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BY Paul Ndiho, Isingiro, Uganda

Bananas are widely grown in Uganda as a staple food to generate income for farmers. In Western Uganda, approximately 300 Kilometers from Kampala, near the Ugandan – Tanzanian border, a retired Central Bank executive is cashing in on commercial Banana farming or commonly known as (Matooke).

Ugandans have been eating Bananas (Matooke) for many years. In fact, more than 10million people eat bananas as their main food source in Uganda and many more feed on it across the region. 

In the Insigiro district of Western Uganda, a retired Central Bank executive, Engineer Johnson Mubangizi, owner of several arches of banana plantations, is making a lot of money by growing bananas for commercial export. Mr. Mubangizi harvests about 70 – 100 bunches of bananas for sale that brings in about three thousand dollars a month.  For a retired bank executive, three thousand dollars might not be a lot of money, but for ordinary people, it’s most certainly a lot of money — And very few professional make that much money in a month.

“Farming is very fantastic thing. In the first instance, you are assured of food which is a basic survival right. You are sure that your people will have food. Secondly, farming beyond subsistence is a good thing because you produce more food for export. For export outside of you area — so we get people coming here to buy Matooke to take it to Kampala, we also sale some in Mbarara and of recent my product was going directly to Juba, South Sudan.”

Mr. Mubangizi’s fascination with banana farming started when he was still a young man and he credits his parents for giving him those skills. It’s common practice in this part of the country for people to have vested interests in farming, because agriculture is still the backbone of the economy. For Mubangizi, this tradition has been passed on from generation to generation.

“This banana plantation is about six arches and it has its own historic attachment. It’s older than me, I was born in 1955 and it was already here. It belonged to my grandfather, who lived here in the 30s. So he had this plantation during the Second World War.  Then when he died in 1947, he left it with my father and when he died in 1987, he left it with me. Now you can see where we have come from – maybe I could say probably in 80 -90 years. But still, when people look at this plantation, it’s like as if it was planted a few months ago”.

After retirement, Mubangizi revamped and renovated his entire plantation, assuring himself of excellent income every month. However, scientist and banana farmers alike are worried about a new type of bacteria called “banana wilt” which infects the plant and contaminates soil, resulting in huge losses and it’s threatening to wipe out all the plantations in the region.

 “We have been attached by bacterial wilt and actually each family has had a little share of it. But what we have done – as a measure is to up root whichever you find sick, you uproot the whole thing. We started by burying them but then we discovered that burying them was not the best solution. So you chop into small pieces put them in a place and they dry there.”

Ugandan government Scientists at the Kawanda research station in Kampala, Uganda are inching closer to finding improved varieties of genetically modified bananas that are resistant to the bacteria.

Dr. Geoffrey Arinaitwe, a lead researcher at Uganda’s banana research program says the bananas will not only increase output but also make the crop more affordable.

“We put pro vitamin A in Banana, it is done in a public research institute, once we have these bananas produced, they are basically for free, you give these bananas to farmers, they grow them over and over again, continuously eating these bananas and reducing the risk of Vitamin A deficiency, it’s the cheapest approach, it is cheaper than buying these capsules of bio fortified foods.”

Africa’s agricultural sector is set to become a 1 trillion US dollar industry by 2030 if governments and the private sector radically rethink policies and support for farmers, according to the World Bank.

The continent’s food market, currently valued at 313 billion US dollars a year, could triple if farmers modernized their practices and had better access to credit, new technology, irrigation and fertilizers.

Governments must now adopt new policies to enable farmers expand agriculture across the continent and take advantage of the increase in global demand for food as well as fetch higher prices for their produce.

By Paul Ndiho

As the growth pace of the information age quickens, high speed Internet access across Africa is becoming more widely available on the continent. Uganda’s Makerere University, one of Universities in E. Africa is taking advantage of this technology advance by offering free internet access to all its students.

In many parts of Africa, students using desk top computers or personal laptops to do course works and connect with friends on the social networks via the internet is something not taken for granted.

“This computer Lab at Makerere University in Kampala Uganda is arguably one of the biggest labs in the country.   Hundreds if not thousands of students come here every day, to search the web, do their course works and do so many other things that they can access online.

Accessing high speed internet in most parts of the country has not been possible. Because of slow and patchy internet services from providers that rely heavily on limited and very expensive satellite links. But in the last couple of years, here at Makerere, the university decided to connect the entire campus. And now the students have free wireless internet. 

Ochaya Kenneth is pursuing a bachelors degree in information systems at the school of computing and information technology, Marekere University. He says the university’s decision to connect the whole campus could not have come at a better time.

 “Ok, in the college of computing and information technology we have computer laboratories but students have their own laptops and they would love to do their own projects on the laptops. But the administration decided to give them this first floor where they can access easy wireless and use internet to enhance their projects and studies.”

This computer lab has become a hot spot. On average, over 500 students at the university frequent this place to surf the net because of the free service. They say that it’s faster and that it’s transforming their way of life and how they communicate with each other and the rest of the world. I spoke with three Software Engineering students studying for a test.

“Well this is a wireless lab so you can access internet, most people come here to do their course works and assignments and also finish up with their personal work but most of the time people are here to discuss and research.”

 “Same reason and the internet is faster here sometimes.”

 “The internet is faster plus the whole fact that you are allowed to talk, you prefer reading from here than going to the library.”

Another reason why the students come to this computer lab is that they are allowed to talk and interact with each other.

 “Mostly I come here to do my academic stuff — as in to make some research on my work and secondly to communicate with my friends on the Internet.”

Free internet also allows students to do a little of business and check on what’s happening on the social networking sites.

 “I gain much from the Internet here because most of the things are online. So at times, I do some online businesses.”

 “I pretty much come here to search the Internet and do some face booking, and chat with my friends.”

But not every student is excited about the free high speed Internet. Some students complain that the networks are to slow and that it takes them forever to log on to the net because of the number of people using the internet at a certain given time.

According to research commissioned by ESET,  a global cyber security company, almost half of internet users worldwide connect to the web using computers and portable devices as the primary connection device: Desk tops are the most popular, followed by lap tops, smart phones, and tablets. This is indicative of the demand for Wi-Fi hotspots. The students are excited about the future of Africa’s internet service.

 “The internet is becoming a basic need there are a lot of smartphones and laptops plus the internet cost are reducing by the day. Plus there is a stiff competition between companies which are now providing offers. So I see the internet I really promising.”

 “We get to view other people’s code when programming Interpret it in a different way and use it to develop other applications. So it’s really helping us plus we interact with other people in other nations.”

Technology experts note that Wireless technology may be convenient, especially for travelers since Wi-Fi hot spots are plentiful, but users should guard against criminals prowling networks. For these students, the sky is the limit.

By Paul Ndiho

Nelson Mandela, the revered South African anti-apartheid icon who spent 27 years in prison, led his country to democracy and became its first black president, died Thursday at home. He was 95.
“He is now resting,” said South African President Jacob Zuma. “He is now at peace.”
“Our nation has lost its greatest son,” he continued. “Our people have lost a father.”
A state funeral will be held, and Zuma called for mourners to conduct themselves with “the dignity and respect” that Mandela personified.
Former South African President Nelson Mandela has not been seen in public for months, since falling ill, but Washingtonians get to see him every day, in the form of a statue in his likeness, unveiled Saturday.
Nelson Mandela’s unwavering courage, forgiveness and hope touched and inspired people all around the world. He showed that the dream of a just society is possible and he challenged our generation to lead the way towards it.
In September 2013 I covered the unveiling of Nelson Mandela’s statue at the South African embassy, Mass Ave in Washington D.C. and here is recap and a special tribute to Nelson Mandela.
High level officials from south Africa’s government, members of the U.S. Congress, civil society who advocated for an end to apartheid through boycotts and calls for sanctions, and so many others, gathered by the renovated embassy to witness the unveiling of the larger than life statue, more than two years in the making. Ibrahim Rasool, South Africa’s ambassador to the U.S., said Mandela’s legacy is enduring.
“For me there is no post Mandela. Whatever happens mortally to Mr. Mandela is between Mr. Mandela and his creator. I think what we are doing is to make sure that his legacy endures, to make sure that his example endures, and therefore whoever comes after Mandela anywhere in the world, will always refer to the man who changed the fortunes of a nation, who united irreconcilable forces, and who gave power to the values of reconciliation, forgiveness and mercy. ”
The world has been concerned about the health of Mr. Mandela, discharged recently after a long period of hospitalization for lung infection. His daughter zindzi, Mandela, dispelled rumors that Mr. Mandela has passed, saying his alive, and statue will preserve his legacy.
“It’s a very proud moment for us as a family and south Africans as a whole. And especially now that he’s frail. His health is very frail. I think it’s the greatest way of gifting him, in terms of the preservation of his legacy….He’s a fighter, he’s strong, he’s still with us…I think it’s great to say, that here’s an ordinary boy from the village of Qunu, who’s impacted on the global landscape. That his values are there to share beyond the borders of South Africa.”
The fight to end apartheid was a global fight that had roots here in the United States. Key players in the anti-apartheid movement including people like Randall Robinson, founder and former president of Trans Africa forum, advocates who later became members of congress like Maxine Walters, and others led protests and called for U.S. Sanctions against South Africa. U.S. Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee.
“There is a wealth of emotion that I cannot express. The connectedness of unveiling this statue in the very year that martin king who had great admiration for this great warrior, this man of peace, nelson Mandela, Madiba. To come together at the same time of martin’s speech, the inspiration that we received, from this person, who with shackles, from Robben Island, freed himself and freed his people”

William Lucy, president emeritus, congress of black trade unions.
“We are pleased that we made any contribution to the democratization of South Africa. Secondly, the location of the statue here at the South African embassy, will forever be a tribute to the work that was done right here in Washington, DC. In raising the issue of apartheid so the country as a whole could understand the implications of a system like that continuing.”
Nicole lee, president, Trans Africa:
“I think it shows the full revolution circle that we all wanted to see happen, years and years ago. African Americans, students, leaders, all came to this embassy to protest what we saw as one of the greatest injustices on the planet, which was the apartheid regime, but also the U.S. Support for the apartheid regime. Through hard work and dedication and just not believing all things are possible, apartheid crumbled.”
The chair of African union commission, Nkosazana Dlamini-zuma, also a South Africa, says the task now is to ensure the legacy of Mr. Mandela lives on, through concerted efforts to improve the lives of ordinary people.
“Mandela has taught us that we should love other people, we should respect other people, we should fight for children to have food, have education, we must make sure that people have houses, water, electricity, and that the well-being of all people, is what we should be struggling for.”
South Africans in the crowd said they could not be prouder of Mr. Mandela, and the light he has shone on South Africa;
“It’s a historic moment for us as south Africans, we are so proud, because you know, we’ve been long in the struggle, and eventually we are free — the legacy of Mandela must continue and we still want people to do whatever Mandela taught us.
Onlookers posed, and gazed admiringly at the statue, made out of bronze. Gene Doyle is the sculptor.
“I was ask to sculpt it as Nelson Mandela looked as he came out of prison, with his arm up in salute, which is to represent unity and strength—“when I sculpted him, I wanted to capture the man in the moment, and I hope that is what I achieve.

By Paul Ndiho

Born in Rwanda, Tribert Rujugiro Ayabatwa has consistently overcome adversity– to become one of Africa’s leading businessman and philanthropists. His a personal fortune estimated in the tens of millions of dollars includes a shopping mall, a cement factory, a brewery, tobacco farms, processing plants and several other businesses.  His ability to succeed, despite repeated hardships is remarkable.

“I don’t see myself as Rwandese, I see myself as African… I wish when I die that whatever I started can continue not for looking at expending the business but building up something. And this is what I tell my kids. This is the legacy I’ll leave with my children. I want them to continue building something in Africa.”

At age 73, Tribert Rujugiro Ayabatwa is one of Rwanda’s most prominent entrepreneurs– and a key player on the African continent.  From an early age, Rujugiro Ayabatwa knew he wanted to be a businessman and philanthropist– and his sons are learning their business skills from their father.

“My dad for example on the business side, I’d say very difficult, very demanding but also fair.”

“Even when I started in business, i mean it wasn’t being appointed here and there… I mean you started from the bottom.

“

Mr. Ayabatwa has always turned adversity into triumph.  After the death of his mother, Tribert obtained a certificate as a clerk and typist and went into exile as a Rwandan refugee in Burundi.  Soon, he found a job as a clerk.  After work, he spent most evenings learning French.  He later became so proficient with French, that he began teaching the language to other Rwandan exiles.

“He’s not really individualistic whether you talk about business, community development, nation building, he wants to involve more people. He’s involved in cement making, tobacco growing as well as cigar rate making; he’s into growing and processing. He’s contribution to Africa is very significant.

Over the years, he has expanded his business holdings across much of the sub-continent, where his work is seen as a model for delivering development and jobs to rural Africa.  Today, Rujugiro Ayabatwa’s brands are sold in more than 27 African countries.

“I was not interested in making money in Rwanda, I was interested the country’s development. We brought electricity to a church in rural Rwanda and build a school and day care center in Kigali. We’ve built roads and bridges in Uganda, and we’re helping widows to find work and feed their families in south Sudan. We had a big – big problem of about one million people coming back and not having a house. So I told them and said, please give me land to build some house for some families. So they gave me the land and I built about a hundred houses and sold them at market price.”

In the last five decades, Ayabatwa launched numerous companies that now employ more than 25-thousand people.

Yes I’m happy with what i have done. Because some people count success in terms of money, in terms of this, for me it’s achieving what you set as a goal.”

Like all great industrialists, Tribert’s success was built on his canny ability to spot opportunities– and take risks.  He also credits the help of many people along the way who recognized his drive and determination– and took a chance on him.  In 2012, Tribert stepped back from directly managing his companies and handed over day-to-day operations to his sons.  He now plans to intensify his charitable works and is taking steps toward development of a private, nonprofit foundation.

Mr. Rujugiro does have his critics; the Rwandan government recently confiscated some of his property including a shopping mall and his official residence which is valued at more than 2 million dollars. They say the property was abandoned– a claim he disputes. The government alleges that Mr. Rujugiro, who resides in South Africa, abandoned the mall because he no longer lives in Rwanda as the justification for seizing his property.

Webster University opens a new campus in Ghana

By Paul Ndiho

Ghana’s ministry of education and the U.S. Higher learning commission have officially accredited Webster University’s new campus in Accra, Ghana.  Graduates from the new Accra campus will earn degrees recognized in both the U.S. and Ghana.

Following a rigorous review, the Accra satellite campus of Webster University based in St. Louis, Missouri, is now open for business.  Student recruitment is ongoing and classes are set to start in January. The approval by the higher learning commission ensures that Webster university graduates in Ghana will hold American equivalent degrees that are recognized internationally.  Hopefully, making it easier for graduates to seek employment and pursue studies in either country. 

Webster university president, Elizabeth “Beth” Stroble, in an interview with Africa 54 says that opening the Ghanaian campus creates new opportunities for students, faculty, as well as businesses.  Dr. Stroble says she is excited about this new initiative.

“Ghana is such a leader already in the world arena, and certainly in sub-Saharan Africa and the continent of Africa.  And if we wish for students to know the world, it’s important to know Ghana because of its political leadership, its economic leadership, the leadership that Ghana is positioned to provide for a better world.

Webster has selected programs for the Accra campus based on student interest and employers in the region. University provost and chief operating officer Dr. Julian Schuster says the university will offer both undergraduate and graduate programs.

“The degrees that we are offering actually are meeting the demand it takes to exist in a rapidly growing Ghanaian economy and Ghanaian society.  So as the second fastest growing economy in Africa, there is a definite demand for the business degree but also as one of the leading democracy’s in Africa and i would say the world there is also a demand for the degree’s both in undergraduate and graduate level in the area of international relations as well as in the area of communication at Webster university is poised to meet that demand.”

Webster University was founded in 1915 and it has been an accredited institution of higher learning since 1925.

In addition to its Ghana and North American locations, Webster University also has traditional residential campuses in Austria, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Thailand and the United Kingdom.  It also has a global network of international partners in more than two dozen other locations.  The Accra interim president, Dr. Tom Oates, says the choice to have a new campus in Ghana was not an accident, but it was done after an extensive study of sites in Africa.

“Webster decided it was a good site and i made several visits here to confirm my own commitment to the project in Ghana and I found it fascinating place, full of energy, full of commitment to the development of all its peoples, which is important to the university but also important to me. And so, we decided to start a college here.”

Victoria Dela Adeborna graduated from Webster’s, main campus in St. Louis and over the years she has risen through the ranks to become key part of the faculty staff.

“I started as a student assistant in the library, I was a student, and Webster was coming to Ghana, then I joined the Ghana campus, so I moved from St. Louis with Dr. Oz to Ghana and it’s been a lot of learning, a lot of personal growth, and one thing to re-enforce the personal growth is, I went through the accreditation stage, which you know is a huge project so that alone has taught me a lot.”

The Accra campus also will provide more opportunities for current students from any of Webster’s worldwide campuses to study abroad.  Nearly one-third of Webster’s currents students and faculty take advantage of the university’s global presence and study or teach in another country. With the new Ghana campus opening up a fourth continent for the Webster community, it is anticipated that students and faculty from other campuses will visit Ghana, while students in Ghana likely will study for a semester or two in Asia, North America or Europe.

By Paul Ndiho

Uganda like most countries in Sub – Saharan Africa has a youthful population; about 62 percent of the youth are unemployed according to Action Aid Uganda. But this is about to change, as the country expands its Business Process Outsourcing centers with an aim to employ over 4,000 young people in the country. 

Uganda is working to increase business opportunities in the country that can benefit millions of unemployed youth. Under its National Business Process Outsourcing (OR BPO) center programs, the country recently launched a call center in Kampala that will provide jobs for over 200 young people.

It’s one of the many centers the government hopes will also position Uganda as a major global competitor in providing customer solutions for businesses.

Organizations are increasingly using off-shore customer call centers like this one, believed to be more cost effective in managing their customer services.

Techno Brain is one of the companies taking advantage of the new business opportunity.

Ivan Kahangire, is the organizations Enterprise Solutions Business Development Manager.

“When you look at the market for BPO and IT enabled services, it is really, really huge, according to a KPMG report earlier this year, they projected that this market for BPO and IT enabled services world over is going to be approximately 950 billion US dollars, now that is a huge market for us to tap into and among other players in Africa and when you look at the statistics again from ministry of gender about the unemployed youth, it is staggering, 400,000 youth are churned out to the job market every year and there are only 9,000 jobs available for them.”

Uganda hopes to attract more graduates and trained professionals to take up jobs in its outsourcing market. The center is housed on three floors and agents provide services for clients from around the world in various languages including French and Kinyarwanda.

With about 62 percent of Uganda’s youth said to be unemployed, new recruits at the center like Moses Oteba say the business program is a welcome development in creating more jobs in the country.

“The level of unemployment is very high, I wouldn’t say we earn that much here but it is better to be in here than to be out there doing nothing, this is a great opportunity to make some money, it is very terrible, the level of unemployment it is very painful, it pinches and as a result guys get exploited and they do the worst, they do the least they could ever do.”

Like in many African cities, Kampala’s growing young population is becoming a threat to the government as joblessness and crime spiral.

Education consultant, Fagil Mandy says that while providing youth with education and employment can help deter crime, the country’s education system hardly prepares students enough for the job market.

“The national curriculum development center has just found out that our school leavers up to a certain level lack employable skills, so that is another problem including the attitudes, so that is another one, the attitude itself, so for me I think that is another problem, one that the school system is not equipping these new worker in inverted comas with the right competitive skills and knowledge and attitudes.”

Across town, young men like Geoffrey Wako, a trained teacher decided to start his “BODA – BODA” taxi business, ferrying passengers around Kampala, after failing to find employment in the formal sector. Now HE is looking for customers at a nearby motorbike taxi stop.

“It was about two years that I was looking for a job, so after which I gave up because I was tired, I had wasted my money, my energy, my time and there was nothing yielding, so I had to give up. That’s when also this one came in, that is when I started developing the urge of joining BodaBoda (motorbike taxi) business.

The World Bank is pushing the east African county to diversify its economic production and process more of its raw produce locally to be able to absorb the growing number of unemployed youth.

The country’s labor force has been growing at above 4 percent annually, according to the World Bank but is likely to add about 10 million potential workers into the labor market by 2020.