East African Business Notifier

BY TIMOTHY MUGENYI  Every September, the world unites in solidarity to honour the courage and resilience of children bravely battling cancer.  Childhood Cancer Awareness Month serves as a solemn reminder of the far-reaching devastation this illness inflicts on families globally, particularly here in Uganda. Each of us has a story of childhood, typically filled with joy, play, and discovery. Yet, unfortunately, for some, these stories are marred by unimaginable pain and sorrow—the kind endured by children diagnosed with cancer at an early age. In Uganda, the statistics are alarming. According to the Uganda Cancer Institute, over 7,000 new cancer cases are reported each year, with children making up approximately 10% of these.  The most common childhood cancers include leukaemia, brain tumours, and lymphoma. This reality not only warrants deep concern but also compels us to take collective responsibility in raising awareness and combating this life-threatening disease. Raising awareness

  By Rinaldi Jamugisa The war against content piracy has a powerful new weapon in its arsenal: artificial intelligence. The latest powerful application of AI and machine-learning technology is in the campaign to track down pirated versions of digital content, and to support prosecutions of the criminal syndicates that deal in that content. This is particularly relevant in Africa, where content creators, as well as police, the courts and copyright-enforcement agencies have limited resources. For decades, criminals have been violating copyright, almost with impunity – stealing content and making a profit from it. At the same time, content creators and all the professionals who work in these industries, have seen resources dwindle, because they are being deprived of legitimate income from their work. Now, AI promises to do the work of thousands of cybersecurity agents. AI tools are capable of detecting illicit copies of licensed content, then tracing their provenance and tracking down the

BY PAUL TENTENA Airtel Mobile Commerce Uganda (AMCUL), has partnered with Stabex International, a renowned fuel distribution company, to boost cashless transactions and enhance digital financial inclusion among Ugandans.  This collaboration will allow Airtel Money customers to conveniently pay for fuel and access other services at any Stabex fuel station in Uganda using Airtel Money. While announcing this partnership, the Airtel Money Operations Head, Hope Ekudu said they are excited to partner with Stabex International to further promote digital financial inclusion in Uganda.  "Airtel Money has always been committed to delivering innovative, secure, and borderless financial services to our customers. Through this partnership, our customers can now make cashless transactions for fuel purchases and access other services at Stabex fuel stations across the country using their mobile wallets," said Hope Ekudu. She added that the partnership will also allow Stabex customers making

At a time when Africa is experiencing unprecedented climate change, 74% of African journalists interviewd by Africa 21 Association believe they are unable to cover environmental challenges in decent conditions.  These are the findings of a study published by the  Association, which calls on the international community to create a funding mechanism to support the continent's journalists.  Boris Ngounou (Radio Tiemeni Siantou and Environnementales, Cameroon) said  ‘I have lost count of the number of investigative reports on the environment that I have had to abandon because of a lack of funds for transport and accommodation. Every year I apply for accreditation to cover the COP on climate change, which I get, but every time I have to give it up for lack of funds’. Hadeer El Hadary (ESG Mena, Egypt) added that  ‘It is essential to provide journalists with training on sustainable development and climate change in order to empower them and improve their work with the knowledge and tools

BY PAUL TENTENA  The second Kampala’s car-free day, which brought together diverse individuals eager to learn about practical steps towards a healthier environment ended over the weekend with commitment to maintain a pollution free city. Promoting car-free initiatives aims to foster a shift towards more sustainable and inclusive transportation choices and create a cleaner, healthier city for all. Dr Pallavi Pant, Head of Global Health, Health Effects Institute (HEI)    said the health, environmental and economic impacts of poor transport ecosystems are foundational incentives for cities to create non-motorized transport options that offer sustainable options, promote healthier living and mitigate climate change. From Kampala City,  Eng. Justus Akankwasa, Director of Engineering and Technical Services at  Kampala Capital City Authority  stressed the City’s initiatives geared towards creating green mobility including Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) plans, Non-motorized transport lanes to encoura

Africa Collective and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat have announced African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank or the Bank) as their Host Partner at Davos 2025, on the margins of the World Economic Forum. The strategic partnership between Afreximbank, Africa Collective and the AfCFTA Secretariat was borne out of a mutual vision to showcase public and private sector trade and investment opportunities present in Africa on a global platform. It also underpins the importance of mutually beneficial global collaborations towards realizing Africa's development. Africa Collective is a platform for pan-African and international stakeholders that was established to facilitate exchange of information and ideas on the opportunities in Africa as well as encourage collaboration among its stakeholders.  The 2025 Davos edition of Africa Collective’s gathering will take place at the Hard Rock Hotel Davos and will be made up of a series of events, including thematic roundt

  As world leaders convened in New York for the United Nations General Assembly, the prospect of reforming the Security Council emerged as a major topic of discussion. A key question is whether the Council should add more permanent members. Proponents of expansion argue that adding countries like India, Brazil, or Japan would make the Security Council more representative of the UN’s membership. Critics, however, warn that adding more permanent members with veto power could cripple the Council, making it even less effective than it is now.  Moreover, there are  22 countries  with larger populations than France, the smallest of the Security Council’s current five permanent members. This group includes India, Brazil, Japan, Indonesia, Pakistan, the Philippines, Nigeria, Germany, Mexico, and Turkey. If new permanent members are added, calls for further expansion are likely to follow. While both arguments are compelling, reform does not need to be an either/or proposition. By overhauling th

Backbase has said that it has expanded the Engagement Banking Platform with the introduction of the Intelligence Fabric layer, a powerful set of data and AI infrastructure and development capabilities that are now natively embedded in the platform.  This groundbreaking launch is set to redefine how banks can harness the power of data and AI to unlock significant productivity gains within their business-critical customer servicing and sales operations. AI is already playing a pivotal role in transforming banking, driving efficiency, improving risk management, and orchestrating contextual, relevant customer experiences.  As the AI super-cycle continues to reshape the financial landscape, Backbase is rising to meet these challenges head-on with the introduction of the Intelligence Fabric. Introducing Agentic AI for banking With the new Intelligence Fabric, Backbase will enable banks to implement Agentic AI capabilities that unlock massive productivity gains across all their critical servi

  Around the world, we are witnessing the devastating effects of changing temperatures. Droughts, floods, and sweltering heat are taking lives, eroding hard-earned socioeconomic gains, and leaving countries’ future hanging in the balance. Worse, those who have contributed the least to the climate crisis are being hit the hardest. For all countries, the tasks are clear: they must strengthen their green ambitions to limit global warming and build resilience against mounting climate-related hazards. But that will require mobilizing finance on a massive scale. At last year’s United Nations Climate Change Conference in Dubai (COP28), governments committed to “transitioning away from fossil fuels in energy systems, in a just, orderly, and equitable manner, accelerating action in this critical decade, so as to achieve net zero by 2050.”  Looking at this month’s UN Summit of the Future and ahead to COP29 in November, the need to reform the global financial architecture and set an ambitious new

BY PAUL TENTENA Another milestone in the construction of the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) has been reached with the first delivery of nine trucks loaded with coated line pipes at Main Camp and Pipe Yard (MCPY) 4 in Kyotera District, Uganda. The coated line pipes will be transported to designated storage sites and laid along the 1,443-kilometer heat-traced crude oil pipeline.  The EACOP will transport Uganda's crude oil from the Hoima Terminal in Uganda to Tanga Port in Tanzania, where it will be exported to international markets. To date, the project has received 800 kilometres of line pipes, which are currently undergoing coating and insulation at the Nzega Coating Yard in Tanzania. Ali Ssekatawa, the Director Legal and Corporate Affairs at the Petroleum Authority of Uganda, highlighted the significance of this development, stating that the arrival of the pipes marks a key milestone in the construction of the EACOP. “This is a major landmark in the construction of the E