Tourism Ethiopia in collaboration with Facebook have announced the launch of Boost with Facebook for Tourism Ethiopia – a digital marketing programme for Ethiopian SMB’s in the tourism and hospitality sector affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The programme is being implemented by Summer Media, a local digital marketing company in Ethiopia.
According to Facebook’s Global State of Small Business Report released last year, the tourism and hospitality industries were hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. This Boost with Facebook programme which was launched in August 2020 as a pilot programme in Ethiopia aims to help 5,000 businesses in the tourism sector learn how to use the Facebook family of apps (Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp) to boost their businesses’ marketing efforts online.
Tourism Ethiopia and Facebook collaborate to offer digital marketing programme
Innovation Fund launched to unearth emerging technologies
The African Enterprise Challenge Fund (AECF) has launched a US1.2 million Innovation Fund to unlock the potential of renewable energy to create new business opportunities in Ethiopia.
Through the fund, businesses and entrepreneurs in Ethiopia can apply for funding to strengthen market readiness of emerging innovations, as well as secure financial, technical, and networking support for taking existing proven prototypes to scale.
Solutions that reduce the negative impacts associated with the use of traditional cooking options at the household and institutional levels; build climate change resilience among communities and support productive uses such as water pumping, agro-processing, cooling and refrigeration services are examples that the Fund seeks to support. In applying, businesses and entrepreneurs will need to demonstrate how their proposed innovations will transform livelihoods of low-income households through creation of jobs and diversification of livelihoods.
COVID-19 eliminated 12 years of progress in the fight against Tuberculosis
One year after the COVID-19 pandemic turned the world on its head, the Stop TB Partnership shared new data showing that nine of the countries with the most tuberculosis (TB) cases—representing 60% of the global TB burden—saw a drastic decline in diagnosis and treatment of TB infections in 2020, ranging from 16%-41% (with an average of 23%). The drop brought the overall number of people diagnosed and treated for TB in those countries to 2008 levels, a setback of 12 years.
“Twelve years of impressive gains in the fight against TB, including in reducing the number of people who were missing from TB care, have been tragically reversed by another virulent respiratory infection,” said Dr. Lucica Ditiu, Executive Director of the Stop TB Partnership. “In the process, we put the lives and livelihoods of millions of people in jeopardy. I hope that in 2021 we buckle up and we smartly address, at the same time, TB and COVID-19 as two airborne diseases with similar symptoms.”
In addition to the worldwide drop in TB diagnosis and treatment, data emerging from India and South Africa shows that people coinfected with TB and COVID-19 have three times higher mortality than people infected with TB alone. This makes contact tracing, case finding and bi-directional TB and COVID-19 testing essential.
AfDB named World’s Best Multilateral Financial Institution 2021 by Global Finance
The prestigious U.S. magazine, Global Finance, specializing in financial markets and investment banking, has named the African Development Bank as the “Best Multilateral Financial Institution in the world for 2021”.
The award is a global recognition for the path breaking efforts of the African Development Bank as it transforms itself into a solutions bank for Africa, through a combination of its operations, knowledge services and investment positioning, which continue to help accelerate Africa’s development.
The award is an affirmation of the success of the operational strategy being pursued by the African Development Bank under the leadership of Akinwumi A. Adesina, who was unanimously re-elected to a second consecutive five-year term as President of the institution last year.
“With widespread expectations of consolidation in multiple sectors and all around the world, investment banks will play a leading role in reshaping the world economy post-pandemic,” said Joseph D. Giarraputo, publisher and editorial director of Global Finance on announcing the winning list.
“Companies need more than ever to understand the specialties and skills that investment banks bring to the table. Global Finance awards are a valuable guide.”
