Tap to Pay: Artificial Intelligence Adoption and Digital Transformation in the East African Banking Industry
The Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) is reshaping industries across the globe, merging the physical, digital, and biological worlds. For East African banks, this revolution represents a crucial turning point - one where innovation can drive modernisation, enhance customer engagement, and streamline operational processes.
East Africa’s Growth & Investment Landscape: A Look at 2024’s Third Quarter for the Region’s Biggest Players
With the projected growth acceleration of 1.6% points in 2024 from 3.5% in 2023, East African countries have positive forecasts for their economic growth. In particular, four economies – Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda – already account for around 84% of the region’s output.
Powering Uganda’s Future: The Untapped Potential of Mini Grids to Transform Electricity Access
This report is about the energy poverty hampering Uganda’s socioeconomic development. It explores the potential of mini-grids in Uganda, examining various aspects of mini-grids including the challenges and economic implications surrounding their development and contribution to rural electrification.
East Africa’s Artificial Intelligence Strategy: Crafting National AI Strategies for the Region in the Face of the Global Tech Revolution
Over 90% of artificial intelligence (AI) research is from North America, Europe, and China, with less than 5% coming from Africa. As the world rapidly enters an era defined by an AI revolution, East Africa finds itself lagging significantly.
The State of Startup Financing in East Africa: The Unique Challenges and Opportunities Faced in Africa’s Startup Capital
As startups grow in the region, their increasing prevalence suggests an upward trend for the foreseeable future. Therefore, their financing is increasingly becoming an important point of interest for both investors and entrepreneurs.
Addressing Load Shedding in East Africa: The Potential Role of Machine Learning in Solving the Region’s Electricity Crisis
Load shedding, the deliberate shutdown of electricity in parts of a power distribution network to prevent the collapse of the entire system, has become a daily challenge for many East Africans.
The Delicate Dance of Tech Titans and Sovereign States: The Geopolitical Stakes Surrounding Data Ownership in Africa
In 2017, Kenya would go on to conduct what would become one of its most hotly contested elections to date, against the backdrop of the Cambridge Analytica scandal of 2016. Facebook, present-day Meta, would play a complicit hand in undermining this young democracy’s sovereignty via the exploitation of the country's data.
Unveiling Mozambique’s Enormous Tuna Bonds Scandal: A Shocking $11 Billion Dollar Fishing Tale's Lessons for Financial Governance in Africa
In 2013, Mozambique created three public companies – Ematum, Proindicus, and Mozambique Asset Management (MAM) – which would later become known as the ‘tuna bonds.’ Substantial funds were diverted through corrupt practices involving government officials and businessmen: a whopping ~$11 billion.
Assessing Urban Energy Strategies in East African Cities: Optimising for Innovative Waste Management and Energy Efficiency in the Region
With this increasing influx of people into urban areas comes an added strain on existing energy and waste management systems. This is exacerbated by the fact that a large proportion of East Africa’s urban population lives in informal settlements, which tend not to benefit from government waste management and energy supply systems.
