News

Billionaire-Backed Kobold Metals to Invest in Zambia Copper Mine

California-based artificial intelligence exploration firm KoBold Metals is investing $150 million to develop a copper mine in Zambia, the company announced at the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit in Washington, D.C., a win for Zambia’s president who has set an ambitious copper production target. The Mingomba project will be a joint venture with Australian private equity firm […]

Meta Accused in Lawsuit of Allowing Posts That Inflamed Ethiopia Conflict

Meta Platforms was accused in a lawsuit filed in Kenya on Wednesday of letting violent and hateful posts from Ethiopia flourish on Facebook, inflaming the Ethiopian civil war. The lawsuit, filed by two Ethiopian researchers and the Kenya’s Katiba Institute rights group, alleges that Facebook’s recommendations systems amplified violent posts in Ethiopia, including several that […]

Microsoft Targets Internet Expansion in Africa, Longer-Term Cloud Adoption

Microsoft Corp aims to secure internet access for 100 million more people in Africa by 2025, teaming up with a satellite provider and setting the stage for longer-term cloud adoption, its President Brad Smith told Reuters. The software maker has long pushed to bring more people online, playing the role of facilitator among telecoms and […]

Visa to Invest $1 Billion in Africa over 5 Years to Cash In on E-Payments Boom

Visa Inc plans to invest $1 billion over the next five years in Africa to capitalize on the emerging economy’s rapid growth in digital payments, the company said at the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit on Wednesday. U.S. President Joe Biden is hosting dozens of African leaders for the three-day event, which started on Tuesday in Washington, […]

Nigeria’s Female-Led Startups Winning Investors in Fight to Close Cash Gap

At Nigerian snack company ReelFruit’s Lagos warehouse a woman places handfuls of dried mangoes in bags and workers hammer open coconuts to scrape out the flesh. The company is expanding production and exports after a $3 million investment. ReelFruit is part of a burgeoning group of female-founded Nigerian startups attracting investor cash as women stake […]

U.S. Solar Installations to Fall 23% This Year Due to China Goods Ban - Report

New U.S. solar installations are on track to fall by nearly a quarter this year, with panel imports stalled by a ban on goods from China’s Xinjiang region over forced labor concerns, according to a market report released on Tuesday. The dour forecast by industry trade group the Solar Energy Industries Association and research firm […]

U.S. Ready to Explore Next Phases of Trade Relationship with Africa, Ustr Tai Says

U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai said on Monday that her agency is preparing to sign a memorandum of understanding with African Continental Free Trade Area countries to explore work on the next phases of the U.S.-African trade relationship. Tai said at the Semafor Africa Summit that she sees opportunities to improve the longstanding African Growth […]

IBM Partners with Japan’s Rapidus in Bid to Manufacture Advanced Chips

IBM Corp and Rapidus, a newly formed chip maker backed by the Japanese government, on Tuesday announced a partnership that aims to manufacture the world’s most advanced chips in Japan by the second half of the decade. The agreement comes as U.S.-China relations remain tense, especially over chips. Washington has restricted Beijing’s access advanced semiconductor […]