Africa First Network

🤝 🌍 Hello, Germany? In DIE ZEIT, Simon Langemann spotlights those who are too often overlooked in the migration debate - namely those who want to immigrate regularly and hope that Germany will not only ‘reduce irregular #migration’ but also - as promised - ‘enable regular migration’.   The experiences of Jean Abbé from Côte d'Ivoire, who has now made it here, suggest that there is still a lot to be done. The Ivorian often had to wait months for an appointment at the #embassy and to sit in minibuses for 5-6 hours a day to attend a language course.   After all: from 2025, those wishing to immigrate will be able to apply for #visa online. However: is it really necessary to learn German beforehand - or isn't it much easier to do this while working or training here anyway?   In view of the shortage of skilled labour, politicians should at least consider reducing the obligation to provide proof #discuss #Africa Burkhard Volbracht Jörg Kleis https://lnkd.in/eP-aNZ5y

🆕 News from #Africa First Network: On Friday, we sent out the latest issue of our ‘News & Insights’ to registered members. It deals with investment opportunities in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the ‘House of Circularity’ in Pullach, the ‘White Gold Project’ in #SouthAfrica and more.   👉 If you are not yet on our mailing list, you can read the News & Insights here: https://lnkd.in/edD-ap4R #GoSouth #RealDevelopment #ImpactInvesting Martin Alexander Schoeller Ulrich Konstantin Rieger Heinrich von Tiedemann

🌍 AFN goes #GABS: Our Managing Director Ulrich Konstantin Rieger encourages German companies to ‘to cooperate in #Africa’ - and is looking forward to new contacts and many encounters at the German African Business Summit from 2-4 December in Nairobi 🤝 👇 Who of you will be there too? #GABS2024 #SAFRI Subsahara-Afrika Initiative der Deutschen Wirtschaft (SAFRI) Delegation of German Industry and Commerce for Eastern Africa (AHK Eastern Africa) https://lnkd.in/e3UJTfEP

🎉 Huge milestone for our friends from AVCO Foods 👇🏻💪🏼 #Africa #Cassava #RealDevelopment Ndabezinhle Zin Mabaso Markus Froehlich Heinrich von Tiedemann https://lnkd.in/evFbhZfC

... and now - the choice is yours! 😉👇

📢 🌍 #Putin's propaganda in #Africa: the journalist Ephrem Yalike-Ngonzo ‘was part of an unscrupulous network, a unit of info warriors, controlled from Moscow’. Now he has revealed that, on instructions from Russia, he had been spreading #FakeNews for years, for example that   🤥 Children thank the Russians for helping their country, 🤥 employees of the US embassy are involved in intelligence activities, 🤥 France was supporting rebels and fuelling unrest.   Particularly in demand was anything that made #France and the UN mission Minusca look bad. But Yalike-Ngonzo did not stop at writing down lies. He also staged fake demonstrations by paying around three euros per participant and distributing posters.   After his transformation into a #whistleblower, he now wants to publish real news again - in Europe. Meanwhile, the Russians have found new accomplices. Pro-Russian media in the #CentralAfricanRepublic currently spread the word that France's secret service is using nanotechnology to shrink penises in Africa (no joke) 🤦 #Russia https://lnkd.in/eaCcX5a5

🌍 💡 Our friends from The ONE Campaign highlight findings of an Africa No Filter research: "During elections, African countries receive more #media attention, with a disproportionate focus on negative issues. #Africa then scores higher on negative sentiment and bias compared to non-African countries with similar political risks."   The result: "Investors end up (unfairly) viewing African nations as higher #risk. That leads to higher borrowing costs (...) and is likely to affect other sectors like #tourism." The ONE-message: "If we want to unlock Africa's future economic prospects, we need to start by changing these stereotypes." 🎯 #Investment #GoSouth Martin Alexander Schoeller Alhaji Allie Bangura

👁 👁 "Cameras in the capital #Kigali track traffic and send speeding tickets to smartphones in real time all by themselves." Interesting developments can currently be observed in #Rwanda, first and foremost:   👉 The East African country is pushing ahead with #digitalisation and relying on AI innovations. This is speeding up some things that still take a lot of time and paper here in Germany.   👉 The government is also using #AI for surveillance purposes, such as facial recognition. However, this is not viewed as critically as in Europe, presumably mainly due to a particularly pronounced longing for security and stability.   This poses particular challenges for Europe's foreign and #development policy makers: When they criticise surveillance, they quickly come across as preachy - a golden opportunity for those who want to turn away from the West towards #China. Critics may therefore achieve the opposite of what they intended.   The solution? One option is not to preach morality, but to ask questions and engage in serious discussion. To create a knowledge base for this, we recommend this article (€) by Kathrin Witsch (Handelsblatt) #Africa #Europe #GlobalGateway Martin Alexander Schoeller Ulrich Konstantin Rieger https://lnkd.in/eWTYZXUg   

🌍 🌱 „By choosing BEU Organic #Vanilla, you’re not just buying the world’s finest vanilla – you’re contributing to sustainable farming, education, and a better future for #Uganda.“ 👇   Have a look at what Africa First Ambassador Mugarura Charles and his Broadfield Enterprises Uganda team have to offer #Africa #FairTrade    https://lnkd.in/emYBBACv

🌍 Grist to our mill: ‘One-sided reporting and a lack of knowledge characterise the #Africa perception. This is a serious obstacle to #investment.’ One thing is clear: Anyone who wants to achieve closer co-operation between our continents must adress this important lever 💪 🛠 #Narratives #Factfulness https://lnkd.in/eRjUfdze