Sub-Saharan Africa
The future of Africa is often regarded in a strangely unimaginative and pessimistic way. Yet Africa today is full of diversity, economic potential and innovative development.
However, the continent faces numerous challenges. As a liberal foundation, we believe that sustainable development depends on strong democratic institutions. Through our activities, we therefore promote liberal policies such as human rights, the rule of law, innovation, digitalisation and free trade.
From our offices in Johannesburg, Cape Town, Harare, Dar es Salaam, Nairobi, Abidjan and Dakar, we support partners in several African countries in advocating liberal values and implementing democratic structures.
News
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Nailbiter continues for Peace Prize of the German Book Trade winner Tsitsi Dangarembga
Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger has traveled to Harare, Zimbabwe, for the announced sentencing of Tsitsi Dangarembga. But the attrition tactics against the critic continue: the date for the pronouncement of the verdict has been postponed to September 29. Dangarembga is a peaceful critic of Zimbabwe's autocratic repressive system. She was sentenced because of a poster calling for reforms. The Friedrich Naumann Foundation has been observing the trial on the ground since it opened some two and a half years ago.
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Outsider shakes up Kenya's election campaign: Why is the exotic Wajackoyah doing so well?
George Wajackoyah is an enigmatic personality in many respects: both his appearance and his theses are provocative. But why does the exotic Wajackoyah go down so well? His success highlights the dilemma facing Kenyan voters in the presidential elections on 9 August: The candidates of the political establishment do not represent a bold departure that Kenya so desperately needs.
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Inspiring Women 2022
People have their own sets of expectations towards women, especially when it comes to leadership roles. It is not easy and I realised that all over the world, women are facing common challenges that men do not face in the same leadership roles. Our communities expect so much from women but at the same time, they need us to be careful and follow their rules. Our societies think that if a woman becomes a leader or politician, she should not dress in a certain way and she should communicate in a certain way, something that is not expected from men.
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Tsitsi Dangarembga – A Case of Freedoms and Reforms on Trial
Tsitsi Dangarembga and Julie Barnes are accused of unlawfully demonstrating against corruption, calling for media and political freedom. They are further charged with attending an illegal public gathering and contravening COVID-19 regulations. Fungisai Sithole, Project Manager at the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom office in Harare, Zimbabwe, attended the trial at the Rotten Row Magistrate Court in Harare.
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THE CLASH OF SYSTEMS: African Perceptions of the European Union and China Engagement
“The African survey participants hold up a mirror to European policy on Africa and expose Europe’s sometimes still paternalistic and romantic view of Africa. Europe's belief in the superiority of its own values contrasts with the pragmatic view of Africans on the performance and behaviour of the two partners (the EU and China)," says Stefan Schott, the Friedrich Naumann Foundation in East Africa Project Director.
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Calling young innovators: Pitch your idea on a global stage
With her innovative research in these cells, Emmie Chiyindiko impressed the judges at the Falling Walls Lab Cape Town, co-hosted by the Friedrich Naumann Foundation and the University of Cape Town. ‘Falling Walls Labs’ are events held around the world in which budding innovators have just three minutes to pitch a groundbreaking idea that stands to change the world for the better. The winners of these international labs come together in Berlin, Germany each year.
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The Journey from OAU to AU: Security Remains a Key Concern in Africa
The Malabo extraordinary summit is going to afford the continental body the opportunity to re-look what it once adopted in 2020 to silence the guns. The African Union Peace and Security Council expressed its grave concern over the persistence of conflict in the continent. As the continent seeks to rebuild itself, there are worries that this has been triggered by several factors like the trend of civilians acquiring arms for protection during situations of conflict.
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The Effects of Low Vaccinations Numbers in the Region
Meanwhile, low vaccination rates in the region have also hit vaccine makers in Africa who hoped to use demand for vaccines to generate orders. In May, a South African factory in Gqeberha said that it was on the verge of shutting down the production line it had set up to manufacture a version of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine because it had not received a single order for its product. “International agencies” are being blamed for not placing orders.
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Behind Zimbabwe’s Currency Woes
The Z$750 000 note shocked many as a bigger banknote, but the Z$100 billion-dollar note in 2008 stole the show, which remains named as the Guinness record world's highest denomination banknote notwithstanding the ensuing introduction of a Z$100 trillion dollar note. The 100 trillion-dollar note became part of Zimbabwe’s former central bank chief Gideon Gono's failed efforts at saving an economic Armageddon characterised by a feisty inflation and deficits...
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The DRC joins the East Africa Community bloc
On April 8, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) formally joined the East African Community (EAC), a regional trade and political bloc. Analysts say that both the DRC and its neighbours stand to benefit from the new arrangement, which will expand the EAC as far west as the Atlantic Ocean and further open Congo’s market of 90 million people to the region. But the DRC’s ongoing security challenges could also complicate its integration.
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The Shaky Peace Deal in South Sudan
According to the United Nations Mission in South Sudan, more than 400 people were massacred in bitter rival militias in the country between June and September 2021. Kiir and Machar's militias allegedly committed the atrocities. The oil rich South Sudan has been engulfed in ethnic violence since December 2013 and over 400 000 people have died since the conflict started. South Sudanese entrusted the AU to ensure that justice is served and end the culture of impunity.
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COVID-19 Impact on Women Informal Cross Border Traders in Southern Africa
‘Women informal cross border traders’ (WICBTs) play a vital role in sustaining Africa’s economy. Estimates suggest that between 50% to 60% of total intra-African trade is informal, and in most regions in Africa, including Southern Africa, women constitute around 70% of informal cross border traders (ICBTs). WICBTs do not only support their families and communities, they also provide an important contribution to the domestic and regional economies of their countries.
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Rwanda’s Digital Free Speech Comes Under Siege
As Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame tightens his grip on power, freedom for many who have switched to digital media to find a footing for their voices has come under siege from the country’s regime. Rwanda’s YouTube bloggers & commentators have of late found themselves in trouble for using the platform to point out perceived negative government reports. It has been reported that more than 20 bloggers and YouTubers in Rwanda were detained or disappeared in 2020 alone.
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Russian Invasion on Ukraine: Impact on Africa
When Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, the effects immediately rippled out around the world. In sub-Saharan Africa, the conflict has thus far been felt most acutely as a commodities crisis, with prices of key goods imported from Russia and Ukraine already beginning to spike. But there are also diplomatic tensions brewing over the treatment of African students in Ukraine, as well as how African countries position themselves in relation to the conflict.
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Will Africa Rise to Sustain its Bold AfCFTA Project?
On paper, the African Continental Free Trade Area seeks to boost intra-Africa trade, create a formidable single market, push the movement of capital and people, realise the establishment of continental customs union, improve competitiveness in the continent and more. The first shipment sunder agreement took place on 4 January 2021. Even with the high hopes placed on the potential of the AfCFTA, Africans are not oblivious to the many challenges that are in the way.
Social Media
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Nelson Boateng and his team at Nelplast Eco Ghana Limited are killing two birds with one stone by ridding the state capital of filth and providing affordable building materials made from plastic waste. Unlike many who recycle plastic waste into bags or other handy products, Nelplast Eco Ghana uses plastics as ‘concrete’ to build roads and houses. Plastic waste management in Ghana is a failed venture despite government’s several attempts to curtail the menace. Keeping up with a sustainable policy is one hurdle policymakers are yet to cross. Nelplast Eco Ghana Limited is a plastic wastes collection, recycling, and eco- friendly building and construction company based in Katamanso near Ashaiman in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana. In the eleventh and second last episode of Freedom Pioneers of Africa, Nelson presents his concept, which was broadcast across eighteen community radio stations in Malawi, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Namibia and Zambia. Listers give their thoughts on the projects presented by upcoming innovators and whether the initiative would work in their environments. Nelson also discusses his initiative with our resident Global Connector, Bianca Praetorius. Bianca is a startup pitch coach who offers insights into all things technology, digitisation and innovation. LISTEN HERE: 👉 https://iono.fm/e/1228647 #Innovation #House #Recycling #Building #Brick #Green #Environment #Freedom #Entrepreneurship #FNFreedomToCreate
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A dynamic economy needs dynamic business models. Are startups an alternative model for innovation and are they an economic driver? Are Small to Medium Enterprises sustainable and relevant? How will we work in the future? The Friedrich Naumann Foundation, GreenTec Capital Africa Foundation (GCAF), enpact, Berliner Partner für Wirtschaft und Technologie GmbH and New Mittelstand GmbH hosted an event recently in an attempt to shed light on these questions from an African and German perspective. They discussed key points of whether the respective business models are suitable for meeting future challenges and expectations of the younger generation and also posed the question what the models of the future could look like.
