Rwandair to Launch Direct Flights to Zimbabwe in April – Regional Business Round Up

Rwanda’s national carrier Rwandair has announced direct flights to Zimbabwe beginning April.

Introducing direct flights to #Harare, Zimbabwe this April. #Zimbabwe is home to some of the world’s most … https://t.co/FBfbn3IQlG pic.twitter.com/yLNQTbSX7I

— RwandAir (@FlyRwandAir) January 11, 2017

The airline also signed a of bilateral air services agreements between Rwanda and India during the 8th Vibrant Gujarat Summit, a global business forum in India, early this week, paving way for the commencement of the flights.

The direct commercial flights to Mumbai, India in quarter two of the year aimed at easing market access and help reduce transport costs.

Discussed commencement of flights from Kigali to Mumbai in a meeting with Earnest Rwamucyo, High Commissioner of Rwanda. pic.twitter.com/kEam8G8zQV

— Jayant Sinha (@jayantsinha) January 6, 2017

Last year, Kigali beat Nairobi, and Kilimanjaro in terms of airport capacity in terms of growth  according to the analysis of International air travel to East Africa this year (January to August) by ForwardKeys, a company that predicts future travel patterns by crunching and analysing 14m booking transactions a day, reveals strong growth of 11.2% compared with the same period last year.

Read: IATA Projects African Carriers Will Post  Net loss of $800M in 2017

Zimbabwe Suspends Data, Voice Tariffs Price

Zimbabwe’s Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (Potraz) has withdrawn mobile data prices increase after public outcry.

BREAKING NEWS:
Floor price increases have been suspended with immediate effect. @SupaCollinsM has given a clear directive to this effect

— Potraz (@Potraz_zw) January 12, 2017

The public outcry was executed through social media #DataMustFall

Potraz set floor prices for voice and data bundled services, including promotional packages.

The move was seen as a way of curtailing social media usage.

Morocco’s first high-speed train line is set to debut in June 2018. (Magharebia/Flickr)

Africa’s First High-Speed Train Is Coming

The train from Tangier to Casablanca currently moseys down the coast of Morocco, making the journey in 4 hours and 45 minutes. When the North African nation’s new high-speed train debuts in June 2018, that trip will take less than half the time—2 hours and 10 minutes. It will be the first high-speed train for both Morocco and the African continent. Read: 

Nigeria’s farmers adapt to climate change

In Nigeria, many regions are getting drier, and the desert has been encroaching into communities in the Sahel region of Africa. What does this mean for farmers? Watch