Africa Prime

03/24/2023

My Life in Food: Idris Elba on African Cuisine and Cooking with his Mum - Africa Prime

My Life in Food: Idris Elba on African Cuisine and Cooking with his Mum

Food from Sierra Leone, where my dad’s from, has been a big part of my life. Sweet potato leaf stew is something my mum would cook all the time, it was my absolute favourite. Coming home after school to those home-cooked meals is a fond memory.

I can cook. I love to make groundnut stew with chicken and I’ve been told it’s good. It’s my mum’s recipe, she taught me to how cook it in the kitchen of my childhood home in London. She would talk me through all the ingredients and the importance of the cooking sequence — that’s the key.

When I started making my own breakfast as a kid, that was a big deal. Although it was pretty much just cereal and using the toaster, it gave me a huge sense of pride. Maybe this is why cooking breakfast is still so important to me — I love whipping up breakfast. I was always big on food presentation, too, from a young age.

SOURCE : NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC

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Food from Sierra Leone, where my dad’s from, has been a big part of my life. Sweet potato leaf stew is something my mum would cook all the time, it was

03/15/2023

Download and Stand a chance to WIN a $30,000 Luxury Vacation to 3 African Countries.

Best of Africa Streaming to your App. Music, Wildlife, History, Lifestyle, Documentaries plus latest News, Reviews, Competitions, Hospitality Packages and more

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03/13/2023

Celebrating Africa in March with Positive News - https://mailchi.mp/7da523ad3674/celebrating-africa-in-march-with-positive-news

03/08/2023

Celebrating Ancient Practices Through Modern African Design - Africa Prime

Celebrating Ancient Practices Through Modern African Design

For his first exhibition in Los Angeles, Nigerian designer Nifemi Marcus-Bello has created an immersive experience that draws on a variety of ancient African traditions. Taking inspiration from both East and West Africa, he created a series of bronze benches that fuse techniques from different cultures to create something beautiful and new.

During production, Marcus-Bello worked side-by-side with artisans in Lagos, Nigeria, and Benin. In reference to the Surma tribe, both the designer and the artisans thumbed down clay on the surface texture of the bench, thereby creating a silicone mold. To honor the traditions of the Benin Kingdom, they used a lost wax casting technique to invent the curved form of the bronze bench.

SOURCE: INTERIOR DESIGN

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For his first exhibition in Los Angeles, Nigerian designer Nifemi Marcus-Bello has created an immersive experience that draws on a variety of ancient

02/27/2023

Africa will get a new $1 billion spaceport in Djibouti - Africa Prime

Africa will get a new $1 billion spaceport in Djibouti

Africa could soon get a new spaceport after Djibouti signed a partnership deal with Hong Kong Aerospace Technology to build a facility to launch satellites and rockets in the northern Obock region. According to the preliminary deal, the Djibouti government will “provide the necessary land (minimum 10 sq km and with a term of not less than 35 years) and all the necessary assistance to build and operate the Djiboutian Spaceport.”

The $1 billion spaceport project will also involve the construction of a port facility, a power grid and a highway to ensure the reliable transportation of aerospace materials. The deal’s signing was presided over by the president of Djibouti, Ismail Omar Guelleh, and the project is set to be completed in the next five years. The spaceport is a massive milestone for Africa, making it the first orbital spaceport on African soil.

SOURCE : QUARTZ AFRICA

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Africa could soon get a new spaceport after Djibouti signed a partnership deal with Hong Kong Aerospace Technology to build a facility to launch

02/17/2023

A Full Circle Moment for Ghanaian Artist Foster Sakyiamah - Africa Prime

A Full Circle Moment for Ghanaian Artist Foster Sakyiamah

For the first time ever, the artist is staging a solo exhibition in Accra, the city that birthed his artistic life and fed his calling to paint. It’s a significant moment in time for Foster Sakyiamah’s career. Presented by ADA\ Contemporary Art Gallery and curated by Ghanaian contemporary artist Joseph Awuah-Darko, ‘Lines Through Time’ features new paintings from the artist that have been inspired by works from notable artists, including Johannes Vermeer and Paul Gauguin. But it’s also the first time the artist is showing a solo exhibition in the city he has called home for nearly 36 years.

One of the major works in the collection is “Akosua As Desire,” which is influenced by Gauguin’s 1892 painting “The Seed of the Areoi.” It shows a Ghanaian lady whose Black body is painted in red skin seated in the n**e and holding what looks like a mango while sitting on a table covered with cloth to convey independence, a sense of nurturing, and femininity.

SOURCE : OKAY AFRICA

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For the first time ever, the artist is staging a solo exhibition in Accra, the city that birthed his artistic life and fed his calling to paint. It's a

02/15/2023

Milisuthando Bongela on Making A Film with Her Ancestors - Africa Prime

Milisuthando Bongela on Making A Film with Her Ancestors

The South African filmmaker’s documentary feature, which is premiering at the Sundance Film Festival, is a deeply personal film that touches on her life growing up in the Transkei, before it was incorporated into post-apartheid South Africa.

When the credits roll on Milisuthando Bongela’s documentary feature, Milisuthando, among those listed, along with the lighting director and song composers, are the names of her ancestors. For the South African director, it was important that her first film was indeed made in communion with those who came before her.

“They were always consulted,” she tells OkayAfrica. “I would talk to my ancestors about my ideas. I would say, ‘Okay, this is the direction we want to go in.’ Even in terms of the fundraising aspect of the film, we involved them. This is what was fun and groundbreaking about making a film as a South African in 2021 [when she finished shooting it], is that our knowledge systems have said that you involve your ancestors in absolutely everything that you do. And we did”

And so it is that Milisuthando makes its debut into the world at the Sundance Film Festival, having been selected for its World Documentary Competition section. The film, which Bongela started eight years ago when she was a fashion blogger, consultant and columnist, began life as an exploration of hair and identity. But over the years, she dug deeper to come up with a deeply personal visual essay into how apartheid shaped the way she sees herself.

SOURCE : OKAY AFRICA

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The South African filmmaker's documentary feature, which is premiering at the Sundance Film Festival, is a deeply personal film that touches on her life

02/14/2023

The Africa Prime Initiative has joined forces with to support emerging African talent in the creative field.
After a successful launch of the initiative in Namibia, the winners of this second edition in Madagascar were revealed last week.
The winning candidates will be awarded 7 million ariary to further develop their artistic careers. Testifying our recognition to their talent, we praised the creativity, innovation and quality of their projects, as we strive to offer African artists the opportunity to own the narrative of the continent’s development and showcase their work to the world.

02/13/2023

Celebrating Africa in February with Positive News - https://mailchi.mp/2f3b35a34958/celebrating-africa-in-february-with-positive-news

02/13/2023

SpaceX's Plans for Africa in 2023 and 2024 - Africa Prime

SpaceX’s Plans for Africa in 2023 and 2024

South Africa is not among the 37 African countries where SpaceX’s Starlink aims to roll out in the next two years. The World Bank has estimated that only 29% of people in Sub-Saharan Africa had access to the Internet in 2020. Starlink’s promise of high-speed and low-latency connectivity could provide a big boost to Africa’s economic activity. The earliest the first African countries are expected to get Starlink now is in the second quarter of 2023.

Overall, there are 22 officially-recognised African countries where Starlink aims to roll out in the coming year, when including Somaliland. Another disputed territory where Starlink is set to become available in 2023 is Western Sahara. Three of South Africa’s neighbours are set to get the service this year — Eswatini (formerly Swaziland), Mozambique, and Zimbabwe. A further 15 countries are slated to get the service in 2024, including two more of South Africa’s neighbours — Botswana and Namibia. South Africa counts among 18 countries where no information on a rollout date is available yet, with the ETA showing “Unknown”.

SOURCE : MYBROADBAND

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South Africa is not among the 37 African countries where SpaceX’s Starlink aims to roll out in the next two years. The World Bank has estimated that

02/08/2023

Download and Stand a chance to WIN a $30,000 Luxury Vacation to 3 African Countries.

Best of Africa Streaming to your App. Music, Wildlife, History, Lifestyle, Documentaries plus latest News, Reviews, Competitions, Hospitality Packages and more

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02/06/2023

Huge Potential for Private Firms to Invest in Africa's Water Sector - Africa Prime

Huge Potential for Private Firms to Invest in Africa’s Water Sector

Water is a huge problem for most African countries. Outdated and overstretched infrastructure, often managed by floundering public companies, has led to costly and unreliable water access in many cities across the continent.

According to the World Bank, one in three people face water scarcity in Africa and “bold action” must be taken to address the water crisis. Along with addressing water shortages in drought and climate disaster areas, this also includes rolling out a higher standard of water access in cities.

Little engagement

But the private sector has historically had very little engagement with water across the continent. African governments have typically taken full control of the sector, managing the resource as a public good. Rami Ghandour, managing director of Metito, a UAE-based water company with operations in Africa, argues that public utilities have largely had an overall negative effect on the sector. He says that this is holding back crucial investment in the industry.

SOURCE : AFRICAN.BUSINESS

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Water is a huge problem for most African countries. Outdated and overstretched infrastructure, often managed by floundering public companies, has led to

02/03/2023

Netflix Announces New Documentary Series 'African Queens' - Africa Prime

Netflix Announces New Documentary Series ‘African Queens’

Mark your calendars for February 15th, the date on which Netflix will begin streaming a new docuseries about Africa’s queens. Executive producer, Jada Pinkett Smith, was a key force behind the project, citing the importance of reviving these stories of African female leadership to empower today’s young, black women. Queen Nzinga of Ndongo and Matamba came to prominence during the 17th century, when she ruled over Angola and fought off Portuguese settlers. Some confusion circulates around the correct spelling of the late queen’s name, as different historians refer to her as Njinga, her native name was Ngola Njinga, or her Christian name, Ana de Sousa. The show is written by Kenyan-born storyteller Peres Owino and British diplomat NneNne Iwuji and comes via Smith’s Westbrook Studios and independent film studio Nutopia.

SOURCE : OKAY AFRICA

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Mark your calendars for February 15th, the date on which Netflix will begin streaming a new docuseries about Africa's queens. Executive producer, Jada

02/01/2023

These African Countries Were the Most Innovative in 2022 According to Report - Africa Prime

These African Countries Were the Most Innovative in 2022 According to Report

In 2022, the African continent made great strides in tech advancements and innovation.
The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) recently released the 15th edition of the Global Innovation Index, which ranked several African countries who have exponentially improved their economies, and inched closer to becoming competitive innovators on the world stage.

WIPO ranked Mauritius, South Africa, and Morocco as the leaders of African innovation who have significantly improved the development of their economies over the past few years. Although Morocco, Tunisia, Kenya, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe fall under the lower-middle income category, they performed better than projections thought they would. Rwanda, Madagascar, Mozambique, and Burundi, which fell in the low-income group, outperformed on the innovation scale relative to their development.

SOURCE : OKAY AFRICA

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In 2022, the African continent made great strides in tech advancements and innovation.The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) recently

01/30/2023

E-commerce platform Copia branches out in growth push - Africa Prime

E-commerce platform Copia branches out in growth push

With a total of $83m raised in equity funding since 2013, Copia is one of Africa’s fastest-growing e-commerce platforms. Tim Steel is the CEO of Copia, an e-commerce platform operating in Kenya and Uganda which has raised a total of $83 million in equity funding since its launch in 2013.

Before managing Copia, Steel worked for 18 years for the multinational courier delivery company TNT and participated in its expansion phase across Africa and the Middle East.

For five years now, his mission at Copia has been to replicate his TNT experience but at a start-up level and for widely unserved markets across Africa.

SOURCE : AFRICAN BUSINESS

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With a total of $83m raised in equity funding since 2013, Copia is one of Africa's fastest-growing e-commerce platforms. Tim Steel is the CEO of Copia

01/25/2023

Africa’s e-commerce revolution opens up huge opportunities for businesses - Africa Prime

Africa’s e-commerce revolution opens up huge opportunities for businesses

Technology continues to revolutionise entire sectors across Africa, none more so than the emerging e-commerce sector, which is overhauling how the retail industry works and bringing the continent’s hundreds of thousands of small and medium enterprises into contact with a huge potential pool of customers.

In Lagos in September, TechCabal Media hosted the second edition of its Future of Commerce event in which business leaders, experts, and retail operators across Africa discussed how social media, payments, agent networks, informal trade and social commerce will power the growth of Africa’s e-commerce market. The forum highlighted the creative and innovative ways in which startups and large corporations can bring the informal sector into the e-commerce ecosystem.

SOURCE : AFRICAN BUSINESS

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Technology continues to revolutionise entire sectors across Africa, none more so than the emerging e-commerce sector, which is overhauling how the etail

01/23/2023

AFIS 2022: Stimulating dialogue to build a robust financial industry for sustainable development in Africa - Africa Prime

AFIS 2022: Stimulating dialogue to build a robust financial industry for sustainable development in Africa

On Monday, 28th of November, 2022, over 800 African finance leaders, bankers, insurers, regulators, central bank governors, public policymakers, innovators, fintech founders, and journalists converged in Lome, Togo, for the African Financial Industry Summit. The goal was to discuss and develop solutions to expedite the continent’s economic recovery in the face of the ongoing global economic crises through the development of a competitive, innovative, inclusive, and sustainable financial industry. The two days event which was held at the Hôtel 2-Février is sponsored by Jeune Afrique Media Group and the International Finance Corporation.

In 2020, the world experienced an unprecedented pandemic, but Africa was one of the most affected continents. This is because, unlike wealthier nations, the continent had no wherewithal to curtail the economic shock. Interestingly, following a 2.1% Covid-19-induced economic shrink in 2020, the African economy showed its resilience in 2021. However, there came another economically disruptive event – the Russian-Ukraine war. There is no other time than now for the continent to realise its true potential to get back on the pathway to growth in an inclusive and sustainable manner. Hence the need for the summit.

SOURCE : VENTURES AFRICA

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On Monday, 28th of November, 2022, over 800 African finance leaders, bankers, insurers, regulators, central bank governors, public policymakers

01/18/2023

Download and Stand a chance to WIN a $30,000 Luxury Vacation to 3 African Countries.

Best of Africa Streaming to your App. Music, Wildlife, History, Lifestyle, Documentaries plus latest News, Reviews, Competitions, Hospitality Packages and more

Download from Apple Store here: https://apple.co/3p6BKhx

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01/16/2023

Egypt’s green path to economic recovery - Africa Prime

Egypt’s green path to economic recovery

After Egypt’s hosting of the UN Climate Change Conference (Cop27) in the resort city of Sharm El-Sheikh in November, President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi may look back on the country’s moment in the limelight with a mix of satisfaction and mild irritation.

Sisi successfully used the summit to boost his country’s diplomatic standing. It reached an historic agreement on a “loss and damage” fund to compensate developing countries for climate change, but many global media headlines focused on demands for the release of British-Egyptian activist Alaa Abdel Fattah and the wider story of an estimated 65,000 political prisoners believed to be languishing in Egyptian jails.

SOURCE : AFRICAN.BUSINESS

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After Egypt’s hosting of the UN Climate Change Conference (Cop27) in the resort city of Sharm El-Sheikh in November, President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi may

01/06/2023

Lagos Space Programme is reconnecting African fashion to Yoruba traditions - Africa Prime

Lagos Space Programme is reconnecting African fashion to Yoruba traditions

“I’m from Lagos so looking good is part of our DNA,” says Adeju Thompson. “Taking pride in how we present ourselves in public is so important. It’s rooted in our history.” As the brains behind Lagos Space Programme, Thompson’s practice is rooted in the idea of decolonisation, with each collection drawing on the liberal attitudes of indigenous Yoruba people, whose stance on gender and sexuality was far more progressive than their Bible-bashing invaders. Through this, LSP is an attempt at orienting present-day Africans towards a future that feels closer in line to their past. Thompson’s latest collection, for example, drew parallels between traditional Adire artisans who use indigo-dyed cloth as a storytelling device, and the semiotics of contemporary q***r fashion. It’s all in the LSP name: “grounded in our roots but still looking outward.”

SOURCE : DAZED

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“I’m from Lagos so looking good is part of our DNA,” says Adeju Thompson. “Taking pride in how we present ourselves in public is so important.

01/04/2023

Download and Stand a chance to WIN a $30,000 Luxury Vacation to 3 African Countries.

Best of Africa Streaming to your App. Music, Wildlife, History, Lifestyle, Documentaries plus latest News, Reviews, Competitions, Hospitality Packages and more

Download from Apple Store here: https://apple.co/3p6BKhx

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01/02/2023

An Initiative to Boost the African Air Economy - Africa Prime

An Initiative to Boost the African Air Economy

15 African countries have agreed to further unify the continent by easing travel restrictions. Dubbed the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM), this initiative has won 15 signatures from 15 African countries that have all agreed to merge to some degree their aviation markets. The initiative was launched in January 2018 but enjoyed little to no success. However, a recent report reveals that the SAATM Pilot Implementation Project, which affiliates some of Africa’s most pronounced aviation sectors, was launched on the 14th of November 2022 by the African Civil Aviation Commission (AFCAC). The goal of this initiative is to first and foremost strengthen the ties between African countries via restricting severe air travel restrictions. It also has the goal of boosting the air economy of the member states involved.

SOURCE : BUSINESS INSIDER

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15 African countries have agreed to further unify the continent by easing travel restrictions. Dubbed the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM)

12/31/2022

Happy New Year

May the New Year bring you happiness, peace, and prosperity. Wishing you a joyous 2023!