From tech unicorns to clean energy, these are the young Africans changing the world in 2018
Ten women and men from Africa are among one hundred of the world’s most promising artists, business leaders, public servants, social entrepreneurs and technologists under the age of 40 to join the World Economic Forum’s community of Young Global Leaders. The aim is to enable them to shape an inclusive and sustainable future for the world.
One hundred women and men from around the world were invited to join this year’s cohort of Young Global Leaders – ten are from sub-Saharan Africa
The Forum of Young Global Leaders is a multistakeholder community of leaders from all walks of life, from every region of the world. Current members head governments and Fortune 500 companies, hold Nobel Prizes and Academy Awards and have become UN Goodwill Ambassadors and Social Entrepreneurs.
Over half of the YGL Class of 2018 are women, and the majority of the cohort are from emerging economies. Together, they represent the very best potential of their generation and are advancing new models of sustainable social innovation.
Ethiopian farmers have fallen in love with Khat: Trouble for Kenyan farmers
For generations, farmers planted the lush earth of Awedai and nearby areas in eastern Ethiopia with coffee trees, this is now changing.
But the centuries-long practice is now being abandoned in favor of khat, a leafy plant chewed as a stimulant in the Horn of Africa and the Arabian Peninsula.
“Coffee comes only once a year. But you can harvest khat twice a year,” said Jemal Moussa, a 45-year-old farmer, and father of six who depends on the narcotic leaf for income. “Khat is much more useful.”
He said it was in the early 2000s that farmers in the Awedai area started planting khat as its popularity rose and coffee prices remained stagnant.
One kg of coffee sells for between 50 and 60 birr. A bunch of khat, while not measured in kilograms, goes for 100 birr.