Global clothing retailers eye Africa's fashionistas

With an increase in consumer culture in Africa has presented a great investment opportunity for international companies. Stores like Gap, Bebe, Zara, and Thomas Pink have started to bring their stores to South Africa to tap into new markets. With South Africa becoming more fashion forward, the country can look forward to new brands and stores setting up shop in the country. 

Agent of Change: Sindiso Nyoni believes artists have the power to address society's ills with their work.

On August 17, less than 24 hours after the Marikana massacre, graphic designer and illustrator Sindiso Nyoni began working on a seminal piece he would later call Protect and Serve. It features a gun-toting, balaclava-clad policeman baring his teeth in a clenched smile. The ink splatters — a street-art staple — take on an obvious meaning as they drench the background and the policeman’s bulletproof vest.

Given Nyoni’s own experiences as an immigrant in this country and that his was the first artistic bullet fired in the salvo of response to the massacre, the work may have been a bit kneejerk.

But then again, having been born under the shadow of the Matebeleland massacres in his native Zimbabwe, Nyoni’s entire existence is about using art to navigate his circumstances. Formerly an illustrator and graphic designer with ­advertising agency Black River FC, Nyoni has recently embarked on the risky route of pursuing art as his sole, full-time career.

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Uganda celebrates its tech entrepreneurs

Three students from the Makerere University College of Computing and Information Scienceshave won the Microsoft Imagine Cup Grant worth $50,000 for their project WinSenga, a smartphone app that performs ultrasounds on pregnant women and can detect problems like ectopic pregnancies and abnormal heartbeats. The winning, Team Cipher256, consists of Aaron Tushabe, Joshua Okello, and Josiah Kavuma.

Women Entrepreneurs Drive Growth in Africa

“The rate of female entrepreneurship is higher in Africa than in any other region of the world, the World Bank says. And even African countries criticized for abuses of human rights and civil liberties are progressive on gender.

It may not be a coincidence that a number of Africa’s economies doing the best without many resources — like Ethiopia or Rwanda — have austere, orderly, patriotic, aid-efficient governments that simultaneously spurn charity aid and focus on foreign-direct investment and private enterprise.”