Kenya is addressing learning poverty through a Reading Day campaign aimed at 1 million children, with particular focus on barriers to education in remote pastoralist communities such as Loita, Narok County, where families face obstacles including lack of civil registration and limited parental engagement with schools.
An opinion piece argues that circularity—optimising resource use and minimising waste—is not new to Africa but has been embedded in household and business practices through necessity and creativity. The continent should build on these existing practices rather than treating circularity as a new global trend.
Spotify has joined Afronation Portugal 2026 as an official sponsor and exclusive streaming partner, creating a dedicated festival destination on the platform with on-demand content, exclusive performances, and official playlists. The festival takes place from 3 to 5 July in Portimão, Portugal.
The US Trade Representative has launched the 26th annual review of Kenya's eligibility for AGOA benefits, with concerns over human rights abuses and corruption by the Ruto administration. The review, scheduled to include a public hearing on July 23, comes months after Trump extended the trade programme for one year after it lapsed in September 2025.
The US Office of the Trade Representative has initiated its 26th annual review of Sub-Saharan African countries' AGOA eligibility for 2027, amid concerns over human rights abuses and corruption allegations against the Ruto administration. The review comes months after Trump extended the trade programme for one year after it lapsed in September 2025.
Agricultural leaders, policymakers, scientists, and farmers have gathered in Nairobi for DialogueNEXT in Africa, a World Food Prize Foundation summit aimed at accelerating agricultural innovation and addressing food security as Africa faces climate pressures and population growth projected to make the continent home to more than one in every four people globally by 2050.