Unlocking East Africa's Potential: The Transformative Role of Vocational Training
In Kenya’s bustling Gikomba Market, thousands of artisans hammer, stitch, and weld daily - yet 83% of them are locked out of formal employment. Across East Africa, the informal sector dominates, employing millions while offering limited paths to economic stability. This disparity reveals a critical challenge: how do we close the gap between mere survival and prosperity?
Hackers, Heists and High Stakes: Safeguarding East Africa’s Financial Future
In the span of a weeks in 2024, East Africa’s financial sector was struck by a series of incidents, exposing critical vulnerabilities. In Uganda, a billion Ugandan shillings (UGX) were stolen by G4S guards from a bullion van enroute to Kampala. At the Bank of Uganda, hackers siphoned UGX 60 billion in merely 60 seconds - a sobering reminder of the high stakes in digital finance.
Tanzania’s Gender Bond: A New Era for Impact Financing in East Africa
The African Development Bank’s article on affirmative finance action in Africa placed the disparity in the financing gap facing women in Africa at $41 billion – a damning figure. While the female entrepreneurship rate in Sub-Saharan Africa is 25.9%, three-fourths of women on the continent remain financially excluded. In a bid to contest this trend, enters Tanzania’s Jasiri Bond – the first gender bond issued in sub-Saharan Africa.
Chalk & Change: Comparing the Efficacy of Uganda & Kenya's National Curriculums
Education is a powerful force for change - a key tool for social mobility and an experience shared by many. While exam stress and institutional discipline resonate with most learners, it is worth examining the underlying structures that shape educational systems. We must stop to wonder why schooling is structured as it is. Do existing institutional frameworks truly foster equity?
Permission to Pollute? The Emerging Role of Carbon Credits in East Africa
In the global attempt to mitigate the disastrous effects of climate change, carbon allowances have aroused both hope and controversy. Critics argue that they serve as ‘pollution permission slips’, enabling wealthy nations and corporations to sidestep meaningful emissions reductions, while proponents champion them as a lifeline in developing regions with carbon capture potential.
From Backlog to Brain Drain: The Key Issues Behind East Africa’s Medical Intern Absorption Problem
In March 2024, hopeful medical interns in Kenya took to the streets in a 56-day-long strike. The issues under contention? A directive from the Salaries and Remuneration Commission had proposed to reduce intern stipends from Ksh 206,000 to between Ksh 47,000 and Ksh 70,000 – a reduction of nearly 80%.
Beyond Seasonal Stockpiles: Assessing East Africa’s Readiness to Combat Food Insecurity and Nutritional Decline
East Africa is among the most arable regions globally, with the potential to overcome regional food insecurity and become a significant food crop exporter. Yet East Africa remains one of the world’s most food insecure areas due to extreme weather patterns, ongoing conflicts, inadequate funding for food security, and mismanagement of resources.
Healthcare Financing in East Africa: Lessons from Kenya’s Social Healthcare Insurance Fund Bottleneck
The financing of healthcare in East Africa stands at a critical crossroads, with only 34% of the population able to access essential health services as of 2024. Despite the region’s growing demand for equitable healthcare, governments allocate a mere 5% of their GDP to the sector – far short of the 15% target set by the Abuja Declaration.
East Africa’s COP29 Gamble: The Struggle for Climate Resilience at a Fossil-Fuelled Conference of the Parties
As the 29th edition of the United Nations Conference of the Parties (COP29) comes to a close in Baku, Azerbaijan, East African countries reflect on what ground was made as they brought urgent concerns to the forefront. The outcomes stand poised to determine whether East Africa’s prospect of a climate resilient future has a hope in hell after all or is just another fossil-fuelled pipedream.
