Afrinut Enriched Foods, an Ethiopian-based initiative, has been named a semifinalist in the prestigious 2024 Seeding The Future Global Food System Challenge. The competition, hosted by the Seeding The Future Foundation and the Institute of Food Technologists, aims to address critical global food challenges by supporting groundbreaking innovations. Afrinut’s project focuses on producing affordable plant-based Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF) and nutritious food paste, designed to combat malnutrition and promote food security.

This year’s challenge attracted nearly 1,200 submissions from scientists, engineers, entrepreneurs, and multidisciplinary teams representing 93 countries. Only 36 semifinalists advanced to the next stage, vying for a share of the $1 million prize fund. Winners will include up to eight Seed Grant recipients ($25,000 each), three Growth Grant recipients ($100,000 each), and two Grand Prize winners ($250,000 each).

Bernhard van Lengerich, founder of the Seeding The Future Foundation, praised the quality of submissions: “The need for transformative innovations to address food system challenges grows more urgent every day. We are inspired by the abundance of creative and passionate teams developing truly novel and impactful solutions.”

The European Investment Bank (EIB Global) has availed over €1.2 million (over Ksh 166 million) in technical assistance support to cities in East Africa for preparation of climate resilient urban development projects.

The cities set to benefit from this technical assistance are Kericho, Nyamira, Kisumu, Embu, Eldoret and Malindi in Kenya as well as Zanzibar in Tanzania and Makindye in Uganda.

EIB Global’s support to cities is financed through the City Climate Finance Gap Fund – a multi-donor trust fund supported by Germany and Luxembourg and implemented jointly with the World Bank and in close partnership with German Development Cooperation (GIZ). The technical assistance program focuses on early-stage project preparation with an aim of facilitating access to finance for urban projects that would otherwise potentially remain at idea stage.

Most of the support for the cities in the region will revolve around assessing options for managing solid waste and faecal sludge, waste to energy solutions through production of biogas and wastewater treatment. Preliminary proposed solutions have recommended integrated solid waste management plans that encompass segregation of waste at source, separation of waste  collections, waste recovery and proper disposal.

Safaricom Ethiopia has reaffirmed its commitment to community empowerment by donating 50 laptops, 10 Wi-Fi routers, and six months of free internet to five schools in Bahir Dar and Gondar. The initiative aims to build the capacity of the computer labs in the schools, enhance digital literacy and create a more conducive learning environment for students in these regions.

In addition to supporting education, Safaricom Ethiopia has also extended health insurance coverage worth 150,000 birr to 100 low-income families in Bahir Dar. This initiative is designed to ease the financial burden of healthcare and improve the well-being of vulnerable families for an entire year.

During the handover ceremony, Tilahun Berhanu, External Affairs Executive Head of Department for Northeast and West, highlighted the significance of the donation: Access to information technology is key to the future success and competitiveness of our youth. By equipping these schools, we aim to create a more conducive environment for digital literacy. At the same time, the health insurance coverage will help ease the financial burden on beneficiary families for a year.

Africa faces immense challenges in adequate and skilled human capital to produce quality statistics for evidence-based policymaking, says Tinfissi-Joseph Ilboudo, Officer in Charge of the African Centre for Statistics.

Relying on international financial support to produce critical information for and about Africa is impeding statistical development, he told delegates attending the Expert’s segment of the 2025 ECA Conference of Ministers.

“We need sustainable funding of data systems to ensure we are tackling the right issues,” he said.

Illoudo underlined the importance of data governance and quality statistics to drive informed evidence-based policymaking, something that is currently under threat as a result of a lack of capacity.

Outdated statistical methods often do not reflect African realities, he said, leading to the production of data that may not accurately represent local conditions.

The big question for the future of the statistics ecosystem is how African statistical agencies can use artificial intelligence and new data sources to tackle the new priorities in the national, regional and international development agencies.