The Only Station that Refugees in Dadaab Stay Tuned To

Exiled Somali Kamil Ahmed says her job at Gargaar
FM is more important than ever as the threat of closure hangs over the camp.
She’s the only female reporter at the station which is based in a small
shipping container in Kenya’s Dadaab Refugee camp. Broadcasting a
Somali-language programme, Gargaar FM (the name means assistance in Somali)
provides vital information to more than 200,000 people who call Dadaab home,
and serves as a source of entertainment and psychosocial support for refugees
trapped in the isolated camp, first established in 1991. Gargaar FM also
connects people to the outside world via the BBC World Service and Voice of
America service. The station is supported by the UNHCR but run by a group of
young journalists who studied and grew up in the sprawling camp.
SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN
Nigerian Credit Startup Heads to Brazilian Market

Migo, formerly known as Mines, has raised a US$20 million Series
B funding round to finance its expansion to Brazil and continued growth in its
home market. Founded in 2014, Migo provides a Credit-as-a-Service digital
platform that enables institutions such as banks, telecoms and retailers in
emerging markets to offer credit products to their customers, with no
smartphones required. These companies integrate Migo in their apps and Migo
underwrites customers to provide them with a digital account and credit line.
The customers can use this credit line to make purchases from a merchant or
withdraw cash without the need for point-of-sale hardware or plastic cards.
Migo has already underwritten more than seven million customers to date, while
an estimated 90 million adults in Nigeria and 100 million adults in Brazil
without access to credit means there is a massive area of untapped growth. Migo
enables some of the largest retail enterprises in Africa – from mobile
operators like 9mobile and MTN to payment companies Interswitch and Flutterwave
to banks like Bank of Industry and Fidelity Bank.
SOURCE: DISRUPT AFRICA
Ethiopia Joins African Countries Building Up a Picture of its Soil

In Ethiopia, poor soil health is making it difficult for farmers
to grow staple food such as teff, wheat, maize, sorghum, and barley and eke out
a living. This declining soil health has been caused by unsustainable farming
practices – such as the use of too much fertiliser or farming on slopes –
overgrazing and erosion caused by deforestation, meaning tree roots aren’t
holding soil in place. Soil spectroscopy – a new, light-based technology –
makes it easy, fast and cheap to analyse very large numbers of soil samples. By
measuring how infrared light, at different frequencies, is absorbed by a soil
sample, we get a snapshot of the soil’s organic and mineral contents. It’s part
of a continent-wide project to gather and analyse soil data under what we call
the Africa Soil Information Service. Under this, Tanzania, Ghana, Nigeria and
Rwanda have all worked to develop their soil information systems, conducting
nationwide soil health surveys and developing digital soil resource maps for
targeted interventions like sustainable land management practices.
SOURCE: THE CONVERSATION
The Team Unearthing Kenya’s Scandals

Africa
Uncensored, an investigative journalism collective that works to hold the
government accountable and cover stories often unreported by the media is
working on a massive story. The government is believed to have misappropriated
millions of dollars after Kenya’s health minister signed a multimillion-dollar
deal in 2015 for what he said was much-needed hospital equipment. The
government also promised to invest in the improvement of Kenya’s medical
services, which were seen to be especially failing the poor. They carry out
their investigation, using hidden cameras to confront an official, despite
fears of reprisal. Meanwhile, they feel the urgency to publish as they speak to
those most affected by failures in the health system, including a mother who
could not afford her cancer treatment.
SOURCE: AL JAZEERA
2019 Will be Remembered as the Year that Devastated Parts of Eastern and Southern Africa

Millions of people in southern and eastern Africa are facing
emergency food insecurity partly caused by climate change, half of them
children, according to the charity Save the Children. The region has been hit
by extreme cyclones, flooding and drought in recent months and scientists say
it is warming much faster than other parts of the world. A 2015 report by the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change shows temperatures rising in southern
Africa at twice the global rate. Save the Children says leaders of
industrialized nations must commit to bigger cuts in greenhouse gas emissions
and greater support for those most affected by climate change.
SOURCE: VOA
Africa’s Energy Sector is a Catalyst for Growth and Development Across the Continent

The African Energy Chamber launched its first annual African
Energy Outlook for 2020. The report, compiled to provide key insight on what
sub-Saharan Africa’s oil and gas industry can expect to see next year, also
doubles as an overview of the role the energy sector stands to play in
developing competing economies. Though the continent’s oil and gas sector was
significantly impacted by the oil price crash, 2019 has proven to be a year of
recovery for many African economies. With many continuing works on projects
that were previously halted or cancelled, some developing new large-scale
projects and others working to increase their exploration and production
activities; the continent is undoubtedly poised to see accelerated growth in
the years to come.
SOURCE: VENTURES AFRICA
The Swedish Boy Who’s Got Social Media Talking

An 11-year-old Swedish boy who has adopted aspects of the
culture of Maasai people in Tanzania has attracted both joy and criticism from
the community. Oscar Magwaya moved to Tanzania with his mother, Suzan Magwaya,
when he was four years old. Ms Magwaya was working for a charity helping street
children when she met Daudi Magwaya, her Maasai security guard. They got
married and had a daughter together, Oscar’s younger half-sister. Oscar is
fluent in Maasai, as well as Swahili and his mother-tongue Swedish. He now only
wears Maasai clothes – the striking fabric brought together with a belt around
the waist.
SOURCE: BBC
How Creative Architecture Is Finding A Home In Africa

Home development firms, architects and designers across Africa
are not only providing a solution to the continent’s housing problems,
especially in big cities, but are also contributing to building up the
continent’s urban living centres with creative architecture and luxurious
living in contemporary spaces
SOURCE: AFRICA.COM
Inviting the World to Participate in Rwanda’s Transformation

Rwanda signed a deal on Wednesday with French soccer club Paris St Germain to promote tourism in the east African nation, its second such agreement since last year. “We invest part of our tourism revenues in strategic collaborations such as the one with Paris St Germain because we understand the positive effect they have on the overall perception of the country globally,” the Rwanda Development Board’s chief executive, Clare Akamanzi, said in a statement after the signing. Akamanzi did not say how much Rwanda would pay for the deal. A source close to the French club said it was worth between 8 and 10 million euros. Last May, Rwanda signed a sponsorship and tourism promotion deal with the English soccer club Arsenal.
SOURCE: REUTERS AFRICA
Majungasaurus Lived in Madagascar some 70 million Years Ago

New study shows
a carnivorous dinosaur species regrew all its teeth every few months. A
meat-eating dinosaur species that lived in Madagascar some 70 million years ago
replaced all its teeth every couple of months or so, a new study has found,
surprising even the researchers. In fact, Majungasaurus grew new teeth roughly
two to 13 times faster than those of other carnivorous dinosaurs, says paper
lead author Michael D. D’Emic, an assistant professor of biology at Adelphi
University. Majungasaurus would form a new tooth in each socket every couple of
months.
SOURCE: SCITECH DAILY
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