Solar Ship To Cruise African Skies

 Manaf Freighters has announced it will purchase four of Solar Ship’s aircraft for use in cargo delivery and disaster relief in remote areas of East and Central Africa. A solarship is more than just a blimp. It’s a hybrid aircraft that combines aerodynamic lift, aerostatic lift and solar power into a long range and very energy efficient cargo carrier. The manufacturer says the approach provides the lifting capacity of a truck while providing the plucky performance of.... Read more »

Posted on : Friday , 23rd September 2016

Car & General inks distribution deal with Dutch engine maker

 Auto maker Car & General (C&G) is set enter a joint distributorship venture with Netherlands-based Cummins BV whose diesel engines and generators it has been selling alone in the region for years.   The partnership will consolidate the sales, service and support of Cummins products in East Africa, the Nairobi Securities Exchange-listed firm said in a statement.   The products include diesel engines, turbochargers, alternators and.... Read more »

Posted on : Friday , 23rd September 2016

Africa’s regulators are smothering its innovators

 The birth of mobile money transfer in Kenya has raised optimism about the potential of the continent to leapfrog in other technologies. However, Africa’s mobile technology is starting to look like an exception despite efforts to create start-ups using emerging technologies and platforms such as drones, 3D printing, robots and machine learning. There are many reasons for the slow pace at which Africa is able to harness the power of emerging technologies and put them to.... Read more »

Posted on : Friday , 23rd September 2016

Africa’s regulators are smothering its innovators

 The birth of mobile money transfer in Kenya has raised optimism about the potential of the continent to leapfrog in other technologies. However, Africa’s mobile technology is starting to look like an exception despite efforts to create start-ups using emerging technologies and platforms such as drones, 3D printing, robots and machine learning. There are many reasons for the slow pace at which Africa is able to harness the power of emerging technologies and put them to.... Read more »

Posted on : Friday , 23rd September 2016

Local Content Bill to give Kenyans more oil cash

 Oil and gas companies will now be required to state how local communities will benefit from the proceeds before they are licenced if a proposed bill becomes law.   The bill by Baringo Senator Gideon Moi seeks to ensure the companies do not take off with everything after drilling oil and tapping gas. The Local Content Bill 2016 will also put an end to conflicts that have rocked communities in oil and gas rich areas and these companies by ensuring the millions of poor.... Read more »

Posted on : Friday , 23rd September 2016

Tanzania: High-Tech Equipment Sought to Detect Natural Forces

 The government has arranged to acquire sophisticated equipment that will be used to undertake deep geologic surveys to detect the magnitude of natural forces like earthquake. Going by scientific term as Magnetotelluric, the machines, to be ordered from Germany, France, China or Japan, will make it possible for the country to measure and take immediate measurements of the quakes and take informed decisions.   Energy and Minerals Minister, Professor Sospeter Muhongo,.... Read more »

Posted on : Friday , 23rd September 2016

Auto policy now under review – NADDC

 The National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC) has said that it has started reviewing the country’s automotive policy with the stakeholders in the auto industry in order to eliminate the hindrances currently bedeviling the sector. The director, Policy and Planning, Mr Luqman Mamuda, who disclosed this, noted that when the policy was made in 2014, many companies welcomed it because of the tariff differentials between the Completely Knocked down (CKD), Semi.... Read more »

Posted on : Friday , 23rd September 2016

IRENA Claims Solar In Africa Is Set To Boom Thanks To Declining Costs

 The International Renewable Energy Agency has published a new report claiming that the falling technology costs of solar PV are likely to result in an installation boom across Africa.   “The business case for solar photovoltaics (PV) in Africa is stronger than ever thanks to rapidly declining technology costs” wrote the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) in their new report, published this week, entitled Solar PV in Africa: Costs and Markets..... Read more »

Posted on : Friday , 23rd September 2016

Dahabshiil roots for US-Africa trade deals

 Young African entrepreneurs stand to gain more from enhanced business partnerships between the United States and Africa according to money transfer firm Dahabshiil's CEO Abdirashid Duale.   Speaking after the just concluded US-Africa business forum in New York, Duale, whose company operates in the US and in Africa, says the opening of opportunities for African investors in the US has helped turn around the lives of many.   "Through remittances from Africans.... Read more »

Posted on : Friday , 23rd September 2016

Kenya to Spend Sh3 Billion on Mineral Survey

 The government says it will spend Sh3 billion to map out mineral sites with the aim of identifying all minerals as part of the country's industrialization strategy.   "The process will begin immediately because the cash was factored in the current financial year," said Mining Cabinet Secretary Dan Kazungu on Tuesday.   "This exercise will enable us to discover all the mineral within our borders... mining is set to become the bedrock for Kenya's.... Read more »

Posted on : Friday , 23rd September 2016

Kenya: Innovation Africa 2016 Officially Opens in Kenya

 The Innovation Africa Summit 2016 dubbed "designed and made for Africa by Africa", Africa's leading annual Education and ICT forum was officially opened by the Education Cabinet Secretary Dr. Fred Matiang'i at Safari Park Hotel, Nairobi. The three-day Forum is being hosted in the country under the auspices of the Ministry of Education and had in attendance government officials led by over 25 African Ministers.   Innovation Africa is the continent's number one.... Read more »

Posted on : Friday , 23rd September 2016

Rwanda’s set to fulfil energy generation ambitions

 THE East African country’s development agenda of Vision 2020, which aims to achieve 70 percent electrification connectivity and 563 megawatt generation capacity by 2018, will be under the spotlight during the Infrastructure Partnerships for African Developments (iPAD) Rwanda Energy Infrastructure Forum in November. The third edition of the iPAD returns to Kigali in with the continued strong, official support of the state power utility Rwanda Energy Group (REG), the.... Read more »

Posted on : Friday , 23rd September 2016