Daily Brief: Conflict Minerals in DRC, Clean Energy for Africa Competition, Foreign Investment in Africa

Here’s your Daily Brief for December 8th through December 9th:
Conspicuous Correlation: Coltan and Crisis Reports (via Appfrica) – One of the major factors feeding genocide and violent crimes against humanity is that ruling regimes have established business relations with foreign companies, earning them an political ally and a source of …

Daily Brief (Part 2): The Role of Starbucks in Global Development (Trip to Rwanda)

Just a few months ago, Starbucks announced a $20 million Small Farmer Sustainability Initiative (SFSI) to grow the amount of “Fair Trade Certified” coffee that they purchase and invest more in the social and economic development of small-scale coffee farmers. The press release announcing the program reads:
The SFSI will allow …

Daily Brief: African Entrepreneurs, Zambikes, and GAO on AGOA

Here’s your Daily Brief for September 9th:
African Entrepreneurs – (via Freakonomics Blog / NYT) – A cool write-up featuring Appfrica’s John Gosier and Magatte Wade of “Adina for Life” beverage company (which is AWESOME!). This blog post profiles three innovators in Africa introducing new solutions to their countries’ and …

China in Africa: Part II (Angola Video)

I came across this video on Hulu in a series called Vanguard, and thought it worth sharing. About a month ago I dedicated a post to the Role of China in Africa, which I highly suggest you check out! I wrote about many of the issues and concerns raised here, but …

Daily Brief: US-Africa Trade Dispute, Energy Security, and the Microfinance Debate

Here’s your Daily Brief for August 20th:
AGOA Nations Frustrated By Administration’s Adherence To Status Quo (via The Whitaker Group) – I wrote a post a few weeks ago about the African Growth and Opportunity Act that was being promoted at the AGOA Forum by several high ranking US officials …

Daily Brief: China in Africa

Here’s your Daily Brief for August 7th:
An article in todays Business Daily newspaper caught my eye and has inspired me to begin my discussion on the role of China in Africa. This is a wildly important discussion and I promise there is more to come on this topic.
Anyways, this …

Daily Brief: An Extended Look at AGOA

Here’s your Daily Brief for August 6th:
There has been a lot of buzz surrounding AGOA for the last week or so, and I’ve included a few articles in my daily briefs the last couple of days. I figured today I would dedicate the entire DB to AGOA and flush …