Branding MLK

January 17, 2022     / / / / / / / / /

On Martin Luther King Day of January 18th, 2021, and now 2022, we are celebrating and recognizing Martin Luther King’s day as he was one of the pioneers who led the fight against the plight of African Americans as he expressed in his speech “the Other America”,“It may be true that morality cannot be legislated, but behavior can be regulated. It may be true that the law cannot change the heart but it can restrain the heartless. It may be true that the law can’t make a man love me, but it can restrain him from lynching me, and I…

US-Africa relations: The Beginings

May 30, 2021     / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / /

The presence of Africans in the America’s can be argued it predated 1492 though since the formation of the greatest experiment on Earth in 1776, the official United States of America – Africa relations began before World War II, when the United States only directly dealt with the former American colony of Liberia, the independent nation of Ethiopia, and the semi-independent nation of Egypt. The beginning of this official US-Africa relationship was not only reinforced by the need to internationalize American values but also due to the undying drive of African-Americans to reconnect to their roots. Although US-Africa dialogue and…

Branding Human Capital

April 12, 2021     / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / /

Always thankful to be among thinkers, policy makers, influencers and decision makers, and on Wednesday December 6th, 2017 at the 27th Annual Martin J Forman Lecture series held at one of the Think Tanks in Washington DC, the President of the World Bank Group Jim Yong Kim was the keynote speaker as the podium has been graced by the likes of the 25th Lecturer Rajiv Shah, then the Senior Advisor at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs and now the President of the Rockfeller Foundation. After attending these series I have learnt that the lecture series was established in honor of…

African Apex Organizations will be the catalyst for ACFTA Successful Implementation by Samuel Mwamburi Mwale

October 29, 2020     / / / / / / / /

The Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement (ACFTA) provides a unique opportunity to transform the continent’s economic and political future in the 21st century. For too long, Africa has traded with the rest of the world. Intra continental trade in exports was at about 17 percent for Africa in 2017. For the Asia, intra-regional exports trade was 60 percent, and between 50 and 75 percent for the European Union. In North America, 85 percent of exports for Canada and Mexico went to the US. Globally, it is mainly Africa, Latin America, and Oceania that trade more with the rest of the…

AfCFTA – The Key to Ushering Trade and Investment to Africa by Frank Samolis

October 29, 2020     / / / / / / / / / / /

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the African continent has seen challenges like other parts of the world that are affecting trade. This includes a moving effective date for the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), which slid from July 1 to possibly January 1, 2021, to avoid distracting African leaders as they respond to the pandemic. Nevertheless, there is a push to have the continent move forward with implementation of the AfCFTA, to spur further collaboration and intra-Africa trade, which in turn could help the continent better weather economic downturns related to the global pandemic. The AfCFTA, once implemented, will create a $3.4 trillion economic bloc, which would provide…

Africa Must Stop Reacting and Start Acting: Urban Design is the Antidote for the Continent’s Next Health Crisis.

May 11, 2020     / / / / / / / / / / / / / /

Extraordinary times require extraordinary responses May 15th 2020 The Guardian published an interesting article titled “Africa facing a quarter of a billion coronavirus cases, WHO predicts”. The report approximated 220 million Africans based on that article. Now, while the western media predicted doom and gloom for the youngest continent on earth, data seems to be painting a completely different picture during this pandemic. I partly blame Africa for not taking control of her narrative and not shedding enough light her success stories. It was not until the former British barrister and daughter of a Ghanaian lady, Afua Hirsch that Africa’s positive COVID-19 stories surfaced. She highlighted Senegalese handling of…

World against COVID-19 – Impact on Education by Guest Writer

April 30, 2020     / / / / /

What is the impact of COVID-19 on the delivery of online higher education services in the United States of America and how can we turn any challenges into opportunities? Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, online distance learning and teaching existed in higher education. Val Okaru-Bisant, the author of this article, taught online and face-to-face teaching for several years. The global education technology sector, including online learning, was growing at a fast pace of 15.4% a year with heavy investments from many companies like Google and Microsoft1. However, only 3% of all educational expenditure is spent on digital programs2 and proponents…

Naomi Campbell Explains Why She Cherishes Her Travels To Africa (Quick View)

March 29, 2020     / / / / / / / / / /

WHAT IS BEING SAID In a cover story interview with i-D, the supermodel and philanthropist said her dream is to travel to all 54 countries (having traveled to Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Ghana, Rwanda) and encouraged others to do the same.(…) I realized it’s been overlooked and ignored on so many levels. That has to change. The narrative has to change. People’s perceptions have to change. That’s what my work is about,” Campbell said. “And I mean that across the board—fashion, music, tech, art, sports…I just feel like when I’m in Nigeria there’s so much creativity coming out of there. In Senegal,…

Remittances are NOT Diaspora Investment by Guest Writer

March 10, 2020     / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / /

My favorite Diaspora definition is the one by G. Scheffer: “Modern Diasporas are ethnic minority groups of migrant origins residing and acting in host countries but maintaining strong sentimental and material links with their countries of origin—their homelands.” The term Diaspora comes from the Greek words “to sow” and “over”, as in the scattering of seed, and for them it meant the “seeding” of Greek colonies in distant lands. Remittances are funds sent by immigrants to their home countries for various uses including paying school fees for relative, covering healthcare costs for family as well as activities such as building…

Top Financial Services Brands In Africa ( Quick View)

February 29, 2020     / / / / / / /

This is a Quick Review Most Admired Financial Services Brands category Ecobank has ascended to the #1 position as the Most Admired Financial Services Brand, and Safaricom Mpesa retains its pole position among mobile money brands. 60% of the are made in Africa. The presence of multiple mobile money brands on the list, including Safaricom Mpesa (#13), Orange Money (#18), MTN Mobile Money  (#19) and Tigo (#23),  underscores the impact of not only Mpesa as the catalyst, but mobile as a key enabler for financial access.   The Top 25 Most Admired Financial Services Brands list is dominated by South Africa…