Africa Daily

Ghana’s Dr. Angela Tabiri is the first African to win ‘The Big Internet Math Off’, a global competition where mathematicians make complex ideas easy to understand.

Once set on studying business, she found her true passion in maths, leading to a PhD in quantum algebra.

Now, she’s mentoring girls, breaking STEM stereotypes and shaping Africa’s future in quantum science.

Africa Daily’s Alan Kasujja spoke to Dr. Tabiri about her win and the power of numbers.

In January 2024, Ethiopia made history as the first country in the world to ban the import of petrol and diesel vehicles, aiming to tackle fuel dependence and pollution.

A year on, electric vehicles (EVs) are becoming a common sight in the capital Addis Ababa, but the country still faces major hurdles. There are issues around the high costs of the electric vehicles, limited charging stations, and a shortage of repair services. Despite these challenges, the government is determined to push forward, with plans to import 500,000 EVs by 2030.

Alan Kasujja speaks to BBC correspondent Kalkidan Yibeltal and Hilina Legesse, VP of Ethiopia’s first EV manufacturer, Dodai.

“What makes this case more than difficult, what makes this case bitterly sad and bitterly frustrating, is that this didn’t have to happen” – Odette Geldenhuys, South African lawyer.

There are now many more stock markets in Africa than there were forty years ago. Ethiopia is the latest country to join the club after re-starting its stock market this month.

But what role do they play in the economy of our countries, and how exactly do they work? The companies, the shareholders, the risks and the rewards are all explained as we look into whether stock markets are an engine of economic growth on the African continent.

Guests: Abena Amoah, the Managing Director of the Ghana Stock Exchange and Japhet Imhanzenobe, financial lecturer at the Pan-Atlantic University in Nigeria.

Life in remote villages without electricity can be challenging: it’s difficult to power phones, to run businesses, work or study at night, and to keep food fresh. Food needs to be cooked using firewood or expensive and polluting generators.

Guests: Miriam Hamisi or ‘Mama Shaban’ a food kiosk owner who was recently given access to electricity, and Joseph Nganga from Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet and the special envoy for Mission 300 at the conference.

US President Donald Trump’s return to the Oval Office raises pressing questions about how his policies will impact Africa.

From trade and aid to health programs and climate policies, Trump’s first term saw cuts to foreign aid, shifts in trade priorities and the controversial Prosper Africa initiative.

With his withdrawal from the WHO and the Paris Agreement, there are growing concerns about how these decisions will affect Africa’s health systems and climate change efforts.

Africa Daily's Mpho Lakaje speaks with the BBC’s Samuel Lando in Nairobi and the BBC’s reporter in Abuja, Chris Ewokor to explore the potential ripple effects of Trump’s re-election on the continent.

Minnesota is home to the largest Somali community in the United States, but for many Somali refugees finding stability and employment has been a struggle.

So Mariam Mohamed, a Somali woman living in Minnesota, co-founded Hoyo in 2015. It’s a business that provides empowerment and jobs to refugee women through the shared tradition of making sambusas, a popular Somali delicacy.

This savoury snack has now become a hit in school cafeterias across the state.

In today's episode, Alan Kasujja speaks to Mariam Mohamed and Hoyo co-founder Ghita Worcester about how sambusas have become a source of pride for Somali families and a culinary discovery for Minnesotans.

Today Africa Daily’s Mpho Lakaje sits down with firebrand South African politician Julius Malema, the leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF).

Robert Katende is a man with a mission to use chess to bring about social change.

In his home country of Uganda he works with thousands of disadvantaged children, those with disabilities, and even prisoners, to use chess as a means to provide useful skills for life. He’s even had his story portrayed in a film made by Disney, the 'Queen of Katwe'.

Alan Kasujja talks to Robert to hear how this ancient game can be a catalyst for changing lives.

“She was buried in the same place where she was murdered, at the field in the crops.”

Today on the podcast we hear about the life and death of Swedish-Somali journalist Amun Abdullahi Mohamed, who also worked to advocate for the advancement of women in Somalia.

She was shot multiple times in the head by gunmen as she walked to her sorghum and watermelon farm in a rural part of Somalia, 40 kilometres from Mogadishu.

She’d moved back to Somalia after years of threats and intimidation in Sweden because of her investigation into Al Shabaab’s recruitment of Somali youths in Stockholm in 2009.