On Tuesday morning, weeks of violent protests in the East African nation of Burundi ratcheted up considerably when Major General Godefroid Niyombare attempted to overthrow President Pierre Nkurunziza.  At the time of the announcement, President Nkurunziza was in Tanzania attending a Heads of State Emergency Summit that the East African Community (EAC) had convened to…

Earlier this week, the Corporate Council on Africa’s Health Working Group hosted a World Bank presentation of The Global Financing Facility (GFF), a broad $4 billion facility that aims to promote reproductive, maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health (RMNCAH) in low- and middle-income countries.  The GFF–which was announced in September 2014 and currently consists…

Background

On April 14, 2015, the Committee on International Trade (INTA) of the European Parliament adopted amendments (by 22 votes to 16, and 2 abstentions) on the European Commission’s proposal for an EU conflict minerals regime published in March 2014. The INTA vote followed a compromise reached among three of the main political groups of…

This week, the African Innovation Foundation (“AIF”), an organization whose purpose is to “to increase the prosperity of Africans by catalyzing the innovation spirit in Africa,” announced the finalists for its annual Innovation Prize for Africa (“IPA”) award.  Started in 2011, the IPA award serves to “honour[] and encourage[] innovative achievements that contribute…

Is the world ready to invest in Egypt? After years of a stagnating economy and political uncertainty, the results from last month’s Egypt Economic Development Conference (EEDC) suggest that investors are taking a fresh look at what could be a new landscape for economic prosperity in the country.  To better understand the results and impact…

The ongoing expansion activities of Ethiopian Airlines has the potential to make a significant impact on intra-African trade and in deepening the region’s integration into the global economy.

At between 10% and 12%, intra-African trade lags far behind that of other regions.  A key reason for this trade deficit is the dearth of transportation…

This week, numerous companies from emerging economies will gather in India to participate in the third annual Growth Net conference, a unique platform focused on promoting business, trade and financial partnerships amongst the countries represented.  South-South cooperation will be the focus of much of Growth Net’s agenda, and a principal topic of interest will be…