East African Business Notifier

Audrey Verdier-Chouchane ABIDJAN – Rising tariffs, geopolitical fragmentation, and persistent supply-chain disruptions are roiling international trade. The World Trade Organization  projects  a 0.2% contraction in global goods trade in 2025, which could deepen to 1.5% if tensions escalate.  United Nations Trade and Development  warns  that policy uncertainty is eroding business confidence and will slow global growth to 2.3% in 2025. Against this backdrop, developing economies are under mounting pressure to diversify partnerships and reduce external dependencies. The pressure is particularly acute for North Africa. The region – comprising Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Mauritania, and Tunisia – has long been tethered to European economic cycles.  In 2023, the European Union accounted for  45.2%  of North Africa’s trade, making the region vulnerable to any slowdown in European demand. At the same time, North Africa has played a marginal role in int...

  Airtel Uganda, in collaboration with the Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) and the Bank of Uganda (BoU), has issued vital safety tips to help Ugandans guard against the rising wave of mobile scams. Speaking during a recent X (formerly Twitter) Space discussion hosted by Airtel Uganda under the theme “Scam Follows Spam: What Needs to Be Done to Protect Uganda’s Digital Ecosystem,” representatives from UCC and the Bank of Uganda raised concerns over the growing threats of spam, scams, and mobile money fraud urging the public to remain vigilant and informed. Uganda’s digital ecosystem is expanding rapidly, with over 50 million mobile phone users, 32 million active mobile money wallets, and 19.5 million internet subscribers. However, this growth has been paralleled by a surge in cybercrime. According to the Uganda Police Force Annual Crime Report of 2024, the country experienced a staggering 200% increase in fraud and cyber-related crimes, highlighting the urgent need for strong...

Vera Songwe, Jendayi Frazer, Peter Blair Henry STANFORD/WASHINGTON, DC – In an era of shrinking resources for development finance, global policymakers must shift their focus to making better use of existing funds. Identifying and removing regulatory barriers that hinder the efficient deployment of capital to emerging markets and developing economies (EMDEs) is a good place to start. The Basel III framework, developed in response to the 2008 global financial crisis, has played a crucial role in preventing another systemic collapse. But it has also inadvertently  discouraged  banks from financing infrastructure projects in EMDEs. At the same time, advanced economies, with debt-to-GDP ratios at historic highs, face mounting fiscal pressures. Servicing these debts consumes a growing share of public budgets just as governments must ramp up defense spending and boost economic competitiveness, resulting in cuts to foreign aid. Together, these pressures underscore the urgent need to m...

  The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has established a new world record for the longest lightning flash – an incredible 829 km (515 miles) in a notorious storm hotspot in the United States of America.   The megaflash occurred in October 2017, during a major thunderstorm complex. It extended from eastern Texas to near Kansas City - equivalent to the distance between Paris and Venice in Europe. It would take a car about eight to nine hours and a commercial plane at least 90 minutes to cover that distance. “Lightning is a source of wonder but also a major hazard that claims many lives around the world every year and is therefore one of the priorities for the international Early Warnings for All initiative. "These new findings highlight important public safety concerns about electrified clouds which can produce flashes which travel extremely large distances and have a major impact on the aviation sector and can spark wildfires,” said WMO Secretary-General Celest...