Tag Archives: Kenya

28Mar/26

Zambia’s Digital Renaissance: How Google Partnerships and the 8NDP are Rewiring the Economy

Empowering the Next Frontier: Zambia’s Quest for Innovation, Tech Skills, and Data Sovereignty

March 28, 2026 /Mpelembe Media/ — Zambia is currently undergoing a massive technological evolution designed to achieve the socio-economic goals outlined in its Eighth National Development Plan (8NDP) and Vision 2030. This transition is anchored in aggressive infrastructure expansion, e-government reforms, and strategic international partnerships. Continue reading

25Feb/26

Leaked $1bn US-Zambia Health Deal Sparks Outrage Over Data and Mining Demands

25 Feb. 2026 /Mpelembe Media/ —  A leaked draft of a $1bn health financing agreement between the US and Zambia has provoked widespread backlash and accusations of “shameless exploitation”. Under the proposed memorandum of understanding, Washington would provide health funding in exchange for severe and unprecedented conditions that advocates argue are vastly worse than deals struck with other African nations. Continue reading

19Feb/26

Green Gold and Grey Zones: Africa’s Uneven Pivot from Prohibition to Industrial Powerhouse

Africa’s Billion-Rand Botanical Blueprint: Bridging Ancient Ethnobotany and the Industrial Hemp Revolution

Feb 17, 2026 /Mpelembe media/ — The African cannabis landscape is undergoing a historic structural transformation, shifting from a century of colonial-era prohibition toward a sophisticated, multi-tiered regulatory environment driven by economic necessity and industrial innovation. As of 2025/2026, the continent is positioning itself as a critical supplier to the global legal market—projected to reach $50 billion by 2027—while grappling with significant internal challenges regarding social equity and regulatory coherence. Continue reading

09Feb/26

JPMorgan to Launch New Frontier Index as Investors Push for Zambia’s Inclusion

10 Feb. 2026 /Mpelembe Media  — New Frontier Benchmark JPMorgan is finalizing plans to launch a new frontier market local currency debt index, aiming to formalize investment in high-yield, developing economies. Expected to include 20 to 25 countries, the index focuses on nations such as Egypt, Vietnam, Kenya, and Nigeria, which are anticipated to carry the heaviest weightings. This launch addresses growing investor appetite for riskier debt, with analysis suggesting that frontier local markets have systematically outperformed mainstream emerging market indices over the last eight years. Continue reading

17Nov/25

The Global Rise of Gen Z Political Protests

Nov. 17, 2025 /Mpelembe Media/ —   There is an unprecedented global surge of Gen Z-led protests across multiple countries. Youth participation in political change is not new, the recent wave of these movements are interconnected and enabled by technology. The key commonalities among these countries experiencing these protests: they generally possess relatively high political rights but suffer from deficits in prosperity metrics such as income, health, or education, coupled with significantly high youth populations. The article concludes by discussing the mixed outcomes of these protests, which have led to full regime change in countries like Nepal and Madagascar. Is it possibie to predict where future youth uprisings might occur based on these shared characteristics? Continue reading

18Mar/25

High soybean prices in Zambia and Malawi may make chicken costly too: lack of competition is to blame

Arthur Khomotso Mahuma, University of Johannesburg and Namhla Landani, University of Johannesburg

Poultry is one of the cheapest protein sources for the growing population of the east and southern Africa region. That makes soybeans critical to food security in the region, as they are an important input in chicken feed.

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15Dec/23

Kenyan digital IDs: paused again

By Nita Bhalla | East Africa Correspondent

Dec 14, 2023, / Thomson Reuters Foundation/ — A high court in Kenya has halted the rollout of a new national digital identification programme, saying authorities failed to assess the risks from processing citizens’ personal data. Continue reading

30Nov/23

History of Congolese Rumba

Nov. 30, 2023 /Music/ — Congolese rumba, also known as Congolese soukous, is a genre of popular music that originated in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in the early 20th century. It is a fusion of traditional African rhythms and melodies with influences from Cuban and Caribbean music. Rumba quickly became popular in the DRC and spread to other African countries, particularly Kenya, Tanzania, and Zambia. In the 1960s, rumba gained international recognition and became popular in Europe and the Americas. Continue reading