At the New York Forum Africa in Libreville, Gabon, Markus Karlsson talks to Ozwald Boateng, British fashion designer and co-founder of Made in Africa. He is campaigning for more infrastructure investments in Africa through his foundation Made in Africa. He believes that the resources of the continent are wasted and its foundation aims at financing infrastructure projects.
Despite the current crisis, the EU and its member states remain the world's top aid donor, funding more than half the development programmes across the globe. But austerity policies have seen most countries drastically reduce their contribution. Can Europe afford to remain generous?
As China’s new president, Xi Jinping, continues his first tour of Africa, France 24’s Armen Georgian speaks to Senegalese writer Adama Gaye, author of "China-Africa: the dragon and the ostrich". Gaye argues that Africa has buried its head in the sand, while the dragon preys on the continent’s resources and ordinary Africans are largely left out.
In Malawi, more than 50% of the population is female, and after Liberia, it's only the second African nation to have a woman head of state. It's a country badly affected by poverty, and the European Union is working alongside the Malawian government to support development and humanitarian aid missions. Women in particular are seeing the benefits of this initiative, a fact that's being celebrated this International Women's Day.
The islands of Sao Tomé and Principe, situated off the coast of Gabon, were for many years a key cocoa producer. But since independence from Portugal in 1975, the sector has been abandoned. Today, the islands are gambling on the high-end and organic markets - a strategy that seems to be bearing fruit.
Burma has paid its debts to the World Bank and Asian Development Bank with the help of Japan, while its Paris Club creditors have written off another $6 billion of what the country owes. The moves pave the way for new poverty-reduction initiatives.
France’s Esther Duflo, a star economist who was once named one of Time magazine’s 100 most influential people in the world, has been nominated by US President Barack Obama to help shape US global development policy.
In just two years, Nairobi has become the African capital for new technology. While only 10 percent of Kenyans have access to the internet, 80 percent of Kenyan households own a mobile phone. The Kenyan government now plans to build its own Silicon Valley in the savannah, just 60 kilometres from the capital.
Christophe Robeet meets his guests in Brussels during "European Development Days". Half of the money spent on helping developing countries comes from the European Union. This aid is sometimes criticised, and some are even asking for an overhaul of Europe’s policy on international aid. What can be changed? What can be kept?
Stéphanie Antoine meets Cherie Blair during the 8th Edition of the Women's Forum Global Meeting in Deauville, France. The wife of former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, she has set up the Cherie Blair Foundation for Women to help women build growing businesses in Africa, Asia and the Middle East so that they can contribute to their economies and have a stronger voice in their societies.
