Africa Will Be Fastest Urbanising Continent By 2020

By 2020, Africa is likely to be the fastest urbanizing continent in the world. It is currently the most rural — only 40 percent of sub-Saharan Africa’s population live in cities. Even the sprawling heartlands of Lagos, Kinshasa and Cairo, teeming with traffic, pollution, inadequate housing and public spaces, are in their relative infancy and destined for a growth spurt.

How will Africa cope with booming urban populations? Read: 

Ethiopia has finalized construction of the Genale Dawa Hydro electric power dam as it is preparing to launch another power project on Omo River at a cost of $2.7 billion.

The Genale Dawa Hydro power project on Dawa River in far south east of Ethiopia is expected to generate 54 megawatt of electricity this year.

Ethiopia is undertaking a number of power projects the major one being the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) whose completion has reached 63 percent. Read: https://www.journalducameroun.com/en/ethiopia-finalizes-construction-of-genale-dawa-hydro-electric-power-dam/

EU to invest €44bn in Africa, as FDIs, by 2020

44 billion. That is how much the European Union (EU) plans to inject in Africa’s development by 2020. Indeed, revealing this in a joint press statement released last November 20, the President of the African Union (UA), Alpha Condé, and Federica Mogherini, High representative and deputy president of the European service for external action, indicated that the EU would from now grant a particular attention to foreign direct investments (FDIs). Read: http://www.ecofinagency.com/public-management/3011-37789-eu-to-invest-44bn-in-africa-as-fdis-by-2020

China-aided scanners boost automation at Mombasa port

China-aided scanners have revolutionized cargo clearance at Kenya’s seaport of Mombasa, the largest in East Africa, says a senior Kenyan customs official.

Kenya Revenue Authority on Aug. 25 launched China-aided scanners at the port of Mombasa to enhance clearance of containers carrying bulk goods. Read: 

USD 4.4Mn East Africa Electronic Cargo Tracking System Unveiled to Monitor Transit Cargo 

The Ethiopian Banana That Flourishes in Drought and Heat Feeding 20 million

At first glance, Ensete ventricosum may look like a banana plant, with huge green fronds and a towering, thick brown pseudostem. But if you peel these orange, banana-cousin fruits, watch out: Instead of a pale, mushy interior, this banana-like fruit consists almost entirely of large, teeth-cracking, black seeds.

E. ventricosum, colloquially known as “enset,” has gained such a reputation for its misleading fruit that it is often called “the false banana.”

And yet, enset feeds 20 million people in Ethiopia. Read: https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-ethiopian-banana-that-flourishes-in-drought-and-heat