Amadou and Mariam's Welcome to Mali

"World music – and especially the stuff coming out of Africa – has a bit of a bad reputation in the UK. For some reason, there's been a bit of a belief that a whole continent of 900-odd million people only produces traditional music which people with beards and sandals would like. Which is rubbish of course. It's a bit like suggesting that people from England only make Morris dancing tunes and songs that have to be played on the lute."

Click here for James Cooper's full review on Amadou and Mariam's new album

Africa Investment Horizons

"Since independence, Botswana has had one of the fastest growth rates in per capita income in the world. Botswana has transformed itself from one of the poorest countries in the world to a middle-income country with a per capita GDP (PPP) of $16,450 in 2007" (Wikipedia)

In her film Africa Investment Horizons, Carol Pineau explores the Africa unknown to many, a continent that has feasible and vast investment opportunities.

Click here to watch a free 7-minute preview

East Africa beckons the Far East

The East African (EA) region (Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi) is currently undertaking major plans to brand "EA" as a single tourist attraction. The region, which has slowly stabilised over the years, is particularly targeting visitors from the far east (Japan and China).

Click here to find out more about the strategy

So don't be surprised to hear a random "Konnichiwa" while chilling out at the heavenly Kigamboni beach in Tanzania.

In recent weeks, I have also noticed that various "Visit Tanzania" adverts have been placed along the London Underground by the Tanzanian tourist board.

Have you recently visited East Africa? Click on the comments button below to share your experience.

Professor William Easterly takes on Bono

"In truth, Africans are and will be escaping poverty the same way everybody else did: through the efforts of resourceful entrepreneurs, democratic reformers and ordinary citizens at home, not through PR extravaganzas of ill-informed outsiders"

Sipping on Rwandan Coffee and wearing a Nigerian shirt, Professor of Economics at New York University William Easterly's must-read, "What Bono doesn't say about Africa"

Click here for full article

Remembering Francis Rwama: From Africa with Jazz

On Tuesday, the 21st October 2008, I was part of a congregation that gathered at The Holy Family RC church in Sutton, South London, to bid farewell to a great and talented man, Francis Rwama.

Born totally blind in Uganda, Francis Rwama's musical talents took him on a fulfilling and adventurous journey, that saw him play with all-time Jazz greats at top venues such as Ronnie Scotts and The Dorchester in London. "Shebeya", a fantastic tune off his album, was a fusion of modern Jazz with the traditional Rukiga genre from his roots in South-Western Uganda. Audio samples of his music and more available on his website (www.francisrwama.com)

In a touching speech that moved the congregation to tears, his daughter Joanne described him as a loving father, always full of humour and an inspiration to many. Her words echoed my last meeting with him, a thoroughly enjoyable experience, that involved listening to breezy Art Tatum tunes and sipping cold Stella Artois lager in his office, where he worked so hard to achieve what he did.

Francis was laid to rest on 25/10/2008 in Mbarara, South Western Uganda and is survived by his wife and two children.

"The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man who lives fully is prepared to die at any time". (Mark Twain)

Farewell thee, Uncle Francis.

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie on Africa's image

"We need to talk about structural things like loans and trade. I just wish I wasn’t from a continent about which everyone has to feel sorry.” , says 2007 Orange Prize Winner Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Click here to read the full interview as narrated by Rosie Millard (2007)

And Then Came Obama

From the dusty village of Nyang’oma Kogelo in Kenya, across the Jura mountains in France, to the thriving City of Philadelphia, the name Barack Obama is part of History.

I am writing this at 21:00 GMT on the 4th November 2008 and in approximately 7 hours, the American people, by the looks of it, will choose Senator Barack Obama as the first Black president of the United States of America.

And the world will be proud. The white truck driver from Iowa who discarded racial stereotypes to vote Obama will be proud. The British teacher in Coventry will proudly tell her students that they indeed, can live to achieve their dreams and live in a unified world. Africans all over the world will be surging with pride, because ours is a continent desperate for heroes. For African-Americans, particularly those who lived through the Civil Rights Movement, no words can describe what an Obama presidency will mean. They will be proud. Will you?

Click here to post your views

Andrew Mwenda on Wealth Creation

An insightful video presentation by Andrew Mwenda at the Ted Conference, highlighting the dangers of continually portraying Africa as a "begging" continent.

Click here to watch the video

"A Changing Continent" by Carol Pineau

We chanced upon this brilliant article written in 2005 by Carol Pineau that emphasises the need for media attention to be given to the "Other Side" of Africa

Click Here for full article

The Barracuda Affair in Scarborough

One particularly interesting encounter I had was in early 2005 when I went out for drinks with a few friends at the newly opened (at the time) Barracuda pub in Scarborough, a popular seaside resort in Northern England.

Somehow, I started having a chat with a guy, who I later discovered was a teacher at one of the local schools. After finding out that I was an African student, he was quite keen to know what the schools were like in Africa.

He admitted that he did not think that any of the schools had proper buildings and he always thought that education in Africa was mainly an informal affair, conducted under trees.

I could tell he was genuinely perplexed when I told him that many schools had modern facilities, albeit not all of them. His reaction was similar to my Flatmate, who once asked me if Banks existed in Africa after I told her I used to work for a bank before I came over to the UK.

"Do the banks have ATMS and stuff?", she asked. Funny as it may sound, it is actually sad how battered Africa's image is