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…

Yes Africa can do it!

April 30, 2021     / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / /

As world tilts towards Space and AI to tackle current challenges in regards to efficient productivity, food security and overall development, the push towards entreneurship has been the guiding force to foster innovative solutions for sustainability and collective evolution. In the African context, Human Capital is one of its greatest assets that has been underutilized and often forgotten yet required for the Continent’s development and growth as it will determine the Continent’s stability and security. With a population of 1.2 billion people and approximately half of the nation being under the age of 30 years old, in addition to vast…

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…

Realizing the dream of unfettered trade in a post-covid19 – Erastus Mwencha & Stephen Lande

July 16, 2020     / / / / / / /

Allowing Trade to flow under the First stage of the AfCFTA in 2021 The positive economic stimulus and psychological impact of a critical mass of countries implementing the AfCFTA cannot be overestimated. No other step would provide the wherewith to spur African recovery from COVID-19 than the AfCFTA trade agreement being implemented in the next six to twelve months.  It will spur the development of intra-African supply chains as a substitute for the expected reduction in demand for African components of global supply chains as third world countries strive for greater self-sufficiency. It would reduce and eventually eliminate discrimination in Africa under which…

AfCFTA: An Opportunity for Meaningful Reform on Corruption Toward Further Attracting American Investments to the Continent by Guest Writers

June 25, 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…

Our side of the story: cross-cultural branding

November 2, 2015     / / / / / / / / / / / / / /

The month of October has been attributed to Cancer Awareness month, though the US Department of State has also made it a month of celebration through its IdEA initiative, which continuously convenes the Diaspora in the US while supporting Diaspora groups to celebrate their presence and contribution in their respective societies. On October 9th 2015, IdEA officially launched at the State Department with Secretary Kerry as a keynote speaker aside from Angélique Kidjo who shared her foundation’s vision and girls empowerment program and with Thomas Debass who closed the program by showcasing the organizing team behind this well-executed initiative.  Spearheaded…