Swahili, 4th African language added to The Oxford Digital Program – Africa Business Round Up

In 2015, Oxford Dictionaries launched a new digital global languages program, with a mission to extend learning and education worldwide. The company launched its first online Swahili dictionary by the Oxford University Press.

In a video message delivered Wednesday at the launch of its online Swahili dictionary, Oxford Dictionaries director Judy Pearsall said one reason for putting together the Swahili versions is to help connect cultures across Africa.

“Swahili is an extremely important language across large parts of southeastern and eastern parts of Africa and spoken by millions of people…both as a mother tongue, but also as a second language, and very much a lingua franca across large parts of the country,” Pearsall said. “So it is bridging the smaller languages and connecting cultures.”

Swahili is the fourth African language to be added to the Oxford program, after Zulu, Northern Sotho, and Setswana.

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Museveni says he’s “not excited” about Uganda’s oil

President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda, who once dismissed oil pessimists as “saboteurs and quislings”, is belatedly trying to manage expectations. In a speech, last month, he claimed to be “not excited” about oil, which he called “a small aspect of a big story of prosperity”.

That is a message that Bunyoro Kingdom’s prime minister Lukumu is already preaching.

“Initially our expectations were very high,” he says. “We were waiting for the miracle to happen, but not anymore.” Read: 

Related:  

• Ghana’s forgotten oil
• Kenya is Turning the Oil debacle into a Bonanza
• Tullow Kenya to start drilling two wells in December

Nigeria: a disaster being revealed

It is the richest and most populous country in Africa, but parts of Nigeria are lurching towards a man-made famine. As the Nigerian army drives out the Islamists of Boko Haram from the north-east of the country, it is uncovering the scale of destruction they have left behind. Listen

Digital & rural reach expands banking access

Providing far-reaching access to tailor-made banking products both digitally and in even the remotest corners of Rwanda has solidified BPR’s reputation as “the bank of the people”. Deputy CEO Konde Bugingo provides an overview of the banking landscape in Rwanda, the huge progress being made in the country with regard to social and infrastructural improvements, and the sense of positivity and pro-business attitudes that Rwandans possess about their nation’s future. Read: 

10 key myths to debunk regarding Africa’s attractiveness as a business hub and FDI opportunity

1: All African countries are the same

2: Africa only relies on raw materials

3: African infrastructures are non-existent

4: Africa is isolated from the world

5: African institutions are non-existent

6: No-one is going to finance African growth

7: African consumers are not bankable

8: It’s hard to work with African companies

9: Agriculture, something of the past

10: It’s hard to find entrepreneurs and talent in Africa Read: 

Time magazine names Trump Person of the Year, this is why…

Time Magazine named U.S. President-elect Donald Trump its person of the year on Wednesday, citing the upheaval in American politics brought about by the New York businessman’s election campaign and victory.

Donald Trump is TIME’s Person of the Year 2016 #TIMEPOY https://t.co/hTnFF2njwH pic.twitter.com/y8oWeldjJY

— TIME (@TIME) December 7, 2016

“It’s hard to measure the scale of his disruption,” Time said in its announcement, noting Trump’s career as real estate magnate and reality television star before he won the presidency on Nov. 8. Read: