In South Africa, it is a tragic annual ritual where students have to protest for their right to affordable and accessible education. In response, the state unconstitutionally doles out violence and murder through the police, clearly violating the students’ right to protest. On both sides of the debate, we will hear the refrain: asinamali; we...Read More

COMMENT The Covid-19 pandemic put unprecedented stress on students across the country. Campuses that had been hubs of learning for decades were empty. Universities had to find ways to continue while not leaving anyone behind. With thousands of students of diverse backgrounds and means at each institution, this was no easy feat. Administration, staff and...Read More

The Covid-19 pandemic has brought about massive changes to the manufacturing industry, which has had to adapt to new operating models, an evolving consumer market, and disruptions in supply chain processes, all while keeping the workforce safe and healthy. Integral to the success of a business in overcoming these challenges is the chief financial officer...Read More

We have asked some of Africa’s leading academics and thinkers to reflect on what the inauguration of a new US president means for Africa. This series is produced In collaboration with the University of the Witwatersrand’s African Center for the Study of the United States. Although dominated by the Covid-19 pandemic, the year 2020 was...Read More

NEWS ANALYSIS  Ethiopia is the latest government to hijack the business of fact checking, imitating the work of independent media and repurposing it for government propaganda while in the middle of a conflict.  One example: On 20 November, more than two weeks after the conflict in Ethiopia began, the African Union chair announced a three-person...Read More

As some start to wonder about a post-Bretton Woods economic system, macro analyst Luke Gromen explains how that post-World War II system came to be. One of the most significant macroeconomic questions facing the world is what the future of the global reserve system, dominated for the last 80 years by the U.S. dollar, holds. ...Read More

This year’s Greening the Future finalists and winners give us something real to celebrate after a long and turbulent year – and they ensure that we have something to look forward to.  “After Covid-19, it does seem like 2020 is a really dark time for us, and this planet,” says Sipho Kings, acting editor-in-chief at...Read More

Satoshi Nakamoto intended bitcoin to be used for online payments. But it never caught on as a mainstream payments option. The main hurdle to widespread adoption of bitcoin-as-cash is its wild, and potentially lucrative, price changes. This roller coaster-problem isn’t going to disappear. Which means the only way for bitcoin payments to ever go mainstream...Read More

COMMENT Internet search giant Google recently announced plans to launch its own learning platform.  Dubbed “career certificates”, Google’s collection of courses is aimed at helping learners to obtain qualifications in high-paying, high-growth job fields without attending university.  Google’s courses take about six months to complete, and cost a fraction of traditional university courses.  This development,...Read More

Since the formal introduction of Ethereum in 2014, the network has exploded with products that allow users to transact directly with one another, without relying on a third party. One of the most common use cases is that of a decentralized exchange (DEX), an idea that dates back to Vitalik Buterin’s unveiling of Ethereum in...Read More