Speech by Dr Akinwumi A Adesina, President and Chairman of the Board, African Development Bank Group, at the COP29 High-Level Event, on Measuring the Green Wealth of Nations: Natural Capital and Economic Productivity in Africa, on November 13, 2024.



Africa has some of the largest sources of natural capital in the world, including over 40% of the world’s clean energy potential; 65% of the world’s uncultivated arable land; 25% of global biodiversity; and 20% of the world’s tropical rainforest area.



The Congo Basin is the second-largest carbon lung in the world after the Amazon forest. It stretches 314 million hectares with 1.2 million kilometers of primary forest.



The peatlands of the Congo Basin store 29 billion tons of carbon. That is equivalent to three years’ worth of global greenhouse gas emissions. The Congo Basin also absorbs about 1.5 billion tons of carbon dioxide per year.



Africa’s forests account for 26% of all carbon sequestration in forests worldwide.



The continent also holds considerable non-renewable natural resources, accounting for 50% of the world’s reserves of cobalt (used for batteries), 40% of manganese reserves (used in solar and wind farms) and more than 80% of platinum reserves, complemented by rich endowments of nickel, copper, and rare earth minerals. These are crucial for global green energy transition with electric vehicles and battery energy storages systems, whose estimated value is expected to rise from $7.5 trillion to $59 trillion.



Africa is also endowed with abundant renewable energy: an almost unlimited potential of solar capacity (10TW), hydro (350GW), wind (110GW), and geothermal energy sources (15GW), all of which are the backbone of a less carbon-intensive and more sustainable energy system.



Therefore, while Africa contributes significantly to global public good for tackling climate change with its vast resources of natural capital, its vast natural capital has been undervalued. This vast natural capital is not taken into consideration in valuing the GDP of African countries. For example, while the GDP of Africa was estimated at $2.5 trillion in 2018, this was 2.5 times lower than the estimated value of its natural capital, evaluated at $6.2 trillion, which partly includes some valuation of the ecosystem services.



This situation makes Africa to be “green endowed” but “cash poor”.



When Africa’s vast forest and environmental services, and natural capital, are properly valued, the size of its rebased GDP taking this into account will be much higher.



The African Development Bank’s preliminary estimates, based on very conservative assumptions, show that Africa’s nominal GDP in 2022 could have increased by $66.1 billion when adjusted for carbon sequestration only.



That is more than the combined GDP of 42 African countries!



The proper valuation of Africa’s green GDP is where the trillions of dollars for the continent, based on proper valuation, will come from, to boost the wealth and financing of the continent.



The greening of the GDP will also have other benefits, including the development of carbon markets in Africa.



Unfortunately, today, several African countries are giving away their vast amounts of land to carbon credits. While this may generate some short-term financing, it needs to be understood that Africa is a carbon price taker and therefore is short-changed. While the price of carbon in Europe is high and could be as high as $200 per ton because of the strict EU Emission Trading Standards, carbon price in Africa could be as low as $3 to $10 per ton.



The widespread sales of vast areas of Africa’s lands rich in carbon, what I call “carbon grab”, has five consequences, which we must understand.



First, the countries are being underpaid for the carbon, due to the undervaluation of Africa’s carbon sinks.



Second, the sequestered carbon on the lands can no longer be used as part of the nation’s nationally determined contributions.



Third, the countries lose sovereignty over their lands.



Fourth, the carbon sequestered over these lands and forests cannot be used to rebase and revalue the green GDP of the countries.



Fifth, the ongoing carbon grab in Africa is a lose-lose proposition.



The proper valuation of Africa’s green wealth will increase access to financial flows, in part because credit ratings agencies will be able to incorporate the true value of overall asset class, which in turn could improve countries’ risk profile.



Therefore, it is time for Africa’s green environmental assets to be properly priced to allow the continent to turn its massive green assets into wealth, through their inclusion in “green&#8221; GDP for Africa. This will raise massive financial resources for the continent, spur greater green investments and provide better policies for the greening of African economies for sustainable development. The significantly higher revenues that Africa will generate from the proper valuation of its carbon sinks and environmental services will also allow it to be able to service its debts, assuring debt sustainability.



It is time for Africa’s green wealth to be properly measured.



It is time to take Africa’s natural capital into consideration in its GDP.



It is time for Africa to be green rich and cash rich.



I am delighted to inform you that the African Development Bank has produced a report on Measuring the Green Wealth of Nations: Natural Capital and Economic Productivity in Africa. This report sets out key actions to value and integrate natural capital in the measure of Africa’s GDP.



This is a defining moment for Africa.



We need you to succeed.



African Development Bank will work with you to seize this moment.

1st Africa Climate Summit in Kenya

Measuring the Green Wealth of Nations: Natural Capital and Economic Productivity in Africa

<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-call-for-women-s-leadership-in-energy">A Call for Women’s Leadership in Energy</h3>



The Secretary of State for Mineral Resources, Jânio Correa Victor, inaugurated the summit with a call to action for women to lead transformative projects in the energy sector. Representing the Minister of Mineral Resources, Petroleum, and Gas, Diamantino Azevedo, he emphasized the Ministry’s commitment to fostering platforms like this summit to share insights and identify talent.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="750" height="540" src="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Janio-Correa-Victor-officially-opened-the-Forbes-Africa-Lusophone-Annual-Summit-Tom-Carlos.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-63731" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Janio-Correa-Victor-officially-opened-the-Forbes-Africa-Lusophone-Annual-Summit-Tom-Carlos.jpeg 750w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Janio-Correa-Victor-officially-opened-the-Forbes-Africa-Lusophone-Annual-Summit-Tom-Carlos-300x216.jpeg 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 750px) 100vw, 750px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Jânio Correa Victor officially opened the Forbes Africa Lusophone Annual Summit. (Photo: Tom Carlos)</figcaption></figure>



Victor praised the efforts of the Muhatu Energia Angola Network, a two-year-old initiative supporting women in petroleum, as a vital step toward achieving gender equality in the sector. He highlighted the alignment of its work with Angola’s National Development Plan 2023–2027 and Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG 5 on gender equality. &#8220;Our responsibility is to ensure the sustainable and inclusive advancement of the sector,” he remarked, calling on women to innovate and lead Angola toward a brighter, more inclusive future.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-power-to-inspire-advocating-diversity">“The Power to Inspire” – Advocating Diversity</h3>



A central panel discussion, The Power to Inspire, moderated by Sonangol board member Olga Sabalo, featured industry leaders Natacha Massano, Katrina Fisher, and Nina Koch. Addressing the enduring question of gender roles in the workplace, the panelists unanimously affirmed women’s equal capability in every field.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="682" src="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/woman-panel-2-1024x682.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-63734" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/woman-panel-2-1024x682.jpeg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/woman-panel-2-300x200.jpeg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/woman-panel-2-768x512.jpeg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/woman-panel-2.jpeg 1280w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Olga Sabalo, Katrina Fisher, Nina Koch, and Natacha Massano</figcaption></figure>



“We must embrace the power of diversity,” said Katrina Fisher, General Manager of ExxonMobil Angola. She stressed the importance of creating opportunities, fostering courage, and building networks to support women at all stages of their careers. Founder of Muhatu Energy Angola, Natacha Massano, echoed these sentiments, emphasizing that inclusion begins with women empowering one another. “Equity diminishes at management levels, so we must lift each other up to bridge this gap,” she asserted.



The discussion also underscored the need for women to take risks and step into leadership roles. “It’s about being bold and saying yes to opportunities, even in uncomfortable spaces,” added Nina Koch, Vice President of Equinor Africa. Together, the panelists championed a collaborative approach, urging men and women to work together toward an inclusive future where diverse perspectives drive innovation and progress.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-women-as-agents-of-transformation">Women as Agents of Transformation</h3>



The Angolan Minister of Mineral Resources, Petroleum, and Gas, Diamantino Azevedo, highlighted women’s vital contributions to transforming the oil and gas industry. “Your talent, vision, and resilience are fundamental in shaping a sustainable and innovative future for this industry,” he said, reiterating that promoting inclusion is not just equitable but also a smart business strategy.



Minister of the Environment, Ana Paula de Carvalho, further emphasized the value Angola places on women’s leadership. Highlighting their success in public and private roles, she encouraged women to seize the opportunities available and excel. “Being a woman is an advantage, but competence and effort are essential to meet the challenges we face,” she affirmed.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-future-of-equality-and-innovation">A Future of Equality and Innovation</h3>



The summit showcased Angola’s commitment to positioning women at the forefront of its energy sector, not just as participants but as leaders driving progress. From the Secretary of State’s call for innovative projects to the panelists’ shared strategies for inclusion, the message was clear: gender equality is a cornerstone for Angola’s development.



As Minister Azevedo concluded, “If this world were led by more women, we would possibly have more peace.” The Forbes Africa Lusophone Annual Summit 2024 was not only a celebration of women’s achievements but also a rallying cry for greater diversity, equity, and innovation in shaping Angola’s—and the world’s—energy future.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-promoting-women-s-leadership-in-angola-s-oil-sector-muhatu-energy-angola-s-mission">Promoting Women&#8217;s Leadership in Angola&#8217;s Oil Sector: Muhatu Energy Angola&#8217;s Mission</h3>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="676" src="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/WhatsApp-Image-2024-11-21-at-10.58.15-AM-1024x676.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-63784" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/WhatsApp-Image-2024-11-21-at-10.58.15-AM-1024x676.jpeg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/WhatsApp-Image-2024-11-21-at-10.58.15-AM-300x198.jpeg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/WhatsApp-Image-2024-11-21-at-10.58.15-AM-768x507.jpeg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/WhatsApp-Image-2024-11-21-at-10.58.15-AM.jpeg 1170w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Bringing more women into the oil sector is the driving force behind Muhatu Energy Angola, emphasized its Management Commission President, Nicola Mvuayi, at the Forbes Africa Lusophone Annual Summit.</figcaption></figure>



Muhatu Energy Angola (MEA) was created two years ago to enhance career opportunities and leadership development for women in Angola&#8217;s oil sector, where women make up only 22% of the workforce and just 5% hold leadership positions. The initiative focuses on providing training, mentoring, and leadership opportunities, with programs aimed at increasing the number of women in the sector. Key projects include mentorship and internship programs like ASSEA Ubuntu, which has had a positive impact on youth training. MEA also works to raise awareness of the underutilized female talent in the industry. The platform has been pivotal in fostering connections, such as university workshops, where seasoned professionals share their experiences. Nicola Mvuayi, president of MEA’s Management Commission, emphasized that while challenges remain, the progress over the past two years is promising, with opportunities growing through energy transition and diversification. She stressed the importance of meritocracy, skill development, and preparing women to compete in the competitive oil sector.



Reporting by: : <a href="https://www.forbesafricalusofona.com/autor/nelson/">Nelson Rodrigues</a>, <a href="https://www.forbesafricalusofona.com/autor/ritameireles/">Rita Meireles</a> and <a href="https://www.forbesafricalusofona.com/autor/pedro-mbinza/">Pedro Mbinza</a>

Minister of oil

Angola Champions Women’s Leadership and Diversity at Forbes Africa Lusophone Annual Summit 2024

<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-topline">Topline</h2>



Air quality in New Delhi dropped to its worst level this year on Monday—with pollutant levels reaching more than 150 times higher than the World Health Organization’s recommended safe levels—as local authorities enacted an emergency response plan, including shutting down schools, halting the entry of nearly all trucks and a ban on all construction activities.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Key Facts</h2>



<a href="https://www.iqair.com/in-en/india/delhi%5C" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">According to IQ Air</a>, New Delhi’s Air Quality Index, which measures the level of air pollution, surged past 1,700 on Monday—more than five times above the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.airnow.gov/aqi/aqi-basics/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">“hazardous” benchmark</a>&nbsp;where even healthy individuals are likely to experience adverse effects.



The pollution level was so severe on Monday that the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi—which uses the Environmental Protection Agency’s AirNow chart—<a href="https://in.usembassy.gov/embassy-consulates/new-delhi/air-quality-data/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">rated the conditions</a>&nbsp;“Beyond the AQI” on its hourly tracker as it registered levels above 1,600.


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-full is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="699" src="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/GettyImages-2183914233.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-63705" style="width:644px;height:auto" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/GettyImages-2183914233.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/GettyImages-2183914233-300x205.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/GettyImages-2183914233-768x524.jpg 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">India Gate is covered in a thick layer of pollution in New Delhi, India, on November 13, 2024 (Photo by Bilal Kuchay/NurPhoto via Getty Images).</figcaption></figure></div>


The national pollution control authority rated the conditions in Delhi as “severe plus” and&nbsp;<a href="https://caqm.nic.in/WriteReadData/LINKS/GRAP%20Stage%20IV%20Order%20dated%2017112024272e205d-f42e-4106-932a-0514c584dfd7.pdf" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">ordered the enforcement</a>&nbsp;of stage 4 of a graded response action plan, which is the highest level emergency response and allows for the most stringent curbs on vehicles and construction work.



The Delhi Government ordered all schools to switch over to online classes and issued bans on key sources of pollution, including the entry of trucks carrying non-essential goods into the city, the operation of older diesel vehicles on the road and all construction activities.



The national capital city was blanketed by a thick layer of smog—a toxic mix of fog and smoke—that dropped&nbsp;<a href="https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/delhi-news/dense-smog-leaves-delhi-choking-as-aqi-in-severe-plus-category-visibility-down-to-100m-101731903642563.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">visibility levels</a>&nbsp;to around 100 meters.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">What Is Causing Delhi’s Pollution?</h2>



Severe pollution levels have become a recurring problem for India’s capital and other major North Indian cities during the winter—when the dense fog-laden air mixes with toxic smoke and other pollutants. As with every year, the issue has&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ndtv.com/video/bjp-distributes-masks-in-delhi-as-air-pollution-crisis-deepens-862172" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">triggered</a>&nbsp;a political&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/atishi-targets-centre-on-stubble-burning-amid-delhis-air-emergency-7045044" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">blame game</a>&nbsp;between the national government led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Delhi government led by the rival Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).&nbsp;<a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/farm-fires-continue-to-pollute-delhis-air-despite-decrease-in-incidents/articleshow/115062410.cms" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">According to</a>&nbsp;the national air quality monitoring agency SAFAR, nearly 40% of Delhi’s pollution can be attributed to the illegal burning of crop residues in neighboring states like Punjab and Haryana after harvest season. Efforts to crack down on farm fires have failed, as stubble burning is usually quicker and cheaper than manual or machine removal—which the government is trying to financially incentivize.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">News Peg</h2>



The levels of PM 2.5 pollutants—airborne particles less than 2.5 microns in diameter, which can enter the lungs and cause several diseases—across the city peaked above 950 micrograms per cubic meter on Monday, according to IQAir’s tracker. According to the World Health Organization, the recommended annual average exposure to PM2.5 matter should not exceed 5 micrograms per cubic meter.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Big Number</h2>



214. That is the total number of both arriving and departing flights, which have faced delays at New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport on Monday,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.flightaware.com/live/cancelled" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">according to</a>&nbsp;FlightAware. In a&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/DelhiAirport/status/1858389088614613391" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">statement on X</a>&nbsp;at noon, the Delhi Airport said its “low visibility procedures are still in progress and flight operations may get affected.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Tangent</h2>



NASA’s Fire Information for Resource Management System, which tracks fires using satellite imagery, showed&nbsp;<a href="https://firms.modaps.eosdis.nasa.gov/map/#d:24hrs;l:fires_all,earth;@74.6,32.1,5.7z" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">several active blazes</a>&nbsp;across the state of Punjab in the past 24 hours. Last month, a&nbsp;<a href="https://science.gsfc.nasa.gov/spso/bio/hiren.t.jethva" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Senior Research Scientist</a>&nbsp;at NASA, Hiren T Jethva,&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/hjethva05/status/1849578536128086531" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">speculated</a>&nbsp;on X that farmers in North India may be deliberately burning crop stubbles later in the afternoon to avoid having their flames tracked by the satellite overpass. It is unclear if this is true, but this hasn’t stopped authorities from reporting a large number of farm fires in the area. In the state of Punjab alone, 4,262 cases of farm fires were reported in the last two weeks,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/punjab/of-total-8404-farm-fire-cases-in-punjab-50-reported-in-past-2-weeks/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">according to</a>&nbsp;the Tribune.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Further Reading</h2>



<a href="https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/delhi-news/dense-smog-leaves-delhi-choking-as-aqi-in-severe-plus-category-visibility-down-to-100m-101731903642563.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Dense smog leaves Delhi choking as AQI in ‘severe plus’ category, visibility down to 100m</a>&nbsp;(Hindustan Times)

The Cart in the Fog

India’s Capital Chokes Under ‘Severe Plus’ Pollution—Emergency Measures Enacted Including School Shutdowns

Sustainable housing could play a significant role in the way the continent tackles its housing deficit. We unpack the ground-breaking innovations, Initiatives and ideations&nbsp;developing&nbsp;the&nbsp;‘green&nbsp;scene’. 



In a village in the Mtwara region of Tanzania, a project borne from the concepts of architectural innovation, sustainability and social responsibility is underway. And it’s just one of many aimed at tackling the demand for environmentally-conscious housing in Africa.



A report from the International Finance Corporation (IFC) states that the continent’s housing deficit is estimated at over 97 million units and “this is expected to increase as the continent’s population grows, and urbanization continues”.



The clinical trial in Mtwara, dubbed The Star Homes Project, was initiated in 2021 by Denmark-based Ingvartsen Architects in cooperation with the Hanako Foundation and, according to the company, was developed by a cross-disciplinary team of architects, physicians, entomologists and social scientists along with local community leaders and stakeholders.



However, Jakob Knudsen, Principal Architect at Ingvartsen, says that the focus of the project, initially, was simply to improve the health of the occupants of the houses.



“The [houses] are made [of ] very light materials. It looks like concrete, but actually it’s a very thin steel profile with a thin plaster, so it has a very low material use. And what looks like glass is basically a net, so we kind of replaced all the walls with netting, and we made this house naturally very cool. We can see that we have lowered the material consumption and CO2 use by 30% to 40% depending on how you calculate it. And that’s because we try to kind of maximize all the components,” he says.



“It actually didn’t start as a sustainability thing. It started as a way to make the buildings cheaper, but we realized, during the process, that actually we are onto something where we’re using far less materials. It also became interesting from a financial side and a material side, and this is what we’re looking at now. We know that these houses are actually working against malaria, we can see that.”



An article from the World Health Organization on Malaria Day 2023 indicates that Tanzania is one of the four countries in Africa that accounted for slightly over half (52%) of all malaria deaths globally in 2021. Further to this, the country alone accounted for 4% of all malaria deaths, and the disease continues to pose a major burden in the northwest and southeastern regions of the country.



As part of the Star Homes Project, the health of the occupants of the 110 constructed homes will be compared to those living in 440 control homes over a three-year period, which is set to conclude this year.



“We conclude by the end of this year, then we have the three- year period. Nothing is published yet, but I can say that we have very promising results already on the malaria [aspect]. There’s a clear benefit from having a new house when you’re looking at malaria. I mean, this is a rural area in Tanzania, so lots of people [have] malaria, and they’re much better protected. But this is one of the first housing projects, to our knowledge, the first time a house has been built and used in this way to demonstrate it.”



Each house also has a 40W solar panel that provides lights in each room and USB charging, and rainwater is collected from the roof and stored in a 2,000-liter tank for clean drinking water. According to Knudsen, based on the materials used, it cost around $9,000 to build at the time.



<h4 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-does-a-green-future-look-like">What does a ‘green’ future look like?</h4>



The ongoing demand for affordable housing coupled with growing climate change concerns has brought sustainable or green architecture to the fore.



Britannica defines green architecture as a philosophy of architecture that advocates sustainable energy sources, the conservation of energy, the reuse and safety of building materials, and the siting of a building with consideration of its impact on the environment.



A 2023 report by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) titled, Building Materials And The Climate: Constructing A New Future, indicates that the buildings and construction sector is the largest emitter of greenhouse gases, accounting for 37% of global emissions.



However, herein lies the opportunity. Entrepreneurs and businesses alike have taken up the mantle to innovate, ‘go green’ and make a positive impact on the environment at large.



According to the World Green Building Council’s (WorldGBC) Africa Manifesto for Sustainable Cities and the Built Environment, by 2050, Africa will be home to 1.1 billion more people than it is today, and 80% of the buildings that will exist in Africa in 2050 are yet to be built.



Lisa Reynolds, Chief Executive Officer of the Green Building Council South Africa (GBCSA) and Vice Chair for the WorldGBC’s Africa Regional Network, emphasizes the progress of the collaborative efforts across the continent. 



“We’ve got different sort of levels of Green Building Councils. In Africa, there are two established Green Building Councils – South Africa and Kenya, and the others are mixed between emerging and prospective. Our job, and I include Kenya in it, is really to support the prospective and emerging councils,” she tells FORBES AFRICA.



“Africa has [been] hit by climate events, so there is a huge awareness that, whether it be the Green Building Council or governments, [we] have to do something to alleviate these things,” Reynolds adds.



Knudsen echoes the sentiment on collaboration, stating, “I think one of the sustainability problems I see in Africa is that materials are used in a very inefficient way in many local buildings. You could easily save 30% of the materials if there was better knowledge for the builder who’s doing this, but that’s not something you can expect. We need somebody else who knows how to work with building techniques.”



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Trash to treasure</h4>



In 2019, the first plastic road was laid down in South Africa’s Jeffery’s Bay, and reports, published recently, indicate that it has lasted longer than traditional tar roads. And the uses for this often-troublesome product seem to only increase from here.



As per the United Nations’ goal 11 of making cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable, entrepreneurs across Africa are tackling sustainable building prac- tices in their own way.



One such example is Kubik CEO and co-founder, Kidus Asfaw. Kubik, an environmental tech company, takes plastic waste and transforms it into low-carbon, low-cost housing in Ethiopia, where the startup is based.



Asfaw, who has worked for the World Bank, Accenture, and Google, as well as on technology and innovation initiatives for UNICEF, relays the story of how he got into the trash business. “I helped set up the first-ever circular economy project for UNICEF in Cote d’Ivoire, and we were able to create bricks out of plastic waste. We made over 500 schools using those and my love changed from software to trash, affordability, housing and cities. I did that for about four years,” he says.



“During that time, I learned the issues not just around trash, but a multitude of major challenges that human beings that live in cities are facing, especially on rapidly urbanizing continents like Africa. Alongside poor waste management [which] needs to be addressed, affordable housing is probably one of the biggest priorities in many countries right now. And then, of course, there’s climate change.”



Kubik, which was founded in 2021, produces products that are high in compression strength, non-flammable, non-toxic and modular.



“We’re a business that transforms hard-to-recycle plastic waste into building materials that real estate developers can use at a cheaper price than conventional cement-based materials without compromising the quality or safety of those buildings,” says Asfaw.


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="683" src="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Kubik-Wall-1024x683.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-63677" style="width:568px;height:auto" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Kubik-Wall-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Kubik-Wall-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Kubik-Wall-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Kubik-Wall-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Kubik-Wall-2048x1365.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Kubik Wall expression</figcaption></figure></div>


“Part of them doing business with Kubik [is] they’re also reducing the greenhouse gas impact that they bring to building cities like Addis Ababa. In a nutshell, we take all of that very bad plastic that you typically see in a landfill, and we make things like bricks that can make an entire wall, and that wall is as unremarkable as it looks, because it’s supposed to look just like every other building. What makes it remarkable to us is how accessible it is to lower-income communities, price-wise, and how green and sustainable it is within the real estate sector.”



In South Africa, sisters Kedibone and Kekeletso Tsiloane are tackling the plastic pollution and waste management issue through Ramtsilo Manufacturing and Construction, a company they founded in 2013. The business focuses on transforming hard-to-recycle plastics and other waste products into eco-bricks.



Kekeletso, who has a background in engineering, tells FORBES AFRICA about how this passion project turned into a fully-fledged business in a traditionally male-dominated industry.



“We initially started with small construction jobs, so building roads and building small projects, and that’s when we actually noticed that we spent so much money on materials, specifically bricks for us. We went out to look for a woman-owned brick manufacturing company, which we struggled to find. We then started making the bricks ourselves,” she says.



“I am interested in the green economy and what happens to waste and that grew an interest of learning about the afterlife of waste. In our research, we did not know that plastic had different properties and had different values. In terms of money, per kilogram, in the recycling space, it has different prices as well. And with that, we then sought out to make a product that we’re still comfortable with, but is innovative and in the green space.” South Africa, according to World Wide Fund (WWF), produces over 2.5 million tonnes of plastic annually. And while the bricks produced by Ramtsilo reportedly function in exactly the same way as conventional bricks, Kedibone, who has a finance background, states that the company still had to do a fair amount of educating on the product.



“We’re still having to re-educate people. It’s a plug and play solution but it integrates seamlessly into the construction industry. That was one of our biggest value-adds… the fact that people could easily use the product because they had the same look and feel as the conventional brick,” she explains.



“We then realized there’s additional benefits that come with the products – from an installation perspective, from a condensation water absorption [perspective] – because of the use of the plastic. The brick is actually branded so that people know that they’re [buying] an eco-friendly product. We’ve seen from the retailers, that product doesn’t stay in the retail stores and it’s simply because of the quality [and] the performance of the product.”


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="alignleft size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="768" height="1024" src="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Kekeletso-Kedibone-Tsiloane-768x1024.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-63676" style="width:516px;height:auto" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Kekeletso-Kedibone-Tsiloane-768x1024.jpeg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Kekeletso-Kedibone-Tsiloane-225x300.jpeg 225w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Kekeletso-Kedibone-Tsiloane-1152x1536.jpeg 1152w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Kekeletso-Kedibone-Tsiloane-1536x2048.jpeg 1536w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Kekeletso-Kedibone-Tsiloane-scaled.jpeg 1920w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Kekeletso &amp; Kedibone Tsiloane (Photo Supplied)</figcaption></figure></div>


According to Kedibone, the bricks can be found at South African retailers like Builders Warehouse and Leroy Merlin in Gauteng. And while Ramtsilo’s business model tends to focus more on partnerships with corporates and retailers – a model that appears to be working well for them – Kubik’s has opted to focus on and develop the company’s relationships with waste pickers.



“We grappled with what our supply chain model should look like for many months. There are thousands of waste pickers in Ethiopia. Most of those pickers happen to be women, over 80% of them, and most of them end up selling their produce for the day to brokers at very low prices that are not economically sustainable for them to pass the poverty line,” he says.



“We wanted our business model to have a supply chain that not only worked at scale and made business/financial sense for us, but ethically is also empowering those that have previously been exploited in this space. We typically would work with city administrations that typically manage landfills. We get into a partnership with them, set up a collection site and we directly source from these waste pickers at prices that are at least three, four times more than what they would normally get from a broker.”



<h4 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-endless-possibilities">Endless possibilities</h4>



A quick search online reveals some of the most commonly-used sustainable materials in construction. Aside from bamboo and recycled plastic, others include recycled or reclaimed wood, cork, Hempcrete and biocomposite cement.



Traditional building practices have also been employed in some parts of the continent. UNEP had published an article about a project at a school in Burkina Faso, where the modules that form the structure for the school are built out of locally- sourced laterite. This is then cut into bricks and left in the sun to harden. The bricks reportedly absorb the heat during the day and radiate it at night.



Another example of innovation at work is the The Wits Flower Hall Examination and Test Centre in South Africa. Ac- cording to a recent release by the institution, the now energy- efficient building has been recognized for its sustainable design and shortlisted in the Creative Reuse category at the World Ar- chitecture Festival, set to take place in November.



“We believe that adaptive reuse is a critical foundation of green sustainable building due to the embodied carbon content of existing buildings. Wits has a great track record of repurposing buildings, for example the Science Stadium,” said Dr Heather Dodd from Savage + Dodd Architects, who worked on this project in 2022, in the release.



The growth of the sustainable or green building space presents significant employment opportunities as well, according to Reynolds.



“The more that certification grows, the more people need to be aware the job opportunities are growing with it. I do a CEO message on all our newsletters; the latest one is talking about job expansion. So, you know, there’s job creation, but there’s also potential for job expansion because we need accredited professionals; we need EDGE experts,” she states. “We did our first certification in 2009. If you think of pre-2009, there were no such things as accredited professionals. Now, small companies are formed just doing certification. It’s a true reflection of job creation and I would try to encourage more and more people to do it. If they’re in the space [and] it’s not job creation, expand your portfolio and go into this space.”

Com_Ingvartsen_Mtwara_StarHomes_C-JulienLanoo_20220907L1034048 copy

Building Africa’s Green Future: How One Project Is Even Aiming To Curb Malaria With Sustainable Architecture

Prince William is in Cape Town on a four-day climate-focused tour, meeting with President Cyril Ramaphosa, engaging with young environmental leaders, and supporting wildlife conservation initiatives. His visit culminates with the presentation of the Earthshot Prize tonight, emphasizing his commitment to environmental conservation, youth empowerment, and strengthening ties between the United Kingdom and South Africa.



Meeting with President Ramaphosa



Prince William met President Cyril Ramaphosa to discuss mutual interests in sustainability, wildlife conservation, and climate change. The meeting reinforced the importance of international collaboration and strengthened the partnership between the two nations in pursuing sustainable development goals.


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="721" src="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/GettyImages-2182365016.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-63587" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/GettyImages-2182365016.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/GettyImages-2182365016-300x211.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/GettyImages-2182365016-768x541.jpg 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption"> Prince William, Prince of Wales meets the President of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa, at his Official Residence on November 5, 2024 in Cape Town. (Photo by Victoria Jones &#8211; Pool/Getty Images)</figcaption></figure></div>


United for Wildlife Initiative



At the United for Wildlife Global Summit in Cape Town, Prince William announced a new support package for rangers across Africa. The five-year plan aims to provide 10,000 rangers with access to affordable insurance, medical evacuation services, and leadership development opportunities.



&#8220;Rangers are fundamental if we are to meet our global conservation targets for 2030,&#8221; Prince William stated in a press release. Developed in partnership with Tusk Trust and the Game Rangers Association of Africa, the initiative seeks to enhance the welfare and professional development of those on the front lines of conservation.



Engaging with Youth Leaders



Prince William joined young environmentalists for the inaugural Earthshot Prize Climate Leaders Youth Programme. The initiative empowers young leaders through workshops on leadership, storytelling, and advocacy. Participants shared innovative solutions to climate challenges in their communities, fostering collaboration and knowledge exchange.



The Earthshot Prize in Africa



Hosting the Earthshot Prize in Cape Town marks its first time on African soil. Founded by Prince William in 2020, the prize recognizes groundbreaking environmental solutions, highlighting Africa&#8217;s growing role in global environmental innovation.



The ceremony near Cape Town Stadium will feature performances by international and African artists such as Davido, Diamond Platnumz and DJ Uncle Waffles, and will be broadcast globally. Five recipients will each receive £1 million to advance their projects in areas such as air quality improvement, ocean health, and climate resilience.



The Prince&#8217;s visit underscores the importance of international cooperation in environmental conservation. By engaging with government leaders, conservation professionals, and young activists, the tour highlights efforts to promote sustainability, protect wildlife, and empower future generations.

The Prince Of Wales Visits South Africa For The Earthshot Prize Awards – Day One

Prince William’s Visit to South Africa Highlights Conservation Efforts and Youth Empowerment

Los Angeles’s Erewhon, one of the world’s most expensive grocery stores, is a favorite among celebrities and personal chefs. It’s known for lining its shelves with upmarket pro- duce, focusing on items that are both certified or- ganic and ethically-sourced. Erewhon attracts those seeking the latest, trendsetting ingredients and now, there’s a new supergrain on-shelf everyone is pick- ing up – it’s called fonio.



But here’s the thing, fonio is far from new. According to the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA), it’s the continent’s oldest cultivated cereal grain. Grown in West Africa for thousands of years, archaeologists found fonio buried in tombs inside the Egyptian pyramids. The Dogon, a Mali culture, called fonio po – the seed of the universe.



But how fonio, an almost forgotten African crop, ended up in Ameri- can supermarkets, is really the story of Chef Pierre Thiam.



Thiam is an award-winning Senegalese chef, author, activist and the founder of Yolélé (a Fulani term of exuberance used through- out West and Central Africa), a company that advocates for small- holder farmers in the Sahel region. The company’s signature product, Yolélé Fonio, is what Erewhon, Whole Foods and other grocers in the United States are selling.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-cash-crops">Cash crops</h3>



“Colonization played a big role in disrupting our agriculture,” explains Thiam. With colonization came a shift to cash crops. Instead of growing fonio, Senegalese farmers were forced to grow peanuts. And in countries like Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana, the focus was cocoa. “In Senegal, they brought what we call broken rice, the debris that is the result of processing rice in southeast India,” says Thiam. Broken rice, which was once animal feed in countries like Vietnam and Cambodia, was shipped to Sene- gal by French colonial authorities. “We still use broken rice in our national dishes – we prefer it to our indigenous rice,” he says. “It’s a brainwashing that happened that got us to prefer everything that was brought in by the West. And because our farmers were growing peanuts, they were not growing enough of the indigenous crops anymore.” Going after the money coming in from peanut agriculture is one of the reasons Senegal is still importing broken rice from Asia. “We have a grass agriculture, but we still depend on broken rice. We haven’t figured out a way to increase the agriculture of crops like fonio and millet,” says Thiam. “We’ve switched our diets, eat- ing bread every day that’s made out of wheat we don’t grow.” Globally, maize, rice and wheat make up 50% of the world’s global calorie intake.



Based in Nairobi, Zoë Karl-Waithaka, Managing Director and partner at Boston Consulting Group (BCG), explains the reason this happened was the Green Revolution. “A huge amount of investment went into driving food security around the world. We were able to get more calories into the food system but they’re not very diverse,” she says. “As a result of that, we started shifting away from crops that were inherent to certain kinds of landscapes, crops that could grow more easily and provide other benefits like being more nutrient-dense.”



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-lost-but-not-forgotten">Lost, but not forgotten</h3>



These ancient grains, which nourished African communities for generations, are now called ‘lost’ or ‘or- phan’ crops. “Underutilized, minor, neglected – these are all words that refer to this type of crop that had a larger portion of our diets historically. And these crops are critical, not only for biodiversity but also for nutri- tion,” says Karl-Waithaka. Africa is not the only continent with agro-biodiversity issues. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) reported that since the 1900s, 75% of plant genetic diversity has been lost and today, 75% of the world’s food is generated from only 12 plant species (and five animal species).



“They’re still around, they’re not lost, but they can be lost because they’re disappearing at a fast rate,” adds Thiam. The United Nations (UN) Economic Commission for Africa has projected that as extreme heat events increase, crop yields across the continent could decrease by 20% by 2050. “If you think about how our climate is changing and all the heat waves we’re seeing around the world, why do we need to go and engineer a crop to be drought and heat-tolerant?” asks Karl-Wait- haka. “We already have crops with those qualities, so why not work on making them more productive.”



Fonio, like sorghum, millet and Bambara groundnut, is better for the climate. Fonio grows on marginal lands and is pest-resistant (unlike millet which birds love so farmers must put down nets to keep them away). “The small farming communities are still growing fonio because they rely on it in times of famine. They know that if the rain is inconsistent, they can rely on fonio,” says Thiam. As well as being drought-resistant, fonio grows incredibly fast, reaching maturity in two months. “When the harvest is bad, they can rely on fonio. That’s why they call it ‘hungry rice’. It’s the rice that comes when you need it and it feeds the people,” he adds.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-green-revolution">A green revolution</h3>



One of fonio’s biggest selling points is that it is gluten-free, but Thiam explains that the grain is also incredibly nutritious, rich in both cysteine and methionine, two amino acids not found in other major grains. Fonio has calcium iron, magnesium, phosphorus and zinc and is also a good source of fiber and thiamine. “These grains are good for the planet and good for the consumer,” says Thiam, who explains that a climate-friendly crop like fonio could also help corporations meet their sustainable development goals (SDGs). Karl-Waithaka is also encouraged by the fact that food systems are now a part of the UN Climate Change Conference (COP) agenda. In addition to this, the UN General Assembly declared 2023 as the International Year of Millets, hoping to raise awareness for this sustainable African grain group. “For systems to shift, it will take funding and high-profile visibility of this need. And I would say we’re at the start,” she says.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-getting-fonio-into-agricultural-supply">Getting fonio into agricultural supply</h3>



Chains is a great opportunity for Senegalese farmers – provided the right policies are put in place to protect the seeds.



Thiam’s concern is that fonio will follow the same path as quinoa, an Andean ancient crop that’s now cultivated worldwide. Even though quinoa has made farmers in Bolivia wealthier, their diets are becoming Westernized as more of the crop is exported and not consumed. In some regions, the grain is outpricing the market and those who grow it can no longer afford to eat it themselves.



Small farmers cannot compete with the intensive agriculture practices. “A big part of the challenge is, as a farmer, you’re not going to grow something if you don’t have somebody to sell it to,” adds Karl-Waithaka. To make fonio a success, Thiam realized that he would need to involve the entire community and, if possible, create a movement. This is how the Lost Crops Festival started, a strategic way to celebrate African grains like fonio while bringing together stakeholders, farmers, chefs, and research institutes. “We wanted everyone to be in the room so that the silos are removed. Farmers, for example, don’t know what research is going on but the research should be around the farmers,” says Thiam. 



Inviting world-class musicians like Baaba Maal to the festival, Thiam’s goal is to celebrate agriculture and show people that these once-forgetting crops are a solution to monoculture and a farming system that has only increased greenhouse gas emissions over time while limiting global diets. “The ultimate beneficiaries are the small farming communities that have kept these crops alive for millions of years. It’s also important for food sovereignty because in Africa, we are still a net food importer,” adds Thiam, who says that celebrating grains like fonio is not only about nutrition but it goes back to the rhythm of traditional agriculture. The global food system became a big industrial monster, and the deeper cultural meaning was lost. He says: “It wasn’t nourishment anymore. The soul was gone, and we need to claim it.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading has-text-align-center" id="h-fork-to-farm">Fork To Farm</h2>



Fonio is an easy crop to grow – it requires no fertilizer, pesticide, irrigation or chemical inputs. It’s incredibly resilient but processing it can be problematic. Fonio has a skin that needs to be removed but since the standards of processing haven’t been improved in Senegal, it takes a lot of manual work and as a result, there’s post-harvest waste. Unlike wheat, which has been industrialized and has huge machines to process it, smaller grains like fonio have not been part of global food systems. The R&amp;D is not there. “It’s a challenge making fonio accessible but there’s such a high waste,” says Thiam. This is one of the reasons why Thiam started his company Yolélé. Even though he grew up in Dakar, he didn’t have access to these grains. It was only when he traveled into the deep South of Senegal, Kédougou, for research for his cookbook, that he came across farmers serving fonio. Thiam wondered why such a delicious and nutritional grain wasn’t a world-class crop. He also knew for American consumers, gluten-free was a huge selling point. “And I said, let’s make it desirable. Let’s make it sexy,” laughs Thiam.



Instead of focusing on farm to fork, he took a reverse approach, creating a brand to tell the story of these crops. “We knew that we could create a demand for these crops. We are not only selling the grains, but a variety of products derived from the grain as well as using other ingredients that grow in the region,” says Thiam. From baobab leaves to moringa and dawadawa, Yolélé products not only include plants and are traditionally used in West African cuisine, it is helping fonio to enter new industries. One of Thiam’s newest endeavors is beer. Through Brew- ing for Impact, a global initiative led by Garret Oliver, a brewmaster of Brooklyn Brewery, it was discovered that the fonio grain was the perfect addition to beer.



This led to both Guinness and Carlsberg launching fonio beers, bringing the total to nine breweries working (including one in China) using fonio. “Now that the demand is real, the goal is to create de- mand in other industries,” says Thiam.



Even when fonio is used as a tiny per- centage in other products, it will have major impact – provided they contract the small farmers. “If you really want to transform markets, then you have to think a market-based mindset,” says Karl- Waithaka. “This means not just giving seeds and fertilizers to farmers but think- ing about the businesses that are going to buy this, the products they’re going to create, and the consumers they’re going to sell to.” On Thiam’s side, this means meeting the demand by supporting the farmers to improve productivity in a more sustainable way. “But most importantly, we need to innovate in the processing standards,” he says, adding that they’re only processing one tonne of fonio a day. To improve yield, he hired a milling manufacturing company to design equipment that will improve processing times to two tonnes per hour, and reduce the post-waste harvest.

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Reclaiming The Giant Among African Grains: The Rise Of Fonio

Heavy rains from July to September have led to catastrophic flooding across parts of Africa, with the worst-hit areas in Sudan, Nigeria, Niger, Chad, and Cameroon.



A recent report from World Weather Attribution (WWA), a group of international scientists studying extreme weather, links repeated floods in Africa&#8217;s worst-hit areas to both climate change and poor water management.



This year’s floods have been deadly, with over 2,000 people losing their lives and millions more forced to leave their homes. Many of these areas faced severe flooding just two years ago, meaning some communities were still recovering when this year’s rains hit.



According to the WWA, global temperatures have warmed by 1.3°C since the industrial age began, and this is making extreme weather events, like the Sahel’s heavy rains, much more frequent.



The group’s scientists noted that this increase in temperature meaning intense rainfall, which leads to severe floods, is becoming far more common. In Sudan, for example, scientists now expect this kind of flood to occur every three years.



In addition to climate change, long-standing problems in the region are making the effects of the floods even more disastrous. Many of the worst-hit areas in Sudan, Chad and Nigeria have been affected by poverty, conflict, and outdated infrastructure. According to the WWA, this situation leaves millions of people vulnerable because they often live in areas that lack strong flood defenses or early warning systems, like sirens or mobile alerts.



Scientists warn that if the world’s average temperature rises to 2°C above pre-industrial levels, these severe floods could happen even more often. In the future, it is likely that 30-day periods of extreme rain will become a normal part of life in the Sahel region, which includes countries like Sudan, Nigeria, and Niger.



To protect against future floods, the WWA report emphasizes that &#8220;there is an urgent need to drastically improve water management and reduce vulnerability to seasonal rainfall&#8221;. For example, in Sudan, there are important structures like the Arba’at dam, which helps manage water levels.



&#8220;The transboundary nature of the river systems in sub-saharan Africa requires coordination between neighbouring countries, which has been strained and hinders comprehensive flood management and early warning systems. To reduce flood risks, rehabilitation of damaged infrastructure should prioritise climate-smart design, including incorporating resilient materials and construction techniques and limiting construction in flood-prone areas,&#8221; the report adds.

Floods kill 13 in Nigeria

More Floods? Scientists Warn Of Intensifying Climate Risks In Africa’s Vulnerable Regions

As far back as 1995, the former World Bank Vice President Dr Ismail Serageldin said: “If the wars of this century were fought over oil, the wars of the next century will be fought over water – unless we change our approach to managing this precious and vital resource.” This is a reality that has already begun to manifest. The Pacific Institute, which tracks instances of water-related conflict, cited over 1,630 conflicts last year. The institute noted that there had been a distinct increase in recent years.



Water is our lifeline. In addition, access to water is a human right. Yet, statistics already indicate that there are significant disparities in access. Here, Africa is disproportionately impacted. In fact, according to the African Development Bank (AfDB), a third of Africans face water scarcity. A 2022 World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF report noted that 411 million people remain with- out basic drinking water services, 779 million lack access to basic sanitation, and 839 million are de- prived of basic hygiene facilities. The impact of water scarcity has already been tangibly viewed in African countries. For instance, just a few years ago, Cape Town in South Africa almost became the first city in the world to run out of water. Elsewhere, Zambia and Zimbabwe are experiencing severe power shortages because the water levels in Lake Kariba have drastically declined due to the effects of climate change, such as prolonged droughts and rising temperatures. As a result, both countries are now facing extended daily power cuts lasting between 12 to 18 hours as they depend heavily on Lake Kariba for hydro- electric power. While efforts to diversify energy sources are underway, the immediate future looks challenging.



These statistics and examples paint a harrowing image indeed, and the impact is profound. Perhaps most notably, this leaves a vast number of the population vulnerable to waterborne diseases like cholera or dysentery, which thrive in areas with unsafe water and poor sanitation. Moreover, inadequate sanitation increases the transmis- sion of infectious diseases. This results in a burdening of healthcare systems and poor health outcomes. Gender inequality rears its ugly head once again in this context as girls and women are disproportionately impacted by poor hygiene and sanitation facilities. This is of particular concern for menstruation and often leaves this segment of the population unable to participate at school and in economic activities. Beyond the health ramifications of water scarcity, this also has a detrimental effect on the economy. It directly impacts workforce productivity, limits educational opportunities for children and perpetuates cycles of poverty, which collectively hamper economic development. Then there are concerns around environmental degradation as pollution harms ecosystems and contributes to long-term environmental and health challenges in affected areas. Finally, water scarcity and poor sanitation also have a direct impact on food security. Agriculture, which relies on consistent access to water, suffers when water sources are contaminated or de- pleted. This makes it difficult for farmers to sustain crops and livestock. The impact is food shortages and malnutrition. As this overview demonstrates, water scarcity threatens the very tenets of sustainable development.



Benjamin Franklin once said, “When the well is dry, we know the worth of water.” So, what is to be done? Addressing water scarcity requires a comprehensive strategy that integrates infrastructure development, sustainable water management, and community involve- ment. Governments, international organizations, and local communities must collaborate to invest in essential water infrastructure, such as boreholes, wells, and water treatment plants. These projects can significantly improve access to clean water, particularly in remote and rural areas where shortages are most acute. Importantly, these projects require funding and political will. Moreover, promoting water conservation and efficient usage is key to reducing stress on existing water resources. 



For example, in Cape Town, during the water crisis, the use of greywater was emphasized and flow restrictors were installed on taps and showers. As this period also demonstrated, education and awareness campaigns are vital in the effort to tackle water scarcity. By educating local communi- ties about the importance of proper sanitation and responsible water use, individuals can play an active role in preserving water resources. This form of grassroots engagement is essential for long-term success as it fosters community ownership and encourages the adoption of sustainable water practices.



Globally, we are in crisis. Our very survival is dependent on water. Once again, as other environmental challenges have revealed, Africa must contend with a much larger burden. And in the quest for sustainable development, we must be acutely aware of the challenges and our role. After all, Mahatma Gandhi’s words remind us: “The earth, the air, the land, and the water are not an inheritance from our forefathers but on loan from our children. So, we have to hand over to them at least as it was handed over to us.

Residents Of Cape Town Face Worsening Drought Conditions And Water Restricitions

Expert-Speak: Water Scarcity: Looming Global Crisis With A Focus On Africa

A class of prescription weight-loss drugs is transforming weight management to the point that manufacturers are struggling to keep up with demand. big pharma continues to bet big on it and the market could be worth $150 billion by 2030.



When Johannesburg-based Kendi (name changed to protect privacy) was pregnant with her second child, she developed gestational diabetes. She didn’t have a family history of the disease so learning how to manage her sugar while nursing a newborn was a mine- field. After years of interchanging injections, patches and pens, her endocrinologist recommended Ozempic to go along with her insulin. Kendi wasn’t on Ozempic for weight loss although in the beginning, she did lose a few kilograms. Her doctors were happy because the drug was working as it was meant to and her blood glucose levels were signifi- cantly lower. The only problem was that when she went to collect her prescription, the pharmacy had no stock. Even the diabetic center was struggling to keep up with scripts, eventually creating a rule that they would only dispense medication if you were a patient at the center. “There are still times when I can’t get the right dosage and only the smaller pens are available,” she says. “You end up injecting double the amount; the pen finishes much quicker and then it’s back to the beginning…”



Welcome to the Ozempic era. A drug originally devel- oped to help treat adult-onset diabetes by stimulating insu- lin resistance is now being used to fight the global obesity epidemic. Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic (and Wegovy) belong to a class of drugs known as GLP-1 receptor agonists and they’re transforming weight management to the point that manufacturers are struggling to keep up with demand, something that hasn’t happened since anti-HIV drugs launched in the 1990s. But it’s not only injectable sema- glutide, the active component in Ozempic and Wegovy, there’s liraglutide (or Saxenda, also from Novo Nordisk) and tirzepatide (Eli Lilly’s Mounjaro and Zepbound) on the market which also target GLP-1 receptors, though they work through different mechanisms and have varied dos- ing schedules.



It’s a lot to take in. To say anti-obesity medicine is big business is an understatement, with Goldman Sachs ana- lysts predicting that the market could be worth $150 billion by the early 2030s.



Shares for both Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk are also booming, with the two pharmaceutical giants controlling around 80% of the obesity market. And while global spend- ing on obesity medications hit $24 billion last year, Ameri- can multinational company IQVIA’s estimation is that it should reach $131 billion by 2028. It’s no wonder that big pharma and biotech companies like Viking Therapeutics, Pfizer, Amgen and AstraZeneca are all hoping to break the weight-loss duopoly and launch their own GLP-1-based treatments.



In the United States (U.S.), a month’s supply of Ozem- pic costs around $1,000 (R18,000), depending on insurance coverage and dispensing pharmacy. Each box of Ozem- pic contains four weekly doses, administered by a pen. In South Africa, the price is significantly lower, starting at R1,500 ($85) for the minimum weekly dose. According to SAHPRA (South African Health Products Regulatory Au- thority), Ozempic is not registered for weight-loss use in South Africa. Saxenda, which is the same product as Vic- toza when used for diabetes, costs between R2,500 ($141) to R4,000 ($226), depending on the dose required.



Satiety and sugar control



First approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2005, GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic or Wegovy, an injectable form of the drug semaglutide, was approved for adults with type 2 diabetes back in 2017. Semaglutide mimics a natural hormone in the body known as GLP-1 that plays a key role in controlling blood sugar and appetite. When blood sugar levels rise, these drugs help the body produce more insulin to lower it, while also reducing the amount of glucose re- leased by the liver.



Dr Brad Merwitz, a Johannesburg-based endocrinolo- gist, sees a number of patients every week that enquire about Ozempic. Of course, not everyone who comes to him is looking for a weight-loss miracle. Some people have pre- existing medical issues like diabetes or other co-morbidities and have read up about the drug. But with Ozempic, there’s something that he has never experienced before as a doctor – people asking for a drug by its name. “There’s been a shift. People used to ask about weight-loss drugs [in general] but not to this extent,” says Merwitz. “People now know the names of the drugs but not necessarily the side-effects, the cost or indications. They just know that there is this ‘wonder drug’ out there that can help them lose an enormous amount of weight in a short amount of time.”



Weight loss is not only the positive side-effect of Ozempic. Once the drug is in your system and the common, gastrointestinal side-effects like nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea dissipate, there are long-term benefits like improved liver function and lower stroke rates. A study published in The New England Journal of Medicine found that semaglutide reduced the risk of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), including events like heart attacks and strokes, by around 20%.



Professor John Deanfield, the study’s lead author, said that semaglutide should be routinely prescribed to treat CVDs — a significant breakthrough, given that no previous weight-loss drugs have demonstrated similar cardiovascular benefits.



This is especially impactful for Africa, where car- diovascular disease is a major cause of death. What makes this finding even more remarkable is that the benefits extend beyond weight loss; participants with only mild obesity or limited weight loss still saw signifi- cant improvements in cardiovascular health.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-mental-shift">A mental shift</h2>



Another unexpected side-effect links to the brain and has neuroscientists excited about the connec- tion between GLP-1 and substance abuse disorders and behavioral issues. There are already signs that drugs in this category could treat neurological con- ditions like Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s or even be repurposed as anxiety, depression or eating dis- orders’ medication. One of the most common pa- tient responses to taking semaglutide is that it helps to reduce ‘food noise’, a term often used to describe cravings or continual thoughts about eating. In the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, they refer to GLP-1 as a ‘satiety hormone’. This is because sema- glutide works by mimicking the hormone GLP-1, which affects multiple areas in the brain responsible for appetite regulation and fullness.



Merwitz says that what’s important to remember is that these drugs don’t work as a stimulant, like am- phetamines which were used in the past for medical weight loss. “They don’t have those central, neurologi- cal side-effects like the older weight-loss formulations. There is no addictive potential to them,” he adds. That said, Merwitz’ advice is that patients with diabetes should take precedence because there are multiple deleterious effects to uncontrolled sugar. That said, not every diabetic needs Ozempic – the ideal candidate for the drug should also be obese and have cardiovascular issues. “Moving forward, should funding and public health models allow it, these will probably become drugs that are used a lot earlier because of their cardio- protective effects and cardiovascular benefits,” he says.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">A silver bullet?</h2>



For off-label use, it’s recommended that patients fol- low strict, calorie-controlled diets alongside other healthy habits like regular low-impact workouts. In fact, research from the Diabetes Care journal found that people who used Ozempic in conjunction with exercise lost significantly more weight than those who used Ozempic alone. “It’s not a silver bullet,” adds Merwitz, who says that what the literature says is that a third of people will have a very good response to GLP- 1, the next third will have an average response, and the last third of people will have no response. “Anecdot- ally, it’s not been my experience that as many as a third have no response.” While these drugs are designed for chronic disease, and the guideline is that you should be on them for a minimum of 12 weeks, people do stop for a number of reasons ranging from that they haven’t seen any weight loss to simply not being able to afford the treatment long-term.



The question really is – is the weight loss worth the cost? And when you stop a drug like Ozempic, have you put enough lifestyle modifications in place that the weight doesn’t return? In a CNBC interview with a senior executive from Novo Nordisk, it was said that most people will recover most of their weight within five years of stopping an obesity drug.



Some individuals may actually gain more weight after stopping an obesity drug than they initially lost. ‘Ozempic rebound’ is common, without the right life- style interventions in place.



But unlike bariatric surgery, which is a permanent procedure (and that comes with post-operative com- plications), GLP-1 drugs are a well-tolerated and re- versable solution.



Goldman Sachs estimates that GLP-1 agonist drugs could be used by up to 70 million consumers world- wide by 2028. In South Africa, where obesity is wide- ly prevalent, Ozempic could be revolutionary. “It’s a very exciting space,” says Merwitz. “Hav- ing these drugs available has really changed the way we manage obesity. It’s given us options we’ve never had before.”

Ozempic

Worth The Weight: Medicine’s Gold Rush

<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-topline"><a href="https://www.forbes.com/"></a>Topline</h2>



College students who get short phone breaks during class periods score higher on tests and use their phones less during lectures, according to a new study, the newest research in a heated debate about cellphone use and its effects on students’ success.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">Key Facts</h2>



The researchers used data from 22 class periods with an average of 21 students at an undergraduate midwestern university over the course of a semester, according to the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/education/articles/10.3389/feduc.2024.1393070/abstract" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">study</a>&nbsp;published Wednesday in Frontiers in Education.



Some students were given either one-, two- or four-minute technology breaks during class when they could use their devices, while control groups were given equally long question breaks during which phone use wasn’t permitted, but students were encouraged to ask questions.



Students who were given phone breaks were more attentive during class and scored higher grades on quizzes than the control group did.



The one-minute cellphone break proved to be the most effective: Participants who were given this break period had the highest test scores and used their phones less while professors were lecturing.



The researchers aren’t sure why “the shorter, the better,” but one reason may be because one minute is enough to time to read and send a quick message, so “if they have more time to send many messages, they may be more likely to receive messages and respond again during class,” Ryan Redner, the study’s first author and a professor at Southern Illinois University, said in a statement.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-contra">Contra</h2>



Whether phones are detrimental to students’ success is a controversial topic, and some previous research has shown cellphone use during class does more harm than good. Both short-term and long-term phone use in college classes resulted in lower test scores and GPAs, a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.hendrix.edu/uploadedFiles/Academics/Faculty_Resources/2016_FFC/Cell%20phone%20use%20during%20class%20and%20grades.pdf" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">study</a>&nbsp;by the American Psychological Association found. Electronic device use during college courses hindered students’ long-term retention, which in turn reduced their final exam grades, according to a Taylor &amp; Francis&nbsp;<a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/01443410.2018.1489046" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">study</a>. College freshmen who reported low, medium and high cellphone usage during class all had negative impacts on their grades, according to a Springer&nbsp;<a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12564-023-09824-6" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">research paper</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tangent">Tangent</h2>



Although there aren’t any statewide efforts to ban phone use in college classes, there have been&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/tylerroush/2024/08/13/cellphone-bans-in-schools-grow-gavin-newsom-requests-restrictions-in-california/">bans implemented</a>&nbsp;in primary and secondary schools. Florida became the first state last year to ban cellphone use during class, which includes a ban on social media access while using school Wi-Fi. Indiana lawmakers also approved a ban earlier this year that restricts electronic device usage—including phones, tablets, laptops and gaming systems—during class. Other states that have implemented restrictions include Minnesota, Ohio and Virginia. State leaders like Gov. Gavin Newsom, D-Calif., and Gov. Spencer Cox, R-Utah, have urged school districts to implement phone bans. Calls for phone restrictions in schools have increased in recent years as studies highlight the negative effects phones and social media have on youth. Around 72% of high school teachers and 33% of middle school teachers in the U.S. said cellphone distractions were a “major problem” during class, a recent Pew Research&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2024/04/04/whats-it-like-to-be-a-teacher-in-america-today/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">survey</a>&nbsp;found. However, some parents oppose these bans because they believe their children should have access to their phones in case of an emergency, according to&nbsp;<a href="https://nationalparentsunion.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/National-Parents-Union-February-2024-Survey-Topline.pdf" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">research</a>&nbsp;by the National Parents Union.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-further-reading">Further Reading</h2>



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/tylerroush/2024/08/13/cellphone-bans-in-schools-grow-gavin-newsom-requests-restrictions-in-california/">Cellphone Bans In Schools Grow: Gavin Newsom Requests Restrictions In California</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)

Young multiracial students using cell phone sitting at campus school

Short Phone Breaks During Class Could Help Students Score Higher Grades, Study Suggests

The Bristol Zoo Project is set to evoke a sense of the dense forest and landscape of Equatorial Guinea.



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
“Conservation zoos have a critical role to play in working with communities and connecting them with wildlife.” – Dr Justin Morris
</blockquote>



If you were looking for wildlife in the United Kingdom’s cool and rainy southwest, you’d easily find squirrels, hedgehogs, perhaps the occasional deer. Bats too. Even beaver. Stoic, quotidian creatures, unperturbed by sunlessness and drizzle.



You might not expect to discover endangered species like cherry-crowned mangabeys, slender-snouted crocodiles, or African grey parrots, but spot them you can from spring 2026, thanks to Bristol Zoo Project’s Central African Forest habitat, now under development on a 136-acre site in the Gloucestershire woodlands. These exotic additions to the British countryside will be joined by the Zoo’s troop of western lowland gorillas, in an environment designed “to evoke a sense of the dense forest and landscape of Equatorial Guinea” by the Bristol Zoological Society, a conservation and education charity founded in 1835.



“The character of a central African forest is created through utilizing and enhancing the qualities of the local landscape, rather than attempting a false replication of the original habitat,” says the charity’s Chief Executive, Dr Justin Morris. “And by understanding and applying the structure of a tropical forest, which consists of specimen trees, upper, mid and lower stratum, and a forest ground cover. Each area, particularly the animal houses and interior spaces, has been built with temperatures and humidities as a central requirement for each species. Of course, our existing gorilla troop are well acclimatized to the British weather already.”



Though 78% of the species the Society cares for are threatened, they are also part of targeted conservation programs; Morris says the aim is to increase this number to 90% by 2035. The new habitat will eventually be joined by the Central African Savannah project, home to black rhino and ostrich, alongside the Society’s existing giraffe, cheetah and zebra populations.



In a 21st century Britain becoming more sensitive to its colonial past, and less and less comfortable with animals living in captivity (according to YouGov research, half of surveyed Britons believe the practice of keeping large animals should be phased out, with a quarter calling for zoos to be banned entirely), the Society’s projects are as much about capturing hearts and minds through education as providing safe havens for animals whose continued existence on the planet is now in dire jeopardy.



“Like our award-winning Bear Wood (a walkway experience through treetops, from which wolves, lynx and wolverine can also be glimpsed), the new Central African Forest habitat will have integrated learning spaces, enabling students, visitors and schoolchildren to observe, record and appreciate animals in a natural scene, connecting people to threatened wildlife and animals in an immersive landscape,” says Morris.



The site will also feature a Conservation Campus, giving young people access to new knowledge opportunities around veterinary medicine and animal breeding.



“By creating a new education and skills hub for the region, with 20 new learning spaces, we want to inspire and create the conservationists of the future,” Morris says. “It will provide teaching facilities for more than 600 students each year, participating in our higher education programs, and help us to engage 90,000 school children.



Visitors will be able to watch veterinary procedures, see animals extinct in the wild and being bred for reintroduction, explore field conservation programs across the world, and learn how they can become conservationists themselves.”



A home away from home then, for these critically endangered creatures, and a rare chance for the human population of a curious island nation to share in their new and protected lives.



“Conservation zoos have a critical role to play in working with communities and connecting them with wildlife,” says Morris. “We have an incredible opportunity at Bristol Zoo Project to show what a modern, progressive conservation zoo can be.”

Jock the silverback gorilla at the former Bristol Zoo Gardens © Bristol Zoological Society

How A Central African Forest Is Shaping Up In The UK

The time to plan for the sudden influx of aged and dated solar materials is now– Africa can’t afford to become a toxic dumping ground for the e-waste detritus left behind by solar.



Over the past few years, Africa’s corporates and consumers went solar at an unprecedented speed. Statista found that as of the end of 2022, South Africa was in the lead with more than 6 gigawatts followed by Egypt (1.7 gigawatts), Morocco with 858 megawatts, Algeria with 460 megawatts and Senegal at 263 megawatts. The total gigawatts across the continent have increased significantly over the past 10 years from only 331 megawatts in 2011 to 12.6 gigawatts in 2022 – a 16-fold capacity increase. Burkina Faso, Cameroon and Tanzania are currently expected to see the most rapid transitions to clean energy by 2030, while Namibia’s growth is the fourth-fastest in the world as per research group Zero Carbon Analytics’ 2023 report Africa’s Energy Transition: Solar and Wind Fuel Energy Security.



The region is gaining traction. Research from the above report found that deployment of solar energy is the fastest-growing resource on the continent and accounted for 57% of renewable investments between 2010 and 2021. Investments in the off-grid sector were the highest in Africa over a similar 10-year period (2010-2020) at 70% and a value of $1.7 billion. When this level of investment is wedded to the life-span of the technologies used to power solar panels and farms, there’s another question companies and governments should be asking about solar – where’s the bin? If millions of solar panels and batteries are being imported into Africa, with a lifespan of around 20 years, what is being done to ensure that countries investing heavily in solar today are putting the right recycling plans in place?



“Typically, when we speak about solar waste, it includes solar panels, PV panels, inverters, solar PV batteries, rooftop solar frames, ground-based frames, junction boxes and embedded cables,” Mervin Olivier, Eastern Cape Chair at the Institute of Waste Man- agement of Southern Africa, tells FORBES AFRICA. “There’s a lot of solar waste and typically people just talk about the PV panel. As they reach end of life, thousands of panels will need replacing and recycling will become absolutely critical.”



The International Renewable Energy Agency has predicted that by 2050, 78 million metric tons of solar panels will reach the end of their lives. The issue is the toxicity of the materials within solar installations. Solar panels have lead, cadmium, silver, and arsenic that, at certain levels, are quantified as hazardous waste, the batteries used to power solar installations are lithium-ion phos- phate batteries which are flammable, and difficult to contain. The problem is that most solar panels and their detritus are dumped in landfills because there’s no profit in their ethical dismantling and destruction – the few precious metals locked within the e-waste are difficult to extract and their value too low for the effort.



“Solar PV panels contain aluminium and glass which can be re- cycled, but the harmful chemicals in the batteries and the panels are difficult to recycle, which is why a lot of companies in Europe are sending them to countries in Africa, like Ghana, where they strip elements like copper out of the equipment and sell it,” Minnette Le Roux, Head of the Environment Department, Principal Environ- mental Specialist at law and consultancy advisory firm NSDV tells FORBES AFRICA. 



“Then counties in Africa are left sitting with these massive amounts of hazardous waste. Some countries in Africa are part of the Basel Convention preventing the transport of waste but some are not part of the convention and accept the hazardous waste. There are no plants in Africa that actually recycle what’s left of the batteries – this is one of the biggest concerns – and no landfill sites designed to handle this type of waste.”



It’s a sentiment echoed by Ashley du Plooy, CEO at ERA NPC (E-waste Recycling Authority), who adds that countries like Nigeria and Ghana have become major dumping grounds for electronic waste with strips of urban land covered in e-waste that’s being smashed and burned for the extraction of metals. “Quantifying the problem is very difficult,” he says. “Especially since solar waste is new and growing at a pace four times higher than solid municipal waste.”



Solar waste across all its iterations is a growing risk to human and environmental health across Africa. As solar installations reach end of life, particularly over the next few years, there’s a need for innovative startups to step up and help reframe the con- versation for the continent.



One such startup is EWaste Africa and Managing Director Pravashen Naidoo tells FORBES AFRICA: “In the past 12 months, we recycled close to 16,000 solar panels. I think we’re the first in Africa doing this – we haven’t been able to find anyone else doing it and getting the financial value from the process.” EWaste Africa is ISO 14001 compliant with a focus on environmental compli- ance, and one of its facilities is currently commissioning a patented technology for the extraction of rare earth metals and can be used to transform significant quantities of electronic waste.



“Government landfill sites are not designed with the right levels and layers to handle these hazardous materials, and with nearly 17 million installed panels as of the end of 2023, we need to make a plan that works,” says Naidoo. As Olivier concludes: “It’s essential that African countries develop a solar panel end-of-life plan similar to one recently published by Australia. 



More of a focus on enforcement to ensure compliance, and increased consumer pressure holding manufac- turers responsible – and this includes importers and distributors. They need to provide safe transportation of old materials and drive the implementation of a lifecycle methodology with cradle- to-the-grave opportunities.” There is, he says, time to prepare, innovate and implement a responsible plan before the waste tsunami hits. But will people listen?

A view of discarded solar panel components below a power

After Solar, Comes Lead: Why Africa Can’t Afford To Become A Toxic Dumping Ground For E-Waste

Navigating the complexities of our future is big business – and big money. Here are some of the more eminent global futurists offering fresh insights into future tech and a better tomorrow.



At the South by Southwest (SXSW) festival in Austin, Texas, there’s one particular session where people start queueing around four in the morning to get a seat. It’s not one of the big-name music performances or a movie screening with awards buzz, it’s a keynote by Amy Webb.



Webb, who is the founder and CEO of the Future Today Institute (FTI), is a futurist. She’s a professor of strategic foresight, a data and research-driven field that unpacks what could be in an increasingly complex world. Webb’s 2024 Tech Trends Report, which is downloaded more than a million times every year, is made up of just under a thou- sand pages of insights businesses rely on to navigate the future.



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
IN HER TALK AT SXSW, AMY WEBB SAID THAT THE NEXT STAGE OF AI IS MERGING DIGITAL SUPERCOMPUTERS WITH HUMAN TISSUE. THIS IS SOMETHING WEBB REFERS TO AS ORGANOID INTELLIGENCE, OR O-AI. SHE PREDICTS THAT BY 2039, O-AI WILL BECOME THE FOREFRONT OF COMPUTATIONAL EVOLUTION, MERGING HUMAN-LIKE DECISION-MAKING CAPABILITIES WITH THE SPEED OF TRADITIONAL COMPUTERS. IN SIMPLE TERMS, WEBB SAYS THAT WE WILL BE ABLE TO MAKE BIOCOMPUTERS OUT OF HUMAN BRAIN CELLS – WE WILL GROW COMPUTERS RATHER THAN BUILD THEM.
</blockquote>



Predicting what comes next may be big business but it’s not necessarily new. While modern futurists use data to forecast pos- sible future scenarios and spot emerging opportunities, the science of probability – long-term planning – has been around since the 1940s. And before futurology became an academic field and job role, science fiction authors like H.G. Wells, Jules Verne and Arthur C. Clarke, were recognized as futurists with an uncanny ability to foresee the world to come. Today, there are a number of well-known futurists sought out by industry giants (and the government) to steer business strategy and adapt to disruptive change. Businesses are hiring futurists to tell them the things they don’t want to hear so that they can prepare for unfore- seen inevitabilities.



Meet the futurists



As the founder of Singularity University and the XPRIZE Foundation, Peter Diamandis is a Silicon Valley digital futurist and engineer who has started over 25 companies. Now in his 60s, Diamandis (whose net worth has been reported to be around $200 million) has many innova- tive projects underway. While tickets to attend his membership-only Abundance Summit begin at $10,000, Diamandis is attempting to change the world with his large-scale XPRIZE competitions that tackle domains like climate, space, biodiversity and deep tech. According to the Key Speakers Bureau, Diamandis’ speaking fee starts at $60,000 – and that’s for a virtual, not in-person, appearance.



As artificial intelligence (AI) becomes more and more popular, there’s a good chance that futurist Ray Kurzweil will be mentioned. Kurzweil, who has received 20 honorary doctorates is a computer scientist and futurist with a 30-year track record of accurate predic- tions – his written predictions, of which there are 147, have an 86% accuracy rate. Kurzweil’s first predictions around AI came out in 1999 and while many people felt that his views were radical when he said that computers would be as intelligent as humans, his estimated date of 2029 doesn’t seem so far off. Kurzweil’s net worth is reportedly around $30 million, most of which comes from the four companies he success- fully founded based on his research and academic prizes. One of his boldest predictions is that immortality will be achievable by 2030 with nanobots – tiny robots that can repair human bodies on a cellular level.



In an interview, he famously said: “By the time we get to the 2040s, we’ll be able to multiply human intelligence a billionfold. That will be a profound change that’s singular in nature. Computers are going to keep getting smaller and smaller. Ultimately, they will go inside our bodies and brains and make us healthier, make us smarter.”



Webb, who has been called ‘one of the five women changing the world’, recently wrote a book called The Genesis Machine with fellow futurist, Andrew Hessel. The book, which won a Gold Axiom Medal, explores synthetic biology, a controversial and emerging techno-science. Biotech, which is something both Webb and Hessel focus on, was a key part of Webb’s 2024 Tech Trends Report. In her talk at SXSW, she said that the next stage of AI is merging digital supercomputers with human tissue. This is something Webb refers to as organoid intelligence, or O-AI. She predicts that by 2039, O-AI will become the forefront of computational evolution, merging human-like decision-making capabilities with the speed of traditional computers. 



In simple terms, Webb says that we will be able to make biocomputers out of human brain cells – we will grow computers rather than build them. Hessel is a pioneer in synthetic biology, microbiologist, geneticist and futurist. He is also the co-founder of a company called Hu-mane Genomics Inc. that engineers synthetic viruses to target cancer cells. “Biology is a very different medium than computing but there are fundamental similarities,” he wrote in a blog post talking about synthetic biology in Af-rica. “Africa is geographically well-positioned to benefit from synthetic biology. Much of the country is in the biological power band of the world, blessed with ample sunlight, fresh water, fertile soils, and incredible biological diversity. But it is also vulnerable to changes in climate, particularly shifts in rainfall and heat waves,” he continues. Hessel has seen first-hand how AI tools are supercharging all aspects of digital biology and predicts that DNA printers are on the cusp of a major upgrade. He believes that in the next five years, we will be able to print and assemble microbial-scale genomes — at reasonable cost and turnaround times.



In the workplace



No matter whether you call them futurists, fu-turologists, foresight practitioners or horizon scanners, it’s becoming increasingly common for organizations to employ professionals with these titles. According to the Univer-sity of Houston, around 25% of Fortune 500 companies have futurists on staff. They’re also commonplace at government agencies as well as non-profits. Andrew Bolwell, for example, is HP’s chief disrupter. In his role, he unpacks megatrends like microfluidics – working with tiny amounts of fluid with precision. Even though printers already do this, Bolwell is talking about even smaller amounts, fluids the fifth of a size of a human cell (or a thousand times smaller than a raindrop). With the microfluidics market projected to be worth $64.94 billion by 2029, according to Mordor Intelligence, the possibility of 3D-printing vital organs may become a reality.



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
&#8220;BY THE TIME WE GET TO THE 2040S, WE’LL BE ABLE TO MULTIPLY HUMAN INTELLIGENCE A BILLIONFOLD. THAT WILL BE A PROFOUND CHANGE THAT’S SINGULAR IN NATURE. COMPUTERS ARE GOING TO KEEP GETTING SMALLER AND SMALLER. ULTIMATELY, THEY WILL GO INSIDE OUR BODIES AND BRAINS AND MAKE US HEALTHIER, MAKE US SMARTER.”&#8211; Ray Kurzweil
</blockquote>



When Dr Werner Vogels, Chief Technology Officer (CTO) and Vice President at Amazon, one of the globe’s most innovative companies, looks into the future, the world takes note.



The well-known futurist, who releases tech predictions for the year and beyond, also happens to be one of the highest-paid CTOs worldwide – it’s no wonder his live speaking fee reportedly starts at $100,000. One of Vo-gels’ predictions is that women’s healthcare, femtech, is on the rise. “Women’s healthcare is not a niche market,” he writes in his tech predictions report. “At AWS, we’ve been work-ing closely with women-led startups and have seen first-hand the growth in femtech. In the last year alone, funding has increased 197%.” 



With increased access to capital, technologies like machine learning, and connected devices designed specifically for women, Vogels believes that the world is at the precipice of an unprecedented shift, not only in the way women’s care is perceived, but how it’s administered. From women in rural areas who have been historically underserved medically to female athletes whose training was modelled on what worked for men, femtech will finally see women’s care move from the fringes to the forefront.



As companies strive to achieve aggressive sustainability targets, there are now climate and environmental futurists emerging as key strategic advisors, guiding businesses in navigating the complexities of climate change, resource management and eco-friendly practices to secure long-term viability and environmental stewardship. For Gerd Leonhard, a German futurist, green has become the new digital and sustainable is the new profitable. In a recent keynote, he said that he’s optimistic about climate change and global warming because we already have the tools we need to solve it. “We’re going to suffer for 15 to 20 years in the process of fixing this,” he predicts, “but we’re now getting ready to do this… technological advancements offer solutions that can help tackle these challenges. It will be essential to find a balance between economic progress and environmental preservation.”



Leonhard, like other consulting futurists, is working with companies to help them understand the next decade and develop foresight. “It’s not predictions, it’s understanding, intuition and imagination,” he explains in a podcast, adding that being a futurist is similar to being a therapist. His job is to essentially point his clients in the right direction; clients who happen to be tech giants, business leaders and government officials around the globe.



The future, today



There’s no question that history is happening now and futurists provide a way to understand current trends as well as anticipate what’s to come. Futurism is essentially risk management because every industry is experiencing dynamic change. In the last 50 years we’ve made more progress than in the previous 250,000 years and it’s been said that the next 10 years will bring more change than the previous 100. Of course, the future is unpredictable and futurists are not fortune tellers – they get things wrong. However, their value lies in their ability to analyze data and identify patterns. By incorporating foresight into strategic planning, businesses, governments and other organizations can adapt more effectively to emerging trends, mitigate risks and seize the moment. In a world characterized by rapid technological advancements, the role of the futurist has become increasingly indispensable in shaping a better tomorrow.

GUI (Graphical User Interface) concept.

The Fortune Of Foresight: Futurists On Tomorrow’s Tech

Chasing the world that might have been, Africa’s progress and race to the 2030 goals.



In 1980, 35 years after the formation of the United Nations (UN), the Ghanaian philosopher Kwasi Wiredu warned that “unrestricted industrial urbanization is contrary to any humane culture; it is certainly contrary to our own”. Personhood, he believed, could only be attained if an individual mar- ried economic success with a responsibility to community: humanity could only flourish through the enrichment gained from shared social capital.



The UN was established for the purpose of constructive coopera- tion in the aftermath of the trauma of World War II; an invitation to the people of every nation to heal and rebuild this personhood, in themselves and in others, after years of brutal, dehumanizing con- flict. “You, members of this Conference, are to be the architects of a better world,” counselled President Harry Truman to the General Assembly, weeks before witnessing the signing of the UN Charter in June 1945. “In your hands, rests our future.”



Eight decades later, ‘development’, defined by the UN as “a multidimensional undertaking to achieve a higher quality of life for all people”, has become synonymous with this vision of a more equitable planet.



In 2015, the 193 UN member states adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development: 17 goals, or ‘SDGs’, extolled as “an urgent call for ac- tion by all countries – developed and developing – in a global part- nership”. Six years out from the agenda’s scheduled completion, the journey towards the fulfilment of these goals in Africa has been turbulent, buffeted by the vagaries of conflict, climate change and economic turmoil.



In 2023, the UN released its latest Africa Sustainable Development Report: a candid evaluation of the progress achieved so far in the context of its overlap with the African Union’s Agenda 2063, a “development blueprint to achieve inclusive and sustainable socio-economic development over a 50-year period”. The Covid-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine, and extreme weather events have all savagely undermined this headway; the report laments that “these interconnecting crises slowed global growth, increased debt vulner- abilities, and fuelled inflationary pressures, with negative long-term consequences for the achievement of both agendas”.



The economic implications of these upheavals for the SDGs are so alarming that the UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, has cautioned that “unless we act now, the 2030 Agenda will become an epitaph for a world that might have been”. In April of this year, the African Development Bank President, Dr Akinwumi A Adesina, revealed that the annual financing gap towards realizing these goals has now risen to $4 trillion, and called on developed countries to “devote at least 0.70% of their gross national income to official devel- opment assistance”.



Many African nations find themselves trapped in a vice of tight- ening economic pressures: insufficient capital squeezing resources from one direction, debt burden suffocating prosperity from the other. At this year’s 10th Africa Regional Forum on Sustainable Development, UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina J Mohammed reiterated the Secretary-General’s entreaty for an SDG stimulus of $500 billion per year to make debt-servicing less perniciously crip- pling for African countries desperate for the liquidity they need to fulfil their SDG aspirations.



“For Africa as a whole, public debt now amounts to 66 percent of GDP,” announced Claver Gatete, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, in the same month. “High repayment costs are crowding out essential expenditures on health, education, and climate action… Naturally, all this takes its toll on the most vulnerable. Based on the latest data, 476 million people in Africa are projected to live in poverty in 2024, about 50 million more than before Covid.”



Notwithstanding the grim economics casting an ominous shadow over its findings, the 2023 Africa Sustainable Development Report cites “steady progress” on key SDG targets such as 4G mobile network coverage, access to safe drinking water, and electrification rates, and is cautiously optimistic about the continent’s capacity for the kind of economic reform that might invigorate domestic markets. Professor Karim Sorour, co-editor of Corporate Governance in Africa: Assess- ing Implementation and Ethical Perspectives, and a special- ist on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in the region, argues that ‘off-the-shelf’ Western solutions run the risk of ignoring the complexity of local realities; instead, healthy financial governance must, and can, begin at home.



“When we talk about corporate governance in Africa, we have to make sure there is transparency at the micro level,” he says. “We’re talking about SMEs (small and medium- sized enterprises), as they have the lion’s share of the econ- omy. There is a huge tax deficit in many African countries; these SMEs are below the radar, they are cash economies. So it’s very difficult to get resources from the tax system.



What’s needed is accountability by way of legislation; build- ing normative frameworks by engaging with society at the grassroots level to come up with policy formulations on a country-by-country basis.”



While the impending 2030 SDG targets loom large on the horizon for African nations, Sorour feels that incremental gains in CSR awareness can still make significant aggregate contributions to developmental attainment in the region, particularly in the context of responsible consumption.



“In Egypt, it’s very common to find people who are really struggling who have at least two mobile phones,” he says. “Why do we need two phones? The impact of social media, the normalization of certain standards, puts peer pressure on people to act in an irresponsible way. So, at the business level, we should really focus on SDG 12 (ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns), because the goals create a domino effect through three concepts: economic cost, social development, and environmental sustainability. Linking this level of engagement to the daily lives of people and their businesses is where a little more work is needed.”



The SDGs’ central pledge to understand and empathize with the realities of these daily lives, and “leave no one be- hind”, is at the heart of the UN’s #WeBelongAfrica program, a project “designed to support state entities in sub-Saharan Africa to become increasingly accountable and responsive to, and inclusive of, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI+) people and young key populations”.



Monica Tabengwa, a UNDP programme Specialist in LGBTI+ inclusion, believes sexual and gender minorities in Africa are at most risk of being forgotten in the sustainable development conversation. “Africa has a rich tapestry of cultures and traditions,” she says. “Many traditional African cultures recognized or even celebrated sexual and gender diversity, but colonialism and conservative religious forces from the West often undermined that acceptance of diver- sity. The biggest challenge is to build on African traditions that celebrate diversity.”



Encouraging but inconsistent advancement has been made towards SDG 10 (reduce inequality within and among countries), alongside growing public awareness of the cor- relation between the respective statuses of girls and women and those of the LGBTI+ population.



“There has been tremendous progress in access to essen- tial health services, driven by the response to HIV, although there is still a dramatic lack of gender-affirming medical care,” says Tabengwa. “Access to services in other sectors is more uneven, including economic opportunities, housing, and justice systems. To sustain progress beyond 2030, we need a broad movement that reinforces democracy, inclu- sion and human rights for all. It is important to emphasize that inequalities are widening more generally – not just for LGBTI+ people.&#8221;



The changemakers of 2030 and beyond are the teenagers of 2024; aware, proactive personhood is now being forged in leadership programs nurturing the aspirant decision- makers who will inherit the SDGs successes and failures. Mark Mike Mutumba is Founder and Executive Director of the Omuto Foundation, a “youth-led grassroots movement dedicated to empowering young individuals in underserved communities across Uganda”.



The foundation’s Youth Ambassa- dors Programme fosters enduring leadership skills by enabling participants to design projects which make measurable SDG impressions on their local communities. 



“Our approach demonstrates that young people, when giv- en the right tools, are the key to achieving the 2030 goals,” says Mutumba. “With modest support, youth-led initiatives can achieve immense impact. Our model has seen a 25% increase in youth participation, and a ripple effect of positive change.” Mutumba’s buoyant perspective is predicated upon the evolution of personhood via its roots in a community; on the growth of social capital through innovation and cooperation at its most fundamental local level. “We bridge the gap by translating SDGs into action: our Youth Action 2030 project, for instance, empowers young people to tackle local issues like food insecurity or lack of clean water through social en- trepreneurship,” he says. “This shift in mindset is vital. With Africa’s booming youth population, empowering them isn’t just about the future – it’s about unlocking the continent’s potential today.”



&nbsp;

diversity team discussion focused on ESG (environment,social,governance)  for net zero goals in a sustainable green office

6 Years To The SDGs: The Journey Towards These Goals In Africa

<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-topline">TOPLINE</h2>



Global rates of death caused by heart conditions, diabetes and obesity due to air pollution significantly increased over the past decade, according to the 2024 World Heart Report, and emissions caused by climate change played a part in exacerbating this.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">KEY FACTS</h2>



The number of heart condition-related deaths attributed to air pollution between 2010 and 2019 increased in some places by as much as 27%, and almost 70% of the 4.2 million outdoor air pollution-related deaths in 2019 were from heart conditions, according to a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.epa.gov/pm-pollution/particulate-matter-pm-basics#PM" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">report</a>&nbsp;published Saturday by the World Heart Federation.



There were 900,000 air pollution-related stroke deaths in 2019, and almost 2 million people died from air pollution-related coronary heart disease, an increase of between 20% and 27% compared to 2010 in every World Health Organization region except for in the Americas (increased by 2.4%) and Europe (decreased by 19.2%).



Global particulate matter concentration—tiny air particles that can be detrimental to health when they enter the body—declined by 1% annually between 2010 and 2019, but were still over six times the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240034228" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">recommended amount</a>&nbsp;set by the World Health Organization.



Only 14% of countries experienced a large decline in particulate matter during this time period, with mostly European countries seeing the largest decreases (between 25% and 35%), while Angola, Cape Verde, Liberia, Palau and Sierra Leone had the largest increases.



Previous research has shown air pollution has a negative effect on <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0147651322007333" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">obesity</a> and <a href="https://drc.bmj.com/content/bmjdrc/11/5/e003333.full.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">diabetes</a>, and because many people with these diseases also have heart conditions, air pollution’s effects on these groups may be indirectly causing significant increases in death, according to the report.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">WHAT CAUSES AIR POLLUTION</h2>



Air pollution consists of dangerous materials from both natural and human-made sources. Several things cause it, including vehicle emissions, fumes from chemical productions, gas that heats homes and byproducts from manufacturing power productions, which are among the main sources of human-caused air pollution,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.niehs.nih.gov/health/topics/agents/air-pollution#:~:text=Vehicle%20emissions%2C%20fuel%20oils%20and,of%20human%2Dmade%20air%20pollution." rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">according</a>&nbsp;to the National Institutes of Health. Naturally occurring hazardous substances include smoke from wildfires, ash from volcanoes and gases like methane, which come from decomposing organic matter in the soil.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">HOW DOES CLIMATE CHANGE AFFECT AIR POLLUTION?</h2>



Climate change and air pollution are interlinked because they both worsen each other, according to the report. Climate-related weather changes cause increases in particulate matter and <a href="https://www.epa.gov/ground-level-ozone-pollution/ground-level-ozone-basics" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ground-level ozone</a>, which is a harmful gas and the main ingredient in smog. Climate change can cause an increase in weather events like wildfires and dust storms, increasing the release of dangerous particulate matter and worsening health conditions, <a href="https://www.epa.gov/climateimpacts/climate-change-impacts-air-quality#:~:text=In%20many%20regions%20of%20the,droughts%20or%20smoke%20from%20wildfires).&amp;text=These%20changes%20worsen%20existing%20air%20pollution." target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">according</a> to the Environmental Protection Agency. These increases in outdoor air pollution can worsen inside air quality, since they can enter homes and buildings through open doors and ventilation systems. <a href="https://www.who.int/teams/environment-climate-change-and-health/air-quality-energy-and-health/health-impacts/climate-impacts-of-air-pollution#:~:text=Black%20carbon%2C%20a%20component%20of,melting%20of%20snow%20and%20ice." target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Black carbon</a>, one of the main elements of fine particulate matter, is one of the largest contributors to global warming after carbon dioxide. It is a heat-absorbing chemical, so it absorbs light and warms the Earth’s atmosphere, thus leading to the melting of ice and snow.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">SURPRISING FACT</h2>



Household air pollution contributed to 3.2 million deaths worldwide between 2010 and 2019, a similar figure to the amount of deaths related to outdoor air pollution, according to the report. Low- or middle-income countries experienced most of these deaths due to lack of access to electricity and gas cooking. Over 2 billion worldwide still rely on polluting fuels like coal, wood, charcoal and crop waste for everyday survival.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">KEY BACKGROUND</h2>



Heart disease was the leading cause of death worldwide—and in the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db395.htm" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">U.S.</a>—followed by stroke in 2019,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/the-top-10-causes-of-death" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">according</a>&nbsp;to the WHO. One in three Americans has heart or blood vessel disease, and heart disease deaths typically affect people 65 years and older,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.epa.gov/air-research/air-pollution-and-cardiovascular-disease-basics" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">according</a>&nbsp;to the EPA. Those who are the most susceptible to fine particulate matter include older adults, those with obesity, diabetics, non-white people, those with underlying conditions and people of low economic status. Short-term exposure to air pollution can cause an&nbsp;<a href="https://www.heart.org/en/health-topics/consumer-healthcare/what-is-cardiovascular-disease/air-pollution-and-heart-disease-stroke" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">increased risk</a>&nbsp;of heart attack, stroke, heart failure and irregular heartbeat, while long-term exposure increases the risk of heart disease, high blood pressure and death. Although reduction in air pollution emissions should be the top priority, the World Heart Federation believes a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, fiber and protein; supplements like omega-fatty acids; and the use of medication for people with heart disease that have unavoidably high exposure to air pollution can help prevent the cardiovascular effects of air pollution.

The Sappi-Saiccor Pulp Mill

World Heart Report: Air Pollution-Related Deaths From Heart Conditions, Obesity, Diabetes Are Growing—And Climate Change Partially To Blame

The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) All-Share Index has reached new heights since the start of the year, propelled by fresh government policies. Despite challenges in other macroeconomic indicators such as inflation, exchange rates, and lending rates, the equity market has doubled in value within this timeframe. Experts weigh in.



The Nigerian stock market has witnessed a surge in recent months, with the number of companies boasting Stocks Worth Over ₦1 trillion ($688 million) or SWOOTs, reportedly increasing from eight to 14. This surge, fueled by an uptick in Nigerian banks’ share prices, reflects a notable shift in investor sentiment towards the African giant’s equities market.



Investors have flocked to the Nigerian stock market seeking returns, which has led to its all-share index (ASI) appreciating by 11% or 8,269 basis points in the first two weeks of the year. This bullish sentiment propelled Nigeria to the forefront as the best-performing stock market in the world in the first three weeks of the year with the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) gaining a year-to-date (YTD) return of 40%.



Several key factors are reshaping the investment landscape. One critical driver is the subdued yield in the fixed income sphere relative to escalating inflation rates. Nigeria’s headline inflation under President Bola Tinubu’s administration increased to 31.70% in February.



This dynamic prompts investors to reassess their asset allocation strategies, tilting towards equities to seek a more favorable risk-return balance. Traditionally, fixed income instruments, renowned for their stability, lose appeal when their returns dwindle, prompting a capital shift towards the buoyant stock market.



Indigenous pension funds and institutional investors are also rekindling their interest in the Nigerian market, injecting renewed vigor into equities trading. This resurgence in confidence forms a virtuous cycle, driven by the pursuit of superior returns amidst an inflationary environment, thereby elevating the appeal of equities. Particularly, banking stocks are in the limelight, fueled by anticipated robust earnings and dividend payouts.



According to reports, last year’s SWOOTs, at some point, included MTN Nigeria, Dangote Cement, Airtel Africa, BUA Foods, BUA Cement, Zenith Bank, Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc (GTCO Plc), and Seplat Energy. Joining their ranks more recently were Access Holdings, United Bank for Africa (UBA), Transcorp Hotels, and Geregu Power, First Bank of Nigeria (FBN) Holdings and Dangote Sugar, but due to the fluctuating nature of the market, some of these additions may have dipped below the ₦1 trillion market cap mark.



DANGOTE CEMENT MAKES HISTORY AS NIGERIA’S FIRST ₦10 TRILLION MARKET CAP COMPANY



The milestone moment arrived on January 22 when Dangote Cement Plc, a subsidiary of Dangote Industries founded in 1981 by Africa’s wealthiest billionaire, Aliko Dangote, became the first Nigerian company to hit the ₦10 trillion ($6.88 billion) market cap mark. With its share price soaring to ₦592.60 ($0.41) at the time, Dangote Cement’s market cap reached ₦10.095 trillion ($6.95 billion), firmly cementing its position among Africa’s largest corporations. It is also the only Nigerian company among the top 10 largest African companies based on market cap, with the rest being South African companies.



At the end of 2023, Dangote Cement Plc ranked third on the list of companies with the highest market capitalization in the NGX, behind Airtel Africa and MTN Nigeria.



It is believed that Nigerian billionaire Femi Otedola reportedly acquiring $6.73 million-worth stake in Dangote Cement Plc, the only cement company in Nigeria with two export terminals, with a reported combined export capacity of eight million tons per annum, had an impact.



“The growth in revenue was due to a few reasons. Firstly, we delivered double digit volume growth in our pan-Africa business. Secondly, we realized some price increases in line with inflationary realities, especially in some of our pan-Africa operations. Thirdly, there was an improvement in our product and location mix, thereby optimizing our sales for better economic value,” Dangote Cement Plc’s Group Managing Director, Arvind Pathak, told FORBES AFRICA in an exclusive interview when the company reported a profit of ₦178.6 billion ($234.8 million) in the first half of last year.



BEYOND NUMBERS, TOWARDS ECONOMIC TRANSFORMATION



The ripple effects of Nigeria’s stock market boom extend beyond financial metrics, signaling broader implications for the economy and investor sentiment.



Seyi Ebenezer, Advisory Board Member of Payaza, a payment service provider, views the rise of SWOOTs as a pivotal moment for Nigeria’s economic diversification efforts.



“The rise of SWOOTs is a significant development for the Nigerian economy, with both positive and potential challenges,” Ebenezer tells FORBES AFRICA as he analyzes the impact on the country’s economic landscape.



According to him, sustaining this momentum hinges on various contingencies. The interest rate hike by four hundred basis points to 22.75% from 18.75% by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in February initially triggered a downturn in the equities market, hinting at a potential resurgence in bond attractiveness and a consequent diversion of investments away from stocks.



Profit-taking behaviors among investors, driven by attained targets in anticipation of dividends, could also precipitate a market correction, temporarily deflating stock prices.



Ebenezer highlights the diversification potential inherent in a robust stock market, asserting, “A strong and diverse stock market may signify a less oil-reliant economy, providing more stability amidst fluctuating oil prices.” Emphasizing the importance of industry diversification, he notes: “The rise of these companies signals Nigeria’s ability to attract investment across various sectors.” He underscores the limited presence of oil and gas companies among the SWOOTs, indicating a shift away from reliance on the energy sector.



Recently, Nigeria’s costly oil industry has experienced a downturn.



While acknowledging the enduring importance of oil, Ebenezer stresses, “A well-developed stock market is a strong indicator of progress towards a more diversified and resilient Nigerian economy.”



Ebenezer also highlights the potential of SWOOTs to enhance Nigeria’s investment appeal.



“The success of these companies can boost Nigeria’s image as an attractive investment destination, potentially attracting more foreign businesses and partnerships. These large companies demonstrate the ability of Nigerian businesses to achieve significant scale and profitability. This success story serves as a beacon for potential investors, showcasing the potential for growth in the Nigerian market.” However, Ebenezer cautions against overreliance on SWOOTs, noting, “A large concentration of wealth in a few companies can make the stock market more susceptible to fluctuations.” He also notes the need for equitable wealth distribution and emphasizes the importance of strong corporate governance practices to maintain investor confidence. Added to this is the importance of innovation and broader investor participation to ensure the continued growth and stability of SWOOTs.



“Encouraging broader participation in the stock market by individual investors can help distribute the wealth generated and create a more stable market base,” says Ebenezer.



Globally, interest rates and commodity prices play significant roles in influencing investor sentiment towards Nigerian equities.



“These factors serve as the bedrock of market confidence and directly impact investment decisions,” Nigerian exporter Oluwaseun Obilana shares with FORBES AFRICA.



Obilana also sheds light on the symbiotic relationship between commodity prices and investor sentiment.



“Nigeria’s economy is intricately tied to commodity exports such as oil, cocoa, and agriculture,” he remarks.



“Fluctuations in global commodity prices directly impact revenue streams, corporate profitability, and ultimately, investor sentiment towards Nigerian equities.”



Drawing from his firsthand experience as an exporter, he underscores the importance of diversification in mitigating the volatility associated with commodity prices.



“Diversifying export portfolios beyond oil dependency, is essential for long-term sustainability,” he says.



“Investors are more inclined towards equities of companies with diversified revenue streams, as they are less susceptible to commodity price shocks.”



Ebenezer suggests that a decrease in U.S. Federal Reserve interest rates could attract foreign investors seeking higher returns, thereby increasing capital inflows into the local market.



Traders closely monitored the U.S. Fed’s decision on March 20, with major stock averages hovering around the same levels in anticipation.



Treasury yields remained stable ahead of the Fed’s announcement, with the two-year Treasury rate dropping slightly to 4.675% and the 10-year yield decreasing to 4.279%, according to CNBC. Ultimately, the Fed decided to maintain interest rates within the range of 5.25% to 5.50% for the fifth consecutive time, aligning with market expectations. It also reaffirmed its earlier projection of three rate cuts by year-end, shown by its dot plot. Reports further indicated that “nine of the Fed’s 19 policymakers see three quarter-point rate cuts this year, and nine see two or less; only one penciled in more cuts than the median, compared with five in December.”



While the NGX’s performance is driven by various factors, understanding both internal and external variables is crucial for navigating future market dynamics. Amidst this growth, considerations abound, highlights Nigerian business analyst, Liadi Oluwaseyi Jimoh, as he cautions investors about the heightened market volatility.



“Rapid growth can lead to increased market volatility, making it essential for investors to carefully assess risks and potential fluctuations in stock prices.”



“Increased market capitalization does not always guarantee deep liquidity, which could affect the ease of buying and selling stocks, especially during turbulent market conditions.”

Closeup shot of two person trading Nigerian naira and US dollar

Nigeria’s Trillion-Naira Companies Multiply

Researchers from New York University looked at the biological effects of discrimination and found it may cause accelerated aging, building on prior research that found discrimination may contribute to health problems like depression and heart issues.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">KEY FACTS</h2>



The researchers followed over 2,000 participants either between 2004 and 2009, or 2012 and 2016; 81% identified as white, 19% identified as Black, the average age was 53 years old and more than half were women, according to the study published Thursday in Brain, Behavior, and Immunity-Health.



Participants were surveyed on whether they experienced three types of discrimination: everyday discrimination, which is subtle instances of disrespect in daily life; major discrimination, which includes more severe actions like police brutality or being denied from buying a home; and workplace discrimination, which is unfair treatment and hindered professional growth at work.



Previous research has already linked discrimination to health issues like heart problems and depression—which may cause accelerated aging—so the researchers looked at discrimination-related aging on a molecular level by scoring participants on DNA markers used to assess the biological impacts of aging.



They found participants who reported higher levels of all forms of discrimination had higher biological aging scores—meaning they aged faster—than those with the lowest levels, though everyday and major discrimination had more severe effects than workplace discrimination.



Exposure to discrimination can also trigger other physiological and behavioral responses like poor sleep and higher&nbsp;<a href="https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/22187-cortisol" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">cortisol</a>&nbsp;levels—a hormone that can cause weight gain, high blood pressure and high blood sugar if too high—which may also cause faster aging, according to the study.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-surprising-fact">SURPRISING FACT</h2>



Although Black participants experienced the most discrimination, and therefore had higher aging scores, white participants who did experience discrimination were more susceptible to the impacts of it. The researchers believe this may be due to white participants having fewer coping mechanisms, since they don’t experience discrimination as much. Previous&nbsp;<a href="https://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/full/10.2105/AJPH.2007.114397" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">research</a>&nbsp;also found white people experienced more severe effects of discrimination, including higher mortality rates, than Black people.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-crucial-quote">CRUCIAL QUOTE</h2>



“Experiencing discrimination appears to hasten the process of aging, which may be contributing to disease and early mortality, and fueling health disparities,” Adolfo Cuevas, senior author and an assistant professor in the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences at NYU’s School of Global Public Health, said in a statement.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-background">KEY BACKGROUND</h2>



Discrimination may lead to other health issues. People who experienced intermediate levels of discrimination in the workplace were 22% more likely to develop high blood pressure compared to those who didn’t, and participants who experienced high levels of discrimination were 54% more likely to develop high blood pressure,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.heart.org/en/news/2023/04/26/workplace-discrimination-linked-to-high-blood-pressure-risk#:~:text=Those%20who%20said%20they%20experienced,their%20peers%20who%20did%20not." rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">according</a>&nbsp;to the American Heart Association. Young adults who experience discrimination at least a few times a month are 25% more likely to be diagnosed with a mental health disorder and twice as likely to develop severe psychological distress than people who didn’t experience discrimination or did less often, a 2021&nbsp;<a href="https://publications.aap.org/pediatrics/article/148/6/e2021051378/183387/Discrimination-and-Subsequent-Mental-Health?autologincheck=redirected" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">study</a>&nbsp;found. Everyday discrimination&nbsp;<a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapsychiatry/fullarticle/2794428" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">significantly increases</a>&nbsp;moderate to severe depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation. Coping mechanisms like smoking are increased due to discrimination, which can then lead to heart issues,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nyu.edu/about/news-publications/news/2024/february/discrimination-smoking-heart-health.html#:~:text=Discrimination%20is%20another%20social%20determinant,to%20the%20thickening%20of%20arteries." rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">according</a>&nbsp;to previous research from NYU. Discrimination is linked to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.heart.org/en/news/2023/04/05/discrimination-linked-to-higher-risk-of-death-particularly-from-cardiovascular-disease" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">higher rates</a>&nbsp;of death, especially from heart disease.



.

The paper written as discrimination is torn on wood. Concept of abolition of discrimination.

Discrimination May Cause People To Age Faster—And Affect White People Most, Study Suggests

There is a thin line between innovation and abuse. A look at how large language models (LLMs) are making cybercriminals even better at mastering the art of deception.



What you can do with generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools like OpenAI’s ChatGPT or Gemini from Google DeepMind is phenomenal. It’s never been easier to translate text, brainstorm ideas or even write or debug code… but have you stopped to consider that because it’s significantly easier for the everyday person to use AI, cybercriminals are also using this type of technology to their advantage?



Here’s the thing – cybercriminals love ChatGPT. There are even clones of the large language model (LLM) on the dark web for hackers like XXXGPT, FraudGPT and WormGPT (which was shut down by its developers because of overwhelming media attention).



According to Check Point Research, there is a massive underground market for premium ChatGPT accounts. “Cybercriminals use ChatGPT clones but the most common LLM they’re using is ChatGPT because it is the easiest. It’s the one that has the API,” says Sergey Shykevich, a threat intelligence group manager at Check Point Research. One of the reasons cybercriminals are after premium ChatGPT accounts is that the service isn’t available in countries like North Korea, China, Iran and Russia. “The cybercriminals have to bypass different restrictions but when you use the API or a premium account, the restrictions are much lower than the free, user interface.”



THE DEEP, DARK WEB



A Kaspersky study looking into how cybercriminals are using AI on the dark web picked up that hackers are using language models to not only develop malicious products but obtain information. With the help of AI phishing, a type of social engineering scam, it’s becoming significantly harder to detect. Emails that were once filled with tell-tale spelling mistakes and grammatical errors are now indistinguishable from legitimate correspondence. 



“Now, all the spam phishing services use ChatGPT to randomize email,” adds Shykevich. “Many of the anti- spam engines are based on this data. If they find a lot of emails that are similar, they will automatically label them as malicious but with AI, you can run a campaign consisting of hundreds of thousands of phishing emails, all randomized by automated tools.”



Vladislav Tushkanov, a lead data scientist at Kaspersky explains that generative AI, like other types of technology, are tools with dual use. “You can do a lot of cool stuff with these tools… but there are also some applications that can be interesting for cybercriminals. The most obvious use is fraud – creating believable voice fake to lure people into sending money,” says Tushkanov. “What our Digital Footprint intelligence found on the dark web are posts saying ‘ChatGPT is my best buddy’ and ‘when I do my work, I always consult ChatGPT – it’s so useful’. This is a real post from a cybercriminal that we saw on a hacker forum.”



Greg van der Gaast is a former hacker, FBI operative and the MD of Sequoia Consulting. His take on cybersecurity is a little bit different. “If you’re not vulnerable to what cybercriminals are trying to exploit using AI, if you have good build processes and architecture, they’re not a threat to you,” he says.



For van der Gaast, one of the main problems with the cybersecurity industry at large is that it is focussed on risk management. 



“If I leave a bag of grain in my front garden, I’m not surprised that 10,000 mice show up three days later. The solution isn’t for me to buy 10,000 mousetraps, it’s to store my grain better and invest in a couple of mousetraps,” he says.



“To keep storing your grain in the same place and keep flinging mousetraps is ridiculous. The only reason there are so many threats is that there are so many organizations with vulnerabilities that they’re not addressing. They’re just risk- managing them instead.”



Looking at AI from a hacker’s perspective, van der Gaast says that the best thing about AI is not having to think. “AI allows [a hacker] to work a lot more efficiently. So, if you’re out doing reconnaissance or trying to break into stuff, AI speeds up the workflow,” he explains. “With AI, a cybercriminal could pace an attack in a way that it goes around detection algorithms.”



This is why van der Gaast believes that instead of playing catch up and never solving the problem at large, AI could be used to think intelligently about where the issue is coming from in the first place. 



“No one is looking at the root causes. Stop looking at the severity and start looking at the reasons behind why you have a vulnerability in the first place,” he recommends.



“Start seeing security issues as quality issues because that’s what a security vulnerability is – it’s a defect in code and configuration, how a system is built. Don’t have the vulnerability and then the threat won’t be a threat to you.”



With the hype surrounding generative AI, it isn’t a surprise that cybercriminals want to get in on the action. Over and above smarter phishing emails and messages, scammers have managed to lure those curious about LLMs with adverts to download enhanced versions that don’t really exist. There are also a number of fake ChatGPT apps which imitate OpenAI’s free features at a fee. Often referred to as fleeceware, these apps overwhelm users with adverts until they cave in and pay for a subscription.



“We are now in a race between the good guys and the bad guys,” says Shykevich. “It’s still too early to call who is on the winning side. We still don’t see the bad guys using AI for really sophisticated malware or something crazy. The defender side is a bit better. We have the advantage and I hope it will remain peaceful.”

Artificial Intelligence Technology Background

The Dark Side of AI And The Art Of Deception

<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-topline">TOPLINE</h2>



Food recalls in 2023 reached the highest levels the U.S. has recorded since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, mainly driven by undisclosed allergens and listeria contamination, according to a new report released Thursday.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">KEY FACTS</h2>



Some 313 food recalls (impacting products that were still on sale) and alerts (involving products no longer on sale, but may be in consumers’ homes) were announced last year by the Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, an 8% increase from 2022 and the highest number since the COVID pandemic began in 2020, according to a report released Thursday by the nonprofit U.S. Public Research Interest Group Education Fund.



Contaminated food resulted in six deaths and over 1,100 illnesses last year, though the researchers suspect there were more illnesses since most people recover from food poisoning without medical attention.



The most commonly recalled food items in 2023 were snacks like cookies and granola bars, which accounted for one in five recalls, though other commonly recalled foods included fruit—mainly cantaloupes—beef, soup, salads and greens, poultry, cheese, vegetables, supplements and pet food, according to the report.



Almost half of all recalls (49.3%) in 2023 were related to allergens undeclared on packaging, while other major reasons for recalls were listeria contamination (15%), salmonella contamination (8.6%) and uninspected products (6.1%).



This uptick in undisclosed allergen cases was partially driven by the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.fda.gov/consumers/consumer-updates/allergic-sesame-food-labels-now-must-list-sesame-allergen#:~:text=As%20of%20January%201%2C%202023%2C%20sesame%20is%20required%20to%20be,milk" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">inclusion</a>&nbsp;of sesame—which accounted for 39% of the increase—as a required disclosed allergen, a rule that began in January 2023.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-are-the-5-biggest-food-recalls-of-2024-so-far">WHAT ARE THE 5 BIGGEST FOOD RECALLS OF 2024 SO FAR?</h2>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Dairy products: An investigation into a “multi-year, multistate” <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/ariannajohnson/2024/02/08/costco-trader-joes-walmart-recall-dairy-products-over-listeria-outbreak-what-to-know/?sh=7902e28a47f5">listeria outbreak</a> was reopened after listeria was found in several food products containing dairy like queso fresco and cotija cheese. This outbreak includes cases dating back to 2014, and the FDA investigated it in 2017 and 2021, though it couldn’t link a specific brand to the outbreak. The most recent investigation was reopened in January, and manufacturer Rizo-Lopez Foods voluntarily recalled around <a href="https://www.fda.gov/media/176015/download?attachment" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">60</a> dairy products. Major retailers like Walmart, Costco and Trader Joe’s recalled products including salad and taco kits due to potential contamination. As of April 9, the FDA and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention <a href="https://www.fda.gov/food/outbreaks-foodborne-illness/outbreak-investigation-listeria-monocytogenes-queso-fresco-and-cotija-cheese-february-2024" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">report</a> the outbreak is over. The agencies said there were 26 cases, 23 hospitalizations and two deaths across 11 states.</li>



<li>Trader Joe’s Dumplings: Over 61,000 pounds of Trader Joe’s steamed chicken soup dumplings were recalled in March due to potential hard plastic contamination from a permanent marker. The products were voluntarily recalled by manufacturer CJ Foods Manufacturing Beaumont Corporation, <a href="https://www.fsis.usda.gov/recalls-alerts/cj-foods-manufacturing-beaumont-corporation-recalls-trader-joes-chicken-soup" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">according</a> to the USDA. The problem was discovered after customers submitted complaints of hard plastics in their dumplings, though no adverse reactions were reported.</li>



<li>Ground cinnamon: The FDA issued an <a href="https://www.fda.gov/food/alerts-advisories-safety-information/fda-alert-concerning-certain-cinnamon-products-due-presence-elevated-levels-lead" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">alert</a> in March warning it found unsafe levels of lead in six ground cinnamon products. These products were sold in discount stores like Dollar Tree and Family Dollar across several states. This recall came after the FDA investigated the recall of lead-tainted <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/ariannajohnson/2024/02/07/lead-poisoned-applesauce-ecuadorian-cinnamon-processor-likely-source-behind-recalled-pouches-fda-says/?sh=27a6e3082618">cinnamon applesauces</a> in 2023 that led to over 500 reports of adverse events in children.</li>



<li>Trader Joe’s cashews: Wenders LLC, the manufacturer of the nuts, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/caileygleeson/2024/03/18/trader-joes-cashews-recall-product-pulled-in-16-states-over-salmonella-concerns/?sh=3ac5e89e58d4">recalled</a> four lots of Trader Joe’s 50% Less Sodium Roasted &amp; Salted Whole Cashews in March due to potential salmonella contamination. Though no illnesses have been reported, the potentially contaminated nuts were sold in 16 states.</li>



<li>Quaker Oats products: Quaker Oats <a href="https://www.fda.gov/safety/recalls-market-withdrawals-safety-alerts/update-quaker-issues-revised-recall-notice-additional-products-due-possible-health-risk" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">expanded</a> its list of recalled products in January after it recalled several in December due to possible salmonella contamination. This expanded list included over 20 granola, protein and cereal bars, cereals, instant oatmeals and snack mixes sold in all 50 states. However, no adverse events have been reported.</li>
</ul>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-big-number">BIG NUMBER</h2>



48 million. That’s how many Americans the CDC&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cdc.gov/foodborneburden/2011-foodborne-estimates.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">estimates</a>&nbsp;get sick annually due to foodborne disease, totaling one out of six Americans. Out of that number, 128,000 are hospitalized and 3,000 die.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-background">KEY BACKGROUND</h2>



Food gets recalled in one of four ways, according to the report. One way is consumers get sick, seek medical attention and then local officials or the CDC test fluids and trace an outbreak to a specific food item; another is consumers file a complaint with companies or regulators; a third is local, state or federal officials discover an issue through investigations or routine surveillance; and the other method is by companies self-reporting a problem after testing. The FDA regulates around&nbsp;<a href="https://www.fda.gov/media/143704/download" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">78%</a>&nbsp;of the country’s food supply, and its oversight includes everything except meat, poultry and some fish and eggs products, which are regulated by the USDA. The FDA was behind 224 recalls in 2023, while the USDA accounted for 89, according to the report. Although the number of recalls via the FDA were virtually unchanged, the number of USDA recalls increased by 31% in 2023 compared with 2022—the highest levels since 2019.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-further-reading">FURTHER READING</h2>



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/ariannajohnson/2024/02/08/costco-trader-joes-walmart-recall-dairy-products-over-listeria-outbreak-what-to-know/?sh=7902e28a47f5">Costco, Trader Joe’s, Walmart Recall Dairy Products Over Listeria Outbreak—What To Know</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/ariannajohnson/2024/02/07/lead-poisoned-applesauce-ecuadorian-cinnamon-processor-likely-source-behind-recalled-pouches-fda-says/?sh=27a6e3082618">Lead-Poisoned Applesauce: Ecuadorian Cinnamon Processor ‘Likely Source’ Behind Recalled Pouches, FDA Says</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/caileygleeson/2024/03/18/trader-joes-cashews-recall-product-pulled-in-16-states-over-salmonella-concerns/?sh=3ac5e89e58d4">Trader Joe’s Cashews Recall: Product Pulled In 16 States Over Salmonella Concerns</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)

A Safeway Grocery Store Ahead Of Alberston’s Earnings Figures

2023 Had Most Food Recalls Since Start Of COVID-19 Pandemic, Report Finds

A fight over a vital federal tax credit intended to kickstart a market for clean hydrogen and worries over high production costs are cooling near-term expectations for the climate-friendly fuel.



Clean hydrogen has been heralded as a carbon-free fuel that’s key to efforts to remediate the climate crisis. It would help clean up dirty industries like chemical and steel production, be a source of clean transportation fuel and help the U.S. hit a goal of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/us-long-term-strategy.pdf" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">by 2050</a>. But getting things started isn’t going so well.



After years of hype, fundraising, and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/alanohnsman/2023/10/13/us-amps-up-clean-energy-push-with-50-billion-hydrogen-hub-plan/?sh=431f604144f9">billions of dollars of federal support</a>&nbsp;to get a green hydrogen market off the ground, there’s growing pessimism over how fast the carbon-free fuel can ramp up. Frustrated by proposed guidelines for a crucial government incentive that they deem too strict, companies including ExxonMobil and Plug Power are threatening to scrub or delay big hydrogen projects.



“Two years ago this was super-hyped. It was like, everybody&#8217;s exuberant,” Raffi Garabedian, CEO of <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/alanohnsman/2024/02/21/green-hydrogen-could-help-save-the-planet-this-startup-wants-to-make-it-cheap/?sh=1cd8fe4e2835">Electric Hydrogen</a>, told Forbes. “What’s happened is people started realizing, ‘Oh, shit, this thing I&#8217;ve been talking about for a while — the hype-to-reality ratio — projects aren&#8217;t getting built. I wonder why? People have started realizing this is really hard.”



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



Clean hydrogen — particularly the “green” variety made from just water and renewable electricity — is central to the Biden Administration’s strategy for slashing carbon pollution. But proposed rules for a tax credit worth up to $3 a kilogram to offset the fuel’s higher production costs favor projects that rely on new renewable (or nuclear) power sources, which raises the cost substantially. Garabedian is fine with that, but some competitors say it’ll keep the price of green hydrogen too high. And ExxonMobil is unhappy that its approach — making hydrogen from natural gas but capturing the CO2 before it can escape into the atmosphere — probably won’t get the full credit.



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
Dirty hydrogen can be made for $1.06/kilogram. Green hydrogen costs up to four times as much.
</blockquote>



As with other low-carbon technologies, including solar panels, wind turbines and electric car batteries that had to conquer early high costs, clean hydrogen has to get cheaper to be competitive and impactful. But getting even to cost parity with the dirty industrial variety made from natural gas won’t be easy — it’s made for as little as&nbsp;<a href="https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=61763&amp;src=email" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">$1.06 a kilogram</a>. Green hydrogen costs about four times as much.



The world uses about 92 million tons of hydrogen a year, mainly for heavy industry. By the end of the decade, industry researcher Wood Mckenzie estimates clean hydrogen production could grow to about 14 million tons, from essentially nothing now. It’s an amount that would mark the start of critical mass for the fuel. But that’s about 1 million tons less than it had previously anticipated in late 2023.



“We expected some delays, but they&#8217;re a bit more than what we and others had thought,” said Murray Douglas, vice president for hydrogen research at Wood Mackenzie in Edinburgh, Scotland.



“It’s everything: the cost of the renewable generation; it’s the rules; it’s general cost inflation across all industries; and then it&#8217;s also convincing (customers) that they should sign up now, rather than waiting for costs to come down,” he said. “When you put these things together, you begin to get a more bearish view of 2030.”



That’s leading some fossil fuel companies to take a presumptive victory lap.



“We should abandon the fantasy of phasing out oil and gas, and instead invest in them adequately, reflecting realistic demand assumptions,” Amin Nasser, CEO of Aramco, the world’s largest oil company,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.aramco.com/en/news-media/speeches/2024/ceraweek-keynote-speech-by-amin-h-nasser" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">said</a>&nbsp;at S&amp;P Global’s recent CERAWeek conference in Houston. “Many of us have been saying for a long time that the world has been trying to transition in a fog, without a compass, on a road to nowhere.”



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-credit-critics">Credit Critics</h2>



Along with green hydrogen startups, incentives to ramp up a clean hydrogen industry need to compel fossil energy companies that are a big part of the climate problem to join in. But the plan as proposed doesn’t do that.



In a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.regulations.gov/comment/IRS-2023-0066-28305" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">letter to regulators</a>, the biggest U.S. oil company said a project in Baytown, Texas, that it’s touted as the world’s largest low-carbon hydrogen plant, is at risk from the proposed credit rules that don’t incentivize carbon capture and storage. If they’re not altered, “the cost of the hydrogen produced will be such that the market for low carbon hydrogen will not be catalyzed and our project, and possibly others, will not proceed,” wrote ExxonMobil vice president Jim Chapman in the letter.



Even Plug Power, an early leader in green hydrogen, isn’t pleased with having to use power from new, clean sources to get the full credit. The company told&nbsp;Forbes&nbsp;a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.plugpower.com/plugs-california-green-hydrogen-plant-saves-water-creates-new-energy-source/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">green hydrogen plant in California</a>&nbsp;intended to make 500 tons of carbon-free hydrogen a day may not open next year as planned due to the 45V tax credit proposal and other factors. (Its first such facility opened in Georgia this year, getting electricity to make hydrogen from a new nuclear power plant. All hydrogen made there will be eligible for the credit)



As currently proposed, “we think the U.S. now takes a real backstep to Europe on hydrogen,” Plug CEO Andy Marsh said in a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/alanohnsman/2023/12/22/green-hydrogen-makers-say-strict-federal-tax-credit-rules-will-stall-us-boom/?sh=7877597f2e1c">December 2023 interview</a>.



A final version of the credit rules is expected late this year, likely before the November election.



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-pricey-fuel">Pricey Fuel</h2>



ExxonMobil’s interest in making cleaner hydrogen is understandable. Like Aramco, it already uses huge amounts of conventional hydrogen — and ranks among the&nbsp;<a href="https://carbonmajors.org/briefing/The-Carbon-Majors-Database-26913" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">world’s largest sources of carbon pollution</a>. That’s not a good look as the worsening climate crisis brings new record temperatures on&nbsp;<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2024/04/09/march-record-global-heat/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">land</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/10/climate/ocean-heat-records.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">sea</a>&nbsp;almost weekly.



Given the global scale of its operations and cash reserves of more than $31 billion, ExxonMobil is well-positioned to be a leader in capturing and storing CO2 from its operations, making what’s known as blue hydrogen. But the Biden Administration has decided not to reward that approach.



A landmark&nbsp;<a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ese3.956" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">study by Cornell scientist Robert Howarth</a>&nbsp;found that carbon capture and storage is energy-intensive and leads to even more climate pollution than if the CO2 just wafted into the air. Its greenhouse gas footprint is also “more than 20% greater than burning natural gas or coal for heat and some 60% greater than burning diesel oil for heat,” the study found.



Unlike petroleum-based fuels, there’s no commodity market price for hydrogen. It’s supplied directly from producers to consumers. Big users, like oil refineries and chemical plants, get it for the lowest cost. Others pay much more.



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
“The cost of hydrogen is running about 2.5 times more than for compressed natural gas.”Foothill Transit CEO Doran Barnes
</blockquote>



In California, the only U.S. market for hydrogen vehicles, Toyota-backed First Element operates dozens of fuel stations dispensing highly compressed hydrogen for an eye-popping $36 a kilogram to drivers of Toyota Mirai sedans and Hyundai Nexo SUVs. (The price is distorted by the fact that most hydrogen vehicle owners get prepaid cards for up to six years of free fuel.)



Prices are a bit better for Foothill Transit, a Los Angeles-area agency with three dozen hydrogen buses and that’s adding 20 more. It negotiated a multiyear rate from a hydrogen supplier of $9.12 a kilogram, said Foothill CEO Doran Barnes. And while the buses are reliable, “the cost of hydrogen is running about 2.5 times more than for compressed natural gas,” he said.



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-need-for-power">Need For Power</h2>



The requirement that power to make green hydrogen come from new clean energy sources is understandable. The electric grid is already struggling to keep up with rising demand from power-hungry data centers, booming U.S. manufacturing and growth in electric vehicles that require charging.



“If we&#8217;re going to grow energy demands by producing electrolytic hydrogen we have to add new clean power resources to support that,” said Eric Guter, vice president of hydrogen mobility for Air Products, the world’s biggest supplier of the gas. “Otherwise we&#8217;re going to exacerbate the emissions problem on the backs of taxpayers, and that will destroy the long-term outlook for a viable clean hydrogen market.”



Air Products plans several large-scale green hydrogen projects that open later this decade — including&nbsp;<a href="https://www.airproducts.com/energy-transition/neom-green-hydrogen-complex" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">one in oil rich Saudi Arabia</a>&nbsp;— and supports the proposed tax credit rules. So too does Electric Hydrogen, which is developing&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/alanohnsman/2024/02/21/green-hydrogen-could-help-save-the-planet-this-startup-wants-to-make-it-cheap/?sh=2543f9f28351">large-scale green hydrogen plants</a>. Cofounded by two solar industry veterans, the Boston-based company’s business plan is to locate hydrogen operations near new wind or solar projects and, ideally, avoid plugging into the grid. It’s raised more than $600 million from investors including Bill Gates’ Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Energy Impact Partners, BP Ventures and Amazon.



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
“We&#8217;re competing against 100 years of global subsidy, war, blood, fortune and gold that&#8217;s gone into making oil and gas what it is today.”Electric Hydrogen CEO Raffi Garabedian
</blockquote>



It wants to deliver its first commercial-scale green hydrogen plant late this year to billionaire&nbsp;<a href="https://eh2.com/electric-hydrogen-to-supply-electrolyzer-technology-green-facility/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Wes Edens’ New Fortress Energy</a>. New Fortress intends to sell the fuel it makes to an ammonia producer. Powered by 100 megawatts of electricity, the plant will be capable of making up to 45 tons of fuel daily.



Garabedian said another early market for green hydrogen may be for sustainable aviation fuel, or SAF, as regulations in Europe force airlines to use more low-carbon fuel. But as the company lines up customers, he understands the challenge ahead.



“We&#8217;re competing against 100 years of global subsidy, war, blood, fortune and gold that&#8217;s gone into making oil and gas what it is today. And it&#8217;s still the most highly subsidized industry in the world, other than the military,” he said. “Trying to compete with that on a cost basis, it&#8217;s insane.”

New Green Hydrogen Tank construction site.

Green Hydrogen’s Hype Hits Some Very Expensive Hurdles

World Central Kitchen has delivered 43 million meals to Palestinians facing starvation. Now the organization is calling for an investigation into the attack in which seven workers were killed.



What were the clearly marked World Central Kitchen vans full of as they delivered food in the southern Gazan city of Deir al-Balah this week, before the horrific killing of seven World Central Kitchen aid workers? Rice, flour, legumes.&nbsp;Also among the supplies: Dates.&nbsp;To celebrate Ramadan. To bring a brief moment of tradition to a region facing catastrophic loss.



World Central Kitchen has delivered 43 million meals to Palestinians facing starvation, as access to food and water have been under attack. People like chef José Andrés’ volunteers have been risking it all to bring humanity to an inhumane crisis. The deadly attack this week is far from the first time food has been weaponized in Palestine, and while World Central Kitchen is <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2024/04/04/world-central-kitchen-demands-independent-probe-into-israeli-strike-that-killed-seven-aid-workers-in-gaza/">calling for an independent commission to investigate the killings</a>, millions are waiting to see if this shocking loss will create change.



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<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-related-stories">Related Stories</h2>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/chloesorvino/2022/06/16/russia-widens-attack-on-food-with-bombing-of-train-bound-for-jos-andrs-world-central-kitchen/">Russia Widens Attack On Food With Bombing Of Train Bound For José Andrés’ World Central Kitchen</a></li>



<li><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/chloesorvino/2022/11/07/jos-andrs-has-some-things-to-get-off-his-chest-as-world-central-kitchen-prepares-for-brutal-ukraine-winter/">José Andrés Has Some Things To Get Off His Chest As World Central Kitchen Prepares For A Brutal Ukraine Winter</a></li>



<li><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/chloesorvino/2023/10/20/fresh-take-cooking-through-crisis/">Finding Moments Of Joy And Inspiration In The World Central Kitchen Cookbook</a></li>



<li><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/chloesorvino/2022/04/27/water-emerges-as-weapon-of-war-in-ukraine-and-beyond/">Water Emerges As Weapon Of War In Ukraine And Beyond</a></li>
</ul>



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<h2 class="wp-block-heading has-text-align-center">What’s Fresh</h2>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading"><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/errolschweizer/2024/04/03/how-food-industry-workers-want-to-modernize-the-farm-bill/">How Food Industry Workers Want To Modernize The Farm Bill</a></h3>



Essential&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/errolschweizer/2024/04/03/how-food-industry-workers-want-to-modernize-the-farm-bill/">food workers are organizing</a>&nbsp;to&nbsp;ensure that the Farm Bill is keeping up&nbsp;with the needs of their communities.



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<h3 class="wp-block-heading"><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/errolschweizer/2024/03/27/why-independent-grocers-are-pushing-for-better-antitrust-enforcement/">Why Independent Grocers Are Pushing For Better Antitrust Enforcement</a></h3>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-full is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="740" src="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/GettyImages-1237046063.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-53534" style="width:612px;height:auto" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/GettyImages-1237046063.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/GettyImages-1237046063-300x217.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/GettyImages-1237046063-768x555.jpg 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">(Photo by Kyodo News via Getty Images)</figcaption></figure></div>


Independently owned grocery stores&nbsp;are&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/errolschweizer/2024/03/27/why-independent-grocers-are-pushing-for-better-antitrust-enforcement/">enthusiastic about recent FTC actions</a>&nbsp;that could start to level the industry playing field.



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<h3 class="wp-block-heading"><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/daphneewingchow/2024/03/31/spread-the-word-here-are-the-biggest-trends-in-butter/">Spread The Word: Here Are The Biggest Trends In Butter</a></h3>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="767" height="1024" src="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Roasted-coffee-laid-out-for-a-cupping-tasting-session-767x1024.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-53663" style="width:524px;height:auto" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Roasted-coffee-laid-out-for-a-cupping-tasting-session-767x1024.jpg 767w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Roasted-coffee-laid-out-for-a-cupping-tasting-session-225x300.jpg 225w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Roasted-coffee-laid-out-for-a-cupping-tasting-session-768x1025.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Roasted-coffee-laid-out-for-a-cupping-tasting-session.jpg 809w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 767px) 100vw, 767px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Roasted coffee laid out for a cupping (tasting) session. </figcaption></figure></div>


Social&nbsp;conversations about Butter have increased by 23.57%&nbsp;over the past year. Here are the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/daphneewingchow/2024/03/31/spread-the-word-here-are-the-biggest-trends-in-butter/">trends driving butter&#8217;s growth</a>.



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<h3 class="wp-block-heading"><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/daphneewingchow/2024/03/31/policy-makers-should-not-overlook-the-role-of-culture-in-food-security/">New Movement Emphasizes The Role Of Culture In Global Food Security</a></h3>


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<figure class="aligncenter size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="774" src="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/GettyImages-200530070-001-1024x774.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-60561" style="width:496px;height:auto" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/GettyImages-200530070-001-1024x774.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/GettyImages-200530070-001-300x227.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/GettyImages-200530070-001-768x581.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/GettyImages-200530070-001-1536x1161.jpg 1536w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/GettyImages-200530070-001.jpg 1991w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">(Getty Images)</figcaption></figure></div>


With its&nbsp;focus on leveraging food culture as a catalyst for change, the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/daphneewingchow/2024/03/31/policy-makers-should-not-overlook-the-role-of-culture-in-food-security/">Food Culture Alliance offers tangible pathways</a>&nbsp;toward achieving food security.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading"><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/daveknox/2024/03/25/mls-journey-from-restaurant-success-to-cpg-triumph/">MìLà’s Journey From Restaurant Success To CPG Triumph</a></h3>



From its&nbsp;humble beginnings as a restaurant in 2018&nbsp;to its foray into the CPG realm,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/daveknox/2024/03/25/mls-journey-from-restaurant-success-to-cpg-triumph/">MìLà&#8217;s unique approach</a>&nbsp;has captured the hearts and palates of a diverse audience.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading"><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/errolschweizer/2024/03/24/why-austin-frerick-is-taking-on-the-grocery-barons/">Why Austin Frerick Is Taking On The Grocery Barons</a></h3>



Iowa-born antitrust scholar Austin Frerick has seen firsthand&nbsp;how consolidation has wrecked the American food system.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/errolschweizer/2024/03/24/why-austin-frerick-is-taking-on-the-grocery-barons/">His crucial new book</a>&nbsp;shows how to fix it.

Closeup shot of a man holding his hands under a stream of water outdoors

Fresh Take: Food And Water Access Under Attack

Food is the future and these proactive startups are focused on shifting agricultural practices to prepare for what is to come.



Agriculture has always been a core component of Africa’s economic viability. And where it’s estimated that 140 million people in Africa face acute food insecurity, the continent’s ability to produce food efficiently is vital. As many individual countries wrestle with inadequate governments, there has been a spate of proactive startups focused on revolutionizing the food system across Africa.



From a continent- spanning online marketplace changing the way African farmers do business to a technology platform focused on producing cultivated meat alternatives and a company using technology to convert arid desertland into agricultural areas, these are the firms showing the way in foodtech in Africa.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-just-like-the-nile-river-was-pivotal">‘Just like the Nile River was pivotal…’ </h2>



Farming and selling produce can be inefficient and costly for farmers in Africa, despite being one of society’s oldest practices. Nile, a B2B marketplace, wants to change this. By connecting farmers directly with commercial produce buyers, Nile is reshaping produce trading while empowering farmers across southern Africa.



Founded in 2020 in South Africa by Louis de Kock, Eugene Roodt, and Rick Kleinhans, whose collective experience spans Amazon, JP Morgan and Luno, Nile came from the idea that tech can modernize agricultural trade.



&#8220;In 2020, farmers were still distributing their products in the same way my grandfather did in the 1950s, which was surprising given how much has changed since then, both tech and logistics,” De Kock reflects. Seeing these outdated distribution methods encouraged them to explore tech solutions, resulting in an online marketplace.



In a nutshell, Nile facilitates connections between farmers and buyers, minimizing costs and preserving perishable produce. Through Nile&#8217;s online marketplace, farmers list their produce for global buyers, securing instant orders and secure payouts, allowing farmers greater control over pricing. &#8220;By digitizing transactions, we can improve transparency, while reducing transaction fees,&#8221; he adds. The logistics network then ensures efficient routes to buyers, either via direct delivery or consolidated loads through Nile’s cross-dock hubs.



Further to this, their recently- launched inputs marketplace, coupled with financial support for farmers has revolutionized logistics, but perhaps most importantly, it’s helping farmers find the best market for their produce.



&#8220;We want to become central to a farmer&#8217;s everyday existence by providing a comprehensive suite of digital services to enhance transacting and trading, with the data and predictive analytics as the golden thread,” says De Kock.



Nile operates in 12 African countries, and now calls itself “the largest fruit and vegetable online marketplace on the continent”.



Operating in a region with high food insecurity means sustainability is vital here, and Nile’s tech facilitates it. &#8220;Food waste is dramatically reduced compared to traditional markets since all produce is pre-sold to buyers in 40+ towns and cities and thus does not degrade over time on a market floor,” says De Kock.



In addition to this, Nile’s logistics maintains multiple temperature zones for cold chain management while minimizing food miles.



&#8220;Just like the Nile River was pivotal to the development of agricultural production and trade across African countries, we believe our name is symbolic of our mission,&#8221; says De Kock.



As buyer demand continues to grow, so does the market for quality, affordable produce and Nile seems to be changing the game for African farmers.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-model-that-not-only-combats-desertification">&#8216;A model that not only combats desertification…’</h2>



Further afield, Sand to Green focuses on agroforestry for arid regions. It converts barren land into fertile agricultural areas using pioneering agroforestry practices and advanced technology.



Founded by Wissal Ben Moussa, Gautier de Carcouët, and Benjamin Rombaut, the company wants to make desert areas agriculturally productive while contributing to CO2 capture and biodiversity enhancement, effectively overhauling these agricultural landscapes.


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="768" src="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Sand-to-Green-was-formed-in-response-to-the-challenges-of-food-security-and-environmental-sustainability-in-dry-regions-image-supplied-1024x768.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-61482" style="width:606px;height:auto" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Sand-to-Green-was-formed-in-response-to-the-challenges-of-food-security-and-environmental-sustainability-in-dry-regions-image-supplied-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Sand-to-Green-was-formed-in-response-to-the-challenges-of-food-security-and-environmental-sustainability-in-dry-regions-image-supplied-300x225.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Sand-to-Green-was-formed-in-response-to-the-challenges-of-food-security-and-environmental-sustainability-in-dry-regions-image-supplied-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Sand-to-Green-was-formed-in-response-to-the-challenges-of-food-security-and-environmental-sustainability-in-dry-regions-image-supplied-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Sand-to-Green-was-formed-in-response-to-the-challenges-of-food-security-and-environmental-sustainability-in-dry-regions-image-supplied-2048x1536.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Sand to Green was formed in response to the challenges of food security and environmental sustainability in dry regions; image supplied</figcaption></figure></div>


Formed in response to the challenges of food security and environmental sustainability in dry regions, particularly in Morocco and broader Africa, the founders saw the need for eco-friendly agricultural practices in these challenging environments.



Traditional farming methods exacerbate issues like soil degradation and water scarcity, affecting vast areas of agricultural land and, in turn, populations in Africa. Sand to Green&#8217;s model integrates agroforestry with solar-powered desalination, drawing inspiration from ancient oasis ecosystems, a 7,000-year-old agroforestry system.



&#8220;Our vision was to develop a model that not only combats desertification&#8230; but also enhances local food production,&#8221; says co- founder Rombaut. Morocco presented the ideal climate, showcasing the need to balance food security with environmental restoration. &#8220;Our approach addresses water scarcity by using sustainable desalination, tapping into the region&#8217;s abundant solar energy,” he adds. “This model not only meets the immediate need for more food production but also promotes environmental sustainability, offering a blueprint for similar arid regions globally,” adds Moussa.



Sustainability is at the core of this operation. The supply chain focuses on local resources and labor, supporting regional economies and reducing transport-related carbon emissions. In arid regions, their solar-powered desalination technology lowers water usage, while recycled brine from the desalination process is used to cultivate halophyte plants.



Their practices also reduce dependence on chemical fertilizers and pesticides, aligning community well- being with an environmental one. Driven by the belief in locally- adaptable solutions, Sand to Green hopes to influence global agricultural practices.



&#8220;We strive for a future where sustainable agriculture is central to solving global food and environmental challenges,&#8221; Rombaut says. They show how sustainable agriculture can thrive in challenging environments without compromising ecosystem integrity, an idea that will hopefully shift agricultural practices globally. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-replicate-the-conditions-of-an-animal-just-outside-of-the-animal">‘…replicate the conditions of an animal, just outside of the animal’ </h2>



In Cape Town, Newform Foods wants to revolutionize the food industry through cultivated meat production. Promising a more ethical protein alternative using leading bioprocessing technology and proprietary methods, Newform allows food producers to manufacture animal- friendly products. &#8220;We are producing the ability to scale cultivated meat intended for other companies within the food and meat industry,” says Brett Thompson, who co-founded Newform along with Tasneem Karodia.


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="683" src="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Newform-CEO-Brett-Thompson-1024x683.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-61483" style="width:600px;height:auto" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Newform-CEO-Brett-Thompson-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Newform-CEO-Brett-Thompson-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Newform-CEO-Brett-Thompson-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Newform-CEO-Brett-Thompson-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Newform-CEO-Brett-Thompson-2048x1365.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Newform CEO Brett Thompson</figcaption></figure></div>


While alternative meat isn’t an entirely new concept, Newform is one of the first of its kind in Africa. &#8220;We want to create a technology platform that can be applied to any company around the world,&#8221; says Thompson. Essentially, Newform facilitates sustainable food production through tailored platforms and solutions. “We’re trying to perfectly replicate the conditions of an animal, just outside of the animal,” he explains. This is done using animal cells, and an intricate combination of media development and bioreactors to help the cells grow. Thompson adds that the entire process, from cell to harvest, takes only three to four weeks, a fraction compared to the standard 18 months in conventional farming.



Having successfully experimented with lamb, beef and pork, Newform will soon be exploring poultry and seafood, as part of creating an agnostic platform. “We want to specialize in the platform, not the species,” says Thompson. Ethics aside, Newform’s solution is undeniably more sustainable for various reasons. Reduced land, water and energy use, as well as minimizing food waste, means a much lower impact than in conventional farming practices. 


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="alignleft size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="683" height="1024" src="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Newforms-Greek-pita-with-cultivated-lamb-meatballs-683x1024.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-61485" style="width:485px;height:auto" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Newforms-Greek-pita-with-cultivated-lamb-meatballs-683x1024.jpg 683w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Newforms-Greek-pita-with-cultivated-lamb-meatballs-200x300.jpg 200w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Newforms-Greek-pita-with-cultivated-lamb-meatballs-768x1152.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Newforms-Greek-pita-with-cultivated-lamb-meatballs-1024x1536.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Newforms-Greek-pita-with-cultivated-lamb-meatballs-1365x2048.jpg 1365w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Newforms-Greek-pita-with-cultivated-lamb-meatballs-scaled.jpg 1707w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 683px) 100vw, 683px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Newform&#8217;s Greek pita with cultivated lamb meatballs</figcaption></figure></div>


“We can produce something that we can use every single part of,” he explains.



This technology could also affect farms and food transportation. “Imagine a future where you have large facilities close to cities that can produce a delicious protein and get it to retailers and consumers in a more localized fashion.”



What does this Newform future look like? &#8220;I&#8217;d like to see a world in which no animal is used within the supply chain of our food,” says Thompson. “We&#8217;ll be part of the way to replace all animals in the food system and make a healthier protein that&#8217;s cost-effective and delicious.”



While originating in South Africa, Newform plans to expand internationally, starting with the United Kingdom.



Encouragingly, Thompson has seen a shift in the industry, with more food companies willing to adopt technology towards sustainability. “The industry is looking to future-proof itself,” he says, and Newform is primed to lead the charge.

Nile co-founders Eugene Roodt and Louis de Kock

CREAM OF THE CROP: The African Firms Showing Why Foodtech Is The Future

With a growing youth population, the African continent could find itself on the path towards a bright future. However, this may only become a reality if the continent is able to provide widespread upskilling initiatives and tangible employment prospects.



The International Labour Organization reported in August that more than 72 million youth in Africa are not in education, employment or training, with the majority being young women. Furthermore, it was reported previously that by 2030, young Africans are expected to make up 42% of the world’s youth.



The goal to empower Africa’s young people has become a collective one. One organization working towards this is Prince’s Trust International (PTI). Founded by His Majesty, King Charles III (then Prince Charles), the Trust partners with local stakeholders to develop programs that equip young people with the skills and/or interventions needed to create a future for themselves.&nbsp;



“As a result of Prince&#8217;s Trust International’s human capital development focused&nbsp;programming, we have been able to reach over 15,000 young people since 2019 and provide them with the key skills and opportunities to secure livelihoods,” Shabir Randeree, Chairman of Prince’s Trust International, tells FORBES AFRICA.



“We have also been able to partner with a number of fantastic organizations, working together to help improve the way training facilitators and teachers engage with young people on the continent. This work has helped to deliver more impactful programming with greater rates of positive outcomes and created a ripple effect beyond the young people who directly benefit from our programs.”


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-full is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="682" src="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Arunma-Oteh-and-King-Charles-image-supplied.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-61387" style="width:464px;height:auto" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Arunma-Oteh-and-King-Charles-image-supplied.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Arunma-Oteh-and-King-Charles-image-supplied-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Arunma-Oteh-and-King-Charles-image-supplied-768x512.jpg 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Arunma Oteh and King Charles; image supplied</figcaption></figure></div>


CEO, Will Straw says that what started out as an organization that provided grants for people from disadvantaged backgrounds, when the organization was established in the United Kingdom (UK) over 40 years ago, has grown and evolved.



“Over time, [it] expanded into programs with employers, helping young people into job vacancies, where perhaps the employers were struggling to find work-ready youth. Then, more recently, on education programs and personal development programs in schools and other educational settings, helping young people to gain some of the core skills that are so important in the world of work – things like self-confidence, communication, problem-solving, teamwork, resilience, managing feelings, setting and achieving goals,” Straw says.



“And so Britain&#8217;s Trust International, founded in 2015, has sought to take those programs and insights about the needs of young people&#8217;s skills, and helping people to find meaningful work or set up their own business, to countries around the world.”



Currently, on the African continent, the organization has programs in Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda.



In addition to this, African Development Bank Group (AfDB) President, Dr Akinwumi Adesina and Straw met in November to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and to explore strategic partnerships to scale up youth employment, human capital, and entrepreneurship opportunities.



The MoU indicated the commitment of both the AfDB and PTI to work together to identify and develop partnership opportunities, in countries of common interest, to mainstream employability skills for technical and vocational education and training (TVET) projects, funded by the Bank. PTI is also expected to participate in the preparation, design, implementation and monitoring of TVET and skills development projects.


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="683" src="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Participants-on-the-Get-Into-Programme-Nigeria-2023-1024x683.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-61471" style="width:584px;height:auto" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Participants-on-the-Get-Into-Programme-Nigeria-2023-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Participants-on-the-Get-Into-Programme-Nigeria-2023-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Participants-on-the-Get-Into-Programme-Nigeria-2023-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Participants-on-the-Get-Into-Programme-Nigeria-2023-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Participants-on-the-Get-Into-Programme-Nigeria-2023-2048x1365.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Participants on the &#8216;Get Into&#8217; Programme in Nigeria 2023</figcaption></figure></div>


It was reported at the time of this meeting that the Trust would be committed to “co-hosting a youth-focused investment summit in 2024 in the UK, in conjunction with the African Development Bank.”



According to PTI, it’s the insights of the youth they work with and their local partners that inform the type of work that’s done. Straw echoes this, adding that the role of the Trust is simply to impart the knowledge gained over the past few decades.



“[It’s] a mixture of programs; it depends on what the specific needs are in any particular country, and which local partners we&#8217;ve identified already doing valuable, impactful work on the ground, supporting young people&#8217;s journey, in a sense, from education to employment,” he says.



“Then we&#8217;ll work with them either to introduce one of our own programs or potentially to adapt or add to a program they&#8217;ve already got in place with some of our content or methodologies, to make it even more impactful.”



PTI Trustee, Arunma Oteh, who was the Vice President and Treasurer at the World Bank from September 2015 to November 2018, shares her experience with the organization, saying, “I am honored to be a member of the Board of Prince’s Trust International. I believe that it has even greater potential to do more in Africa and particularly expand its activities in the six countries it already has a presence in, as well as establish its programs in several of the other African countries.”


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="683" src="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Winners-Enterprise-Challenge-Kenya-2022-2-1024x683.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-61470" style="width:634px;height:auto" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Winners-Enterprise-Challenge-Kenya-2022-2-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Winners-Enterprise-Challenge-Kenya-2022-2-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Winners-Enterprise-Challenge-Kenya-2022-2-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Winners-Enterprise-Challenge-Kenya-2022-2-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Winners-Enterprise-Challenge-Kenya-2022-2-2048x1365.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Winners Enterprise Challenge Kenya, 2022. </figcaption></figure></div>


“Its employability and entrepreneurship programs prepare young people for future success, teaching them valuable business and leadership skills, early in their lives. For example, a number of successful people of African origin, such as Idris Elba and Ozwald Boateng, got their break from Prince’s Trust.”



“I have a personal attachment to both Africa and Asia. I was born in South Africa of Asian origin when my family migrated from Northern India in the 1860s. The opportunity to internationally apply my experience, having also served on the board of The Prince’s Trust in the UK, was hugely appealing,” Randeree adds.



“Having had a career in business, it never ceases to amaze me what can be achieved by elevating educational aspirations of our youth. Last year, almost 30,000 young people were impacted positively by Prince’s Trust International in 18 countries. It was Nelson Mandela who said ‘education is the most powerful weapon you can use to change the world’.”

Kenya Royal Visit 2023 HMK with PTI participants

His Majesty’s Trust In Africa’s Youth:Helping Bridge The Education And Skills Gap

<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-topline">TOPLINE</h2>



Climate change could cut life expectancy by half a year, according to&nbsp;<a href="https://journals.plos.org/climate/article?id=10.1371/journal.pclm.0000339" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">research</a>&nbsp;published Thursday, illustrating another ominous consequence of human-driven global heating after scientists confirmed 2023 as the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthart/2024/01/09/2023-was-officially-the-worlds-hottest-year-on-record/?sh=5b4ccc086655">hottest year on record</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">KEY FACTS</h2>



Changes in temperature and rainfall caused by climate change could shave six months off the average human lifespan, researcher Amit Roy said in a paper published in the journal PLOS Climate.



Roy, a researcher at The New School for Social Research and Bangladesh’s Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, came to the conclusion after analyzing life expectancy data from 191 countries between 1940 and 2020.



An annual temperature increase of 1 degree Celsius on its own would cut average human life expectancy by around five and a half months once other factors affecting lifespan like GDP are accounted for, Roy said.



Changes in rainfall—which is&nbsp;<a href="https://climate.ec.europa.eu/news-your-voice/news/how-climate-change-disrupting-rainfall-patterns-and-putting-our-health-risk-2023-08-03_en" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">disrupted</a>&nbsp;in a multitude of health-affecting ways by climate change—also have an impact on life expectancy, the data showed



Considered in isolation without temperature changes, an increase or decrease in rainfall could be both beneficial or detrimental depending on circumstances—for example, in an area already experiencing heavy rainfall or an area experiencing drought.



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However, when considered alongside temperature changes, Roy—who developed a new composite index to consider the combined impact of the two features on life expectancy—found a more negative outcome, with a 10-point change on the index combining the two features leading to a six month drop on the average life expectancy.



Women and those in developing nations are disproportionately affected by the life expectancy hit, Roy said.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-background">KEY BACKGROUND</h2>



Scientists have&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthart/2024/01/09/2023-was-officially-the-worlds-hottest-year-on-record/?sh=5b4ccc086655">confirmed</a>&nbsp;2023 as the hottest year on record and experts warn 2024 could be hotter still. Experts overwhelmingly believe that human activity is driving significant and rapid climate change the likes of which our planet has never experienced and warn that even with drastic action to mitigate damage, a great deal of hardship from this is going to be in store for coming decades. While variations in climate are a normal and expected part of the planetary ecosystem, emissions of greenhouse gasses like carbon dioxide and methane have disrupted natural cycles and help lock heat inside the planetary system. These temperature increases have disrupted climatic patterns and features like rainfall, which can both decrease and cause problems in the form of phenomena like drought and increase and cause issues like flooding in wetter areas. Without drastic and swift action to cut emissions, scientists&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthart/2023/10/25/here-are-6-tipping-points-the-un-warns-could-soon-spell-disaster-for-humanity-from-space-junk-to-disappearing-water/?sh=710d0f72797a">warn</a>&nbsp;we will cross planetary tipping points from which there may not be a return and extreme weather like storms, droughts and freezes are expected to increase in both frequency and severity.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-surprising-fact">SURPRISING FACT</h2>



While abundant research has documented a slew of negative health effects linked to climate change—including&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthart/2023/11/21/extreme-heat-killed-over-70000-in-europe-last-year-study-finds-this-year-is-on-track-to-be-even-worse/?sh=62fbcdd57929">potentially lethal heat</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthart/2022/04/28/climate-change-could-spark-future-pandemics-study-finds/?sh=a5d1e2b57873">the risk of new deadly pandemics</a>, an uptick in extreme weather events and natural disasters and risks for those with&nbsp;<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/sep/04/climate-crisis-poses-greatest-risk-to-people-with-respiratory-illnesses-experts-warn" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">breathing</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.imperial.ac.uk/grantham/publications/all-publications/the-impact-of-climate-change-on-mental-health-and-emotional-wellbeing-current-evidence-and-implications-for-policy-and-practice.php" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">mental health</a>&nbsp;problems—Roy said none had yet established a direct link between the phenomenon and life expectancy.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-crucial-quote">CRUCIAL QUOTE</h2>



“The global threat posed by climate change to the well-being of billions underscores the urgent need to address it as a public health crisis,” Roy said, adding: “mitigation efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and proactive initiatives are essential to safeguard life expectancy and protect the health of populations worldwide.&#8221;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-further-reading">FURTHER READING</h2>



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthart/2024/01/09/2023-was-officially-the-worlds-hottest-year-on-record/?sh=5b4ccc086655">2023 Was Officially The World’s Hottest Year On Record</a> (Forbes)

Reports Indicate 2016 Was Hottest Year On Record

Climate Change Could Cut Months From Life Expectancy, Research Warns

<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-topline">TOPLINE</h2>



Annual carbon emissions from bottom trawling—a popular fishing method used to capture seafood at the bottom of the ocean—is equivalent to around 40% of annual transportation emissions in the U.S., a new study published Thursday found, reaffirming previous research on the harms of bottom trawling.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">KEY FACTS</h2>



<a href="https://www.msc.org/what-we-are-doing/our-approach/fishing-methods-and-gear-types/demersal-or-bottom-trawls" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Bottom trawling</a>&nbsp;is a fishing method used to catch large quantities of fish at once, which involves dragging nets towed by boats along the ocean floor to catch fish and other marine animals.



When the nets scrape the ocean floor, they disturb and cut up the coal housed in the marine sediment, releasing carbon dioxide into the water that eventually finds its way into the atmosphere.



Between 55% and 60% of the carbon dioxide made underwater by bottom trawling will be released into the atmosphere within the following nine years, the Thursday study published in Frontiers in Marine Science found.



Around 370 million metric tons of carbon emissions were released into the atmosphere every year between 1996 and 2020 due to bottom trawling, equivalent to around 40% of all U.S. transportation emissions in 2022 (1,023 million metric tons)&nbsp;<a href="https://www.eia.gov/tools/faqs/faq.php?id=307&amp;t=10" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">according</a>&nbsp;to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.



Annual bottom trawling emissions are more than double the annual fuel emissions from the global fishing fleet(<a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-018-0117-x" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">179 million</a>&nbsp;metric tons a year), almost double the annual emissions produced by volcanos (<a href="https://www.usgs.gov/observatories/hvo/news/volcano-watch-which-produces-more-co2-volcanic-or-human-activity" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">200 million</a>&nbsp;metric tons) and 55% of all U.S. yearly agriculture emissions (<a href="https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/natural-resources-environment/climate-change/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">671.5 million</a>&nbsp;metric tons).



The researchers identified bottom trawling carbon dioxide emissions as the highest in the East China Sea, the North Sea, the Baltic Sea and the Greenland Sea.



A previous&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-021-03371-z" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">study</a>&nbsp;published in 2021 found bottom trawling releases as much carbon dioxide as the entire aviation industry, and there’s less carbon in trawled areas of the ocean than untrawled areas.



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The practice’s controversy has led to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration banning it from some parts of the seafloor off the U.S.&nbsp;<a href="https://montereybay.noaa.gov/resourcepro/ebmi/2020nmfs_rule.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">West Coast</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.mpi.govt.nz/fishing-aquaculture/sustainable-fisheries/strengthening-fisheries-management/bottom-trawling/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">New Zealand</a>&nbsp;restricting it from around 20% of its territorial sea and the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSL8N3706KS/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">U.K.</a>&nbsp;banning it from at least one body of water.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">CRUCIAL QUOTE</h2>



“The good news is that reducing bottom trawling carbon emissions will deliver immediate benefits,” Enric Sala, study author and executive director of ocean preservation company Pristine Seas, said in a statement. “The bad news is, delaying action ensures that emissions from trawling will continue seeping into the atmosphere a decade from now.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">CONTRA</h2>



Some researchers don’t believe bottom trawling emits as much carbon as previously reported. Researchers who wrote a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-06014-7" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">response paper</a>&nbsp;to the 2021 study believe the study overestimated the carbon emissions of bottom trawling by between 100 and 1,000 times due to the researchers’ flawed assumption of the carbon cycle. Around 70% of buried carbon can be broken down by bottom trawling and release carbon dioxide, according to the 2021 study. However, buried carbon isn’t reactive to oxygen, and therefore most of it cannot be broken down, the response paper says. “It doesn’t mean [the 2021 study] can’t be important, but it does mean that the model makes no sense,” lead author of the response paper and researcher at Bangor University in Wales&nbsp;<a href="https://www.seafoodsource.com/news/premium/environment-sustainability/response-paper-aims-to-debunk-the-theory-that-bottom-trawling-releases-as-much-carbon-as-air-travel" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">told</a>&nbsp;SeafoodSource News. A separate&nbsp;<a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/gcb.16105" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">paper</a>&nbsp;released in 2022 challenged claims that there was less carbon in trawled areas compared to untrawled areas. It reviewed 49 papers and found 61% saw no difference, 29% reported less carbon in untrawled areas and 10% reported higher carbon levels in trawled areas of the ocean.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">BIG NUMBER</h2>



19 million tons. That’s how much seafood is caught by bottom trawling annually, making bottom trawling responsible for over a quarter of all wild-caught seafood captured each year, according to a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.1802379115" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">study</a>&nbsp;published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">KEY BACKGROUND</h2>



Besides releasing carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, bottom trawling has other dangerous effects. Between 40% to 45% of carbon released by bottom trawling remains in the ocean, which increases ocean acidification and leads to harmful damage on aquatic plants and animals, according to Thursday’s paper. The practice can also lead to a change in nutrient levels, the destruction of habitats and plant roots and reduce photosynthesis in ocean-dwelling organisms,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.usgs.gov/programs/cmhrp/news/what-drag-global-impact-bottom-trawling" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">according</a>&nbsp;to the U.S. Geographical Survey, an arm of the Department of the Interior. It’s also believed bottom trawling is wasteful:&nbsp;<a href="https://marine-conservation.org/archive/mcbi/DSCC_RedHerrings.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">50%</a>&nbsp;of all unwanted and discarded fish by the fishing industry is caught through bottom trawling. This is equivalent to around 437 million tons of discarded fish, or a loss of $560 billion, the University of California, Santa Barbara&nbsp;<a href="https://emlab.ucsb.edu/blog/overlooked-impact-bottom-trawling" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">reports</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">FURTHER READING</h2>



<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/17/climate/climate-change-oceans.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Looking for Climate Solutions? Protect More Ocean, Researchers Find.</a>&nbsp;(New York Times)

Crew members of purse seiner hauling in net while fishing for salmon

Here’s How Much Carbon Emissions Are Caused By A Popular—And Controversial—Fishing Method, According To Study

September 2023 was a month of conferences.



It started off with the summit of the Norwegian-African Business Association in Oslo.



A Reuters event in London followed. Then the revered United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York. And the month finished with the AIIB Annual Meeting at Sharm El Sheikh in Egypt. Fascinating as always. Thousands of clever people flying around, talking and promising. Everywhere, the Africa question is dominant but cautious. Risk, coups, exchange rates, crime… are oft-repeated words.



The fine balance of today’s geopolitics means Africa has to appease to the rhetoric and the threats of a rejuvenated West while still looking at the East for all things important.



Tough for our leaders, fraught as their countries are with inflation, currency issues, elections, and poverty.



The fundamental architecture where Africa provides the minerals, and the world produces goods they then sell back to the continent creates an imbalance that no amount of Bretton Woods fiddling can resolve.



The climate challenge exposes the hypocrisy too. Africa, home to labor, land, minerals and oodles of sun, wind and water (read renewables).



Why keep manufacturing then outside its shores? At least one eminent minister told me that the Washington Consensus on Trade in the 1980s, which was 40 years after the original Bretton Woods’ party and now another 40 years later, the climate agenda (and the ESG paraphernalia), has one thing in common.



A 40-year itch perhaps.



Extract not engage. Lecture but not lead. Promise but not provide.



Can happy endings come from this relentless pursuit of a status quo camouflaged as aid and grant?



The question is: what then?



Possibly the BRICS bank is the answer to getting an alter ego?



They seem serious albeit the principle of ‘my enemy’s enemy is my friend’-kind-of binding force. Well, my school had said ‘charity begins at home’.



My mother, like all mothers, had told me: “You don’t get what you want, you get what you deserve.” And my little daughter used to say: “United we stand, divided we fall.”



African unity cannot remain a myth. African collaboration cannot be an illusion. African solidarity cannot be confined to speeches. The global quest for minerals, gas and gold interlaced with ‘dead aid’, fits nicely into the greed, guilt, and fear syndrome. How do we collectively enhance that fear factor?



The fear of food shortage when Africa has so much arable land.



The fear of global warming when Africa can absorb it all through its forests.



The fear of energy sourcing when Africa has all the gas, oil and the coal the world needs.



The fear of growth when Africa has the youngest and largest unserved markets.



The fear of supply chain concentration when Africa has the obvious renewable energy- based manufacturing at source (critical minerals) solutions. The fear of mass immigration; fundamentalism when simply adding value to Africa’s resources will create jobs and keep them south of the Mediterranean.



Collective bargaining, anyone?



Into that valley of hope let Africa awake. To take charge and be masters of our own destiny. Maybe we should start with banning Africa’s soccer stars from playing in Europe? That should make them feel the pinch – or at the very least, let’s make a pledge to not export any raw materials without value addition at source. Therein lies the start to a world where jobs exist and prosperity reigns.

African woman plucking tea leaves on plantation, East Africa

The Conundrum Facing Africa. Question Is: What Then?

Debt Crisis Looms for Poorer Nations Most Vulnerable to Climate Change

In Its Own Sweet Time: Sustainability And Innovation In South Africa’s Sugar Industry

Agriculture represents one of Kenya’s largest industries. Over the decades, the mega-sector has shaped and formed to include some of the continent&#8217;s highest export volumes, with major crops making a name for the country in the global market. FORBES AFRICA takes a closer look as the country celebrates its 60th birthday.



Agriculture in Kenya is big business. According to the latest Central Bank data, this national industry is responsible for at least 20% of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). It’s also a top income earner, accounting for 65% of national export earnings, and employs over 40% of the working population; a majority of which (approximately 70%) lives outside the cities. Additionally, the industry is directly and indirectly responsible for the livelihoods of an estimated 80% of the Kenyan population.



The productivity of this industry is expected to have a major impact on the economic growth of the country. Hence, it has become a cornerstone pillar in President William Ruto’s strategic economic plan known as the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA).



Among six pillars, Agriculture cuts across several objectives intended to boost resilience and recovery in the country’s national economy. Among the key directives is a paradigm shift, challenging previous policy approaches in force within the industry.



A focus on entrepreneurship, across the value chain, including at farm-level as well as a move towards unit productivity rather than production marks the shift. Adding to this, agricultural resources, such as land and livestock, are now treated as national assets, elevating these factors of production to crucial levers in prevailing food security and export mandates. Overall, BETA seeks to address major economic challenges including poverty reduction through the creation of employment opportunities, particularly for the country’s large youth population, as well as boosting foreign exchange earnings, among others.



Organizations, in both the public and private sectors as well as civil society, have stepped in to shore up targets. Among them is the Centre for African Bio-Entrepreneurship (CABE), which supports stakeholders across the agricultural value chain in Kenya including farmers and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).



“We do market linkages. We gather market information, share the current state of market, in terms of agricultural produce [and] what is trending [in the marketplace]. This is to create value so that they have a targeted market and whenever they engage in business, it is demand-driven,” explains Lucy Adoyo, who leads Research at CABE’s Nairobi headquarters, to FORBES AFRICA.



MSMEs represent an important layer of the sectoral value chain and within the BETA framework. One of the pillars of the economic agenda, these enterprises are poised to drive job creation and stimulate trade and market activities across the national economy. Within agriculture, they provide a crucial pipeline for the youth population to enter the industry while employing the majority of Kenyans who depend on subsistence farming for both food and finance.



“These are the enterprises that produce the food which we consume in the country. They are the people you’d find in the domestic market and those are the people who even drive the local economy beyond the export [market]. The current discussions we’re having right now are around sustainable food systems coupled with climate action,” adds Adoyo.



These agribusinesses range from specialization to size and focus on direct food production to value addition such as agro-processing. The development of these businesses is a core national objective and a target of the BETA plan.



Last year, Strathmore University Business School, one of the most respected tertiary institutions in the country, in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries and the Kenya Small Business Development Centers (SBDC) announced a program to support MSMEs within the industry. The partnership is intended to commercialize sectoral value chains across the country’s major counties; each of them home to a bulk of the farming population in Kenya.



While these businesses form a crucible within Kenyan agriculture, MSMEs in the country remain arrested in development. Barriers to growth such as lack of access to financing and markets are consistent stumbling blocks for entrepreneurs across all sectors as well as inflexible policy environments. The hopes for the BETA interventions frame this context with its promises for improved trading conditions, greater access to funding, and much needed business development support.



The Strathmore Business School program for agricultural MSMEs sharpens its focus on addressing gaps in the industrial value chain; beyond direct business support. Data, for improved policy-making and for tracking sectoral growth and impact, is lacking at both local and international levels. The program launched with an intention to address these challenges.



“There is a need to map out the value chains and integrate them under one platform to inform decision-making and areas of intervention,’’ noted Dr. George Njenga, Programs Manager at the Kenya Small Business Development Centers, during the announcement.



In Kenya, these enterprises currently employ close to 15 million people and hold the key for further job creation within the agricultural industry, particularly for the growing youth population.



“Youth are mobile, youth transition very fast, [they] are also innovative in nature and if we understand those aspects about youth, [then] creating sustainability [in] the businesses they establish and also tracking them to ensure that they are creating employment opportunities for themselves and others; looking at the multiplier effect of the initial seed [investment] is most important to us,” says Adoyo of CABE.



Kenyan youth are becoming prolific players within agriculture than in previous decades thanks to recent policy efforts, namely the national Kenya Youth Agribusiness Strategy that ran from 2018 to 2022. However, like other entrepreneurs in the MSME space, young agri-preneurs face similar challenges to scale such as limited market information, lack of credit, and competition from imported agricultural produce, which is often cheaper and floods the market during peak seasons.



Nevertheless, they remain a crucial demographic for BETA’s interventions, across the board. The country’s young people not only represent major human capital potential at the national level, they are also potential food producers for Kenya&#8217;s local and export markets. However, to keep them in the industry, relevant support systems need to be put in place, explains Adoyo.



“They are looking for livelihoods. If they are unable to sustain themselves, they might even sell their infrastructure and move on to the next thing. Sustainability of initial efforts is what is key in making sure that youth are able to earn meaningful employment or income.”



Like its youth population, agriculture remains one of Kenya’s most vibrant and promising industries. With output set to grow over the coming decades and its current export earning prowess, the industry is poised to drive the country into a new era of development and economic growth – financing the futures and fortunes – of the next generation.

Vegetable farmer

Kenya@60: Driving Agribusiness As A Core Imperative In The East African Country 

<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-topline"><a href="https://policies.google.com/privacy" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"></a>TOPLINE</h2>



Global carbon emissions reached another record high in 2023—even after both the U.S. and E.U. cut fossil fuel emissions, according to a recently published study.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">KEY FACTS</h2>



This year’s global carbon emissions from fossil fuels are projected to total 36.8 billion tonnes—a 1.1% rise from 2022, according to a study published by&nbsp;<a href="https://globalcarbonbudget.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Global Carbon Budget</a>.



The report, compiled by an international team of climate researchers from more than 90 universities, determined that time is “running out fast” to avoid the worst impacts from climate change.



The global rise comes even after a sizable reduction in emissions from the European Union and the United States, decreasing by 7.4% and 3% respectively.



However, emissions from India are projected to increase by 8.2%, and emissions from China are expected to rise by 4%.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-background">KEY BACKGROUND</h2>



According to the Global Carbon Budget, emissions have largely plateaued in the last 10 years. The world did not see a significant increase compared to 2022, which also saw emissions increase by 1%. However, experts say this stabilization will not be enough to ensure emissions breach the 1.5ºC threshold—after which the earth will experience irreversible damage from climate change. The Global Carbon Budget now estimates that there is a 50% chance the world will exceed the 1.5C threshold in just seven years.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-crucial-quote">CRUCIAL QUOTE</h2>



Professor Corinne Le Quéré of the University of East Anglia’s School of Environmental Sciences said the annual changes are “not profound or widespread enough” to deter climate change. “All countries need to decarbonise their economies faster than they are at present to avoid the worse impacts of climate change,” Le Quéré said.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tangent">TANGENT</h2>



The study was released as the UN’s annual climate conference, COP28, takes place in the United Arab Emirates. COP28 president-delegate Sultan Al Jaber, the CEO of the UAE’s state-run oil and alternative energy companies, has faced steep criticism since the conference began. Last week, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/zacharyfolk/2023/12/01/cop28-advisory-board-member-resigns-over-reports-uae-used-climate-talks-to-push-fossil-fuels/?sh=480addf4a37e">leaked memos</a> appeared to show Al Jaber was using the conference to pursue more oil and natural gas deals. On Sunday, comments Al Jaber made at a SHE Changes Climate summit on November 21 attracted further criticism. “There is no science out there, or no scenario out there, that says that the phase-out of fossil fuel is what’s going to achieve 1.5C,” Al Jaber said, in remarks first reported on by the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/dec/03/back-into-caves-cop28-president-dismisses-phase-out-of-fossil-fuels" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Guardian</a>. The COP28 president’s beliefs seem to directly conflict with the UN’s stated position on meeting the threshold. “The science is clear: the 1.5-degree limit is only possible if we ultimately stop burning all fossil fuels,” UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said in an address at COP28. “Not reduce. Not abate. Phase out.”

Global Carbon Emissions Reached Another Record High In 2023, Study Suggests

Mbongeni Buthelezi&#8217;s fascination with turning discarded materials into meaningful art is evident, and his creative sanctuary is a testament to his unwavering dedication.



It is the middle of July in South Africa and everyone is dressed head to toe in full winter gear, including Mbongeni Buthelezi as he opens the entrance to his studio for me.



The immediate assumption one makes at this point is “oh no, it&#8217;s going to an ice cold studio”. However, as you walk in, you are greeted with a large warehouse space with expansive windows allowing a good amount of sunlight into the building. These allow Buthelezi to see his work accurately and also provide the space with a welcoming source of heat. The heat guns that Buthelezi and his assistant have going to apply the plastic to the canvas of his latest piece also provide an element of warmth as they had clearly been doing this for the previous few hours.



The studio itself is a haven of transformation. As one enters, the artistic journey that Buthelezi has embarked upon becomes palpable. The creations within are diverse and captivating, ranging from pieces that could be mistaken for oil or watercolor paintings to sculptures that stretch over seven feet in height, even extending to custom-designed dining tables. Buthelezi&#8217;s fascination with turning discarded materials into meaningful art is evident, and his creative sanctuary is a testament to his unwavering dedication.



When asked about his journey as an artist, Buthelezi&#8217;s response is: &#8220;This is my whole life. For me, it all really began in 1985 when I first stepped into an art class. By 1992, I had transitioned from part-time exploration to full-time immersion into this art thing.”


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The years that followed were filled with growth, marked by the completion of an art teaching course and exploration of teaching art. As his commitment to his craft deepened, he navigated the realms of both artistic creation and education. However, due a few stubborn students he encountered along the way, the decision to take his art career into the realm of an independent artist was made all that much easier. He reflects: &#8220;Animals are dying, fish in the ocean are dying – because of this material and because of us as human beings. It is us that need to take responsibility.&#8221;



Buthelezi&#8217;s early years at art school as an artist are interwoven with the exploration of varied techniques. His journey as a student introduced him to a rich array of artistic methods, each of which contributed to the evolution of his craft. The culmination of these experiences granted him a versatile toolkit that enriched his artistic expression. A pivotal moment was a call for innovation, a desire to create something uniquely his own. The scarcity of resources, combined with financial constraints, propelled him to seek alternative media. Fueled by an ambition to break free from conventional artistic pathways, Buthelezi embarked on experimentation.



Buthelezi says: “There was a time that I once thought I need a change, I need to do something that would be unique and what was that going to be? At the beginning I had no money to buy paint, I didn’t really have enough money to make ends meet, to be honest. So I began to seriously look around and see what I could possibly do to be able to proceed with whatever it was that I wanted to achieve.”



By the 1990s, Buthelezi had cemented his status as a professional artist, channeling his craft to advocate for a healthier planet. His artworks, born from recycled plastics, encapsulate the essence of growing up in South African townships. Over the course of his career, he has harnessed art as a potent tool for education, sparking dialogues about the global menace of plastic pollution. He boldly asserts that the contemporary world offers abundant resources for art creation without necessitating additional manufacturing.



“Honestly my work has been displayed in exhibitions, festivals, workshops which have taken me to all kinds of places. Germany and Australia were two of my favorites. Vermont in Canada was amazing but very cold!” These exhibitions showcased the universality of his message. His art functions as a mirror reflecting societal realities, prompting discussions on pressing issues. “Last year I engaged in a discussion on plastic innovation at the South African National Science and Technology Forum. Later in the year, I was set to participate in an art and environment festival in Abu Dhabi.”


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Amidst the acclaim, Buthelezi has encountered sceptics questioning the sustainability of his



technique due to the eventual depletion of plastic resources. “However, I welcome this outcome as it really does align with my work&#8217;s purpose which is highlighting the true urgency of plastic pollution in the world.”



In his ongoing journey, Buthelezi not only creates art but also fosters conversations and inspires change, which in his opinion is the purpose of art. As he prepares for engagements and exhibitions, his commitment to being an artist mirrors society and stands as a testament to the transformative power of creativity. The fusion of innovation, environmental consciousness, and advocacy underscores the significance of his work in addressing global challenges. He combines artistic expression with environmental advocacy, using recycled plastics.



His art sparks dialogues on plastic pollution globally. His work is a testament to the transformative power of creativity, addressing global challenges through innovation and advocacy. A truly visionary man being the change in the world that he wants to see. Maybe we could all take a little something from that.

Category: Focus