Following on from the success of the first two programmes, run in 2011 and 2012, today Orange (http://www.orange.com) is launching the third Orange African Social Venture Prize. The project promotes social innovations in support of development that use Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). Orange, which is present in 18 African countries and boasts over 70 million customers, is seeking to becom ...

Less than one per cent of all patent applications relating to Clean Energy Technology (CET) have been filed in Africa, highlighting an opportunity for the continent to leapfrog existing fossil-fuel energy sources and thus cut Greenhouse Gas Emissions and bring major health benefits. A new study by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the European Patent Office (EPO)—Patents and Clean Energy Technologies ...

The African Union – United Nations Mission in Darfur Joint Special Representative/Joint Chief Mediator (JSR/JCM), Mr. Mohamed Ibn Chambas, condemns in the strongest terms the criminal attack on 12 May 2013 which led to the killing of Mohamed Bashar, leader of the Justice and Equality Movement-Sudan (JEM/Bashar), and a number of his colleagues. The JSR/JCM recalls that this group had clearly stated its prefe ...

Africa cannot continue to be marketed as a country, when it is a continent of 54 countries, which, by 2040 will have the largest workforce in the world. The statement was made by the Economic Commission for Africa’s Executive Secretary, Mr. Carlos Lopes at the World Economic Forum on Africa this week during a session aptly titled:Myth Busting; investing in Africa. Mr. Lopes underscored that by 2040, Africa ...

CAPE TOWN: Canada's Julian Fantino, Minister of International Cooperation, attended the World Economic Forum on Africa, Grow Africa Investment Forum, and G-8 New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition Leadership Council in Cape Town, South Africa, to promote private sector partnerships as a way to achieve innovative solutions to the challenges facing sustainable agricultural development, food security, an ...

Africa must increase competitiveness or jeopardize future growth, warns the Africa Competitiveness Report 2013, which assesses prospects for sustainable growth of 38 African countries. Jointly produced by the African Development Bank, the World Bank and the World Economic Forum, the report identifies closer regional integration as an important driver for enhancing competitiveness. The strides made by Africa ...

The conviction of an activist in Algeria after he distributed leaflets about unemployment in the country is a worrying sign that a new law regulating associations is being used to restrict civil society groups’ activities, Amnesty International said. On 6 May, Abdelkader Kherba, a member of the Algerian League for the Defence of Human Rights (LADDH) and the National Committee for the Defence of the Rights o ...

The US $7.6 billion Climate Investment Funds (CIF) today gave the go-ahead to Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Libya, Morocco and Tunisia to proceed with an updated version of a sweeping plan to create an unprecedented 1,120 megawatts (MW) of energy from Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) for the region. The plan will receive US $660 million from the CIF’s Clean Technology Fund (CTF) and is expected to leverage nearly U ...

ADDIS ABABA: The recent prisoner release of rebels by the Ethiopian government could have been a move by the government to ensure their Grand Renaissance Dam project was not at risk, some analysts are telling Bikyanews.com. According to them, the Benshangul Peoples Liberation Movement (BPLM) guerrillas operated from camps in Sudan, though Sudan has denied any support of the group. Nile River water politics ...

ADDIS ABABA: Today, Chinese and African leaders will come together at the 4th International Roundtable on China-Africa Health Cooperation to explore new partnerships to address some of the most pressing health challenges facing Africa and strengthen an innovative health partnership based on south-south cooperation. This year’s roundtable is the first to take place on the African continent. It will focus on ...