<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="800" height="800" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/1.-Main-flyer-Square-ENG-800x800.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-413236" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/1.-Main-flyer-Square-ENG-800x800.jpg 800w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/1.-Main-flyer-Square-ENG-300x300.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/1.-Main-flyer-Square-ENG-90x90.jpg 90w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/1.-Main-flyer-Square-ENG-768x768.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/1.-Main-flyer-Square-ENG-1536x1536.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/1.-Main-flyer-Square-ENG-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" /></figure>



When Maria Ressa, a journalist from the Philippines and co-founder of digital native news site Rappler, was announced as one of this year’s winners of the Nobel Peace Prize, she dedicated the award to all journalists everywhere.



Ressa is an example of a new breed of media innovators and entrepreneurs. Founded in 2012, Rappler used technology, data, and content to bring dynamic and new forms of journalism to its highly engaged readership, with editorial independence enshrined at its core.



Africa, too, has experienced its own explosion of independent digital media over the past decade. Earlier disruptors like South Africa’s Daily Maverick, founded in 2009, are now among the digital veterans. New media start-ups have launched in waves, to become story-tellers and change agents. &nbsp;These include <a href="https://mg.co.za/thecontinent/">The Continent</a>, a digital newspaper distributed via WhatsApp, to more specialised organisations like <a href="https://tazamaafrica.org/">Tazama World Media</a> which helps marginalised communities in Kenya.



Africa’s digital native media are responding to African realities and putting their own stamp on how to create positive change and transform societies. But how do they compare against those in other regions? And how many of them will emerge as profitable concerns once the economic fallout of the pandemic is reckoned with?



A <a href="https://data2021.sembramedia.org/">new study of digital native media</a> in three continents notes that despite limited resources, many of Africa’s digital news organisations are punching above their weight, uncovering untold stories and creating change.



Of the 49 Ghanaian, Kenyan, Nigerian and South African news organizations interviewed for the Inflection Point International, more than 85 per cent reported having contributed to ‘significant political and societal changes’ &#8211; including increased civic engagement, criminal investigations and changes in the law.



Nigeria’s <a href="https://humanglemedia.com/">HumAngle</a> trained women displaced by Boko Haram in citizen journalism and armed them with smart phones. This has helped expose scandals in food diversions and food-for-sex in camps.



The work of these media entrepreneurs is being recognized locally, nationally and globally – 57 per cent of African digital newsrooms reported winning national awards for their stories and 28 per cent have won international awards.



Digital native media in Africa are also investing more heavily in <a href="https://www.solutionsjournalism.org/">solutions journalism</a>. Almost half of the organizations interviewed said they were pursuing some form of solutions journalism, providing policy makers with new ideas for solving intractable social challenges.



Notwithstanding this recognition, more than half of African media organizations reported being the victim of online harassment or threats &#8211; and more than a third had suffered Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks, a common method for taking down a website in which a hacker uses thousands of compromised computers to overload a website, making it impossible for anyone else to visit it. In Ghana and Nigeria, at least half of the media organizations had been subject to a DDoS assault.



Africa’s digital media are filling news deserts and working hard to attract audiences that often feel under-represented by existing media outlets in their markets. Yet many of them have a long way to go before they have viable business models to sustain them for the long term. Hiring in the right expertise is key: those outlets in the study who employed a dedicated staff member to drive revenue earned six to nine times more revenue than those who didn’t.&nbsp;



Philanthropic grant funding has an important role to play in helping outlets bridge to new income streams. Luminate has long worked to support independent media &#8211; we see this as an essential component of a healthy democracy. <a href="https://data2021.sembramedia.org/">Inflection Point International</a> presents the deepest and broadest research into the state of digital native media in Latin America, Southeast Asia, and Africa with 200 outlets interviewed across the three regions. &nbsp;With this far-reaching report, Africa’s digital media can learn from the successes and challenges in other countries and regions but also offer forward-looking solutions to media outlets elsewhere.



Abdul Noormohamed is Director, Africa for the global philanthropic organisation Luminate.

1. Main flyer – Square – ENG

Digital Native News Media Playing a Vital Role in Africa

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="615" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/T757JB4SSNMCNO7VDARRFBTEWY-820x615.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-413037" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/T757JB4SSNMCNO7VDARRFBTEWY-820x615.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/T757JB4SSNMCNO7VDARRFBTEWY-300x225.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/T757JB4SSNMCNO7VDARRFBTEWY-120x90.jpg 120w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/T757JB4SSNMCNO7VDARRFBTEWY-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/T757JB4SSNMCNO7VDARRFBTEWY.jpg 960w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>Protesters block a road during what the information ministry calls a military coup in Khartoum, Sudan, October 25, 2021. REUTERS/El Tayeb Siddig</figcaption></figure>



KHARTOUM, Oct 26 (Reuters) &#8211; Roads were blocked, shops were shut, phones were down and mosque loudspeakers blared calls for a general strike in Sudan on Tuesday, a day after the army seized power in a coup that triggered unrest in which at least seven people were killed.



Plumes of smoke rose over Khartoum from tyres set ablaze by protesters. Life came to a halt in the capital and in its twin city Omdurman across the Nile, with roads blocked either by soldiers or by protester barricades.



The night appeared to have passed comparatively quietly after Monday&#8217;s unrest, when protesters took to the streets after soldiers arrested Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok and other civilians in the cabinet. A health ministry official said seven people had been killed in clashes between protesters and the security forces.



On Monday, takeover leader General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan dissolved the military-civilian Sovereign Council set up to guide Sudan to democracy following the overthrow of long-ruling autocrat Omar al-Bashir in a popular uprising two years ago.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Read more: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2021/sudan-faces-military-coup-detainees-should-be-freed-information-ministry/">Sudan military seizes power, dissolves transitional government</a></h3>



Burhan announced a state of emergency, saying the armed forces needed to protect safety and security. He promised to hold elections in July 2023 and hand over to an elected civilian government then. On Tuesday he dissolved committees that govern trade unions, Arabic news channels reported.



The Sudan information ministry, still loyal to Hamdok, has called the takeover a crime and said Hamdok is still the legitimate leader.



Hamdok and his missing cabinet members were still being held in an unknown location, the foreign minister of the ousted government said in a message posted on the information ministry&#8217;s Facebook page on Tuesday.



Main roads and bridges between Khartoum and Omdurman were closed to vehicles by the military. Banks and cash machines were shut, and mobile phone apps widely used for money transfers could not be accessed.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-paying-the-price">&#8216;PAYING THE PRICE&#8217;</h2>



Some bakeries were open in Omdurman but people were queuing for several hours, longer than usual.



&#8220;We are paying the price for this crisis,&#8221; a man in his 50s looking for medicine at one of the pharmacies where stocks have been running low said angrily. &#8220;We can&#8217;t work, we can&#8217;t find bread, there are no services, no money.&#8221;



In the western city of El Geneina, resident Adam Haroun said there was complete civil disobedience, with schools, stores and gas stations closed.



The Sudanese Professionals Association, an activist coalition that played a major role in the uprising that toppled Bashir, has called for a strike.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Read more: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2021/mass-protests-in-sudan-against-prospect-of-military-rule/">Mass protests in Sudan against prospect of military rule</a></h3>



Western governments have condemned the coup, called for the release of the detained civilian leaders and threatened to cut off aid, which Sudan needs to recover from an economic crisis.



The United States has said it was immediately pausing delivery of $700 million in emergency support.



Sudan has been ruled for most of its post-colonial history by military leaders who seized power in coups. It had become a pariah to the West and was on a U.S. terrorism blacklist under Bashir, who hosted Osama bin Laden in the 1990s and is wanted by the International Criminal Court in the Hague for war crimes.



Since Bashir was toppled, the military shared power uneasily with civilians under a transition meant to lead to elections in 2023. The country had been on edge since last month when a failed coup plot, blamed on Bashir supporters, unleashed recriminations between the military and civilians. 



(Writing by Michael Georgy; Editing by Lincoln Feast and Peter Graff)

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Sudan capital locked down after coup triggers deadly unrest

<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter size-full is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/image.png" alt="" class="wp-image-412379" width="673" height="446" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/image.png 792w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/image-300x199.png 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/image-136x90.png 136w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/image-768x509.png 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 673px) 100vw, 673px" /><figcaption>FILE PHOTO: Euro, Hong Kong dollar, U.S. dollar, Japanese yen, pound and Chinese 100 yuan banknotes are seen in this picture illustration, January 21, 2016. REUTERS/Jason Lee/Illustration</figcaption></figure></div>



Central banks that launched massive emergency support to fight the pandemic last year are now planning a global turn in the other direction, with gaps already emerging in their perceived risk of inflation, the need to respond to it, and the pace of the likely return to normal monetary policy.



They are confronted with common supply shocks and common risks around a pandemic that continues to shape commerce.



&#8220;Globally we are still in for a long process,&#8221; of reopening and adapting to the post-pandemic economy, St. Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard said this week in a Reuters interview.



But the reopening, and particularly the associated inflation, is being felt differently across the developed world, testing officials&#8217; understanding of the post-pandemic economy and their ability to hit a shared 2% inflation target without derailing global growth.



The heads of the world&#8217;s four major central banks gather for a mostly virtual European Central Bank forum on Wednesday, and if last year was marked by a uniform rush to stave off the worst, their exit strategies are already diverging.



That&#8217;s led to major policy scuffling both in Europe and the United States over how much inflation risk central banks should tolerate as they try to make up for sluggish prices in the years since the Great Recession a decade ago &#8211; a major gamble, in effect, over whether the post-pandemic world will work the same as before.



Policy divergence among the world&#8217;s major central banks can influence markets worldwide, shifting capital flows, exchange rates and trade patterns. There may even be limits on how far a central bank like the Fed might go in normalizing policy or raising interest rates if major partners like the ECB aren&#8217;t moving in the same direction.



It is still early in the transition from the pandemic, but differences are already emerging.



“The key challenge is to ensure that we do not overreact to transitory supply shocks,” ECB President Christine Lagarde said at her bank&#8217;s premier research conference on Tuesday, and policy “must remain focused on steering the economy safely out of the pandemic emergency&#8221; rather than squelching any short-term increase in prices.



Like the ECB, the Fed is also banking on inflation easing largely on its own. But discussion of the risks has become more prominent, and in projections last week virtually all Fed officials said it was more likely inflation would run hotter than expected than otherwise.



Even as Lagarde spoke, Fed Chair Jerome Powell testified to the U.S. Congress about &#8220;bottlenecks, hiring difficulties, and other constraints&#8221; that have led the Fed to project inflation this year at 4.2%, twice the official target, and may make it more persistent.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-cost-of-living-crisis">COST-OF-LIVING CRISIS?</h2>



The potential problems are manifold. The pandemic still rages, and while businesses and consumers have adapted to a large degree, it still shapes who is showing up for work, what goods and services get produced, and how fast those goods are moved around the planet and how smoothly those services are delivered.



Workers are moving back into jobs, but more slowly in many places than anticipated. The supply shocks that began with the first coronavirus shutdowns in 2020 continue to reverberate, whether in the form of fuel shortages in the UK, German auto plants waiting for computer chips, U.S. factories lacking industrial goods, backlogged shipping routes, or rising prices.



The Fed last week said it was nearing its first steps to wind down the emergency bond buying launched in March of 2020, and half of U.S. policymakers at their most recent meeting now say interest rates may need to increase next year.



For the Bank of England, the tipping point may already be in view, with markets expecting a rate increase no later than February, and yearly price increases of 4% beginning to show in public opinion.



&#8220;Talk of a &#8216;cost of living&#8217; crisis is gaining traction &#8230; and the public may be looking at the BoE to lean against inflation risks coming out of the pandemic,&#8221; Deutsche Bank economist Sanjay Raja wrote in a note to clients on Friday.



Japan&#8217;s core consumer inflation index, by contrast, remained flat in August, indicating that country&#8217;s decades-long battle with weak prices continues. Wholesale prices are rising, pushed by global commodities inflation, but growth is weak and Bank of Japan policy expected to remain loose.



The ECB has downplayed any post-pandemic policy shift.



Bondbuying through its Pandemic Emergency Purchase Programme will decline under the legislation that authorized it. But the bank is expected to expand other programs to partly compensate, with Lagarde arguing inflation remaining below the 2% target is a bigger risk than prices soaring persistently above it.



Looking back on the last decade it&#8217;s a natural concern.



By 2012 all the major central banks had fixed 2% as their preferred inflation target, then proceeded to persistently run short of it through a decade of sluggish growth.



The policy bias is now to err on the other side &#8211; and to hope the world cooperates.

image

Central banks parse inflation risk as turn from pandemic policy begins

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="740" height="416" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/106931696-1629727676310-gettyimages-1234821819-AFP_9LH8GR.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-411803" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/106931696-1629727676310-gettyimages-1234821819-AFP_9LH8GR.jpeg 740w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/106931696-1629727676310-gettyimages-1234821819-AFP_9LH8GR-300x169.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/106931696-1629727676310-gettyimages-1234821819-AFP_9LH8GR-160x90.jpeg 160w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /><figcaption>Juan Rodriguez (L) reacts while receiving Johnson &#038; Johnson’s Janssen Covid-19 vaccine administered by vocational nurse Christina Garibay at a Skid Row community outreach event where Covid-19 vaccines and testing were offered in Los Angeles, California on August 22, 2021.
Frederic J. Brown | AFP | Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



The Food and Drug Administration authorized Pfizer and BioNTech’s Covid-19 booster shots for people 65 and older and other vulnerable Americans six months after they complete their first two doses, making many Americans eligible to receive the shots now.



The FDA’s decision largely follows recommendations given Friday by its key vaccine advisory committee at a more than 8-hour agency meeting. The Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee voted 16-2 against distributing the vaccines to Americans 16 and older, before unanimously embracing an alternate plan to give boosters to older Americans and those at a high risk of suffering from severe illness if they get the virus.



Though Americans 65 and older make up roughly 17% of the U.S. population, they are the most at risk of dying from Covid, accounting for more than 77% of all Covid deaths, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.



The FDA granted emergency use authorization to administer Pfizer’s shots to older Americans and people from 18- to 64-years-old with medical conditions that place them at risk of getting severely sick. The agency also included a broad definition of people from 18 to 64 “whose frequent institutional or occupational exposure” to the virus place them at a high risk of developing serious complications from Covid. That leaves enough wiggle room for the CDC to potentially clear third doses for people in nursing homes, prisons, front-line health employees and other essential workers who were among the first Americans who got the initial shots in December.



“The FDA considered the committee’s input and conducted its own thorough review of the submitted data to reach today’s decision,” Dr. Peter Marks, the agency’s top vaccine regulator, said in a statement. “We will continue to analyze data submitted to the FDA pertaining to the use of booster doses of COVID-19 vaccines and we will make further decisions as appropriate based on the data.” 



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-read-more-fda-grants-full-approval-to-pfizer-biontech-s-covid-shot-clearing-path-to-more-vaccine-mandates">Read more: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2021/fda-grants-full-approval-to-pfizer-biontechs-covid-shot-clearing-path-to-more-vaccine-mandates/">FDA grants full approval to Pfizer-BioNTech’s Covid shot, clearing path to more vaccine mandates</a></h3>



The nonbinding decision by the vaccine advisory committee was expected to be a controversial one as the Biden administration has said it wants to begin offering booster shots to the general public as early as this week, pending authorization from U.S. health regulators.



While the agency hasn’t always followed the advice of its committee, it often does. Still, Marks reminded the panel on Friday that federal regulators did not have to accept its recommendation as written.



“We are not bound at FDA by your vote, just so you understand that. We can tweak this as need be,” he said.



In clearing the shots, which only apply to people who received Pfizer’s original vaccine, the FDA cited a small study provided by the company of about 300 people who received the boosters, data provided by the U.K. as well as more comprehensive, but less rigorous data, from Israeli health authorities.



Some scientists, including at least two at the FDA, had said they weren’t entirely convinced every American who has received the Pfizer vaccine needed extra doses at this time. However, the nation’s top health regulators, including CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky, acting FDA Commissioner Dr. Janet Woodcock and White House chief medical advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci, already endorsed Biden’s booster plan in August.



Friday’s vote put the FDA panel in an “awkward position” as the administration has already announced they would begin distributing boosters to the general public this month, Northwell Health chief of infectious disease Dr. Bruce Farber said prior to the panel’s recommendation.



Some committee members said they were concerned that there wasn’t enough data to make a recommendation, while others argued third shots should be limited to certain groups, such as people over age 60 who are known to be at higher risk of severe disease. Some members raised concerns about the risk of myocarditis in younger people, saying more research is needed.



Phil Krause, an FDA vaccine regulator who is leaving the agency over pressure from the Biden administration to approve the shots, was critical of the findings presented at the meeting, saying much of the data had not been reviewed by the federal agency or peer-reviewed. He said the models used were complex and scientists have to ensure it “is giving you the correct results.”



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Read more: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2021/why-are-covid-cases-so-high-when-millions-are-fully-vaccinated-blame-the-delta-variant-experts-say/">Why are Covid cases so high when millions are fully vaccinated? Blame the delta variant, experts say</a></h3>



“That’s part of the difficulty at looking at this kind of data without having the chance for FDA to review it,” he said.



In outlining plans last month to start distributing boosters as early as this week, administration officials cited three CDC studies that showed the vaccines’ protection against Covid diminished over several months. Senior health officials said at the time they worried protection against severe disease, hospitalization and death “could” diminish in the months ahead, especially among those who are at higher risk or were vaccinated during the earlier phases of the vaccination rollout.



Pfizer said In documents made public last week that an observational study in Israel showed a third dose of the Covid vaccine six months after a second shot restores protection from infection to 95%. The data was collected from July 1 through Aug. 30 when the fast-spreading delta variant was surging throughout the country.



In a presentation Friday, Dr. Sharon Elroy-Preiss of Israel’s Health Ministry argued that if officials there had not begun distributing boosters at the end of July, the nation likely would have exceeded its hospital capacity. Health officials began to see a trend, she said, of individuals in their 40s and 50s who were fully vaccinated become critically ill with Covid.



“We didn’t want to wait to see those results and we knew that we needed to vaccinate a larger portion of the population in order to get the numbers down quickly,” she told the committee. Israeli health authorities expected severe cases to average 2,000 by late August, she said. “We were able to dampen that effect and our severe cases are roughly 700 or less and have stayed stable, even though we still have days at 10,000 confirmed cases.”



The FDA OK is not the final go-ahead. The CDC’s vaccine advisory committee held the first day of a two-day meeting Wednesday to debate the third shots with a vote on the FDA’s proposal scheduled Thursday afternoon. If they issue a recommendation and it is approved by the CDC, booster shots could begin immediately.

106931696-1629727676310-gettyimages-1234821819-AFP_9LH8GR

FDA authorizes Pfizer’s Covid booster shots for people 65 and older and other vulnerable Americans

Connected phones can save lives and secure food



In Africa, the internet of things (IoT) plays an increasingly important role in sectors like agriculture and healthcare.



Traditionally the provider of voice, data connectivity and mobile payments solutions, the telecommunication sector is now using technology to build an entire ecosystem around the individual consumer. Ultra-modern technologies and applications that leverage our hyper-connected lives are being piloted as commerce, the full range of financial services with social media and entertainment all conducted and consumed on one platform.



In the developed world, IoT enables Smart cities, homes, manufacturing and a range of other connected industries and services. In developing Africa, it’s enhancing livelihood security and access to basic healthcare services. &nbsp;&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Agriculture:</h2>



Agriculture in Africa is being affected by climate change and water shortages, yet there is a growing population in need of sustainable food security and greater financial inclusion.



According to GSMA, mobile subscriber penetration in Sub-Saharan Africa in 2020 was 46% and is expected to reach 50% by 2025. More importantly, smartphone adoption was at 48% in 2020 and is expected to reach 64% by 2025. It’s not uncommon in Africa to have access to a mobile phone but not to water or electricity.



These high levels of connectivity and cell phone penetration means that farmers can benefit from real-time data. This can materially enhance crop yields, soil quality analysis, resource management, tracking of livestock, farm security management, sustainable pest control and reduction of post-harvest wastage.



To leverage the power of the internet of things, MTN, present <a></a><a>in 19 African countries, has partnered with Aotoso Technology in a proof-of-concept process to provide connected collars for cattle in the Sudanese cattle market. Using sim cards on the collar and their cell phones, farmers can get vital information about the cattle, which they can use to inform feeding and breeding strategies as well as prevention of cattle theft.</a>



Orange, present in 16 countries in Africa, has co-developed Wazihub. Wazihub is an IoT innovation project that helps mainly informal sector farmers with monitoring their livestock and crops for better disease detection and irrigation strategies.



Vodacom, present in 7 countries in Africa, has MyFarmWeb which collects data from multiple IoT sensors across the farm, the data is then collated centrally on an App and can be used to make crucial decisions. There are 77 Farms in the eastern Free State province of South Africa that use MyFarmWeb and its precision farming technology to gather data in farming corn, soybeans and sugar beans.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="800" height="800" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/absa_insights_TMT_bbc-banner_1200x1200-800x800.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-411877" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/absa_insights_TMT_bbc-banner_1200x1200-800x800.jpg 800w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/absa_insights_TMT_bbc-banner_1200x1200-300x300.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/absa_insights_TMT_bbc-banner_1200x1200-90x90.jpg 90w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/absa_insights_TMT_bbc-banner_1200x1200-768x768.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/absa_insights_TMT_bbc-banner_1200x1200.jpg 1200w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" /></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-healthcare">Healthcare:</h2>



Another area where IoT can have profound impacts in Africa, is healthcare. Covid-19 accelerated digitalisation across all industries, none more so than healthcare. In South Africa, regulations were relaxed for virtual consultations and also now allow virtual medicine prescriptions.



Vodacom’s technology subsidiary IoT.nxt developed a thermal camera to help businesses track and manage the spread of COVID-19.



Another Vodacom company called Mezzanine, developed mVacciNation solution – an electronic health record solution that supports vaccination coverage. South Africa’s national Department of Health uses mVacciNation to support its COVID-19 vaccination programme. Mezzanine, through IoT, also helps actively track movements and stock levels of PPE and other vital healthcare materials.



Hospital Group Netcare, notes a trend of participatory health and care where patients are increasingly shifting towards wellbeing, wellness, convenience and integrated personalised health care. IoT serves as an important enabler of this trend. &nbsp;



IoT can literally save lives while democratising access to quality healthcare services and support. For example, MTN has a strategic partnership with Quro Medical who operate a tele-medicine service in South Africa. Connected by MTNs IoT suite of products, Quro has created a platform which enables the remote monitoring of patients’ vital signs. Patients wear various light, compact biosensors which collect vital signs and connect to a smartphone. This information can be tracked by a team of healthcare professionals. Healthcare services can be delivered without patients having to travel long distances to and from clinics and hospitals. This alleviates pressure on hospitals and creates greater convenience for patients.



In Côte d’Ivoire, Orange, along with various other partners are making strides in HIV patient monitoring and treatments as well as vaccine programmes for young children particularly in areas of historically low uptake. IoT is not without its challenges. Given the sheer volume of personal and business data being collected, analysed and stored, cyber security as well as protection of personal information becomes paramount. Scepticism and lack of full understanding on IoT could result in slower adoption. In Africa, high unemployment also plays into the decision on whether to fast track IoT adoption or not. Roll-out of 5G, which requires appropriate Spectrum, is also important for the rate of adoption of IoT.&nbsp; One thing for sure is that IoT will become part of the fabric of society, the pace of adoption remains to be seen. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

absa_insights_TMT_bbc-banner_1200x1200

How telecommunication companies are using technology in agriculture and healthcare in Africa

Washington, DC – August 23, 2021:&nbsp;Ms. Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) made the following statement today:



“The largest allocation of Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) in history—about US$650 billion—comes into effect today. The allocation is a significant shot in the arm for the world and, if used wisely, a unique opportunity to combat this unprecedented crisis.



“The SDR allocation will provide additional liquidity to the global economic system – supplementing countries’ foreign exchange reserves and reducing their reliance on more expensive domestic or external debt. Countries can use the space provided by the SDR allocation to support their economies and step up their fight against the crisis.



“SDRs are being distributed to countries in proportion to their quota shares in the IMF. This means about US$275 billion is going to emerging and developing countries, of which low-income countries will receive about US$21 billion – equivalent to as much as 6 percent of GDP in some cases.



“SDRs are a precious resource and the decision on how best to use them rests with our member countries. For SDRs to be deployed for the maximum benefit of member countries and the global economy, those decisions should be prudent and well-informed.



“To support countries, and help ensure transparency and accountability, the IMF is providing a framework for assessing the macroeconomic implications of the new allocation, its statistical treatment and governance, and how it might affect debt sustainability. The IMF will also provide regular updates on all SDR holdings, transactions, and trading – including a follow-up report on the use of SDRs in two years’ time.



“To magnify the benefits of this allocation, the IMF is encouraging voluntary channeling of some SDRs from countries with strong external positions to countries most in need. Over the past 16 months, some members have already pledged to lend US$24bn, including US$15 billion from their existing SDRs, to the IMF’s Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust, which provides concessional loans to low-income countries. This is just a start, and the IMF will continue to work with our members to build on this effort.



“The IMF is also engaging with its member countries on the possibility of a new Resilience and Sustainability Trust, which could use channeled SDRs to help the most vulnerable countries with structural transformation, including confronting climate-related challenges. Another possibility could be to channel SDRs to support lending by multilateral development banks.



“This SDR allocation is a critical component of the IMF’s broader effort to support countries through the pandemic, which includes: US$117 billion in new financing for 85 countries; debt service relief for 29 low-income countries; and policy advice and capacity development support to over 175 countries to help secure a strong and more sustainable recovery.”



Link to more information on SDRs:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.imf.org/en/Topics/special-drawing-right" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Special Drawing Rights (imf.org)</a>

IMF Managing Director Announces the US$650 billion SDR Allocation Comes into Effect

DURBAN, South Africa, July 17 (Reuters) &#8211; South African authorities in the port city of Durban said on Saturday they were investigating a coastal chemical spill that may have been caused by a warehouse fire during <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2021/south-africas-durban-port-suffers-major-disruption-over-violence/">unrest this week</a>.



Other possible sources are also being investigated as the cause of the spill, which is affecting marine and bird life, the eThekwini municipality said late on Friday, urging local residents not to use beaches in the area.



&#8220;Extensive environmental impacts are being reported at uMhlanga and uMdhloti lagoons and beaches in the vicinity, that have killed numerous species of marine and bird life,&#8221; the municipality said in a statement.



&#8220;The pollution is considered serious and can affect one&#8217;s health if species are collected and consumed. Lagoon and seawater contact must be avoided.&#8221;



Reuters reporters saw dead fish that had washed onshore on Saturday, as a clean-up company worked to mop up the spill.



KwaZulu-Natal province&#8217;s head of environmental affairs, Ravi Pillay, said water samples would be tested on Monday.



&#8220;We will see the results from there,&#8221; Pillay told Reuters. &#8220;We have some evidence of some limited impact on marine life. Our team is satisfied that there is no impact on public health.&#8221;



President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Friday the unrest that ripped through several parts of the country in the past week was stabilising and calm had been restored to most affected areas.



<a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2021/violence-spreads-in-south-africa-as-grievances-boil-over/">Protests broke out after former President Jacob Zuma</a> was jailed for failing to appear at a corruption inquiry and swiftly degenerated into looting and arson which has killed more than 200 people and destroyed hundreds of businesses.



The municipality also said some residents were reporting smoke residue from burned chemical products. It advised people to close windows and doors and put wet cloths over vents until the smoke cleared.



Pillay said air quality testing was being undertaken. (Additional reporting by Zandi Shabalala Writing by Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo Editing by Helen Popper)



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Shipping Operations At The Port Of Durban

South African authorities probe coastal chemical spill in Durban

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ABUJA, July 16 (Reuters) &#8211; Nigeria expects to start auctioning spectrum for next generation 5G network in the fourth quarter of this year, the head of the country&#8217;s communications commission said.



Umar Garba Danbatta said Africa&#8217;s biggest economy had undertaken 5G trials in selected locations in Nigeria with one mobile operator but did not share details of the results.



5G networks will rely on denser arrays of small antennas and the cloud to offer data speeds that are much faster than current 4G networks and serve as critical infrastructure for a range of industries.



&#8220;Securing spectrum for 5G is an antecedent for any operator to commit serious investment in 5G infrastructure,&#8221; Danbatta said in a paper presented at a local university and seen by Reuters on Friday.



Danbatta said that during the first quarter of 2022, the auction would move to the assignment stage, whereby companies can bid for the positions they prefer within the airwaves they would have won.



South Africa and Kenya have already launched commercial 5G networks, which also support far many more devices to connect to the internet in a given area, compared with the existing network. (Reporting by Camillus Eboh, Writing by MacDonald Dzirutwe; Editing by David Gregorio)



(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2021. Click For Restrictions &#8211; https://agency.reuters.com/en/copyright.html

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Nigeria sees auctioning of 5G spectrum in last quarter of 2021

MAPUTO, July 12 (Reuters) &#8211; The central bank of Mozambique has fined Africa&#8217;s biggest lender, Standard Bank, $4.6 million for engaging in fraudulent activities, Bank of Mozambique said on Monday.



The central bank also fined two of Standard Bank&#8217;s employees around $223,000 and $101,000 each, and barred the bank from engaging in some exchange-related activities for a year, it said in a statement.



Standard Bank, which is based in South Africa, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.



The central bank said following on-site inspections &#8220;infringement proceedings were brought against that bank (Standard Bank) and two of its managers &#8230; for serious breaches of a prudential and exchange rate nature.&#8221;



It alleged the bank and the two employees were involved in fraudulent manipulation of the exchange rate, implementing an illegal payments network based outside the country, and carrying out irregular operations of financial derivatives, among other offences.



($1 = 62.9000 meticais) (Reporting by Manuel Mucari Writing by Promit Mukherjee Editing by Mark Potter)



(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2021. Click For Restrictions &#8211; https://agency.reuters.com/en/copyright.html

Standard Bank, photo: via Flickr

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<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Stock-value-rising-and-falling-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-404443" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Stock-value-rising-and-falling-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Stock-value-rising-and-falling-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Stock-value-rising-and-falling-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Stock-value-rising-and-falling.jpg 1254w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>Macro view of a screen of trading terminal with abstract financial graph and digits. Photo via flickr</figcaption></figure>



&nbsp;World stocks hit yet another record high on Tuesday, with European stocks poised for their longest winning streak since 2019 as investors bet likely &#8220;transitory&#8221; inflation pressures will stay the U.S. Federal Reserve&#8217;s hand from signalling a shift in policy settings.



A majority of investors surveyed by BofA said inflation was transitory, a marked change from March, when worries about more sustained price rises had sent U.S. 10-year Treasury yields surging to nearly 1.8%. With the yield now pinned below 1.5%, BofA expects the Fed to signal a dial back in stimulus by September.



Abating worries about inflation helped U.S. and European shares scale new highs, with the pan-regional STOXX 600 rising 0.4%, its eighth straight day of gains. U.S. stock futures were up 0.1%.



&#8220;Several factors that have pushed up inflation are likely to fade in the coming months,&#8221; said Mark Haefele, chief investment officer at UBS Global Wealth.



&#8220;We don’t expect inflation to prompt a premature tightening of monetary policy or to derail the equity rally,&#8221; Haefele added.



The two-day Fed meeting starts on Tuesday, with a final statement published after the meeting closes on Wednesday.



Traders around the world are looking for any hints about whether and when the Fed plans to taper its bond buying programme as the U.S. economy bounces back from the pandemic fallout.



Nearly 60% of economists in a Reuters poll expect a taper announcement will come in the next quarter, despite a patchy recovery in the job market.



&#8220;Whilst no immediate changes in monetary policy are anticipated, an increase in the share of FOMC members who think rates will need to increase in 2023 is expected,&#8221; analysts at ANZ wrote in a note to clients.



&#8220;If three more members pencil in rate rises for 2023, that would tip the majority in favour of moving rates relatively soon,&#8221; they said.



In Asia, the MSCI&#8217;s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan trading flat. Japan&#8217;s Nikkei rose 1% and the Australian benchmark traded up 0.93%, but Chinese blue chips fell 1.1%.



China&#8217;s markets were closed on Monday for a holiday, meaning this was their first response to a joint statement by the Group of Seven leaders that had scolded Beijing over a range of issues which China called a gross interference in the country&#8217;s internal affairs.



STRONG DOLLAR



In currency markets, the dollar held onto its gains against major currencies. The dollar index was at 90.414, not far off the top of its recent range.



Retail sales and industrial production data due later on Tuesday could spark some modest dollar volatility, wrote analysts at CBA in a research note.



In the face of the strong dollar, spot gold was down slightly at $1,862.21 per ounce.



Benchmark 10-year yields were 1.4838%, little changed from Monday, when they rebounded from Friday&#8217;s three-month low.



As for commodities, U.S. crude ticked up 0.38% to $71.15 a barrel. Brent crude rose to $73.15 per barrel as talks dragged on over the United States rejoining a nuclear agreement with Tehran suggesting any surge in supply from Iran is some time away.



Even bitcoin was fairly quiet, fluctuating a little above $40,000. It rose on Sunday and Monday after Elon Musk said Tesla could resume accepting payment in the world&#8217;s largest cryptocurrency at some point in the future.



(Reporting by Thyagaraju Adinarayan in London and Alun John in Hong Kong; Editing by Ana Nicolaci da Costa, Lincoln Feast and Kim Coghill)

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The potential for sports on the continent to turn into the next foreign direct investments pull has been highlighted by the success of the basketball Africa league but what will it take for more sports investment on the continent? CNBC Africa caught up with the Co-owner of the Milwaukee Bucks NBA team and Aston Villa English Premier League Club, Wes Edens for more.

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The UN Food Systems Summit 2021 comes at a watershed moment when the world’s food and agriculture systems are facing a convergence of challenges. With 10 years left to achieve Zero Hunger as agreed in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the world is a long way from defeating hunger, notwithstanding additional challenges now posed by the coronavirus pandemic. In Africa alone, 257 million people (20 percent of the population,) are experiencing hunger.



The role of decentralized renewable energy powered technologies, such as solar water pumps, solar-powered mills, and solar-powered refrigerators in improving irrigation, cold storage, agro-processing, and agricultural yields will be imperative to eradicate hunger, especially as climate change is projected to increase droughts and extreme weather. The food security challenge will only become more difficult as the world will need to produce about 70 percent more food by 2050 to feed an estimated 9 billion people.



According to the 2020 Global Hunger Index 2020, nearly 690 million people (8.9 percent of the world population) went hungry in 2019 up by 10 million from 2018, and by nearly 60 million in five years. If recent trends continue, the number of people affected by hunger would surpass 840 million by 2030, according to U.N.’s Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO).



Cutting emissions and increasing farming productivity in Africa



Today’s food systems significantly contribute to the climate disruption that threatens our planet. They contribute up to 29 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions. Without action, that percentage could rise substantially as other sectors reduce their emissions.



Access to renewable energy is an indispensable element for sustainable agricultural and rural development and can reduce local pollution and global CO2 emissions. Additionally, 1/3 of food produced globally is either lost or wasted. According to the FAO, of the 230 million tons of food produced each year in Africa, 14% is lost.



These post-harvest food losses are due to lack of refrigeration and are estimated to be worth US$ 4 billion per year – or enough to feed at least 48 million people. Inefficient processing and drying, poor storage and insufficient infrastructure are therefore instrumental factors in food losses in Africa.



Addressing food loss and waste through reliable off-grid, solar-powered cold storage systems is critical to helping the continent meet her agricultural productivity goals while minimizing the adverse effects of fossil fuel-based agricultural value chains.



Irrigation is also playing a critical role in the future transformation of food systems in Africa, with research suggesting that solar power could support the irrigation of 6–14 million new hectares, 84% of which is small-scale irrigation, leading to an increase in yields by as much as two to three fold depending on crop and climate. According to a recent report from Dalberg, “solar water pumps have



the potential to reach up to 1.6 million households in sub-Saharan Africa by 2025 and as many as 2.8 million households by 2030.”



Integrating renewable energy in food systems



The Food Systems Summit can serve as a rallying point for both the agriculture and energy community to commit to ambitious actions that integrate DREs in our food systems in service of the SDGs and our shared objectives on climate. Multi-stakeholder collaboration is needed now more than ever at all levels of the food value chain, and there are many experiences and practical approaches to working together – even in a crisis where time is of the essence.



In Nigeria, Empower New Energy and Resource Energy have teamed up to deploy a 700 KWp solar photovoltaic plant to Nigeria’s largest egg producer, Premium Poultry Farms, with a production capacity of 600,000 eggs per day. The power plant will generate one gigawatt-hour of clean energy annually, saving up to 25 000 tons of CO2 in its lifetime and contribute to Abuja’s fight against local air pollution.



The Summit can offer one avenue for action and dialogue, but there are already ongoing bold new actions happening at the national level.



In Uganda, to catalyze the conversations that are already being had about integrating renewable energy solutions in agricultural production, processing, and marketing, Power for All is organizing a multi-stakeholder “Collaboration Accelerator”. It’s bringing together actors in the renewable energy and agri-food systems nexus to discuss barriers to adoption and development of DRE solutions, opportunities for collaboration and draft actionable policy and finance recommendations to government and other key decision-makers.



With concerted action, we can not only avoid some of the worst impacts but do so in a way that supports a transition to more sustainable food systems that are in better balance with nature and that support healthy diets – and thus better health prospects &#8211; for all. More must be done to facilitate and build a stronger linkages between the two, and to highlight the growing role for decentralized renewable energy, especially mini-grids, in scaling agricultural productivity and ensuring food security across the Global South.



Brian Kawuma is Power for All Powering Agriculture Lead based in Uganda. Through Powering Agriculture, Power for All aims to make decentralized renewables a key part in scaling agriculture and food productivity in emerging markets.

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Digital Native News Media Playing a Vital Role in Africa

Sudan capital locked down after coup triggers deadly unrest

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FDA authorizes Pfizer’s Covid booster shots for people 65 and older and other vulnerable Americans

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MR. Eazi talks music, investing in African tech start-ups

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Why renewable energy is essential for food systems transformation in Africa

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