Category: Business
Chinese Technology and Financing Gives a Boost to Malawi’s Small-Scale Cotton Farmers
John Chikwenga, 44, of Mululu village in Balaka district in eastern Malawi thought his eyes were deceiving him when he saw his prize: a brand new tractor. He had suffered years of backache and sore muscles from tilling his fields with a hoe. ...
What It Takes to Build a Successful Chinese Agricultural Partnership in Mozambique
One of the most prominent themes to emerge from all those Africa summits that take place around the world is the importance of replacing traditional aid programs with new private-sector-led trade and investment initiatives, specifically public-private partnerships (PPPs).
With No End in Sight, Livelihoods in Kenya Now at Risk Due to COVID-19 Trade Crisis
With China's factories and ports still struggling to get back up to speed, the massive disruptions to the global supply chain are being felt disproportionately among small-to-medium-sized enterprises in countries like Kenya. Inventories are running so low now in a rapidly ...
Price Gouging, Illegal Sales to China Make it Difficult for Africans to Protect Themselves Against Infection
Face masks, hand sanitizers and other protective gear against infection from the deadly COVID-19 are becoming harder to find in many African cities as speculators hoard supplies and sell them overseas. Meantime, when they are available, prices have reportedly surged so high in some pharmacies putting them ...
With Inventories Running Low, Businesses Across Africa Worry About What’s Next
The near-halt in aviation and shipping links between China and Africa is causing severe disruptions in the supply chain that stocks the inventories of countless businesses across the continent. Merchants of all sizes and in all sectors are now scrambling to find other suppliers to replace the ...
Shock and Disbelief Over the Government’s Request for Passengers to “Self-Quarantine”
Political cartoonists in Kenya are channeling the public's anger over the government's request to passengers arriving on the China Southern flight from Guangzhou to "self-quarantine" themselves for 14-days. Cartoons like this circulated all weekend on Facebook and Twitter amid growing public ...
Kenya Airways Suspends Employee Who Shot Phone Video of Last Week’s China Southern Arrival in Nairobi
Kenya Airways, which runs the ground staff at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport on behalf of the Kenya Airports Authority, announced on Sunday that it is suspending one of its employees, Gire Ali, who shot and posted a phone video of last Wednesday's arrival of the China Southern flight from ...
China Southern Resumes Direct Flights to Nairobi Sparking Widespread Outrage Over COVID-19 Risks
239 passengers arrived in Nairobi on Wednesday aboard a China Southern flight from Guangzhou. The flight marks a resumption of the airline's direct route after a 15-day hiatus due to the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak in China. The plane's arrival sparked widespread ...
What It Takes to Build a Successful Chinese Agricultural Partnership in Mozambique
It’s 9am in the morning and a message arrived on my WeChat: “The storm last night burnt down the water pump’s transformer again and now the local Water User Association came and asked for 18,000 Metical (around $278) for repairs. Furthermore, it’s difficult to collect the water ...
African Students in Wuhan Will Soon Reach a Breaking Point
It's totally understandable why Kenya, Ghana and most other African governments have been reluctant to repatriate their students from Wuhan. These countries are struggling to fortify their defenses against a COVID-19 outbreak and the prospect of bringing home hundreds of potentially infected students is no doubt daunting. ...
Chinese Business Community in Namibia Takes Preventive Measures Against COVID-19 Outbreak
The Chinatown merchants association in the Namibian capital Windhoek is posting notices on shuttered storefronts encouraging customers and business owners to stay away from individuals who have returned from China without undergoing the required 14-day quarantine period. The outbreak in China ...
It’s Business as Usual at South Africa’s Popular China Malls… Except for a Lot More People Wearing Masks
While shoppers in many countries around the world are avoiding Chinese communities, especially "Chinatowns" and restaurants, out of fear of being infected with the deadly coronavirus, that's not true for South Africa. The popular China Malls that are common ...