When Nelly Tuikong, originally from western Kenya, was studying nursing in the United States, she had trouble finding makeup. Drug store brands carried at most…
NO VICTIMS, NO HEROES
Africa is changing China as much as China is changing Africa
Eight years ago I watched the movie “2012,” named after the year the Mayan calendar supposedly ends. In the film an American geologist learns that…
CHARTING AHEAD
These nine charts tell you what’s in store for Africa in 2018
Africa witnessed major changes in 2017, whether at the geopolitical, socio-economic, or digital levels. With global economic recovery strengthening, Africa’s growth outlook will look more…
SAVE THE ELEPHANTS
China’s ban on the sale of ivory is finally going into effect
A total ban on sales of ivory will go into effect this weekend in China, the world’s largest importer of ivory whose trade is responsible…
FOLLOW THE LEADER
Beijing is cultivating the next generation of African elites by training them in China
Juba, South Sudan Anthony Kpandu took a delegation from his party, the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM), to China last year to train with the…
"OUT OF AFRICA"
Early humans migrated out of Africa much earlier than we thought
The traditional human origin story maintains that modern humans, or homo sapiens, evolved in Africa and then migrated in a single wave to the Asian…
GOOD INTENTIONS
A guide on how not to act like a ‘white savior’ while volunteering in Africa
In a YouTube tutorial called, “How to Get More Likes on Social Media,” a young white woman scrolls through her social media feed. In one…
NOT SO FAST
Chinese manufacturing may not be moving to Africa all that soon
The promise of Chinese manufacturing moving to Africa increasingly seems like a real possibility. Chinese car factories assemble in South Africa. Mainland footwear companies have…
DANCE THERAPY
South Sudan’s youth cope with war by partying in the day time
Juba, South Sudan On Sunday afternoons after church, Wokil Makuei, 21, usually heads to the club. Fueled by soda and dancehall beats, he and his…
SELF-DECLARED
Breakaway state Somaliland has elected a former rebel commander as its new president
The self-declared state of Somaliland has elected a former air force pilot and rebel commander as its third president since breaking away from Somalia in…
"MUTUALLY BENEFICIAL"
There’s at least one place in Africa where China’s “win win” diplomacy is failing
Juba, South Sudan The rice giving ceremony is more than an hour late. Zhang Yi, China’s economic attaché in South Sudan, sits in the mid-morning…
OLD FRIENDS
There’s legitimate suspicion that China approved of Zimbabwe’s coup
When general Constantino Guveya Chiwenga, head of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces (ZDF), was on his way to China in early November, his vice president Emmerson…
