East African Business Notifier

The UN Economic Commission for Africa, office for Eastern Africa convened Ambassadors and High Commissioners accredited to Rwanda for an in‑depth briefing on the region’s economic outlook. A clear takeaway emerged: Eastern Africa is progressing—but not yet progressing together. Speaking at the briefing, Ozonnia Ojielo; UN Resident Coordinator in Rwanda emphasized how African economies are deeply and inextricably interconnected. “What affects one of us inevitably affects us all. A shift in one market is felt in the next. A disruption in a single trade corridor sends tremors through the entire region” he said. Andrew Mold, Director of ECA in Eastern Africa, presented an analysis of the region’s economic performance, highlighting strong growth across key economies but warning of widening disparities, rising social pressures, and increasing dependence on mineral exports. He noted that the region is currently seeing growth rates of close to 6% %,  comfortably exceeding the African avera...

  The recent weak La Niña event is expected to fade into ENSO-neutral conditions which may swing to a warming El Niño episode later this year, according to the latest Update from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).   El Niño refers to the periodic large-scale warming of the ocean surface temperatures in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean, coupled with changes in the tropical atmospheric circulation, including changes in winds, pressure and rainfall patterns. It usually has the opposite effects of La Niña on weather and rainfall patterns.   WMO Global Producing Centres forecasts indicate a 60% chance of ENSO (El Niño-Southern Oscillation) neutral conditions – neither El Niño or La Niña during March–May 2026, rising to a 70% chance during April-June.   During May-July, the chance of neutral conditions is 60%, whilst the chance of an El Niño increases steadily to around 40%.   However, forecast uncertainty increases at longer lead times. Pred...

Diane Coyle CAMBRIDGE – Many people fear that AI could cause a “job-pocalypse.” This year’s Davos gathering  sounded the alarm  over the technology’s implications for employment, while  recent announcements  about job cuts in white-collar industries are widely viewed as straws in the wind. But AI’s broader effects on businesses have not received nearly enough attention. While a majority of firms have so far not adopted AI, according to the most  reliable   surveys , continued uptake will likely be accompanied by significant corporate reorganization. That is because AI is an information technology, affecting decision-making processes. Prior waves of digital technology from the 1990s onwards transformed businesses in several ways. Computational and communications advances underpinned the internet, which became mobile with the arrival of smartphones and wireless network technologies.  They enabled the shift from vertically integrated production to globall...

  Genetec Inc . (“Genetec”), the global leader in enterprise physical security software, has shared best practices to help organizations protect sensitive physical security data while maintaining effective security operations.   Physical security systems generate large volumes of information from video footage, access control records, and license plate information. As this data plays a growing role in daily operations and investigations, organizations are under increasing pressure to manage it responsibly amid evolving privacy regulations, rising cyber threats, and heightened expectations around transparency.  “Physical security data can be highly sensitive, and protecting it requires more than basic safeguards or vague assurances,” said Mathieu Chevalier, principal security architect, Genetec Inc . “Some approaches in the market treat data as an asset to be exploited or shared beyond its original purpose. That creates real privacy risks. Organiza...