Greetings
Too often, ideas are conceptualised, strategies are developed, plans are made, and then nothing happens. Sometimes it feels like the challenges are deemed so insurmountable that nothing actually happens beyond the talking phase. Yet, the only way the continent will move forward, on its own terms, will be through taking ownership and actually implementing.
At the Twenty-sixth Ordinary Session of the African Union (AU) Assembly, in January 2016, African Heads of State and Government adopted the African Space Policy and Strategy. On 20 April 2025, the continent-wide African Space Agency, headquartered in Cairo, Egypt, was launched with the purpose of coordinating ‘national space programmes and expand access to climate and weather data at a time of rising environmental vulnerability and declining foreign support’, according to a Bloomberg report. Africa launches its own space agency. Now comes the hard part.
With all the attention around Artificial Intelligence (AI), a fear that I have is that Africa will continue to be left behind and, where it is included, it will be from the perspective of the Global North. Technology is only effective when the solutions are created by those who have a real understanding of the problems that face countries across the continent. MasterCard recently launched a white paper titled Harnessing the transformative power of AI in Africa which makes for interesting reading. In the report, it is stated that, “Beyond simply boosting efficiencies, AI holds the promise of reshaping entire industries and tackling some of the region’s most urgent social challenges.”
The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) was established as a Pan-African institution in 1993 with the intention of promoting and financing intra- and extra-African trade. In 2020, Afreximbank established the Creative Africa Nexus (CANEX) as a vehicle to support, grow and develop the creative and cultural industries through financing, capacity building, trade facilitation and export promotion. At the heart of the vision and mission of CANEX is creating a multi-billion dollar creative industry.
Last year Afreximbank increased funding for CANEX from $1billion to $2billion and CANEX has been collaborating with a number of initiatives across the continent, including with 1-54 Contemporary African Fair, artist residencies like the Guest Artist Space (G.A.S) Foundation, Nigerian musician D’Banj’s C.R.E.A.M Platform, and supporting African fashion designers in showcasing their work internationally.
When we talk of African solutions for African problems, this is the perfect example: How Majik Water, A Kenyan Startup, Makes Water From Air? And it is an innovation that was worldwide use.
“Today, there’s a powerful reclamation happening across the continent. Architects, designers, and communities are reimagining what it means to build as Africans.” I could not agree more with this sentiment expressed in From Earth to Emazulwini: A look at African architecture. And I would like to believe that this act of reimagination is happening across the continent, across societies and across sectors.
Please do share with others who you feel would enjoy it as well. We look forward to your comments, input and contributions.
Until next time.
Kojo
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