Month: October 2019
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Tweet of the Day: Kenyan Truckers Claim SGR is Too Costly, But That’s Shortsighted Says Expert
Dr. Zhengli Huang is a Research Associate in the Department of Urban Studies and Planning at the University of Sheffield. She's an expert on China's impact on African urban development and has experience in ...
New SGR Railway Gets Mixed Reviews on Kenyan TV and Barely Any International Coverage
Kenyan TV channels broke into regularly scheduled programming for live coverage of Wednesday's SGR launch. A lot of the initial reporting, particularly during the live broadcast, was generally positive but as the day went on the tone on several networks began to change. KTN and NTV, in ...
Kenya’s Standard Gauge Railway and the Dramas of Development
This week saw the launch of the newest phase of Kenya’s Standard Gauge Railway (SGR,) connecting the port in Mombasa to the Rift Valley town of Naivasha. The Mombasa-Naivasha section of the SGR cost $1.5 billion. It connects to the initial phase, between Nairobi and Mombasa, ...
Retired from Alibaba, Jack Ma Says He Now Wants to Develop Entrepreneurial Talent in Africa
Jack Ma, the founder of e-commerce giant Alibaba, is looking to empower entrepreneurs in Africa so that they can help drive change. “Entrepreneurs are the most important element to promote society,” said Ma, who spoke in public for the first time ...
China to Challenge Facebook’s Libra With Its Own Cryptocurrency and Africa Could be Huge Potential Market
A quick follow-up from the story we shared yesterday about how the dominance of Chinese mobile phone companies in Africa could create a "walled garden" that would exclude Facebook's proposed cryptocurrency Libra. Now, CNBC reports that the Chinese government is expediting the development of ...
With 53 Million Users, Chinese-owned Boomplay Now Turns to Francophone Africa to Drive Growth
The Chinese-owned streaming music joint venture (Transsion Holdings & Netease) currently dominating the African market is now looking to grow its base of 53 million users by expanding beyond its base in anglophone West Africa into francophone countries. Boomplay's Big Plans
Fueled by Chinese Loans, Kenya’s National Debt Tops $57 Billion
Kenya's Treasury released new information about the country's rising debt load, announcing that it's about to reach Sh6 trillion ($57 billion.) Last week, Parliament approved a new, higher debt ceiling of Sh9 trillion ($87 billion) in part to accommodate 44 new loan requests to ...
Two Competing Views of the New Chinese-built Naivasha Standard Gauge Railway Line in Kenya
The Chinese-financed and constructed Standard Gauge Railway in Kenya is an extremely polarizing issue for many people in Kenya and throughout East Africa. Critics of President Uhuru Kenyatta see it as a financial boondoggle that will never pay for itself, leaving future generations to pick up the ...
Despite Rwanda-based Mara Phone’s Claims That Its New Device is “100% African,” Critics Raise a Few Doubts
Last week's launch of the new Mara Phones was widely celebrated across the continent as the company touted them to be Africa's first 'entirely home-made' smartphones. "The ...
Kenya Exports to China Surge in First Half of the Year, But Serious Trade Imbalance Persists
At first glance, the January-June trade figures between China and Kenya look promising. Kenyan exports increased by 74% during this period while imports fell by 16%. Officials on both sides are no doubt pleased the numbers are finally going in the right direction to help narrow the ...
The China-Africa Tech Roundup with Andile Masuku
When Shenzhen-based Transsion Holdings IPO'd last month no one predicted that it would surge a stunning 64% on its opening day of trading in Shanghai, pushing the company's valuation to around $7 billion. But ...
Chinese State Media Touts Capture of Rhino Horn Haul in Shanghai
Chinese customs officials at Shanghai's Hongqiao International Airport seized seven rhino horns weighing almost 10kgs (22 pounds). The smugglers were apparently asked by a South African trafficker to transport the contraband, according to a video published this weekend on CGTN's YouTube channel. The exact ...